The Health Benefits of Coconut Water

Coconut water is the liquid part of the young coconut. When coconuts are immature, the endosperm or kernel is semisolid and jelly like. As the coconut matures, the endosperm becomes more solid and fibrous, developing into the firmer coconut meat with which we are familiar. As the coconut matures, the water inside is replaced by more coconut meat and air, so it best to harvest the water when the coconut is young.

Water from young immature coconuts offers a long and growing list of health benefits, distinct from the benefits of its counterpart, coconut oil. Coconut water is a powerhouse of natural electrolytes, vitamins, minerals trace elements, amino acids, enzymes, antioxidants and phytonutrients, and is low in sugar, but pleasantly sweet. It's great for post exercise rehydration, but also has anti-inflammatory properties, protects your heart and urinary tract, is a digestive tonic, improves your skin and eyes, supports good immune function, and can even help balance your blood glucose and insulin levels.

Coconut water is the richest dietary source of cytokinins, plant hormones that have anti-cancer, anti-aging, and anti-thrombolytic benefits in humans. Because coconut water is isotonic and sterile it is very similar to blood plasma and has been used intravenously in emerency situations for more than 60 years. Cytokinins found in coconut water have been found to exert an anti-aging effect on human cells and tissues. When human cells are exposed to cytokinins, aging slows down considerably. Cells treated with cytokinins don't undergo the normal degenerative changes. Researchers have suggested that if you consume a diet rich in cytokinins, you may experience anti-aging effects and have less risk for degenerative and age related diseases. Coconut water is the richest natural dietary source of cytokinins.

Cytokinins have also been found to have anti-thrombolytic properties so may lower your risk for blood clots. According to Dr. Bruce Fife, "In regulating cell growth, cytokinins prevent the mistakes that may lead to the development of cancer. Normal cells are kept healthy while cancerous cells are programmed to die, preventing them from growing and spreading. Subsequently, the anti-cancer effects of cytokinins have been well documented." High levels of mineral ions, especially potassium, in coconut water have been found to help prevent heart attacks. In one study 71 percent of people who drank coconut water experienced lower blood pressures.

Vitamin D3 Cuts Cancers by 60 Percent

Despite all the bad press linking sun exposure to skin cancer, there's no evidence at all to support it. There is, however, plenty of evidence to the contrary. Over the years, several studies have confirmed that appropriate sun exposure actually helps prevent skin cancer and other cancers as well. In fact, melanoma occurrence has been found to decrease with greater sun exposure, and can be increased by sunscreens.

There are two primary types of UV rays from sunlight, the vitamin D producing UVB rays and the skin damaging UVA light. Both UVA and UVB can cause tanning and burning, although UVB does so far more rapidly. UVA, however, penetrates your skin more deeply than UVB, and is the major factor in photoaging, wrinkles and skin cancers. The rising rates of melanoma documented over the last three decades are not due to sun exposure as often stated; researchers instead believe they are due to an increease in diagnoses of non-cancerous lesions classified, misleadingly, as "stage 1 melanoma". In other words non-cancerous lesions have now been classified as cancerous. This is the main reason that melanoma rates have tripled in the last 30 years. Exposure to sunlight, particularly UVB is protective against melanoma, or rather, the vitamin D3 your body produces in response to UVB radiation is protective. Optimizing your vitamin D3 levels through proper sun exposure or use of a safe tanning bed can reduce your risk of skin cancer and as many as 16 different types of cancer. The sun is your best source of vitamin D3 because when you expose your skin to sunshine, your skin synthesizes vitamin D3 sulfate. This form of vitamin D3 is water soluble and can travel freely in your bloodstream, unlike oral vitamin D3 supplements. Vitamin D3 is a steroid hormone that influences virtually every cell in your body, and is easily one of nature's most potent cancer fighters. So I want to stress again that if you are shunning all sun exposure, you are missing out on this natural cancer protection. Your organs can convert the vitamin D3 in your bloodstream into calcitriol, which is the hormonal or activated version of vitamin D3. Your organs then use it to repair damage, including damage from cancer cells and tumors. Vitamin D3 protective effect against cancer works in multiple ways, including: Increasing the self-destruction of mutated cells (which, if allowed to replicate, could lead to cancer). Reducing the spread and reproduction of cancer cells. Causing cells to become differentiated (cancer cells often lack differentation). Reducing the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones, which is a step in the transition of dormant tumors turning cancerous. This applies not only to skin cancer but other types of cancer as well. Theories linking vitamin D3 to certain cancers have been tested and confirmed in more than 200 epidemiological studies, and understanding of its physiological basis stems from more than 2,500 laboratory studies, according to epidemiologist Cedric Garland, professor of Family and Preventive Medicine at the UC San Diego School of Medicine. Some 600,000 cases of breast and colorectal cancers could be prevented each year if vitamin D3 levels among populations worldwide were increased, according to previous research by Dr Garland and colleagues. Optimizing your vitamin D3 levels could help you to prevent at least 16 different types of cancer including pancreatic, lung, ovarian, prostate, and skin cancers. Light-skinned women who had high amounts of long term sun exposure had half the risk of developing advanced breast cancer (cancer that spreads beyond your breast) as women with lower amounts of regular sun exposure, according to a study in the American Journal of Epidemiology. The best source of Vitamin D3 is the sun, so a person should get a reasonable amount of sun exposure such a walking, outdoor activities and gardening. However, if you are on a tight schedule or it is winter time, it is a good idea to take vitamin D3 supplements. Most research suggests adults need about 8,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D3 a day.