THIS NUT PACKS A PUNCH

For several years, it has been a routine for Ruwi-based Omani youngster Nasser, working for a private company, to visit the nearby supermarket every evening with a thermo to collect coconut water which the shop assistant would have thrown into the drainage.

“I have been collecting it for many years now and in the early days it was just me who used to drink it but today, my whole family also love it”, Nasser said.

He said it all began with a blood disorder which was diagnosed by a doctor at the Royal Hospital who advised him to consume coconut water side by side the medicines that he prescribed.

Today, it has been more than five years and he admits that not only was he cured of the disease but it has become a habit to drink coconut water.

Medics say that coconut water has a plethora of medicinal value and can keep most of the blood cell-related diseases at bay.

“We break at least 100 to 150 coconuts a day and they are sold either in scraped or desiccated form. Water from at least 3 or 4 coconuts would make a litre”, says the manager of a leading chain of hypermarkets.

If this is the number from one outlet, imagine the amount of coconut water being wasted, which could have been used if collected and distributed rationally.

“Coconut water is sterile and sweet and is rich in unique chemicals such as vitamins, minerals, sugar, enzymes, electrolytes, cytokine, amino acids and phyto-hormones”, says a nutritionist of a leading hospital. While each coconut contains between 200 and 1,000 ml of water depending on the size and the type of cultivation, the flavour and taste of it may vary depending on the salinity of the soil, climate, distance from the seashore and many more, according to farm experts.

This naturally refreshing water which has a sweet, nutty taste contains easily digested carbohydrate in the form of sugar and electrolytes.

Different from the high-fat coconut milk or oil, coconut water is tapped from young, green coconuts. One of nature’s most rejuvenating drinks, this precious liquid is packed with antioxidants, amino acids, enzymes, B-complex vitamins, vitamin C and minerals like iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, manganese and zinc.

The micronutrients in coconut water help boost the immune system and the plant hormones called cytokines in this health drink can control ageing and cancer.