Coconut water is the purest liquid second only to water itself. It has many health benefits and uses that you probably did not know about.

Many persons have gone to the Caribbean , the Pacific Islands , Florida , Hawaii , South America or Southern Asia and have tasted some very refreshing coconut water. The palm trees you have become accustomed to while on vacation are very potent sources of coconut water that has many health benefits and uses that you probably did not know about.

Coconut water is the purest liquid second only to water itself. It is chock full of electrolytes, calcium, potassium, magnesium; everything that is good for you.

Coconut water is the liquid that is taken from unripe coconuts. If coconuts get ripe the liquid that is inside will harden and become a part of the white flesh of the coconut, which is used to make coconut milk. So, picking the coconut while it is unripe will ensure that the body gets all the benefits of coconut water.

Coconut Water Hydrates the Body
Coconut water is an isotonic solution which replaces the fluids and minerals that the body loses during physical activities. For this reason, many athletes and persons who work out regularly are encouraged to drink coconut water to replace all the minerals and fluid that they lose while working out. Even the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) attest to the benefits of drinking coconut water when it fought for a patent in 2000 to market coconut water as the next big sports drinks.

Coconut Water Relieves Urinary Problems
If you consume coconut water on a regular basis it can reduce urinary problems. People who suffer from strangury, polyutra and other urinary ailments drink coconut water to relieve their symptoms

Coconut Water Kills Intestinal Worms
Drinking coconut water with one teaspoon of olive oil for three days will kill intestinal worms and clear the stomach of worms, which makes for better digestion.

Coconut Water Breaks up Kidney Stones
People who have kidney problems and are plagued by kidney stones should drink coconut water in addition to taking their medication.
Drinking coconut water regularly helps to break up kidney stones making them easier to push out.

Coconut Water is Used in Blood Transfusion
Coconut water is almost identical to blood plasma and this makes it easy to use for blood transfusion. In cases of emergency coconut water has been used as an intravenous hydration fluid instead of the standard IV fluid. During World War II many wounded soldiers were saved in the Pacific because of emergency transfusion using coconut water as plasma.

Coconut Water is an Antibacterial
Coconut water contains monolaurin, an antiviral, antibacterial and antiprozoal monoglyceride that is used to kill lipid-coated viruses such as HIV, Herpes, cytomegalovirus, flu and various pathogenic bacteria.

Coconut Water Controls Vomiting
Coconut water is great at reducing vomiting. People who have typhoid, malaria, fevers or other ailments that are known to induce vomiting drink coconut water to settle the stomach. As such, coconut water is also a good thing to drink during a hangover..

Green or unripe coconuts can be found in Asian and West Indian markets. All coconuts that they sell are closed up to keep coconut water from losing its nutrients. So, if you plan on buying a coconut, you can ask someone to chop the coconut open or you can open it yourself at home and drink it.

Source: Tommy Fassbender

The Secrets of Ageing

Many years ago I watched a very captivating movie entitled “Lost Horizon”.

I remember vividly the beautiful scenes of a paradise called Shangri-La, where the inhabitants live in peace and tranquility, enjoy fresh air, clean water, and bountiful farms.

The most intriguing thing was, the people there hardly grew old !

How nice it would be if one can find the formula to immortality. The world’s top pharmaceutical companies will pay you millions of dollars to buy the formula.

Healthcare agencies all over the world would want you to work for them, at all costs.

In reality this is only a dream. In fact ageing-related problems are creating nightmares for many people, while medical professionals are researching for solutions and breakthroughs.

Scientists in Singapore have recently made an age-defying discovery ! They have discovered that the ageing process in certain organs in mice, such as the pancreas, liver and spleen, can be delayed by deactivating a molecule.

They found that the ageing process in the pancreas of the mice with the molecule deactivated  slowed down, compared with that of the wild mice.

The team of nine researchers have studied this for five years and found that the pancreas in a two-year-old mouse in which the molecule had been deactivated functioned like that of a three-month-old mouse. In human terms this roughly equates to a 60-year-old man having the pancreas of a 20-year-old man.

This means that diseases such as Type 2 diabetes can be controlled by inhibiting the molecule through medicine to prevent ageing in certain organs. It would take at least two years to find a treatment as more research is needed on humans.

A second team from the same agency in Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A’Star), is also working to unlock the secrets of normal ageing.

Dr Alan Colman, a stem-cell specialist from the agency has been studying Progeria, a very rare genetic condition, wherein symptoms resembling aspects of ageing are manifested at an early age. This premature ageing lead to heart problems, hardened arteries, and hair loss.

By manipulating Progeria patients’ skin cells to revert to stem cells, Dr Colman and his team hope to find out how the genetic condition affects the production of a mutant protein called progerin in these cells. Progerin is also found in healthy individuals as they age.

Dr Colman said at a recent symposium that it was a worthwhile study to see whether similarities existed between the rare disease and the normal ageing process.

In another separate study, scientists from Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet claimed to have identified the cause of premature ageing. They have linked the normal ageing process to problems with cell respiration. This is the process in which cells extract energy from the nutrients. The study showed that certain proteins become unstable and disintegrate, which in turn can impair cell respiration and cause premature ageing.

These cell respiration problems  affect the normal ageing process and may lead to many medical conditions, including diabetes, cancer, Parkinson’s and genetic diseases.

What causes ageing ? This is a mystery and no one knows for sure. However people are living longer because of better healthcare, improved living environment, availability of quality and cleaner food.

Scientists may soon unravel the secrets to ageing and the solutions to prevent it.

Will we find our Shangri-La ? Is this a good thing ? Will this lead to social, ethical and other problems ?

Your comments are welcome.