Health Benefits of Coconut Milk
Coconut Milk
Health Benefits of Coconut MilkCoconut milk is not the water inside a coconut when you break it open. Coconut water is completely different.
Coconut milk comes from the thick white flesh (meat) inside the coconut (ripe coconuts).
To obtain milk from a coconut, the flesh needs to be finely grated, soaked in hot water, and then squeezed (strained) through mesh or cheesecloth. For thick coconut milk, it is squeezed through only once. For a thinner milk, it is squeezed through two or three times. The more it is squeezed, the thinner the milk.
When used in recipes, thick coconut milk is commonly used to prepare sauces and desserts and thin coconut milk is used for general cooking, including soups.
For those who do not wish to go through the process of obtaining milk from fresh coconuts, you can buy it already prepared in cans or bottles.
Health Benefits of Coconut Milk
In the past, coconut oil (found in coconut milk) was thought to be unhealthy because of saturated fats; however, this was often based on coconut milk that was modified with hydrogenated oils and not coconut milk with its own natural oils.
• About a third of coconut flesh is fat (and about 92% of this fat is technically classified as saturated) but it is mostly made up of short- and medium-chain fatty acids that are used as energy and not stored as body fat like long-chain fatty acids found in dairy milk. Coconut milk can actually help you lose weight.
• Coconut flesh is rich in lauric acid, the most important essential fatty acid needed to build and maintain the body's immune system. The only other source of lauric acid with such high concentrations is breast milk in humans.
• Coconut milk is highly nutritious and is a very good source of vitamins and minerals, including calcium (essential for healthy bones).
To enjoy the health benefits of coconut milk, try the following delicious beverage:
Add 1/2 cup of coconut milk (be sure it is 100% pure coconut milk), 1 cup of pineapple juice, 1 cup of crushed pineapple fruit, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, and some crushed ice in a blender and puree until slushy. Serve in chilled glasses.
Health Benefits of Coconut MilkCoconut milk is not the water inside a coconut when you break it open. Coconut water is completely different.
Coconut milk comes from the thick white flesh (meat) inside the coconut (ripe coconuts).
To obtain milk from a coconut, the flesh needs to be finely grated, soaked in hot water, and then squeezed (strained) through mesh or cheesecloth. For thick coconut milk, it is squeezed through only once. For a thinner milk, it is squeezed through two or three times. The more it is squeezed, the thinner the milk.
When used in recipes, thick coconut milk is commonly used to prepare sauces and desserts and thin coconut milk is used for general cooking, including soups.
For those who do not wish to go through the process of obtaining milk from fresh coconuts, you can buy it already prepared in cans or bottles.
Health Benefits of Coconut Milk
In the past, coconut oil (found in coconut milk) was thought to be unhealthy because of saturated fats; however, this was often based on coconut milk that was modified with hydrogenated oils and not coconut milk with its own natural oils.
• About a third of coconut flesh is fat (and about 92% of this fat is technically classified as saturated) but it is mostly made up of short- and medium-chain fatty acids that are used as energy and not stored as body fat like long-chain fatty acids found in dairy milk. Coconut milk can actually help you lose weight.
• Coconut flesh is rich in lauric acid, the most important essential fatty acid needed to build and maintain the body's immune system. The only other source of lauric acid with such high concentrations is breast milk in humans.
• Coconut milk is highly nutritious and is a very good source of vitamins and minerals, including calcium (essential for healthy bones).
To enjoy the health benefits of coconut milk, try the following delicious beverage:
Add 1/2 cup of coconut milk (be sure it is 100% pure coconut milk), 1 cup of pineapple juice, 1 cup of crushed pineapple fruit, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, and some crushed ice in a blender and puree until slushy. Serve in chilled glasses.
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