Coconut Water Benefits

If I could pick one thing to drink for the rest of my life it would be 

Coconut Water!

I love this naturally sweet and hydrating beverage! Coconut water is the juice found inside of a young coconut. The clear liquid is sweet, containing natural sugars, vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, enzymes, amino acids, cytokine and phyto-hormones, and is low in calories and fat. 

There are many benefits to drinking coconut water:

• Coconut water is high in electrolytes and minerals that hydrate the body naturally, unlike the processed sugar-filled, dye-filled sports drinks. Coconut water is very refreshing and replenishing after a workout. It contains a good amount of electrolyte potassium which makes it super-hydrating! 

• Research shows coconut water to have anti-aging properties as well as anti-carcinogen, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-viral. 

• Coconut water is great for those suffering from digestive problems with anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties that help fight off intestinal parasites, worms, some viruses and GI tract infections.  

• Along with helping with digestion, coconut water boosts your metabolism and energy! Who doesn't want more energy?

• Coconut water is a great source of vitamins and minerals such as potassium, sodium, phosphorous, calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, zinc, B-complex.

• Great for your heart and cardiovascular system - coconut water has been shown to regulate blood pressure and help increase HDL the good cholesterol.

What type of coconut water do I drink? 

• You can buy young thai coconuts from the grocery store for about 2.50 each. It's the most affordable when compared to the bottled versions. This is how I mainly drink it. It's fresh and raw and full of nutrients. The only downside is that they come all the way from Thailand and are dipped in a sulphur-based preservative to keep them fresh as well as a fungicide. (If this grosses you out, there's preservatives and fungicide on lots of non-organic produce, I remember the first time I read fungicide on the side of a case of grapes!)  I leave the plastic on when cracking one open to help with this issue. I have heard that the ones from mexico aren't as bad so if you can find them you're golden! When choosing your coconut keep in mind that the young coconuts contain the most water.  They can look like the white one below or be green! The brown coconuts have very little water in them and are mostly meat.

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  To watch me crack open a young coconut check out this video!----> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ipyb1fA_MyU
  
  

• My second choice would be the bottled Harmless Harvest Raw Coconut Water. But it's not available where I live :(

• The best tasting bottled coconut water I can find is Taste Nirvana. It's amazing. If you have tried coconut water before and not liked it, I suggest you try this brand before tossing the idea out the window completely. It's the tastiest coconut water in the world! They even call it happiness in a bottle. Make sure to buy the pulp-free one if you want to avoid the chunks of coconut meat. 

What type of coconut water is your favorite??

Thanks for reading, try a fresh coconut today!

Naturally Ashley

xo

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