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Coconut water is actually the juice present inside the interior cavity or endosperm of young, tender coconut. Its water is one of the nature’s most refreshing drinks, consumed worldwide for its nutritious and health benefiting properties.

The water is actually obtained by opening a tender, green, healthy, and undamaged coconut. Inside, it's clear liquid is sweet, and sterile and composed of unique chemicals such as sugars, vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, enzymes, amino acids, cytokine, and phyto-hormones. In general, young and slightly immature coconuts gathered from the coconut tree after they reach about 5-7 months of age for the purpose of reaping its drink.

Botanically, coconut plant belongs to the Arecaceae family of palm trees, and has the scientific name: Cocos nucifera.

Each coconut may contain about 200 to 1000 ml of water depending upon cultivar type and size. Any nuts younger than five months of age tend to be bitter in taste and devoid of nutrients. In contrast, mature coconuts contain less water, and their endosperm thickens quickly into white edible meat (kernel). Coconut milk obtained from the meat, therefore, should not be confused with coconut water.

Coconut palm flourishes well under the costal tropical environments. A coconut tree may yield several hundreds of tender nuts each season. Different species of coconut palms are grown all over the tropics. Naturally, their taste and flavor of water show variations according to saline content in the soil, distance from seashore, climate, etc.

Health benefits of coconut water

• Coconut water is a very refreshing drink to beat tropical summer thirst. Its liquid is packed with simple sugars, electrolytes, and minerals to replenish dehydration conditions inside the human body.

• Research studies suggest that cytokinins (e.g., kinetin and trans-zeatin) in coconut water found to have significant anti-ageing, anti-carcinogenic, and anti-thrombotic (anti-clot formation) effects.

• Coconut water has been generally offered to patients with diarrhea in many tropic regions to replace the fluid loss from the gastrointestinal tract and to reduce the need for hospitalisation. The osmolarity of tender coconut water is slightly greater than that of WHO recommended ORS (Oral Rehydration Therapy) solution. Presence of other biological constituents like amino acids, enzymes, minerals, and fatty acids may account for this higher osmolarity. Nonetheless, unlike WHO-ORS, its water is very low in sodium and chlorides, but rich in sugars and amino acids. This well-balanced fluid composition, along with much-needed calories, would be an ideal drink instead of any other kind of soft drink beverages available in the markets to correct dehydration conditions.

• Coconut water is composed of many naturally occurring bioactive enzymes such as acid phosphatase, catalase, dehydrogenase, diastase, peroxidase, RNA-polymerases etc. In effect, these enzymes help in the digestion and metabolism.

• Despite being very light in consistency, its water proportionately has better composition of minerals like calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, and zinc than some of the fruit juices like oranges. (Compare the mineral composition of oranges).

• Its liquid is also a very good source of B-complex vitamins such as riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, pyridoxine, and folates. These vitamins are essential in the sense that the human body requires them from external sources to replenish.

• Coconut water carries a very good amount of electrolyte potassium. 100 ml of water has 250 mg of potassium and 105 mg of sodium. Together, these electrolytes help replenish electrolyte deficiency in the body due to diarrhea (loose stools).

• Further, fresh coconut water has a small amount of vitamin-C (Ascorbic acid); It provides about 2.4 mg or 4% of RDA. Vitamin C is a water-soluble ant-oxidant.

Almonds are one of the most nutritious nuts you can eat with many benefits for your health, particularly your skin and heart. They fill you up, provide vitamins and minerals for energy and eating almonds can even help with weight loss.

Here are 5 valuable health benefits of almonds for better skin, more energy, losing weight, protecting your heart and better nutrition for a healthier life.

1. Almond Skin Benefits

Good skin comes, not from expensive cosmetics, but from proper nutrition on the inside. A handful of almonds is a particularly high food source of natural vitamin E, monounsaturated fatty acids, biotin and copper, all very important for healthy skin. Here’s why.

Vitamin E in Almonds

Vitamin E assists in protecting the connective elastin and collagen fibers within your skin cells that maintain its youthful firmness. The more collagen and elastin break down in your skin, the more at risk you are of developing fine lines and wrinkles on your face.

Vitamin E is also an excellent skin antioxidant, protecting your skin cells from free radical damage that leads to wrinkled and sagging skin and other signs of aging.

Biotin Skin Benefits

The B vitamin biotin is needed to maintain healthy fatty acids in the skin that keep it soft and supple. Without enough biotin in your diet from foods like almonds, your skin can become dry, flaky and easily irritated.

Getting more biotin with almonds can also improve your hair and nail health. Brittle nails and hair, split ends and hair loss are more signs of biotin deficiency.

Almonds for Copper

Copper is a vital co-factor in one of your body’s most important antioxidants called superoxide dismutase. Without enough dietary copper, skin health can suffer from free radical damage and premature aging.

Copper is involved in elastin production, part of the springy connective tissue that keeps your skin young and wrinkle free. The mineral is also needed for natural skin and hair pigmentation, so almonds are good for people with uneven skin tone and those looking to minimize gray hairs.

Monounsaturated Fats

Almonds are a healthy source of beneficial monounsaturated fats to maintain moisture balance and moderate sebum production in your skin.

Getting more monounsaturated fatty acids in your diet and less inflammatory processed vegetable oil can help reduce skin problems like acne, blackheads and oily skin.

Eating Almonds for Better Skin

With their high levels of protective vitamin E, biotin, copper and hydrating monounsaturated fats, the skin benefits of almonds are significant. Replace damaging junk food snacks with a handful of organic almonds and eat other skin healthy nuts like walnuts for a few weeks and you’ll see the difference in the mirror.

2. Filling and Nutritious

Just half a dozen almonds makes for a tasty, filling and high nutrition snack. They are full of healthy fats, significant protein, important minerals like magnesium, copper, manganese and phosphorus, and are high in vitamin E and B vitamins.

While a quarter of a cup of almonds does have about 200 calories, they are a particularly high satiety food. This means they fill you up and satisfy your hunger in ways carbohydrate foods from the bakery never will.

Try keeping a bag of almonds in your desk at the office and have a few in the middle of the afternoon instead of going to the corner store for a junk food snack. I think you’ll be surprised just how filling they are and how much better you feel after eating them instead of those high sugar, energy draining snacks.

3. Almonds for Weight Loss

Most people wouldn’t expect that high-fat nuts like almonds would be beneficial for reducing your waistline. However, there are some very good reasons why the almonds are actually good for weight loss.

The monounsaturated fats in nuts like almonds also moderate blood sugar rises after eating. In this way, they also reduce the amount of fat storing insulin being released into your bloodstream.

Additionally, almonds contain high levels of thermogenic protein, including tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin, which tends to relax you and reduce stress-induced eating.

There really are a lot of weight loss benefits in eating more almonds, especially if you regularly replace high carbohydrate snacks with a handful of organic ones.

4. Protect Your Heart

Heart disease continues to be the biggest cause of death in the United Kingdom. This is primarily due to our processed food diet, but the powerful nutritional properties of almonds may help protect your heart from damage.

Once again, the monounsaturated fats in almond are beneficial here. Studies have demonstrated that consuming sources of monounsaturated fatty acids like oleic acid can reduce blood levels of potentially damaging LDL cholesterol, whilst improving your HDL cholesterol profile.

Almonds are also a great source of antioxidant vitamin E, which specifically protects against free radical oxidation of cholesterol, strongly linked to cardiovascular disease.

This study of the health benefits of nuts like almonds said that frequent consumption was likely to protect against coronary heart disease and recommended eating nuts more than four times a week.

5. Extra Energy with Almonds

Any look at almond benefits must consider how the broad array of minerals and vitamins they contain can affect your energy levels. Many people eating a supermarket food diet are lacking in important vitamins and minerals needed for energy production within the body.

Crunchy almonds contain good levels B vitamins like by biotin, riboflavin and niacin. They are also high in minerals such as calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron and particularly copper.

All of these nutritional elements are needed by the processes within your cells that regulate energy production. The more of them you get, the less chance you’ll have of  vitamin and mineral deficiencies that lead to low energy levels.

One especially good way to enjoy almonds for energy is with this sugar-free chocolate almond milk recipe you can quickly make up at home with a blender.

Eating Almonds for Better Health

There are 5 great reasons to eat more almonds: good skin, a healthier heart, more energy, a slimmer body and to fill you up with the nutrition your body needs to look and feel its best. Surely it’s worth eating almonds more often if you value your health and appearance.

When looking for the best almonds, freshness is particularly important and large online stores with high turnover are usually where you want to look. Especially check the recent reviews to see if it’s a good batch.

In the USA, these Californian almonds are organic and have many positive reviews on their texture and taste.

In the UK, I find these Spanish grown organic almonds are good value and a great size for the office drawer.

Have you tried replacing fattening carbohydrate snacks with healthy nuts like almonds? I’d appreciate hearing what you think of these almond benefits for skin, your heart and general good health, especially if you’ve noticed a positive difference since you started eating almonds yourself.

Banana is really a delicious fruit and loved by most of the people. When you feel hungry and wish to get some snacks to help ease your hunger, banana is a great choice. You could have it alone or even combine it with other food items. It is just a store house of nutrients and incredibly beneficial for the body. Other than being a great snack, it’s got  variety of other benefits which you might not even be familiar with. It is great for dealing with dry skin problems as well as it is also best for avoiding dull hair. Therefore, include banana to your daily diet and get all of the advantages from this particular versatile fruit. Banana juice is excellent to improve your health and also at the same time very delightful too.

Let’s take a look at the health advantages of banana juice

1. Better digestion

Bananas include fiber in them and also this works well for appropriate movement of the food within the alimentary canal. Because of this the food is ingested well. Moreover, fibers absorb the water through the digested food and also this helps make the stool soft. Therefore, it helps prevent constipation. If you suffer from constipation, consuming banana juice is a great remedy.

2. Brain power

In accordance with the latest research made, consuming bananas for breakfast is of great benefit for the young kids simply because banana works well for enhancing the memory power. It is because bananas are full of potassium. This particular element works well for making the pupil alert, which often boosts the gripping power of the brain.

3. Best diet supplements

Banana juice is full of various nutrition just like vitamins, fiber and minerals like potassium and magnesium. Therefore it is an essential food item in most of the diet program. You can include it within your daily diet and prepare it in numerous methods for losing weight in addition to gain weight. Additionally it is referred to as ‘perfect fiber supplement’ since it has got higher contents of fiber.

4. Prevents Stroke

 

Regular consumption of bananas within the diet will help with decreasing the likelihood of getting stroke. This really is again due to the high-content of potassium in bananas.

5. Energizer

Glucose, fructose, sucrose as well as maltose are definitely the sugars naturally found in banana juice. These types of sugars assist in offering immediate energy as soon as you consume banana juice. If you are opting for a workout, consuming banana can offer you instant energy. For the workout for 90 minutes, consume 2 bananas before you begin. This can offer you the energy required for the workout. So, bananas are of great benefit for athletes. They prefer to consume bananas just before they go for athletic practice or before they go for the running race.

6. Prevention of Stomach Ulcers

A few of the contents in banana works well for stimulating the cells that creates stomach linings which will help in making a safety covering along the acids made by the stomach. Other than that additionally they eliminate all of the bacteria that are liable for the creation of stomach ulcer.

7. Renal Health

Bananas works well for promoting renal health since it is full of potassium. In accordance of a few of the journals, bananas since they have got abundance of anti-oxidants, if consumed along with root vegetable or even cabbage might help to maintain renal health.

8. Vitamins

Banana juice is often a rich source of vitamins just like B3, B5, B6 and Vitamin C. Consuming banana juice works well for enhancing the immunity power of the body due to the existence of these vitamins. They’re also great for your nervous system and make certain proper functioning of the nerves.

9. Provides you healthy bones

Banana juice is really a rich source of fructooligosaccharide, which could boost the manufacture of probiotic bacteria. These are the basic friendly bacteria perfectly located at the colon. This particular bacteria boost the absorption of nutrients within the body by producing vitamins and digestive enzymes. Additionally, it safeguards the body from the harmful microorganisms within the digestive tract.

10. Good for Mood Elevation

Another essential health advantage of banana juice is it elevates and improves the mood. There are specific reasons in life that lead towards the stress and sadness in life. The stress is extremely dangerous for health as it sometimes result in heart attack and stroke. So as to conquer this problem, the doctors as well as medical scientists declare that consuming one glass of banana juice during the time of stress will decrease the chances of heart attack or stork. Bananas are regarded as natural source of tryptophan which is useful to calm down the body.

11. Cholesterol Control

Pectin is an element that is soluble fiber which will help to maintain the cholesterol level of the body. Fibers that are soluble in water lower the LDL cholesterol and don’t affect the HDL cholesterol.

12. Rich in antioxidants

Antioxidants can be found in high quantities in bananas. Because of this, consuming bananas assist in fighting against the free radicals produced in the body and therefore safeguard the body from the harmful actions of the free radicals. The existence of potassium in banana is wonderful for the health of the heart and helps prevent numerous diseases of the heart.

13. Rich in vitamin B6

Existence of vitamin B6 works well for proper digestion of protein and its utilization. This vitamin is additionally required for the proper performance of the brain as well as the manufacture of hormones. It is this vitamin that will get you rest from stress and calms your nervous system by assisting within the conversion of tryptophan to serotonin.

14. Stress regulator

If you suffer from  stress and other associated problems, consuming banana juice is a wonderful remedy. It is because banana is actually a rich source of tryptophan, which will help in stimulating the body to create serotonin. Serotonin can relax your mood and stop stress. By consuming banana juice every day, you may make your central nervous system calm and therefore protect against stress.

15. Blood Pressure Control

A number of researches have demostrated that potassium works well for keeping the blood pressure under your control. Apart from that usage of magnesium, calcium as well as potassium may also reduce the high blood pressure levels level. Banana is full of all these minerals particularly potassium.

16. Good for the Health of Heart

Most important health advantage of banana juice is it has twin impacts on the health of heart since it contains high value of potassium and low volume of salt. Both of them are vitally important for the health of heart. Therefore, this drink is recognized as good energy drink for all those patients that are suffering from cardiovascular problems. Potassium is recognized as quite definitely essential for the healthy development of the heart.

There are a myriad of health benefits from juicing watermelon.  Not only is watermelon juice absolutely delicious and refreshing to drink, it is loaded with healing vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals that aid and strengthen your body in several ways.  Juicing fresh watermelons allows your body to absorb all its nutrients rapidly and easily.Watermelons are rich in vitamin A, B1, B6, C, beta-carotene, lycopene, potassium, zinc, magnesium, and chlorophyll.  Feel free to even include the rind and seeds when juicing for added nutritional benefits.

Watermelons are incredibly hydrating, as they are made up of 92 percent water.  Drinking watermelon juice can act to detoxify your entire body, cleansing your kidneys, bladder, and gall bladder.  Watermelon juice can aid in weight loss when incorporated in a daily regimen. Watermelons are a wonderful low calorie, low cholesterol, and low fat addition to any diet.  Watermelon juice increases the body’s metabolism and suppresses hunger, making you feel full longer.

Watermelon can aid in preventing cancer and a host of other diseases. Thanks to its high content of vitamin C, beta-carotene, and lycopene, watermelon juice has proven to successfully protect the body against various cancers including stomach, breast, prostate, lung, and colon cancer.  Studies have shown that vitamin c, beta-carotene, and lycopene act to effectively neutralize free radicals, disease-causing molecules that cause damage to tissue and organs in the body. Vitamin C and beta-carotene also significantly lower the risk of arthritis, asthma, and kidney stones.  A diet high in lycopene has shown to be effective in reducing the risk of stroke, heart disease, and other cardiovascular complications.

Watermelons are an excellent source of potassium.  Potassium aids in regulating proper blood pressure and maintaining a healthy heart.  Drinking watermelon juice lowers the risk of conditions most commonly found in the elderly such as osteoporosis, erectile dysfunction, and macular degeneration.  Watermelons are high in B vitamins, which boost your immune system and increase energy levels.  Vitamin B6 in particular is critical for regulating hormones and can diminish feelings of depression and anxiety.