Health Benefits of Coconut
by Stacey Tress
Coconut, or Cocos nucifera, has fed and nourished populations around the world for generations. The coconut provides a nutritious source of meat, juice, milk, and oil.
Coconut is highly nutritious and rich in fibre, vitamins, and minerals. It is classified as a “functional food” because it provides many health benefits beyond its nutritional content. Coconut oil is of special interest because it possesses healing properties far beyond that of any other dietary oil. Pacific Islanders consider coconut oil to be the cure for all illness. The coconut palm is so highly valued by them as both a source of food and medicine that it is called “The Tree of Life.” Only recently has modern medical science unlocked the secrets to coconut’s amazing healing powers. Because of its strong antioxidant properties and health benefits, the coconut, in one form or another, can be used to:
- Lower cholesterol
- Improve digestion
- Ward off wrinkles
- Stabilize glucose levels
- Fight off viruses
- Build cells
- Regulate hormones
- Increase thyroid production
- Lose weight
- Increase metabolism
- Fight infections
- Stave off memory loss
- Kill bacteria
- And more!
Coconut Oil
Coconut possesses many health benefits due to its fibre and nutritional content, but it’s the oil that makes it a truly remarkable food and medicine. The oil’s many health benefits are attributed to the presence of lauric acid. When it is present in the body, lauric acid is converted into monolaurin, a compound that is highly toxic to viruses, bacteria, funguses, and other microorganisms, because of its ability to disrupt their lipid membranes and virtually destroy them. The saturated fatty acids in coconut oil are predominately medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), which are very different from LCFAs (long chair fatty acids found in meat and eggs). They do not have a negative effect on cholesterol and help to protect against heart disease. MCFAs help to lower the risk of both atherosclerosis and heart disease. It is primarily due to the MCFAs in coconut oil that it is so special and so beneficial. The oil can actually raise your “good” HDL cholesterol and provide antioxidants similar to those in berries, grapes, and dark chocolate. It is a perfect alternative to butter in baked goods, and for pan-searing. Coconut oil can also aid in weight loss by increasing thyroid function and boosting your metabolism! (But keep in mind that it does contain 14 g of fat per tablespoon and 120 calories, but it is 14 grams of good fat!)
How Much Oil Should Be Taken to Enjoy Its benefits?
According to researchers, an adult should consume around 3 1/2 tbsp of coconut oil daily: an amount equal to the MCFAs a nursing infant would receive in one day. The benefits of coconut oil are derived from the nutritional value of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), and the best comparison in nature as to the percentage of MCFAs consumed in a diet is in human breast milk. For those who are not used to having coconut oil in their diet, it is best to start out with a smaller amount and see how the body reacts before following what is recommended.
Coconut Flour is Gluten Free!
Coconut flour is made from the meat of coconuts after the milk has been removed. It is loaded with nutrients that offer numerous health benefits, including being gluten free. Gluten is a protein molecule found in certain grains, such as wheat, barley, and rye. It is highly allergenic and even potentially deadly to those who have celiac disease, which is a condition where the gluten destroys the intestinal celia. However, even if you don’t have celiac disease, you can still be negatively affected by the gluten protein. The National Institutes of Health report that exposure to gluten, especially wheat flour, can cause an inflammatory response in the body, even in healthy individuals. Simply breathing in flour dust is found to cause inflammation of the lungs, and inflammation within the body can cause arthritis and even organ damage. This is why coconut flour is so beneficial. It is gluten free and does not trigger an inflammatory response within the body. It can be used in baking and cooking your favourite desserts and sauces. Coconut flour contains almost double the amount of fibre found in wheat bran. Fibre has numerous health benefits, from reducing the absorption of sugar into the blood stream, to lowering cholesterol. Adding it to your gravies, casseroles, baked goods, or even a dab to a smoothie will significantly raise your fibre intake (daily intake is 25–35 grams a day—very few people come close to reaching this daily amount). Although coconut flour does not contain the gluten protein, it still has significant protein content. A report from the Coconut Research Centre states that coconut flour contains more protein per serving than the other leading flours, such as white, rye, or cornmeal. It contains just as much protein as wheat flour, even though it doesn’t contain the gluten protein.
Coconut Water?
Coconut water is the clear liquid that pools inside whole green coconuts. It is different than coconut milk, which is pressed from the fatty “meat” of the fruit. An 11 oz serving of pure coconut water contains about 60 calories, no fat, a gram of protein, and 15 grams of carbohydrates. It is often promoted as nature’s sports drink because it is rich in the electrolyte potassium (lost in sweat), and packs twice as much as a banana; numerous studies have pegged potassium as a key nutrient for controlling blood pressure.
Coconut Milk
Coconut milk is the liquid that comes from the grated meat of a coconut. The colour and rich taste of the milk can be attributed to the high oil content. Coconut milk is highly nutrient when ingested, as well as when used topically on skin and hair. Applying it to the hair supplies it with necessary nutrients to grow and provides optimal conditioning. Massaging the scalp with coconut oil can treat dandruff and dry, itchy skin. Applied to the rest of the body, it moisturizes and restores healthy skin and repairs wrinkles and sagging, and can also treat skin infections and wounds as an antifungal and antibacterial. Coconut milk is also composed primarily of MCFAs, so it contains many of the same health benefits as coconut oil. We use coconut milk instead of milk in our homemade hot chocolate. Also try simmering/cooking your vegetables in coconut milk instead of water and using that liquid as part of your curry sauce!
Recipes for Dairy-Free Chocolate using Coconut Oil
Chocolate Hemp Truffles or Cocoa Truffles
1 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup honey
Hemp Seed and/or cocoa for rolling in
- Using a hand mixer, blend coconut just until fluffy (a minute or two), then add cocoa and honey and continue blending until smooth (2 minutes at most).
- Put in fridge to harden a bit (10–15 minutes). If you don’t let it harden a bit, the ball with absorb too much cocoa when you roll it.
- Scoop out small amounts and roll in the cocoa or hemp. Put back in fridge to finish firming up.
Homemade Chocolate Chips and Chocolate “Bark”
Same ingredient ratio as the hemp balls but without the hemp; for the bark, add 1 cup of whatever you’d like to make the bark with, ie. almonds.
- Heat the above ingredients (coconut oil, cocoa, honey) in a saucepan and mix until smooth.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. *For bark make sure you add your almonds before you freeze the chocolate!
- Pour melted mixture onto parchment paper and freeze.
- For chocolate chips—once the mixture has hardened (a few hours in freezer or outside, weather pending) just take and chop it up to the size you would like. Keep in freezer for later use. For bark—break off pieces according to size you would like. Store in fridge/freezer.
References:
www.naturalnews.com
www.coconutresearchcenter.org
www.organicfacts.net
www.tropicaltraditions.com
www.shape.com
Stacey Tress is a Holistic Nutritional Therapist at Garden Therapy Yorkton. For more recipe ideas and/or to learn more about Tracy and Garden Therapy, please visit them on Facebook “Garden Therapy Yorkton” or their webpage at www.gardentherapyyorkton.ca, email: stacey.gardentherapy@gmail.com, or call (306) 782-1613 or (306) 641-4239.
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