Coconut water is a natural milky white liquid extracted from young coconuts.
In addition to being extraordinarily refreshing and thirst-quenching, the benefits of consuming coconut water are plentiful and helpful for various areas of our health, ranging from detoxification to its use in weight-loss diets.
We will inform you about the main benefits of taking the water from this precious fruit, which is also quite easy to get, as it has acquired quite a bit of popularity recently.
Coconut water is the liquid juice found in young, green coconuts. It should not be confused with the fatty coconut milk from ripe coconuts.
Coconut water often gets sold as a drink; well-known brands include O.N.E., Vita Coco, and Naked Juice Coconut Water. Coconut water is a 100% natural, nutritious and pretty healthy drink.
Coconut water is a beverage extracted from the young coconut full of nutrients and with a wide variety of therapeutic properties.
For years, coconut water has been used as a natural remedy to treat various health problems and, today, science is reaffirming its positive effects on health.
One of the main benefits of drinking coconut water is the high amount of potassium that it possesses, which is a mineral that seems to contribute to regulating blood pressure, and thus helps to prevent ailments that can lead to spills or attacks on the body and heart.
However, people must remember that the treatment for blood pressure problems should be given by a professional.
Due to its electrolyte content, coconut water helps in replenishing minerals lost when someone performs physical activity.
In this way, a balance gets promoted in the levels of these nutrients in the blood. The high amount of vitamin C contained in coconut water helps to optimize our immune system.
Health Uses of Coconut Water
Sports Drinks:
Coconut water has become fashionable as a rehydration drink during and after exercise.
It is relatively high in potassium, and also contains some sodium. It can help counteract the losses of these substances from sweating.
Low potassium levels can lead to muscle cramps during exercise. Coconut water contains less sugar than soda drinks and most other fruit juices, so it can be an efficient way of rehydrating without taking in too many calories.
Some brands of coconut water sports drinks, such as Vita Coco Sport, have some salt added, to make sure enough sodium is present.
Fruit flavorings and vitamin C are also sometimes added. Coconut water gets sometimes sold mixed with other fruit juices, giving mixtures such as coconut and pineapple juice.
Source of Potassium:
Coconut water is an excellent source of the mineral potassium. Other good sources of potassium include salmon, avocado, spinach, beans, peas, tomatoes, citrus fruit, and bananas.
Drinking vast quantities of coconut water may give too much potassium, leading to kidney damage.
In some parts of rural Tamil Nadu in South India, older adults are sometimes killed by their own families by being given large amounts of coconut water to drink.
Some carry out a cold head massage as well (which may weaken the heart). Others resort to more drastic measures if these initial actions fail. This illegal practice is known as thalaikoothal.
Heart Disease:
Experts had suggested that coconut water may help to prevent heart diseases.
A study in rats has shown that coconut water helped increase the amount of “good” (HDL) cholesterol while decreasing the amount of “bad” (LDL) cholesterol.
Further studies are needed to see whether coconut milk gives similar effects in humans.
Diabetes:
A recent scientific paper has shown that coconut milk was an effective treatment for diabetic rats. Further work is needed to find out whether these effects are also found in humans.
Cancer:
A recent scientific paper has shown that a peptide from coconut milk was active against human cancer cell lines in the laboratory.
Of course, such a result doesn’t mean that drinking coconut milk will help cure cancer, but further research in this area may eventually lead to new treatments.
Intravenous Use:
There are those who stated that coconut water is an ideal replacement for intravenous saline solutions in medicine.
Although some people used coconut water was used when nothing else was available, such as during jungle fighting in the Second World War, it is not a good substitute for a regular saline solution.
The levels of the various minerals are not identical to blood plasma.
Skincare Uses:
Washing the face with coconut water can help keep the skin in excellent condition; it can act as a mild, natural moisturizing agent.
It is believed to be especially useful if you have oily skin or suffer from acne.
Haircare Uses:
Coconut water can be used to wash the hair. It can ease the symptoms of dandruff if gently massaged into the scalp.
How much is the recommended amount?
The proportion of recommended fiber intake is relatively high in the water of this fruit, and as we know, fiber is a necessary nutrient for the cleansing of our digestive system.
Also, the fiber contained in coconut water also maintains glucose levels at a specified level, which causes us to have fewer cravings and, thus, is an ally for those people who need to lose weight.
In the same way, because it does not contain cholesterol or fat, this liquid acquires an advantage in that sense over many other drinks in the market.
In fact, its low-calorie content places it in a privileged place in the list of drinks that least contributes to caloric consumption.
That is is very helpful for those people interested in keeping a watch on the calories you consume daily.
In a beverage market where much of what we buy gets loaded with unnatural additives, coconut water naturally provides hydration and nutrition, without artificial additives, something that must also be taken into account when considering the varied benefits of this liquid.
So now you know that coconut water, in addition to refreshing, provides us with nutrients and minerals that contribute to the proper functioning of our body.
In short, it is an excellent choice to improve the health of the human body.