Health benefits of coconut – The Fruit of Life

Coconut is one fruit on this planet that provides both nutritious food as well as drink at the same time. Coconut is a perfect storehouse of various nutrients, minerals, vitamins and dietary fibres. Coconuts are also regarded as wonder foods because of their life-saving properties. Because of the various health benefits of coconut, it is also called functional food. Coconut is used in a variety of cultures and some parts of the world; it is also a staple food. Coconut has also been used as effective traditional medicine for the past thousand of years. The health benefits of coconut are numerous and are discussed as follows:

1.     Health heart with coconut: for people suffering from various heart diseases like blood pressure, coconut serves as an excellent fruit. This is because coconut has low sodium and high potassium concentration. Other facts about coconuts that make them perfect fruits for heart health are that they have zero Trans fat, free from gluten and have a very high concentration of dietary fibres. Coconuts help in improving the ratio of cholesterol in the body as well as in preventing the damage caused to the arteries.

2.     Weight management with coconuts: have you been struggling to lose weight? Coconut in your diet can work wonders for your weight loss technique. The low count of calories and high concentration of fibre in coconuts can help you to feel full easily without overeating. Also, coconuts help in speeding up the metabolic rate of the body. Thus coconuts also help in preventing obesity and other health problems related to it.

3.     Coconuts help to control blood sugar: this health benefit of coconut is owing to the presence of fibres in it. The fibres present in coconut helps in slowing down the glucose release in the blood and thus regulate the blood sugar level, benefiting the people suffering from diabetes. Apart from this coconuts also help in the optimum functioning of the pancreas. 

4.     Coconut serves as an immunity booster: this is one of the most important health benefits of coconut. Apart from all the health benefits, we have discussed till now, coconut act as a strong booster of the immune system and thus help in keeping the infections away from the body. The anti-bacterial, antifungal as anti-viral activities of coconuts allows them to fight against most of the common infections that attack the body. For this benefit, coconut can be consumed in any form be it raw coconut, coconut meat, coconut milk or coconut oil.

5.     Coconuts aids in digestion: coconuts are a good source of medium-chain triglycerides, also known as good fats. These triglycerides help indigestion. Coconuts also help in improving bowel movements along with increasing the absorption of nutrients.

6.     Prevention of skin infection: coconut is a very effective medicine for protecting the skin from various infections. Coconut oil and coconut milk help in protecting the skin from numerous infections like eczema, dermatitis and also psoriasis. Coconut also acts as a natural remedy for protecting the sagging of skin, reducing wrinkles and age spots along softening the skin. Health benefits of coconuts also include maintaining the chemical balance of the skin along with the protection from UV rays.

7.     Healthy hairs: raw coconut and coconut oil are the best sources of nutrition for healthy hairs. They not only prevent the loss of hair but also help in promoting the growth of hairs. The nutrients present in coconuts help in reducing the breakage and damage caused to the hairs and thus reducing the hair fall. Coconut also helps in controlling dandruff.

8.     Improvement of energy levels through coconuts: coconuts act as an instant booster of energy on a tiring and stressful day. A few slices or pieces of coconut can help you to replenish your energy levels in a short period along with improving the physical endurance of your body.