What's the difference between virgin and extra-virgin coconut oil?

There's no difference between virgin and extra-virgin coconut oil at all. They're exactly the same. Unlike olive oil that has an official grading system in place that sets extra-virgin and virgin quality apart, coconut oil does not have one.

Virgin or extra-virgin coconut oil means that the oil is cold-pressed from fresh coconut meat at temperatures below 120 °F (49 °C).

Also, they do not go through any high-heat refining process that bleaches or remove the naturally-occurring odor. This is to help retain as much nutritional benefits in the coconut oil as possible.

This is why extra-virgin or virgin coconut oil is also known as unrefined coconut oil.

In that case, why do you still see some brands labeling their product as 'extra-virgin coconut oil'?

A marketing gimmick at best. If you haven't read this, it'll psychologically make you think that extra-virgin coconut oil is better than virgin coconut oil, right?

But now you know the difference between them, which is, they're precisely the same – unrefined coconut oil. Not only you won't get confused anymore, but also you'll be able to pick the truly best virgin coconut oil off the shelf rather than basing your decision on that 'extra' word you see.

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  8. Is virgin coconut oil good for constipation?
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