I recently came across an article about the power of the coconut. Yes, the unpalatable white fruit that doesn’t quite taste like a tropical fruit. What I found fascinating is that eating the flesh of the coconut is just one of its many uses. A day after reading the article, I was watching the news and they did a special on the power of coconut water.

I have heard of coconut milk, but coconut water? Research shows that it serves as a glorified, mega sports drink without the carbs and processed sugar. Gatorade eat your heart out.

This drink has the same amount of electrolytes as name brand sports drink with twice the potassium as one banana. This information intrigued me so much that I went online and went to the blog of my favorite health expert, Dr. Mark Hyman. Dr. Hymen posted a video on naturalhealthsherpa.com that told the story of the coconut. Unbeknownst to me, I learned that the coconut is the not a fruit, but a seed. The worlds largest seed.

Its uses include the coconut water (liquid from the unripened coconut), coconut milk, coconut oil, and the flesh that we all know it for. If you are a health nut and are reading this right now saying “What about all the saturated fat”, you are right. For example, coconut oil is 90% saturated fat. Saturated fat is that dreaded fat that doctors say causes heart disease and all sorts of health problems. What you might not know is that 45% of that saturated fat is made up of lauric acid. Lauric acid is a medium-chain fatty acid that converts into monolaurin.

Dr. Hyman explains that monolaurin is a compund found in breast milk that strengthens a baby’s immune system, promotes brain development, helps build bones, and protects against viruses and bacteria. Also, the fat from the coconut goes directly to the liver to use as energy, as opposed to the saturated fat of an egg that will sit around in your cells to be used as fat for later. Reading this research has given me a love for the coconut. I cook with coconut oil, eat my cereal with coconut milk, and rehydrate with coconut water after working out. It can be rather pricey to purchase these products, but worth the price for the health benefits.