Some surprising news about coconut milk
March 25, 2012 | By: Christoulla Boodram | Posted in: Uncategorized
Recently, I’ve had the pleasure of a new Pastor and wife moving in with us from Jamaica. Meet Meleita. One of the things I love about living with different people is learning new recipes.
Being from Jamaica, Meleita loves to cook with coconut milk – her rice ‘n’ peas are to die for. But I have to admit, I was a little concerned as I was always under the impression that coconut milk was fattening and bad for you as it contains saturated fat. So I did a bit of research and was very pleasantly surprised. Here’s what I discovered:
- It helps to maintain blood sugar places as it is a rich source of manganese.
- It keeps skin and blood vessels flexible and elastic. Copper is a very important mineral for most of the bodily functions. Copper and vitamin C help to maintain the flexibility and elasticity of the skin and blood vessels.
- It aids in building strong bones as it is rich in calcium and phosphorus. Phosphorus is an essential nutrient that the body needs for strengthening bones. It is must to take phosphorus with calcium particularly to prevent bone loss because it supplies phosphate to the body.
- It helps to prevent anemia. Lack of iron is the most common nutrient deficiency among the people throughout the world. Each cup of coconut milk supplies the body with nearly a quarter of daily value of iron.
- It relaxes muscles and nerves. Whenever you feel muscle cramps or muscle soreness, have some food along with coconut milk. It is rich in magnesium and can help you in relieving the problem.
- I think this one is the most surprising. It helps in controlling weight, can you believe it? Coconut milk makes you feel full very quickly because of high concentrations of dietary fiber. Coconut milk contains mostly medium chain fatty acids that are easily absorbed by the body and turned into energy. This makes coconut milk less fattening than cow’s milk and great for people who want to lose weight.
- It decreases the risk of joint inflammation and relieves the symptoms of arthritis.
- It helps in lowering high blood pressure as it contains potassium. Potassium helps in lowering blood pressure levels in the body.
- It helps in maintaining healthy immune system by warding off colds and coughs. It supplies vitamin C to the body which boosts the immune system.
- It promotes the health of prostate gland as it contains zink. A preliminary study showed that it slows down the activities of cancer cells.
I never thought that something that tastes so good can be this healthy. So it seems that I’ve been missing out. I cook with it from time to time but it will definitely feature more in my recipes from now on. Mmnn, I think I might just go and make myself a smoothie with it, to share with my new Jamaican friend…
Christoulla Boodram
http://chrisboodram.blogspot.com
Twitter: @ChrisBoodram
http://planet.universal.org/group/uk-fitness
Christoulla Boodram
Its amazing to know what coconut milk can do to our bodies. I will be using it more often from now on.
Thanks Mrs Chris for sharing.
Mrs Chris I am going to laugh when i was in the office I keep singing on my rice and pea….mmmm that why Jamaicans love wi rice and pea.. you need to try out run-down wit the coconut my my that sweet… I will be back to teach you it….. I am glad the Jamaica family is there wit you…lol.
Miss you Mrs chris…..
LoL, Mrs Cris glad to see you get the experience of some real born and bred Jamaican cook.
But coconut mik for milkshake? nd replacement of cows milk? I always got the idea that you have to boil it out before it is edible or else it will “run your belly” coz i only use it when cooking food to eat not snacks… tell me more coz if its that nutrious i’d definately like to replace it with my very much loved fattening blue top bottle cow’s milk
Tell me more…
Hi Mrs Christoulla
Amazing things that we hear and see, I’ve got to try this milk, I never used it and I’m trying all my best to eat healthy.
Thanks for sharing with us.
Kisses
Hi Chris Gloria & I never knew that coconut milk was so healthy for you and does so many things for the body as we only use it when cooking cook up rice thank you for the info. God bless.
Hello Mrs Cris and yes Mrs Mel is a dream in the kitchen so glad to know that you are living together and enjoying the nice Jamaican food. Two beautiful women of God. I miss you both. Kisses from Jamaica.
Good morning Mrs. Christouolla i am also Jamaican and i have had the privilege of knowing Mrs. Melieta as well. She is an amazing cook. hmmhmmm! and a wonderful person. i eat rice and peas alot and i did not know that the coconut milk was so healthy. Thanks a lot for all the information. i never tried it in a smoothie before but you just gave me a new idea. P.S. Mrs. Melieta makes a great parfait as well. smilles.