About Argan Oil

Argan oil is an oil that is obtained from the nuts of the argan tree. The argan tree grows in the southwestern part of Morocco. The oil has become increasingly noticed for its nutritional value and the effects that its specific nutrients seem apt to impart.

Nutrition

• Among the major nutritional values of nuts is their contribution to fat intake. Fat intake, and specifically a well-balanced fat intake, can be very important to good health. Similar to peanut oil, argan oil provides a fairly healthy fat intake. It is high in monounsaturated fats with omega-6 fatty acids. Monounsaturated fats actually help to reduce bad cholesterol making this, in general, a healthy fat. That is the predominant fat in argan oil. Argan oil also has high contents of oleic acid, which works to regulate cholesterol. Other components in the oil aid with rheumatologic and cardiac conditions.The oil is also high in vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants help neutralize free radicals in an individual's system. The buildup of "oxidation" is believed to be one of the elements of what we recognize as the "aging process".

Skin Treatment

• The high levels of vitamin E and other components, such as phytosterols, are some of what make this oil seem very useful in the treatment specifically of the skin. Phytosterols are known to be good for scar tissue. In Morocco argan oil is believed to be useful in treating a variety of skin conditions. Uses that have been going on for some time in Morocco include using the oil as a skin treatment. Some of the conditions that it is used to treat are dry skin and skin that has lost its luster. Conditions that involve irritation of the skin, such as acne and conditions as extreme as eczema, are also treated with argan oil. Wrinkles also continue to be treated with this oil there.

Women's Co-op

• There is another benefit other than the scientifically verified nutrition and the effects and benefits that these components have been shown to create. There is a social benefit in the place where the oil is produced that is resulting from the manufacture of this oil. The individuals who have been harvesting and producing argan oil for their own use for some time. That group is the Berber women. In a nation where women's rights is not developed to the level of equality, this group of women is being allowed to operate a cooperative, and they are doing it responsibly. They are receiving backing from multiple governments and consumers, and they are using the opportunity that support is allowing to create a sustainable business that is supplying women from neighboring villages the opportunity to earn fair wages. They are taking care to use sustainable agriculture techniques. They are also working to plant new argan nurseries.

The Process

• To procure the oil is a labor-intensive process. According to reports, the same process that was perfected by the Berber women is still being used. This includes cracking the nuts' shells by hand. The result is a highly nutritive oil that is cold pressed. It is also a process that renders approximately one liter from a few days' work. This quantity coupled with the promising contents of the oil is resulting in a pricey product.

Significance

• It is a product that is creating an opportunity that remains rather rare for women in Morocco. It is also a product that has been tested to verify the nutritional value that it holds. The forward-looking planning that is being put into the manufacturing of this product will likely result in lower prices in the future. The responsible agricultural practices have merit in today's environment. It may be something you'll want to purchase at least once simply to support the ideas of it.