Talk about a helping and healing fruit! We’re talking about tender coconuts, as opposed to the ones you’re likely more familiar with – which are actually mature and past-ripe, although still packed with amazing health benefits! As far as I’m concerned, we should make a list why we all shouldn’t be eating these every day. Cutting quick to the chase, here are 18 (more) reasons to love coconuts:

There are times when your body fills up with heat-induced toxins. This causes the pH levels in the deeper digestive system to fall, leading to severe hyper-acidity. As it has the ability to digest the undigested, and move waste out of the body readily and easily, therefore capable of getting all the toxins out and helping to purify the digestive system, coconut balances acid levels, and cools and calms the body. This makes it superior to other herbs and fruits which can calm and suppress hyper-acidic toxins, but do not flush it out of the system.

Ayurveda considers coconut a natural stress-buster.

Coconut calms and rebalances a sub-energy in the body which is associated with emotions, thoughts, feelings, and intelligence.

Combined with spices like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, garlic, cumin, coriander, and turmeric, coconut is not only delicious and versatile, but also heals the digestive system and promotes better metabolism.

The juice of tender coconut has been billed the world’s ’safest natural soft drink’, for being a highly nutritious thirst-quencher.

Coconut water is pure clear and is one of the highest sources of electrolytes known to man.

Coconut water is identical to human blood plasma which makes it the universal donor. Plasma makes up 55% of human blood. By drinking coconuts we give ourselves a instant blood transfusion.

Combined with poppy seeds and ghee, coconut can help you sleep better!

Coconut has overall hair health and longevity qualities. For example, in Southern India, women apply coconut oil to their hair every day, which gives them long, lustrous, strong, and colour-retaining locks.

Coconut is good for curing diarrhea and other digestive ailments related to aggravation of the blood tissues (the water purifies our blood.)

Due to its nurturing value, coconut heals hot flashes and restores emotional stability in pre-menstrual and menopausal women.

Coconut improves the complexion. Use coconut oil as a natural moisturizer, without harmful pore-clogging results. Further, by mixing coconut oil with oatmeal powder and a little bit of lavender flower powder, you can make coconut-based soothing skin packs and skin scrubs at home.

Coconut is an excellent wound healer, and is especially effective on scars.

Hiccups due to heat imbalance are also eased by coconut water.

Liver problems, hepatitis, or any kind of bodily inflammation can also be soothed by drinking coconut water.

Coconut supports the body to stay slim by enhancing fat metabolism. Recent research suggests that coconut (especially the oil) is also good for burning fat and lowering cholesterol.

Coconut meat and flour helps the body to detoxify and shed unnecessary weight by adding substantial amounts of fibre to the body without elevating blood glucose levels.

They’re delicious!

The basics of preparing and using coconuts

Rule number 1 – always use organic coconut and coconut products; in oils, you’ll be looking for organic virgin, and always go for the young and tender over the mature coconut. You can drink the liquid that comes out of a coconut, but don’t use it in cooking. You can find good quality dried, grated coconut and coconut chips in natural food stores; use the unsweetened variety, which is and should be naturally chemical-free. To store, use an airtight container in the refrigerator (up to a month), or in the freezer for up to a year. Use coconut milk the same day, and make it fresh each time. Summertime is ripe for cooking and cooling the body with coconut. Substitute coconut oil easily and readily where recipes (baking and savoury cooking) call for butter or other oils; make popcorn or cookies, use coconut oil liberally as it is one of the few healthy oils that does not create any harmful by-products when heated. For more info on coconut oil – click here; it’s just WAY too big to cover in one little blog – but I SWEAR by coconut oil in all my baking and cooking!

For further info:

http://www.coconut-info.com/coconut_oil_why_it_is_good_for_you.htm http://www.coconutresearchcenter.com/

http://www.coconutresearchcenter.com/