fruit

Coconut water

What is Coconut Water?

Coconut water is the clear, translucent liquid contained in the unripe fruits of the Cocos nucifera plant (Arecaceae Family).

Present only in still green coconuts, the coconut water has an early development compared to the maturity of the fruit (pulp); to better understand its biological function, it is necessary to know the botany of the nut described in the last paragraph of the article.

Extraction

To extract coconut water from walnuts it is first of all necessary to collect greens, at about 7 months of life, without waiting for them to fall to the ground (when they already have a brownish / yellowish color). Fruits less than five months old tend to be bitter and lacking in nutrients.

To obtain coconut water it is necessary to pierce all the outer layers or cut one end, so as to create an opening in the internal cavity, in which there are between 200 and 1000ml of water (depending on the type of cultivar and the size of the walnut).

NB . In younger nuts, coconut water can be pressurized and lightly sprayed during drilling.

Nutritional Features

While coconut pulp is an extremely fatty food, coconut water does not contain a high portion of lipids.

In recent years, coconut water has been marketed as a natural energy drink or sports drink with reduced fat, carbohydrate and calorie content, but with good electrolytic concentration. However, the levels of sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium contained in 100ml of product are not so high, nor are they less balanced with respect to the needs of an adult human organism.

In fact, the marketing of coconut water attributes certain health benefits to the product, but without sufficient scientific evidence. For this reason, the regulatory and control bodies (such as the US "Food and Drug Administration") do not support, and indeed seek to thwart, the disclosure of such misleading information.

For more information on the health properties of coconut water, read the dedicated article: Coconut Water and Medicine.

Overall, coconut water is a low-energy food, with a caloric prevalence attributable to carbohydrates, followed by low amounts of protein and fat. The fibers are irrelevant and cholesterol is absent.

As anticipated, the profile of mineral salts does not strabilia (except for a fair portion of potassium), as well as that of vitamins.

Coconut water is a drink that lends itself to any diet, without exception (except for certain forms of kidney failure). It does not provide nutrients that could negatively or positively affect metabolic diseases, although in case of hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia and overweight it would be better to avoid consuming significant portions. Contains potassium and sodium in a proportion of 2/1, a positive aspect for the hypertensive diet; nevertheless, even in this case, there are definitely more useful foods with chemical properties.

Coconut water does not contain lactose or gluten, which is why it lends itself to nutrition against related intolerances.

It does not break the rules that distinguish vegetarian, vegan and raw food.

The average portion of coconut water is about 250-350ml (45-65kcal).

Coconut

As anticipated, the coconut is the fruit of the Cocos nucifera palm.

From outside to inside, the walnut is structured as follows:

  • smooth external coating called peel or exocarp;
  • fibrous padding called mesocarp;
  • woody shell called endocarp, inside which the endosperm remains attached. The latter is the seed, or the living, edible and extremely fat portion of the coconut.
  • The solid endosperm defines an internal cavity, where coconut water (liquid endosperm) is formed and contained in the early phase.

Ultimately, the function of coconut water is to support the endosperm and nourish the seed, which progressively absorbs it during the so-called nuclear development phase.

These characteristics make the coconut a super resistant fruit to the bad weather, to the bumps and to the maceration in water both sweet and salt. In fact, a coconut palm can spread its seeds even thousands of miles away, thanks to the sea currents that carry the fruit.

Regarding its longevity (thanks also to the coconut water it contains), buoyancy and insulation (exocarp and mesocarp), the coconut has been able to colonize very distant lands, such as Polynesia (which, for those did not know, originally it was totally bare due to its volcanic origins). It is however necessary to specify that the first place of diffusion of this plant has never been identified, above all thanks to the ability of the fruits to resist and navigate for weeks or even months.