Coconut Milk Cures All

I am not sure about coconut milk but have decided to give it a try

Well I have to find out where they sell it first!  But anyway here is an article on Coconut milk and some really interesting info about it.  Did you know it helps to build strong bones and prevents anaemia?

Coconut Milk Cures All

On the path to optimum health and proper weight,  there are key foods and helper foods.  Key foods include the vegetable and fruit families, healthy grains,  water,  and an intake of protein from a clean source (nuts, vegetables, healthy seafood, and free range, vegetarian fed meats that I consider clean).  Vegetables should be our main food of consumption, and eating a balanced diet with the above elements included are at the crux of healthy weight, healthy feelings, and healthy appearance.

Prime health doesn’t happen over night, especially if you’ve been groomed to eat like everyone else- without a concern for your health and well being.  That is where a helper food like coconut milk comes in.  Coconut milk is so delicious, nourishing, and nutritious.  You will want to consume it because of its rich taste and texture and your body will start to crave it because of its powerful nutritional elements.  You should consume it!  When you are finding it hard to motivate yourself to eat nutritious foods, eating a delicious food like coconut milk will satisfy your taste but needs and help tune your body to more nutritious eating.  When your cells start to receive better foods they start to crave better foods, and you wont find it as hard to convince yourself to go for the 130 calorie kale salad instead of the 1200 calorie burrito.

Some of you might be concerned about the fat content in coconut milk.  Don’t fret a single moment.  Coconut milk fat is a medium chain fatty acid that is easy for the body to break down and metabolize.  In fact,  consuming moderate amounts of coconut milk can help you lower your body fat content and loose weight.

Coconut is very good for your health. It can be used by people with lactose intolerance as a substitute for milk. Coconut milk is also popular with vegans. It makes a great base for smoothies and can also be used as yoghurt. It tastes delicious with fruit and muesli.

Coconut milk has a slightly sweetish taste and has just the faintest aroma of coconut. It has a 17% fat content. The fat is mostly lauric acid which is a found in such fats as sunflower, soy and safflower. Lauric acid is remarkable in that it is antimicrobial, anti fungal and anti protozoal. Thus drinking coconut milk helps to protect the body from infections and viruses. As with coconut water, coconut milk can be taken as a daily health supplement.

Another benefit of coconut milk is that although it is a yoghurt and milk substitute it doesn’t go off quickly. Coconut milk contains anti-oxidants that stop it going rancid. An unopened can of coconut milk won’t go bad for many months. If it is opened and has an inconsistent thickness that is because the thin and thick milk has separated, not that it has gone off. This consumer problem is solved by some brands by adding thickening agents.

Antioxidant Properties of Coconut Milk

Not only is the antioxidant quality of coconut milk useful for storage it is also important for health. It means that after you eat coconut milk it doesn’t go rancid in your stomach. This is the opposite of low fat spreads and margarine that contain polyunsaturated fats that quickly go bad, even before it has passed through the human digestive system. There are long term health implications of having rancid material in the body.

Fight Lipid Disorders

Regularly drinking coconut milk either in smoothies, desserts or in other foot items helps to maintain a balance of lipids in the body. Thus coconut milk is a good medicine against hyperlipidemia – the condition of too much cholesterol in the body. Hyperlipidemia causes coronary problems, strokes and other vascular disorders. The Indians in their traditional medicine called Ayurveda consider coconut milk a very important medicine. (ref:Wikipedia)

Coconut Milk as Substitute for Dairy Products

Finally, coconut milk is a good source of vitamins and minerals. It is considered a good replacement for dairy products because it contains high levels of calcium that are needed to keep bones healthy. It also contains potassium and other important minerals.

Coconut milk tastes like it should be bad for you because it is rich and delicious. It can be taken in many different ways. It might contain saturated fat, but coconut milk is very good for you.

Benefits of Coconut Milk:

Following are some of the health benefits of coconut milk:

1. Helps to maintain blood sugar places:
   Glucose intolerance may cause manganese deficiency in your body. Coconut milk is a rich source of manganese. Whole grains, legumes and nuts are some excellent sources of manganese.
2. Keeps skin and blood vessels flexible and elastic: 
   Copper is very important mineral for most of the bodily functions. Copper and vitamin C help to maintain the flexibility and elasticity of the skin and blood vessels.
3. Aids in building strong bones: 
   Coconut milk is not rich in calcium, but it is rich in phosphorus. Phosphorus is an essential nutrient that body needs for strengthening bones. It is must to take phosphorus with calcium particularly to prevent bone loss because it supplies phosphate to the body.
4. Helps to prevent anaemia:
   Lack of iron is the most common nutrient deficiency among the people throughout the world. Iron deficiency in body does not allow the body to develop enough haemoglobin for keeping sufficient oxygen levels in red blood cells, resulting in anaemia. Each cup of coconut milk supplies the body with nearly a quarter of daily value of iron.
5. Relaxes muscles and nerves: 
   Whenever you feel muscle cramps or muscle soreness, have some food along with coconut milk. It is rich in magnesium and can help you in relieving the problem. One of the functions of magnesium is it acts as a gate block in many nerve cells. If magnesium is not present in body, nerve cells become very active because of calcium that activates nerves. Excess contraction of muscles is caused by over active nerve cells.
6. Helps in Controlling Weight:
   This can be a good news for people who are trying to reduce weight. Coconut milk makes you feel full very quickly because of high concentrations of dietary fiber.
7. Decreases the risk of joint inflammation: 
   Selenium is an important antioxidant. It controls the free radicals and thereby helps in relieving the symptoms of arthritis. It is observed that people with low levels of selenium may suffer from rheumatoid arthritis.
8. Helps in lowering high blood pressure: 
   People who are concerned with their blood pressure will not face any problem for reaching the foods containing potassium. Potassium helps in lowering blood pressure levels in the body.
9. Helps in maintaining healthy immune system:
   Coconut milk helps in warding off colds and coughs by keeping the immune system healthy. It supplies vitamin C to the body which boosts the immune system.
10. Promotes the health of prostate gland:
    Zinc plays a vital role in promoting the health of prostate gland. A preliminary study showed that it slows down the activities of cancer cells.

I hope the above mentioned information helps you in understanding the relation between health and coconut milk. It can also be consumed by people with cow’s milk allergy. It is free from gluten and soy. Hence people who are allergic to these substances can also use this.

You can read this article by Elissa Goodman here :-  http://articles.elissagoodman.com/2011/10/coconut-milk-cures-all/