When you are trying to maintain healthy skin, it is helpful to eat certain healthful foods that are rich in specific nutrients. One such food is raw coconut, which contains properties that help promote clearer, healthier and more youthful skin. Eating raw coconut oil regularly is a simple and natural way to achieve vibrant skin.

Raw coconut contains medium-chain saturated fats. Although other types of saturated fat are generally considered bad for your health because they can become trapped in fat tissue, medium-chain saturated fats are used by the body efficiently and transformed into energy. Raw coconut also contains properties that act as antibacterials and anti-inflammatory agents to decrease bacterial overgrowth, irritation and inflammation in the body.

When you consume or use raw coconut, it not only benefits your body's systems on the inside, but it can also benefit your skin as well. This is because your skin is actually a large organ that filters and processes waste just like the other organs in your body. According to Bastyr University, consuming raw coconut oil can reduce the severity of bacterial and inflammatory skin conditions, such as eczema and psoriasis.

Raw coconut can be eaten fresh, dried or you can consume the extracted raw coconut oil. Fresh coconut must be eaten quickly as it can become rancid. Dried raw coconut can be added into desserts or eaten plain as a snack. Raw coconut oil is solid at room temperature, and it can be spread onto toast like butter or added into smoothies.

When you select raw coconut oil, chose one that is labeled as "extra virgin," which means that the oil was bottled after the first pressing. Extra virgin coconut oil contains more nutrients than the oil from the second or third pressing. Although you can cook with coconut oil, the properties can become adulterated when the oil is heated. For the maximum benefits to your skin and to the rest of your body, eat coconut oil raw and unheated.