Here in Mobile, Al the Mardi Gras season is more popular than Christmas. From the first parade (about three weeks before Ash Wednesday), until till the end of Fat Tuesday the celebration is extravagant and abundant. That being said there is a lot of dancing, eating, and late nights drinking. Which also means a mean hangover in the morning. I lucky had a friend from New York visiting and she recommended I try coconut water. I was timid at first but I gave it a try and woe and behold I loved it! After I drank the surprisingly tasty beverage I started feeling a lot better and hydrated again. Now that Mardi Gras has come and gone it had me thinking about how much that little drink made me feel so much better and decided to do a little research on how healthy coconut water really is.
The first thing that caught my attention is that coconut water is natures natural sports drink. It has five essential electrolytes potassium, phosphate, magnesium, calcium and sodium. These are really great for keeping you hydrated and healthy during a work out. Coconut water has more potassium than the leading sports drinks and even has more potassium than a banana! If your worrying about the sugar in this water think again there are only 5 mg of natural sugar in coconut water which is a lot better than the 10- 15 mg of refined sugars found in the average sports drink. Now I did read in my research that for very high impact activity coconut water doesn’t have enough sodium to keep those athletes hydrated. However I don’t think too many people are professional athletes or climbing Everest. So for the average person doing a hard workout coconut water will help hydrate and is a far better option to the sugary sports drink.
Here’s a list of more benefits coconut water has:
· Low in carbohydrates and 99% fat free
· It helps hydrate and keep your body at the proper temperature
· Raises your metabolism and helps aid in weight loss.
· Helps detoxify the body and helps fight off viruses
· Helps eliminate kidney stones and boosts poor circulation
· Its naturally filtered
· Has less fat and lower calories than both milk and orange juice
· Contains fiber that helps slow down the absorption of sugars
· Aids in regulating and helping the digestive system
· Reduces nausea
· During World War II many wounded soldiers were saved because of using coconut water as an alternative to an IV.
Once I knew the benefits I wanted to go out and stock up immediately which then inlayed a few problems. I first went to Winn Dixie and they only had a Sobe version and it was only 10% coconut water. My second try I went to the Fresh Market and they had a deal on certain type of coconut water for 2 for 7 dollars. That’s a pretty good deal for 2 litters, but when its not on special its almost 6 dollars. For me that’s a little pricy for a sports drink so I kept looking and found the lowest price for just under 5 dollars at Publix.
There are three relatively popular brands Vita Coco, Zico, and O.N.E. My favorite of the three is O.N.E for many reasons first being it tastes the best of the three to me. Second the company funds money to childhood obesity organizations and the education system. Lastly the company only uses recycled products to make the bottles.
These are just a few of the reported benefits of coconut water and I think I found my answer on why this beverage made me feel so much better. Whether you’re a bit hung over, or are catching a cold, or just want a good hydrating drink this is definitely a drink not to many people know about to consider.
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