Natural Medicine: COCONUT 🌰

(This is a palm tree over the Sea at Coron Philipines. Me riding on it. Personal collection.)

Hi Hivers! I want to share my coconut adventures with you.
As I come from the south I was never familiar with coconut, more than the industrualized grained coconut used in bakery in Uruguay.

Since I started moving through tropical land and sea I started to recognize the magnificent SUPER POWER FOOD coconut is. Its one of Mother Earth's abundant natural medicine.

In Puerto Princesa Palawan island, y got a bicycle to ride to El Nido. See the landscape there is all ups and downs. Plus my cycle had no gears.
Imagine every time I catched a "cold coconut water" sign at the side of the road! My back wheel skreamed out loud when I pulled on the brakes to get my "gas" on ice. Coconut water was always my necesary power up. If you read on, you'll learn as I did, its amazing benefits.

When I got to El Nido after many adventure and many fresh coconut water, I learned how easy it was to make coconut wine. That's another story though.

So to continue with a medicinal angle of coco, its important to identify two elements:
One thing is its water, another its pulp. When a coconut looks yellow or green, depending on the type, its probably five to seven months old, its soft to cut with a machete, and it is full of water. It has very little pulp.
So in this case we have a coconut with plenty of sugars and certain electrolytes.

On the other hand, we can find a brownish nut, many times looking dry and not useful. But if you shake it and listen the sound of water dancing inside, you surely have in your hands plenty of delicious pulp ready to be converted in milk, smoothie, cookies and cakes, even cheese and my favourite, coconut licor!😋 I promise future foodies recepies posts.

The thing with these brown dry coconuts, is they are much harder to open and a little hole is not enough to take the pulp out. So be carefull in this process.

Coming back to its medicinal properties, lets take a look at this list that I got from www.gob.mx:

1. Improves heart health by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol
Coconuts are one of the best sources of lauric acid. 50% of the fat in coconut is lauric acid, which has antibacterial and antiviral properties. According to numerous studies, lauric acid is a type of protective fatty acid associated with improvements in cholesterol levels and heart health.
Coconut fat ingested in the form of milk does not cause a detrimental effect on the lipid profile of the general population. In fact, it is beneficial because it lowers LDL cholesterol and increases HDL (the good one). As coconuts contain minerals important for circulation and blood pressure control, it is also useful for lowering blood pressure levels, keeping blood vessels flexible, elastic, and free from plaque build-up. For example, magnesium can help combat stress and muscle tension, while improving circulation and keeping muscles relaxed. This is important in preventing heart attacks.

2. Build muscle and help lose fat
Studies have found that medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) found in coconut milk increase energy expenditure and help boost physical performance. After physical activity, muscles need nutrients - including electrolytes such as magnesium and potassium - to repair tissues and for muscles to grow and get stronger. As this plant-based drink has a high amount of healthy fats, it also helps you feel energized and prevents snacking between meals throughout the day, making it easier to lose weight or stay in shape.
(I experieced this in 3 months of quarenteen eating mainly coconut, I realized my abdominal muscles looked like ravioli💪, and I didn't do much more phisical exercise than opening the hard nuts and taking the pulp out, which -I repeat- it is not easy.)

3. Provides electrolytes and prevents fatigue
Although coconut water has more electrolytes, coconut milk also provides important minerals that are necessary to maintain blood volume, regulate heart health, and prevent dehydration or diarrhea. Especially in very hot times, when exercising or after being sick, electrolytes help prevent exhaustion, heat stroke, heart problems, muscle pain, cramps, and low immunity.
It also contains types of medium chain triglecerides that are used by the brain for energy, without even needing to be processed through the digestive system. The calories in coconut drink are a fast and efficient source of healthy calories for the brain, which is mainly made up of fats and is constantly dependent on them to function properly.

4. Improves digestion and relieves constipation
A well-hydrated digestive tract is important to prevent and treat constipation. Coconut milk nourishes the lining of the digestive system thanks to its electrolytes and healthy fats, improving the health of the intestine and preventing diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome.

5. Controls blood sugar levels and diabetes
The fat content of coconut milk can help decrease the rate at which sugar is released into the bloodstream, controlling insulin levels and preventing diseases such as diabetes. This is one of the reasons why the coconut is especially recommended when adding it to sweet recipes and desserts. It is preferable to sugar when it comes to providing energy to the body.

6. Helps prevent anemia
Although the iron content is not very high in coconuts, it is still a good way to obtain this nutrient through a plant food, helping to prevent anemia.

7. Prevents inflammation in the joints and arthritis
Helps reduce inflammation that is associated with painful conditions such as arthritis and joint or muscle conditions. Coconuts instead of refined sugar, are advisable for people with arthritis (or other autoimmune diseases) since sugar is a pro-inflammatory and is associated with reduced immunity, acute pain and inflammation.

8. Prevents ulcers
It is capable of reducing the appearance of ulcers. Studies noted a reduction in the size of ulcers of around 56%. It has protective effects on the gastric mucosa that causes painful ulcers.

What else can I add.. amazing, amazing, amazing! Have no more words, just share! Share this information, and add up coconut to your life! And thank pachamama!

This post opens a lot of things for me to go deeper, so be aware of future posts, because there is much more to say about coconut, and palm trees.

With love
@palimanali
TOGETHER we THRIVE