Tray of 9 drinking Coconuts.

Health Benefits of Coconuts:

Coconut water is a natural isotonic beverage, with the same level of electrolytic balance as we have in our blood. It's the fluid of life as some may say. In fact, during the Pacific War of 1941-45, both sides in the conflict regularly used coconut water siphoned directly from the nut to give emergency plasma transfusions to wounded soldiers.

• Coconut water is a very refreshing drink to beat tropical summer thirst. The juice is packed with simple sugar, electrolytes, and minerals to replenish hydration levels within the body.

• Research studies suggest that cytokinins (e.g., kinetin and trans-zeatin) in coconut water showed significant anti-ageing, anti-carcinogenic, and anti-thrombotic effects.

• Coconut water has been generally offered to patients with diarrhea in many tropic regions to replace the fluid loss from the gastrointestinal tract and reduce the need for intravenous therapy. The osmolarity of tender coconut water is slightly greater than that of WHO recommended ORS (Oral Rehydration Therapy) osmolarity. Presence of other biological constituents like amino acids, enzymes, minerals, and fatty acids may account for this higher osmolarity. However, unlike WHO-ORS, its water is very low in sodium and chlorides, but rich in sugars and amino acids. This well-balanced fluid composition with much-needed calories would be an ideal drink than any other brand of soft drink beverages in dehydration conditions.

• Coconut water is composed of many naturally occurring bioactive enzymes such as acid phosphatase, catalase, dehydrogenase, diastase, peroxidase, RNA-polymerases etc. In effect, these enzymes help in the digestion and metabolism.

• Despite very light consistency, its water has much better composition of minerals like calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, and zinc than some of the fruits like oranges.

• Its water is also a very good source of B-complex vitamins such as riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, pyridoxine, and folates. These vitamins are essential in the sense that the human body requires them from external sources to replenish.

• Coconut water contains a very good amount of electrolyte potassium. 100ml of water has 250mg of potassium and 105mg of sodium. Together, these electrolytes help replenish electrolyte deficiency in the body due to diarrhea (loose stools).

• Further, fresh coconut water has a small amount of vitamin-C (Ascorbic acid); It provides about 2.4mg or 4% of RDA. Vitamin C is a water-soluble ant-oxidant.

Key Benefits: