The benefits of water, milk and coconut oil
What are the benefits of coconut water and other coconut products? Not too long ago, unless you lived in the tropics, you probably rarely gave a thought to coconut. Maybe you drank a coconut-flavored drink from time to time (most likely it contains alcohol), but you never considered coconut to be one of the healthiest foods on the planet. Now, however, it seems like every other product on sale in a health food store contains coconut!
Yes, we hear about the benefits of coconut water, coconut milk, and coconut oil all the time. Coconut oil is not only good for cooking, but it is used in all kinds of skin care products. Coconut water is now becoming popular as an alternative sports drink. Meanwhile, coconut milk is starting to become a leading milk substitute, especially as soy-based products are becoming suspect in many ways. So let’s take a closer look at this coconut craze and see what benefits can be derived from this wonderful fruit from the tropics!
Coconut water
Coconut water is the clear liquid you find when you open a young coconut. It is naturally sweet, but low in calories and contains no fat or cholesterol. For this reason, it is an excellent sports drink. It’s the ideal compromise among people who find plain water too boring but don’t want to load up on the sugar and empty calories found in commercial sports drinks.
Coconut milk
Coconut milk is the thickest, creamiest white liquid made from the meat of the coconut. In other words, you can’t open a coconut and get coconut milk; you only get coconut water this way. You have to make coconut milk.
Coconut milk is sweeter and richer than coconut water, making it a good substitute for regular or soy milk. While many consider coconut milk to be very healthy, these claims are sometimes called into question because it’s high in saturated fat (the same goes for coconut oil, as we’ll see shortly). However, many nutritionists are rethinking the whole “saturated fat is bad” philosophy.
Coconut oil
Coconut oil is enjoying a veritable renaissance in the health food community, probably even more so than coconut milk or water. Suddenly, we hear that this oil, although high in saturated fat, is great for cooking and skin care.
It appears that previous research that purportedly proved coconut oil caused cholesterol to rise was based on the use of hydrogenated coconut oil. As many people now know, this is a process that produces the “bad fats” or trans fats that are the cause of so many health problems. Trans fats in anything raise LDL or bad cholesterol. Pure coconut oil, however, does not have such effects, quite the opposite.
One of the main benefits of coconut oil is that it contains lauric acid, which is a natural enemy of many harmful microorganisms and possibly even cancer cells. Lauric acid helps protect the body against bacteria, fungi, and viruses, so it has many healthy qualities.
Coconut Products and Weight Loss
If you are trying to lose weight, which coconut products should you consume? The short answer is, “all of them!” This doesn’t mean, however, that you have to overdo it and drink or eat coconut products from dawn to dusk. Although coconut milk and oil contain healthy fats, if you’re trying to cut calories, you obviously shouldn’t go overboard with any type of fat.
You can use all the products in moderation and reap the benefits. This is true for everyone, whether you want to lose weight, gain weight, or maintain your current weight. You can drink coconut water as a sports drink, or just whenever you want a refreshing cold drink. However, do not drink it instead of normal water. Pure H20 should continue to be your number one drink of choice!
Coconut milk is probably the best milk substitute if you are vegan or lactose intolerant. Even if you eat dairy, there’s no reason not to add coconut milk to your diet. You can find many healthy recipes that use coconut milk, or you can just drink it as a refreshing drink that is a bit more substantial than coconut water.
Coconut oil is great for cooking. This is a huge advantage that it has over the other super healthy oil: olive oil. I would never suggest giving up olive oil, as it is not only delicious, but one of the healthiest “good fat” foods you can consume. However, olive oil is not good for cooking as it loses its benefits and becomes toxic. So if you want a simple formula, stick with raw olive oil and coconut oil for cooking (although coconut oil is fine raw, too).
Coconut oil has many other benefits as well, and can be used as a moisturizer and even on your hair. You can find many products on the market that contain coconut oil, but very often it is safer to use it directly. Many products, even those sold in health food stores and online from health and nutrition companies, contain all sorts of suspicious ingredients.
Do your research: Dr. Mercola’s website has a lot of helpful information on the dangers of many skin care products, shampoos, etc. supposedly healthy and natural. With natural coconut oil, you don’t have those worries! You can’t really use pure coconut oil as a shampoo, but you can use it on your hair as a conditioner and then wash it out with a mild and preferably organic shampoo.
In conclusion, more and more benefits of coconut products are being discovered. Of course, the native peoples of the regions where coconuts grow, many tropical regions from Africa to the South Pacific, have long known how healthy and delicious this fruit is. Now, however, modern civilization is finally catching up. So coconut water, coconut milk, coconut oil and of course coconuts are all foods you can eat with pleasure and guilt free!