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The magic of tender coconut - Total energiser
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Wednesday, 01 June, 2011, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Sreekumar Poduval
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“Coconut water has long been a popular drink in the tropics, especially in India, Southeast Asia, Pacific Islands such as Hawaii, and the Caribbean, where it is available fresh, canned, or bottled. It’s a natural isotonic beverage with the same level of electrolytic balance as we have in our blood. It’s the fluid of life, so to speak," says Morton Satin, chief, FAO’s Agricultural Industries and Post-Harvest Management Service.
The water of tender coconut, technically the liquid endosperm, is the most nutritious wholesome beverage that nature has provided for the people of the tropics to fight the sultry heat.
It has caloric value of 17.4 per 100 gm. It’s a natural isotonic drink, according to the United Nations, which has described it as “the fluid of life,” providing numerous health benefits. On a percentage basis coconut water is 95.5% water. The rest would contain: protein 0.15 to .55%, fat 0.1%, total solids 4.71%, ash 0.46%, carbohydrates 4.4%, and sugars 2.6%.
It keeps the body cool and fights intestinal worms. It is an excellent tonic for the old and sick and in the treatment of kidney and urethral stones. The major chemical constituents of coconut water are sugars and minerals and minor ones are fat and nitrogenous substances. It contains glucose and fructose and many important minerals such as phosphorous, calcium, potassium, iron, sodium and vitamin B and C.
Tender coconut water is not merely a thirst quenching drink but a mineral drink that cures most of human diseases and helps him regain his lost health. Its numerous medicinal properties have been described elaborately in our Ayurvedic literatures and no other natural drink has such diverse applications as water of tender coconut. "It is unctuous, sweet, increasing semen, promoting digestion and clearing the urinary path," says Ayurveda on tender coconut water (tender water concentrate).
The use of tender coconut water as intravenous fluid for human patients has also been reported from many countries. Tender coconut water has been given intravenously to cholera epidemic victims in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Bangladesh and India.
Tender coconut water has been generally offered to patients with diarrhoea in many tropical regions to replace fluid loss from the gastrointestinal tract and reduce the need for intravenous therapy.
Tender coconut water has been used successfully in the cases of malnutrition and infant gastric disorders. It is known as the richest source of electrolytes, and hence is greatly recommended for people who are suffering from any illness. It also contains high amounts of chlorides, potassium, and magnesium and moderate amounts of sugar, sodium and protein.
Potassium from drinking coconut water can help to regulate blood pressure and heart function. It is also an excellent source of dietary fibre, manganese, calcium, riboflavin and vitamin C.
Application on the body prevents prickly heat and summer boils and subsides the rashes caused by small pox, chicken pox, measles and so on. It is also effective in the treatment of kidney and urethral stones.
A comparative analysis on the major constituents of matured coconut water and tender coconut water is given below:
Sugars in the form of glucose and fructose form an important constituent of the tender nut water. The concentration of sugars in the nut water steadily increases from about 1.5 per cent to about 5 - 5.5 per cent in the early months of maturation and then slowly falls reaching about 2 per cent at the stage of the full maturity of the nut.
In the early stages of maturity sugars are in the form of glucose and fructose (reducing sugars) and sucrose (non-reducing sugar) appears only in later stages which increases with the maturity while the reducing sugars fall. In the fully mature nut approximately 90 per cent of the total sugars is sucrose.
Tender coconut water contains most of the minerals such as potassium, sodium, calcium, phosphorous, iron, copper, sulphur and chlorides. Tender coconut water being rich in potassium and other minerals plays a major role to increase the urinary output.
Coconut water contains small amounts of protein. The percentage of arginine, alanine, cystine and serene in the protein of tender coconut water are higher than those in cow’s milk. Tender coconut water contains both ascorbic acid and vitamins of B group. The concentration of ascorbic acid ranges from 2.2 to 3.7 mg per ml, which gradually diminishes as the kernel surrounding the water begins to harden.
Coconut water contains high levels of lauric acid which is what is used by the body to make monolaurin, a disease fighting fatty acid derivative. Lauric acid has anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties which protect the body against various infections and boosts the immune system.
- The author is a Processing Engineer, Coconut Development Board (CDB)
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