Coconut: benefits and harms

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Exotic fruits are liked by many people. After all, you really want to eat something else, except for apples, pears and grapes. One of the favorite overseas crops is the coconut. As you know, forbidden fruit is sweet. It's the same with coconut. Although it is not forbidden, it is impregnable - it is incredibly difficult to open it. That is why you want to enjoy it even more than, say, pineapple. In addition, this nut is incredibly useful. Everything is valuable in it: the pulp, milk, and even fibers. There is practically no waste from the coconut drupe. This is truly a wonderful plant that deserves to be enjoyed.

Coconut like a plant

The coconut is a fruit belonging to the palm plant family. The culture grows on a slender tall palm tree with dense, smooth and long leaves. The coconut palm bears round fruits up to 30 centimeters long and weighing from one and a half to two and a half kilograms. From above, the nut is covered with a strong shell with hard fibers. Inside the drupe is a tender white pulp, as well as coconut water, which has a sweet taste. The fruit can ripen for about ten months. When the nut turns brown, it means that it is ripe and can be plucked. If the shell of the fruit has a green tint, then it is not yet ripe and it is better not to remove it from the palm tree.

The shell of the nut is so hard that even during the transportation of the product across the ocean, it cannot be damaged. Even after traveling, he is able to germinate in new places.

Since the coconut palm loves the sandy soil of the sea coasts, it can be found in abundance in India, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and other countries where the tropical climate prevails.

What's in a coconut

The composition of the coconut is extremely diverse. It has a lot of B vitamins (B1-B3, B5, B6 and B9). It also contains minerals such as calcium and potassium. In addition, the fetus contains water, fats, proteins, carbohydrates and fiber. In small quantities, the drupe is enriched with vitamins H, E and C, and minerals such as manganese, magnesium, copper, iron, sodium and others.

Coconut has a very high calorie content of 362 kilocalories for every hundred grams of product. But you should not refuse to use the fruit because of this. Just eat it infrequently and in limited portions.

Exotic fruit properties

For the human body, the properties of coconut are simply invaluable. In those countries where the fruit grows, it is considered a real gift from the gods. All Indian hospitalsFor seriously ill patients, coconut water is prescribed as a restorative and restorative agent. Coconut helps to regulate the functioning of almost all metabolic processes. It promotes the synthesis of amino acids and normalizes the state of nerve tissues. The vegetable fiber contained in the stone fruit has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.

Coconut contains a certain amount of lauric acid, which inhibits the reproduction of various pathogenic organisms and endows the product with antimicrobial qualities. Coconut water perfectly regulates blood pressure and removes cholesterol from blood vessels. It can be used to reduce fever, and to maintain s alt balance. Juice dissolves stones and treats kidney diseases.

Benefit plus harm

Coconut, the benefits and harms of which are described in this article, is used to treat many ailments. But he also has many contraindications. But about everything in turn. The fresh pulp of the fruit improves digestion, replenishes the lack of energy, improves eyesight, strengthens the heart and prevents the development of tumors. Fragrant and sweet walnut milk perfectly tones and refreshes the skin. Coconut water is especially beneficial for aging and dull skin. And teenagers can beat acne with this juice.

But despite all its virtues, the fruits of the coconut palm can also be harmful. There are few contraindications for the use of drupes, but they still exist. And first of all, it is necessary to note the individualintolerance and allergy to the product. People suffering from overweight are not recommended to eat coconut because of its high calorie content. Since the fruit has a laxative effect, it is better to refuse it if diarrhea bothers. Hyperfunction of the thyroid gland is also a contraindication to the use of exotic treats.

Use in culinary arts

Due to the fact that the coconut has an amazingly pleasant smell and taste, it has found its wide application in culinary business. As a rule, the pulp of the fruit is used, which is dried, making flakes out of it, or rubbed on a grater.

The product perfectly harmonizes with various meat dishes, providing them with a spicy aftertaste. That is why the milk and the pulp of the drupe itself are incredibly popular ingredients in the gastronomy of East Asia. There they are added both to main courses and soups.

But the nut is most in demand for making sweet dishes and desserts. It is added to creams and pastries, and also mixed with sweet cereals and cottage cheese.

Opening the fetus

Most of all readers are probably interested in the question of how to open a coconut at home? After all, this is not an easy task and requires extraordinary efforts. If you have a screwdriver in your house, then the procedure will be quite easy and you will not damage the pulp of the drupe. If you want to get two identical halves of a nut, then you need exactly along the "equator" linedrill holes at a distance of two to three centimeters from each other. If it is necessary to obtain halves with sharp edges, then the same holes must be drilled in a checkerboard pattern along the "equator". After the holes are made, you should split the coconut, and use a kitchen knife to finally open it.

You can also open a drupe with an ordinary knife with a heavy handle. Along the “equator” of the fetus, deep notches must be made with the tip of the tool. Then, according to these marks, the shell should be cut. If the procedure is not successful, it is recommended to toss the coconut. But it is important to do this in such a way that the fall impact falls on the place where the sawing was carried out.

People's stories about delicious fruit

Coconut gets different reviews. It belongs to those products that you either like from the first "bite" or not. Therefore, people who liked it say that its taste is truly a heavenly delight. Those who did not accept the fruit note the hardness of its pulp and the incomprehensible taste of milk. But all consumers speak positively about the cosmetic benefits of drupes, arguing that it acts on the skin in the most wonderful way.