Powerhouse Foods - Coconuts

I should start by saying I have an addiction to coconuts. :) D and I drink coconut water during exercise; cook with coconut oil and coconut milk; top meats and fruits with coconut butter; and add shredded coconut to shakes. Yum! A coconut is loaded with many different health promoting properties and is definitely worth adding into your diet. Below is a summary of the health benefits of coconuts that I collected from several articles by Dr. Mercola.

To start, it's probably worth differentiating the many ways you can find coconut:

1. Coconut Oil - this is the oil that is extracted from the meat (white part) of the coconut. It is solid at room temperature but clear under heat.
2. Coconut Milk - the ground up 'meat' with plain water added to form a liquid mixture.
3. Coconut Water - this is the clear liquid that is found in young coconuts
4. Coconut butter - this is the ground up 'meat'
5. Shredded Coconut - shredded 'meat' 

Now, a little information on the health benefits of coconuts:
 
Coconut Oil/Butter:
A healthy saturated fat that can be attributed to:

• Promoting your heart health³
• Promoting weight loss, when needed⁴
• Supporting your immune system health⁵
• Supporting a healthy metabolism⁶
• Providing you with an immediate energy source⁷
• Keeping your skin healthy and youthful looking
• Supporting the proper functioning of your thyroid gland⁸

The lauric acid in coconut oil is converted to monolaurin, which has anti viral properties. Lauric acid is a powerful virus and gram-negative bacteria destroyer, and coconut oil contains the most lauric acid of any substance on earth!

Coconut oil is comprised of 2/3 medium-chained fatty acids which contribute to the following:

• MCFAs are smaller. They permeate cell membranes easily, and do not require special enzymes to be utilized effectively by your body.
• MCFAs are easily digested, thus putting less strain on your digestive system.
• MCFAs are sent directly to your liver, where they are immediately converted into energy rather than being stored as fat.
• MCFAs actually help stimulate your body's metabolism, leading to weight loss. 

Coconut Oil in You Kitchen

Use for low to med temp cooking. Coconut oil is more stable than other oils like Olive, canola, soy, or vegetable which oxidize when used with heat. 

The problem with Olive oil for cooking...

Olive oil is primarily a monounsaturated fat. This means that it has one double bond in its fatty acid structure. The problem with olive oil is its overabundance of oleic acid, which creates an imbalance on the cellular level that can inhibit prostaglandin production, which can increase the risk of breast cancer and heart disease.




Coconut water is:

• Rich in natural vitamins (especially the B vitamins), minerals, and trace elements (including zinc, selenium, iodine, sulfur, and manganese). Vitamins are necessary for the enzymatic reactions your cells need in order to function.
• Full of amino acids, organic acids, enzymes, antioxidants, and phytonutrients.
• Rich source of electrolytes and natural salts, especially potassium and magnesium.
• Light, low calorie and nearly fat-free, as well as low in sugar but pleasantly sweet—contains about a fifth of the sugar of other fruit juices, like apple or grape juice, as well as containing a little fiber to moderate absorption.
• Rich in cytokinins, or plant hormones, which have anti-aging, anti-cancer, and anti-thrombolytic effects in humans.

Coconut water also has an alkalizing effect on your body, which can help correct the cumulative effects of acidifying foods that make up most diets today. For a complete nutritional profile, refer to the tables at the Coconut Research Center site. The list of health benefits of coconut water is impressive, and growing by leaps and bounds with each new scientific study.

Coconut Water's Abundance of Health Benefits

Addressing every one of these areas is beyond the scope of one article, but I would like to touch on a few of the most impressive areas where coconut water may give your health a boost. According to Bruce Fife, author of Coconut Water for Health and Healing and one of the leading coconut experts, scientific research and clinical observation have shown coconut water to have the following broad-spanning health benefits:

Rehydration (water and electrolytes)	Increased exercise performance	Cardioprotective (rich in potassium and magnesium); helps regulate blood pressure, improve circulation, reduces plaque formation
Anti-inflammatory; reduces swelling in hands and feet	Prevents abnormal blood clotting	Aids in kidney function (preventing and dissolving kidney stones, UTI remedy)
Helps balance blood glucose and insulin levels	Digestive tonic (rich in enzymes); feeds friendly gut flora	Remedy for constipation and diarrhea
Anti-aging properties	Enhances skin health (elasticity, age spots, wrinkles), improves wound healing	Enhances eye health (cataracts, glaucoma)
Supports good immune function; antimicrobial (contains monolaurin)	Helps prevent osteoporosis	Anti-cancer properties

References:

Articles found on mercola.com

Help Your Heart: 71% of Those Who Drank This Lowered Their Blood Pressure; 2011

This Cooking Oil is a Powerful Virus-Destroyer and Antibiotic…2010

Olive Oil: good for health, not for cooking. ..2003