You know you're really enjoying a relaxing holiday when you have a coconut in hand complete with straw and little paper umbrella. But do you know just how good that gift from the trees is for you?
Coconuts have nourished populations around the world for generations and are the staple diet on many islands. The coconut provides a nutritious
source of meat, juice, milk, and oil and nearly one third of the world's population depends on coconut to some degree for their food and their economy.
Pacific Islanders respect and cherish the coconut palm so much that it is called “The Tree of Life,” and some believe coconut oil to be the cure for all illness.
The coconut acts as a natural water filter that takes almost 9 months to filter each litre of water. Coconut water (the liquid found inside a fresh coconut, not coconut milk or cream or oil) travels through many fibres, being purified as it goes, to then be stored away sterile in the nut itself.
It is very nutritious, containing potassium, chlorides, calcium, magnesium and modest amounts of sodium, sugar and protein. Coconuts are the most nutritious when they are young, green and white on the inside, rather than the mature, brown, hairy coconuts.
The electrolyte profile of coconut water is similar to human plasma (plasma makes up 55% of our blood) making it a powerful drink to rehydrate the body and has also been used by doctors intravenously to prevent dehydration, particularly during World War II when commercial IV solutions were not available.
Coconut water has also been known to have therapeutic benefits for the urinary and reproductive systems. There are even reports that it can increase libido and ‘enhance performance.’ Is there anything coconut water can’t do?!
There’s more…Coconut water also has antiviral and antibacterial properties in the form of monolaurin and antiprozoal monoglyceride, which is used to kill lipid-coated viruses such as HIV, Herpes, Cytomegalovirus, flu and various pathogenic bacteria.
So, how can you get this sweet, nutritious drink? Well the tricky part is that it must be fresh, which means you can’t just pop down the shop and ask for a bottle of coconut water. You have to purchase the coconut and do the hard yards yourself to get it open. Most supermarkets and heath food stores sell young Thai Coconuts wrapped in plastic for about $2 or $3. Once you get it open and drink all the water, you can also scrape the white flesh out of the coconut and eat it, add it to smoothies or use it in a recipe. Check out the video to see how to open it. Be love – Be peace – Be vegan.
