Health Advantages of Coconut Water

Coconut water is considered the most natural beverage--after water of course. For centuries, people around the world have revered coconut water for its health benefits, convenience and taste. In the United States and the rest of the western world, the "miracle drink" has been steadily gaining popularity for its flavor, hydration properties and nutritional value.



Identification: Is there a difference between coconut milk and coconut water? Yes, a big one. Coconut water is a thin clear liquid found at the center of the nut before maturation, while coconut "milk" is made from the liquid extracted from the actual flesh of the coconut. The milk is much thicker and richer, and maintains a very high fat content. The water of a young green coconut is sweet and light. As the nut ages, the nutrients in the water are absorbed by the flesh, leaving the water bitter and lackluster. Therefore, to reap the natural health and flavor benefits of coconut water, the coconut must be harvested while it is still green.

Natural Sports Drink: The most "trendy" benefit of coconut water, as seen in the marketing of commercial products such as Zico and Vita Coco, is re-hydration. Coconut water has been dubbed "the natural Gatorade" for its high levels of electrolytes and minerals. People sweat out these minerals during physical activity, so re-hydrating is essential when exercising. The replenishing of electrolytes is the concept behind commercial sports drinks, therefore many believe that coconut water should be marketed as "the natural sports drink." In 2007, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was granted a patent to bottle and sell coconut water as a sports drink.

Alleviation of Ailments: Aside from crucial electrolytes, coconut water contains calcium, potassium, magnesium, vitamins, sugars and proteins. For centuries, it has helped hydrate, cool body temperature and maintain immune system balance. Due to the saline and albumen content, it is used to ease symptoms of cholera, urinary tract diseases, kidney stones and dysentery. According to the Coconut Development Board, it helps promote weight loss, relieves rashes when applied externally, can be used as an antiseptic or as an emergency substitute during a blood transfusion and may aide the body's immune system when fighting AIDS, cancer and diabetes. Coconut water has also proven beneficial for alleviating nausea, as it naturally settles the stomach. Therefore, it's also an ideal hangover cure in lieu of the raw egg and milk.

Warning: There are many myths about the benefits of coconut water, such as one that says drinking enough coconut water will cause a mother to start producing milk again to feed another person's baby. This has not been proven, and it has no biological foundation. While there are many nutritional benefits to coconut water, it is not a medicinal cure. Coconut water aides healing and alleviation of many ailments, though it is not a cure for any severe disease.

Benefits: Coconut water is all-natural, and aside from its benefits, no harm can come from its consumption. The long-term and short-term benefits of nature's "miracle water" offer sufficient reason for its regular consumption. In the United States, there are many brands of commercially bottled coconut water available to the consumer. However, if you truly desires the health benefits of coconut water, along with the taste and enjoyment benefits, then get on a plane, head to the beach, order a coconut freshly hacked open in front of your eyes, and sip slowly through a straw.

Foods For Better Sleep

FOODS THAT HELP YOU SLEEP



What you eat affects how you sleep. One of the keys to a restful night's sleep is to get your brain calmed rather than revved up. Some foods contribute to restful sleep; other foods keep you awake. We call them sleepers and wakers. Sleepers are tryptophan-containing foods, because tryptophan is the amino acid that the body uses to make serotonin, the neurotransmitter that slows down nerve traffic so your brain isn't so busy. Wakers are foods that stimulate neurochemicals that perk up the brain.

Tryptophan is a precursor of the sleep-inducing substances serotonin and melatonin. This means tryptophan is the raw material that the brain uses to build these relaxing neurotransmitters. Making more tryptophan available, either by eating foods that contain this substance or by seeing to it that more tryptophan gets to the brain, will help to make you sleepy. On the other hand, nutrients that make tryptophan less available can disturb sleep.

Eating carbohydrates with tryptophan-containing foods makes this calming amino acid more available to the brain. A high carbohydrate meal stimulates the release of insulin, which helps clear from the bloodstream those amino acids that compete with tryptophan, allowing more of this natural sleep-inducing amino acid to enter the brain and manufacture sleep- inducing substances, such as serotonin and melatonin. Eating a high-protein meal without accompanying carbohydrates may keep you awake, since protein-rich foods also contain the amino acid, tyrosine, which perks up the brain.

To understand how tryptophan and carbohydrates work together to relax you, picture the various amino acids from protein foods as passengers on a bus. A busload containing tryptophan and tyrosine arrives at the brain cells. If more tyrosine "passengers" get off the bus and enter the brain cells, neuroactivity will rev up. If more tryptophan amino acids get off the bus, the brain will calm down. Along comes some insulin which has been stalking carbohydrates in the bloodstream. Insulin keeps the tyrosine amino acids on the bus, allowing the brain-calming tryptophan effect to be higher than the effect of the brain-revving tyrosine.

You can take advantage of this biochemical quirk by choosing protein or carbohydrate-rich meals, depending on whether you want to perk up or slow down your brain. For students and working adults, high protein, medium-carbohydrate meals are best eaten for breakfast and lunch. For dinner and bedtime snacks, eat a meal or snack that is high in complex carbohydrates, with a small amount of protein that contains just enough tryptophan to relax the brain. An all- carbohydrate snack, especially one high in junk sugars, is less likely to help you sleep. You'll miss out on the sleep-inducing effects of tryptophan, and you may set off the roller-coaster effect of plummeting blood sugar followed by the release of stress hormones that will keep you awake. The best bedtime snack is one that has both complex carbohydrates and protein, and perhaps some calcium. Calcium helps the brain use the tryptophan to manufacture melatonin. This explains why dairy products, which contain both tryptophan and calcium, are one of the top sleep-inducing foods.


SNOOZE FOODS

These are foods high in the sleep-inducing amino acid tryptophan:

# Dairy products: cottage cheese, cheese, milk
# Soy products: soy milk, tofu, soybean nuts
# Seafood
# Meats
# Poultry
# Whole grains
# Beans
# Rice
# Hummus
# Lentils
# Hazelnuts, Peanuts
# Eggs
# Sesame seeds, sunflower seeds

BEST DINNERS FOR SLEEP

Meals that are high in carbohydrates and low-to-medium in protein will help you relax in the evening and set you up for a good night's sleep. Try the following "dinners for sleep":

# pasta with parmesan cheese
# scrambled eggs and cheese
# tofu stirfry
# hummus with whole wheat pita bread
# seafood, pasta, and cottage cheese
# meats and poultry with veggies
# tuna salad sandwich
# chili with beans, not spicy
# sesame seeds (rich in tryptophan) sprinkled on salad with tuna chunks, and whole wheat crackers

FOODS THAT KEEP YOU AWAKE (Avoid it)

Caffeine-containing foods top the list of foods that wake you up.

Know your caffeine quota: Some persons are more caffeine-sensitive than others. Many adults can take up to 250 milligrams of caffeine a day (the average amount in 21/2 cups of coffee) and experience no sleep problems. Others get jitters after one cola.

Time your caffeine boost: For most people, the effects of caffeine wear off within six hours, so coffee in the morning will usually not interfere with sleep in the evening. Caffeine-containing beverages at lunch may not affect your sleep, but coffee, tea, or cola in the evening is likely to keep you awake.
courtesy:askdrsears

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