Coconuts are grown or produced by coconut palm tress. These palm tress can be found in subtropical, humid, and warm climates that all receive plenty of rainfall and sunlight. Humidity is essential for the formulation of coconuts which is why they will not grow on palm trees in southern California, for example. Coconuts mostly come from the Philippines.

Their are two components of coconuts: the coconut flesh or meat and the coconut water. Lets take a look at Coconut Water first.

Coconuts are a natural water filter. It takes 9 months for the water to filter through to the coconut shell. Coconut water has the highest source of electrolytes that can be found anywhere in nature. This makes for an excellent alternative to artificial sports drinks like Gatorade, which have high fructose corn syrup and a lot less potassium and sodium content to boot.

Interestingly, coconut water is almost like a twin sister of human blood plasma. This is important because it makes coconut water a universal donor of blood. It was highly utilized in World War II. If you want a natural way to blood cleanse, a 55% coconut water and 45% green juice drink would be a great way to do it.

Now lets take a closer look at what is probably the most nutritious food known to man: Coconut Meat

Coconut meat is where the oil and cream come from. Coconut meat has a very high saturated fat content (13 grams 63%). We now know that saturated fat is good for you, not bad. This meat is composed of medium-chained fatty acids which are easier for the body to digest, absorb, and metabolize as opposed to animal fatty acids which are long-chained and more difficult to digest. This increases your metabolism enormously.

Coconut fat also has antimicrobial, antiviral, and anti-fungal benefits mainly to due to its Lauric Acid content. Coconut meat helps release microbes and viruses in the body so they become easy targets for your white blood cells to destroy. Saturated fat is crucial to the human body because it acts as an instant building block for your body’s cell membranes. And one of the best things about consuming coconut oil is that you can eat plenty of it every day and you will still lose weight! This is due to the fact that saturated fats are not stored in the body as fats. Eating coconut meat will reduce belly fat and speed up metabolism.

Interestingly, farmers in the 1940’s wanted to fatten up their cows to slaughter and sell them. So they decided to feed them coconut oil. However, they began to notice their cows were losing weight and getting healthier and rather robust. This obviously backfired, but it goes to show the weight loss and health benefits of coconut oil even in cows from the 40’s.

Coconut Oil

One of the best health benefits of coconut oil is that it increases thyroid function. Coconut oil can be an ideal supplement especially for those who have hypothyroidism because it accelerates the thyroid gland. When thyroid function is increased, your thyroid helps increase your LDL cholesterol (good kind) and decrease your HDL cholesterol (dangerous kind). It actually helps convert your LDL into anti-aging steroids like Pregnenolone and DHEA, which help with anti-aging, longevity, and muscle growth. Pregnenolone specifically, can help prevent obesity and cancer and is beneficial especially for skin health. It helps memory, nerve protection, decreasing bags under eyes, facial muscle contraction, and skin circulation. Coconut oil also inhibits the growth of plaque on artery walls. But wait, there’s more…

• When omega 3’s are consumed with coconut oil, it multiplies their chances of absorption by 2.
• It is great for sexual health, especially with regard to male fertility and during breastfeeding for women. It’s the best builder of male sexual fluids in the world and in women it is immediately turned into breast milk. It’s highly advisable in pregnancy and post pregnancy for the baby’s health as well.
• Coconut oil is a better tooth paste than any brand name toothpaste you will find as studies have now shown, due to its anitviral, anti-fungal, and antimicrobial properties. It’s great for gum health and as a mouth wash too. It also kills the leading cause of tooth decay in the world: Streptococcus. You will also avoid toxins in toothpaste like fluoride. Here is one study that says coconut oil is better than toothpaste.

Here’s what to look for when buying coconuts:

• cold pressed
• blends easily
• Hairy and brown
• consume 3 tablespoons of coconut oil daily in order to get the health benefits
• use it for cooking oil instead of olive oil
• want something in cardboard and glass, not plastic or aluminum

-Information from Dr. Michael VanDerschelden.