By Beryl Truong

On a recent holiday to South East Asia, I loved being able to have a juicy fresh young coconut every day as well as feeding the coconut water and young flesh to my 7-month-old infant. The nutrient density of coconuts means it has long been revered in traditional cultures as both food and as medicine.

Did you know that the composition of mineral nutrients in coconut water is almost exactly that of human blood plasma? In wartime, doctors use it intravenously for transfusions when blood products were scarce. They also used it extensively in treating cholera, dysentery and influenza where dehydration is a major risk. Coconut water is far superior to most sports drinks as a complete electrolyte balancer.

Coconut water is a good source of calcium, magnesium, and potassium. It contains other important trace elements needed by our body such as zinc, selenium, iodine, sulphur, and manganese. The high concentration of magnesium and potassium means it is effective in reducing high blood pressure. It helps with preventing heart disease by improving blood circulation. The evidence is so convincing that the US food regulatory body, the FDA, allows coconut water to carry the claim that it “may reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke”. Now that’s impressive coming from a usually uber-conservative body like the FDA. Medical research has shown that it reduces plaque formation in arteries in animals, reducing the risk of heart disease. In the Philippines, therapeutically, they use it to dissolve and expel kidney stones without the need for surgery.

One of the most interesting things about coconut water is it has the highest natural dietary source of a plant growth hormone called cytokinin. Cytokinins have anti-aging and regeneration effects on human cells, and there are studies that have shown the beneficial effects cytokinins have on diseases such as cancer.