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Are all coconut products really good for health?

( Update: 13/03/2020 )

Coconut and other types of products are often advertised as being good for health, but is the truth true to the commercials?

Coconut has long been a familiar fruit in our daily lives. It can be used in many different ways with every part of the coconut, from copra (coconut meat), coconut oil to coconut water.

And many of us have memorized the benefits of word of mouth from person to person, but are those benefits really true? Coconut water is a "beauty elixir", coconut oil is the best cooking oil ... is it correct?

Indian nutritionist Nishita Saxena will answer these questions by analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the 5 most popular coconut products available today.

1. Copra (coconut meat)

Copra contains a lot of minerals like manganese and selenium but absolutely does not contain cholesterol. Whether fresh coconut meat or dried coconut meat is also worth enjoying!

The sweet-tasting coconut pulp is a perfect "spice" addition to both meals and snacks. Especially for young children, with just 1/2 cup chopped coconut as a snack will provide 142 calories, 3.6g of fiber and about 13g of fat (mostly saturated fat) for an energy day. dynamic.

2. Coconut water

Many people believe that coconut water helps keep the body's water better than normal water, but this is not true. Coconut water contains natural sugars, electrolytes like potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium. Each cup of coconut water contains about 46 calories and a little saturated fat, more beneficial to the body than coconut milk.

However, you should also be careful when drinking coconut water, because many coconut water vendors can add artificial sugar into the water to increase the sweetness and attractiveness of coconut water. And as we all know, using artificial sugar is not good for human health.

3. Coconut oil

Coconut oil used as copra is often advertised as the best cooking oil for health: has the ability to help control blood sugar, reduce cholesterol, clean teeth ... but in fact, there have not been many studies. prove this to be completely accurate.

One tablespoon of coconut oil contains about 120 calories and 80% of saturated fat. Because of the high amount of saturated fat, at room temperature, coconut oil is often seen to form a thick mass.

Therefore, you should consider consuming large amounts of coconut oil as a food because it means that the body will absorb a lot of saturated fat.

Therefore, coconut oil is not the only or best oil to take advantage of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats as well as saturated fats. However, coconut oil contains a lot of Vitamin E, so it is commonly used in skin and hair care.

4. Coconut powder

Coconut powder is made from copra dried and ground into flour. Coconut powder has become popular in the "no gluten" trend in the world because it can be used as a substitute for gluten-free alternatives as an alternative flour used in baking with dishes. eat different.

Coconut flour is very dry and absorbent, so you will have to use more eggs and water to knead the baked dough and the ratio of using coconut powder compared to conventional flour will also be different.

5. Coconut butter

Maybe many people will be very strange when they hear about coconut butter. It is made from pulverized and dried copra and is used to spread on bread or other foods that can be eaten with regular butter.

Coconut butter is a very popular food for people who follow the paleo and keto diet. Because made from copra, it possesses all the nutrients of copra.