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The real water of life, aqua vitae if you will, is abundant in the tropics. And if you drink too much, it won’t make you tipsy. 🙂 Tap into a young, green coconut (or jelly) and therein lies the slightly sweet, semi-transparent liquid that islanders have long enjoyed as refreshment in the sun’s heat. Coconut vendors can be found most everywhere in the Caribbean, so finding a “cold jelly†isn’t difficult.
It is coconut water’s unseen qualities that make it life-giving. Coconut water electrolytic balance matches the level in human blood. I once read that during World War II and the Vietnam War, when IV solutions were in short supply, doctors used coconuts for emergency plasma transfusions. The water was siphoned directly from the nut to keep wounded soldiers alive. It was also injected directly into the blood stream for re-hydration.
Nursing mothers can use coconut water as a natural, healthier alternative to processed infant’s milk. It contains lauric acid, a fatty acid present in breast milk that has antiviral and antibacterial properties. Coconut water also lessens intestinal disturbances in feeding infants.
Sports drinks now face stiff competition. According to Morton Satin, chief of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization,
“Coconut is the very stuff of nature, biologically pure, full of natural sugars, salts, and vitamins to ward off fatigue . . . and is the next wave of energy drinks.â€
Coconut water has high levels of potassium, vital in energy metabolism—15 times the amount of potassium found in most sports and energy drinks. Plus it’s naturally sweet, without the artificial chemicals found in sports drinks.
Medical research shows that coconut water is effective in dissolving painful kidney and urethral stones, a condition which is very common around the Caribbean. It also treats urinary infections, kills intestinal worms, and eliminates mineral poisons. How else can coconut water help in maintaining a healthy body? Let us know in the comments
Hey,
I love coconut water too!! I just wrote all about the health benefits in my latest blog! Check it out…
http://www.caribbeanlandandproperty.com/blog/index.php?/archives/70-The-Fluid-of-Life-The-Healing-Qualities-of-Coconut-Water.html
As far as I have tasted, Dominica coconut water seems the best!! I think we should make coconut water the National Drink!
Peace
Terri
Great points about young coconut water. It is actually better than you think. It’s the single best food on the planet. The more drink, the longer you live. It’s that simple. Coconut water doesn’t need any digestive work; it goes straight to your blood stream, giving hydration, vitamins etc. Most other foods require your body to convert the food into glucose. It takes 30% of your total body’s energy to convert food into usable energy. By drinking coconut, you save your digestive system from work. You get digestive rest, which inturn gives you something of a “fast”. The less any orgamism eats, the longer it lives. This is the observation science has made in calorie restitriction diets. But coconut gives energy without digestive work, therefore there is no loss of strength or energy, or especially, no dehydration. So coconut water lets you function while you rest your internal organs from digestive work. The clincher is this: coconut water makes you eliminate bodily waste. Urine and stool will get eliminated, again, relieving the bodies internal organs of old food and waste. So if coconut makes your body eliminate waste and at the same time gives you energy to function, and it does not require digestive work, then it must be the best food on the planet. Consider that without clothes, humans cannot live outside of the same regions where coconuts grow. In other words, naturally, humans and coconuts live in the same climates. Is it a coincidence that you can inject coconut water directly into your veins? I think it’s not a coincidence. It’s a match – a match of living being with living plant in its natural habitat.
Run some coconut through your body.
michael
Dominica needs to capitalize on the potential of coconut water. Check out the Wesley coconut water project here http://www.buydominica.com/dominica/coconutwater.html