COCONUT

//COCONUT// Warm & Sweet, a delight to eat. Coconut produces fluids in the body and promotes urination. ▪
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//NUTRITION// Coconut and the products derived from it like coconut meat have been for years wrongly deemed as an unhealthy type of food because of its long known high saturated fat content. However, a growing body of recent studies have shown that the type of fats present in coconut meat are in fact medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). When you eat coconut meat, the MCTs it contains are transported from the intestinal tract to the liver and immediately transformed into fuel. This then means there is very little MCTs left to circulate and deposit in fat tissues in the body.
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The MCTs in coconut are converted into ketone bodies as well which show potential as a replacement energy substrate for the brain. It is noteworthy that the brain makes use of glucose as energy source. In individuals with degenerative neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s Disease, the brain’s capacity to utilize glucose is severely impaired, further contributing to the progress of the disease. Eating MCTs from coconut products like coconut meat may then help increase the body’s ketone levels, potentially offering a dietary therapy approach to alleviating the symptoms and possibly even preventing the onset of neurological diseases.
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1 cup of raw coconut meat contains 283 calories which is mostly due to the 26.8 grams of fat. It is also jam packed with fibre, manganese, potassium and copper. The flavour of raw fresh coconut is so much more fuller than that of dry shredded version. Give it a try!