Coconut Fruits And Its Amazing Health Benefits

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  Coconut is a very versatile and indispensable food item for most people under the tropical belt, including Nigeria where it is found mostly in the southern part of the country. It is a complete food rich in calories, vitamins, and minerals. A medium-size nut carrying 400 g edible meat and some 30-150 ml of water may provide almost all the daily-required essential minerals, vitamins, and energy of an average-sized individual.
  
• 100 g kernel consists of 354 calories. Much of this comes from the fats and protein. Although, its meat is disproportionately high in saturated fats on comparison to other common edible nuts, coconut has many bioactive compounds that are essential for better health.
  
• The important saturated fatty acid in the coconut is lauric acid (1:12 carbon fatty acid). Lauric acid increases good-HDL cholesterol levels in the blood. HDL is a high-density lipoprotein, which has beneficial effects on the coronary arteries by preventing vessel blockade (atherosclerosis). Physicians recommend high HDL to total cholesterol levels in the blood for the same reason.
  
• Coconut water is a very refreshing drink to beat tropical summer thirst. The juice is packed with simple sugar, electrolytes, minerals, and bioactive compounds such as cytokinin, and enzymes such as acid phosphatase, catalase, dehydrogenase, peroxidase, polymerases, etc. Altogether, these enzymes aid in digestion and metabolism.
  
• Coconut oil extracted from dry kernel (copra) is an excellent emollient agent. It is used in cooking, applied over scalp as hair nourishment, employed in pharmacy and in medicines.
  
• Research studies suggest that cytokinins (e.g., kinetin and trans-zeatin) in coconut water showed significant anti-ageing, anti-carcinogenic, and anti-thrombotic effects.
  
• The kernel is an excellent source of minerals such as copper, calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, and zinc.
  
• It is also a very good source of B-complex vitamins such as folates, riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, and pyridoxine. These vitamins are essential in the sense that body requires them from external sources to replenish.
  
• Coconut meat and water contain a very good amount of potassium. 100 g of fresh meat contains 356 mg% or 7.5% of daily required levels of potassium.
  
  
  There are several methods in practice to cut-open the whole coconut fruit. At domestic level, an expert person with enough skills in plying its tough outer husk should only be employed in this task. The nuts are usually husked with the help of huge machines in the industries. At the household, it is plied using sharp sickle, portion by portion to expose underneath nut with the spherical to ovals shaped hard shell. In India and other Asian countries, this husked nut is broken by hitting it against the hard surface with great force to crack open. Its water is usually discarded. Then its meat is separated from its attachment to shell using a sharp spatula or knife. The meat is cut into chunks, slices or grated using special household knife, or grater.
  Here are some serving tips:
  
• Its slices or chunks are eaten as a snack. The kernel can be eaten in many ways. In one of the special recipes in South India where small slices or grated coconut is mixed with jackfruit slices, honey, sugar, and banana and served as a desset. In Nigeria, slices of coconut are usually eating with boiled corn or boiled cassave chips (often called abacha).
  
• Finely grated and dried (desiccated) coconut powder is used in the preparation of variety of savory dishes in India and other Asian region. Coconut chutney is a thick paste prepared by grinding together grated coconut, roasted peanuts, green or red chilli peppers, mustard seeds, curry leaves, garlic, and salt and used as a dip with rice cake (idli), poori (puffed fried thin bread) etc.
  
• Dried (desiccated) coconut powder is found a special place in mouth-watering sweet dishes like burfi, granola bars, cake, cookies, chocolate, pies, custard (kheer) etc., in almost all parts of South Asia, and East Asian regions.
  
• Fresh tender coconut water can be made as special refreshing drink by adding lemon, mint leaves, orange zest, etc.
  
• Coconut milk is added to flavor variety of food preparations. Fish and seafood curries cooked in milk is one of a special recipe in many parts of Indonesia, Philippines, India (Kerala,), Malaysia and Sri Lanka. In Indonesia and Malaysia, rice is steamed in milk with herbs and spices (nasi uduk) and served with chicken or beef curries.
• Coconut rice is also a meal enjoyed by many Nigerians