Coconut is a very common nut among the Nigerian people. The use of coconut in Nigeria is diverse, from the nut itself to the water to the oil and even the shell! Coconut is a nut with multifaceted benefits. I recall when I was younger, how I used to treat myself to garri, sugar, milk and bits of coconuts scattered around the plate of garri. Lol! It was particularly refreshing after a walk back from school on those sunny days.
I never paid attention to the water within the coconut, I’d just crack it open, and hold it over the kitchen sink for the water to leak out. Few days back, I stumbled on the health benefits of coconut and as I explored, I discovered some amazing facts about coconut water.
- Coconut water is a more preferable sports drink: It is common practice outside Nigeria for athletes to use coconut water as a sports drink. This is because it naturally provides the same benefits as a formulated sports drink. It has few calories and it has easily digested carbohydrates in form of sugar and electrolytes.
- Coconut water is also good for your skin: Coconut water is said to be a natural source of cytokinins. Cytokinins are plant hormones that help regulate cells growth and development, it is a form of growth hormone. The presence of cytokinins in coconut water coupled with the potassium and anti-oxidants embedded in it makes coconut water a wonderful anti-aging agent. It can even be used to reduce the occurrence of some skin diseases such as acne, wrinkles, eczema by simply applying the water on the skin. From inside, it also helps in moisturizing the skin, providing the skin with a smoother and youthful-look.
- Coconut water has a nutty, refreshing taste. It is low in fat and can pass as an alternative to sugar drinks.
- Coconut water helps reduce the risk of heart attacks: Coconut water is useful in lowering high blood pressure, improving blood circulation. It also reduces the risk of heart attacks. This is because of its rich content of potassium, which is highly need by people at risk of high blood pressure. Daily consumption of coconut water can therefore aid in reducing blood pressure.
- Coconut water can help remedy hangovers: Anytime you or someone close experiences an hangover, you can consume coconut water. Recall we said earlier that coconut water has easily digested carbohydrates in form of sugar and electrolytes. This is what it does in the case of a hangover: It replaces the essential electrolytes that have left the body especially if the hangover resulted in a lot of urinating and barfing.
- It aids in digestion: Whenever you are having an manner of digestion problem, you can drink coconut water. It is particularly useful in cases of indigestion because of its rich concentration in fiber.
- A great form of hydrating the human body: Coconut water is effective in hydrating the human body and in extreme cases of emergency, it can be used to quickly re-hydrate the human body, as it is isotonic in nature to the human blood plasma.
Outside Nigeria in places like Asia, coconut water is pre-packaged and is present in many stores, it is taken by many people for different reasons. Even though, that may not be the case in Nigeria, when next you are tempted to pour away the coconut water, remind yourself of how healthy it is.
