Coconut Juice & Smoothie Recipes & Benefits

Coconut Is Packed With Disease Fighting Nutrients!

Historically Speaking

The modern coconut, which grows primarily in the Philippines, India and South America, dates to fossilized remains from between 35 to 55 million years ago (Eocene period) discovered in India and Australia. Plant palm remains have also been found in the Americas. Origins are under debate, but suffice to say, the entire fruit has been used for millennia. In traditional medicine, the coconut plant was truly multipurpose. From the palms to fruit and seeds, Indian ‘Ayurvedic’ treatments, as well as other South Asian traditions, were (and still are) used to remedy a wide range of ailments, ranging from digestive problems to pain, as an aphrodisiac, and to treat and heal skin ailments, even balding!

Nutritional Highlights

Coconut juice has long been used by Pacific islanders for anti-cancer and anti-aging properties, especially for the skin. Coconut is a cure-all including reducing symptoms of BPH.

Detailed Benefits

Coconut water is quite popular. Not to be confused with coconut milk which is derived from juicing coconut meat, coconut water and milk are equally jam packed with nutrients and nutritional benefits.

Coconut juice has long been considered a healing food by many indigenous peoples of the Pacific islands and other coconut-growing locales. Among its many healing uses are: to soften skin and prevent skin spots, protect against UV radiation, control dandruff, dissolve kidney stones, support thyroid function, prevent osteoporosis and liver disease, reduce BPH and epilepsy, and much more. Recent research confirms that both of these coconut juices have significant anti-cancer and anti-aging properties. They are abundant in vitamins, minerals, amino acids, simple sugars, enzymes, and phytochemicals including cytokine (a protein which reduces inflammation), plant hormones, healthful fatty acids, and electrolytes.

Once considered an oil to be avoided in cooking because of its saturated fat, nutritional science has completely overturned this view finding coconut oil different from all other cooking oils as it has no cholesterol and does not form harmful byproducts when heated at cooking temperatures. But these properties are only found in Virgin and Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. Here’s how you know that you have the right kind of coconut oil: it should smell like coconut.

Coconut juice is rich in essential B complex vitamins, including folic acid, niacin, riboflavin, thiamin and pyroxidine. Coconut is also rich in vitamin C and minerals such as iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium and manganese. Iron is necessary for healthy blood oxygenation. Zinc is an essential element which assists in maintaining a vigorous immune system. We require calcium for strong bones. Magnesium is crucial for sustaining normal muscle and nerve function, a healthy heart, a well-functioning immune system, normal blood sugar levels, and strong bones. Manganese assists the body’s utilization of critical nutrients.

Coconut is not only low in sodium, it is rich in potassium, which assists the body in replacing electrolytes necessary for rehydration. It is also abundant in enzymes, key in reinforcing healthy metabolism and digestion.

Interesting Fact: Coconut is a key ingredient in Napalm, a nasty sticky flammable substance used as a weapon in WW II and Vietnam. Napalm is actually edible when in a powder form. After WW II my inventor grandfather, Gilbert Haller, discovered a way to turn napalm into a cosmetic base. He acquired most of the remaining world’s supply of napalm and stored it in huge wooden bins in the backwoods of Lancaster, PA. While constructing a factory to manufacture his new invention, lightning struck one of the storage bins. The resulting fire was unable to be extinguished. It burned for months! After the fire the local health department insisted that the remaining supply be destroyed so my grandfather buried it. To this day, nearly 50 years later, you can still smell the sickly-sweet odor of powdered napalm as you drive a certain road in Lancaster over the long-buried remains!