Coconut water – a quite popular drink with Vietnamese people. However, people still have many questions about this drink, not knowing whether drinking coconut water is good or whether drinking coconut water has any effects on health. Although coconut water is quite a benign drink, similar to other types of water, if you use too much it will not be good for your body.
Coconut water and nutritional ingredients
Coconut water is transparent in color, extracted directly from the inside of the coconut without including the coconut meat. Some people also call coconut water as coconut milk or coconut juice. Coconut water is considered the sterile water in coconuts and is widely used. Furthermore, coconut water is prized for its delicate flavor although the coconut used can be fresh or dried.
Coconut water has a naturally sweet taste and its ingredients contain easily digestible carbs in the form of sugar and electrolytes. Nutritional composition of coconut water through analysis shows that coconut water contains high levels of substances such as Glucose, amino acids, minerals that act as electrolytes including calcium, potassium, magnesium. However, the nutritional composition of coconut water is different between young coconuts and mature coconuts.
Young coconuts have higher sugar content and phenolic acid content than mature coconuts. However, mature coconuts have a higher protein nutritional composition and pH index than young coconuts. Not only that, the mineral content in young coconuts and mature coconuts is also different, such as the potassium content in young coconut water will gradually increase as the coconut matures.
Health benefits from coconut water
The effect of providing nutrients to the body from coconut water
What are the effects of drinking coconut water? The nutrient content in coconut water is rich in vitamins and minerals including lauric acid, iron, potassium, calcium, sodium… along with low calorie content. So using coconut water can help provide additional nutrients to the body. The potassium content in coconut water helps balance electrolytes and the content of this mineral in fresh coconut water is nearly twice as high as the potassium content in bananas. When balancing electrolytes, it will help optimize the body’s activities, organs such as the circulatory system, nervous system and immune system will also be supported to help absorb and balance fluids in the body. could be better.
Coconut water has the effect of beautifying the skin
When conducting research on compounds in coconut water, it has been shown that the cytokinine component found in coconut water helps regulate cell growth in the skin. Furthermore, coconut water also has lauric acid that can help reduce the aging of skin cells, while also helping to balance the pH of the skin and keep connective tissue in the skin strong, increasing moisture. wait.
You can use coconut water to apply to bad skin areas every night before going to bed to improve wrinkles, acne, stretch marks, itching…
Coconut water has antioxidant properties
Free radicals often consist of unstable molecules produced by body cells during metabolism. The number of free radicals increases in response to stress or injury. When the body has too many free radicals, the body will fall into a state of oxidative stress, causing damage to cells in the body and increasing the risk of disease.
Although there have not been many studies conducted to test the antioxidant function of coconut water for the human body. However, researchers also believe that coconut water has antioxidants, so coconut water can help protect cells from damage caused by free radicals. But more in-depth research is still needed to have specific evidence about the effects of coconut water.
Coconut water has good effects for people with diabetes
Many studies conducted on people with diabetes show that coconut water has the ability to reduce blood sugar levels. Or a study conducted on diabetic rats showed that when rats with the disease were given coconut water in their diet, it could help improve blood sugar levels while also reducing signs related to oxidative stress. .
However, with the effect of coconut water in reducing blood sugar, more research needs to be done to control and clearly determine this effect for people with diabetes. With the nutritional composition of coconut water and the characteristic 3 grams of fiber and the ability to burn calories with each 240ml cup of coconut water, coconut water is a suitable drink for the diet of people with diabetes. road.
Coconut water is effective in preventing kidney stones
Drinking enough water according to recommended needs will help the body prevent many diseases, including kidney stones. Besides filtered water having a great role in helping prevent these diseases, some studies on coconut water also found that coconut water has a good role in preventing kidney stones.
Kidney stones form due to the process of substances made of calcium, oxalate and other compounds forming crystals in the body’s urine. When these crystals increase in size, they form hard pebbles. Kidney stone formation progresses differently in each person.
In research conducted on rats with kidney stones, coconut water was found to have the ability to prevent crystals from sticking to the kidneys as well as other parts of the urinary tract. Furthermore, coconut water also helps reduce the number of crystals formed in urine. Researchers also believe that coconut water also has a role in free radical production because the coconut water component reacts with high oxalates in urine. However, more in-depth research is still needed to provide more evidence for the effects of coconut water.
Coconut water helps support heart health
In some studies conducted on cardiovascular health research conducted on rats, it has been shown that when rats drink coconut water, it helps reduce the amount of cholesterol and triglycerides in the body’s blood, leading to Significantly reduces the amount of fat in the liver. However, currently there is not much in-depth research on the blood cholesterol-lowering effect of coconut water on the human body. But some studies have found coconut water to be as effective in lowering cholesterol as statin drugs, and more in-depth research is needed to prove the role of coconut water.
Coconut water has anti-constipation effects
Coconut water is refreshing and cooling, so it will also have this effect on the human body. At the same time, coconut water also helps laxatives and prevents constipation quite effectively.
Coconut water helps stabilize blood pressure
Coconut water is considered a drink that is effective in controlling blood pressure. Research conducted in people with this condition found that coconut water improved systolic blood pressure in more than 70% of study participants. Furthermore, coconut water also contains more than 600mg of potassium in 240ml of water, and potassium has been shown to play a role in reducing blood pressure in people with high blood pressure.
Coconut water brings many benefits to people who exercise
Coconut water helps those performing strenuous activities or post-exercise recovery while replenishing electrolytes lost during exercise. The electrolytes in coconut water include minerals in coconut water that play an important role in the body’s functioning. These substances include potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium… all have the effect of maintaining the balance of fluid levels in the body.
There are also many other uses that coconut water brings to our health. Once you understand the ingredients and benefits of coconut water, you should add coconut water to your daily diet.
