Coconut water is a micronutrient dense, low calorie beverage with profound health benefits. It should be consumed for avoiding the risk of developing dehydration.

Nutritional profile

• It contains fewer amounts of carbohydrate but desirable amount of fibre
• It contains significant amount of protein and especially rich in alanine, serine, arginine and cysteine (amino acids)
• It contains negligible amount of fat
• It is packed with numerous micronutrients like Vitamin C, Vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B8, B9, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron

Tender coconut water (TCW)

• It is the water and flesh extracted from wholesome coconut
• It has to be sliced from the top and has to be strained
• It is rich in vitamins, minerals and electrolytes

Health benefits

Role on immunity

• Lauric acid component of coconut water plays significant role in boosting up the immunological responses of the body
• Its micronutrient contents are also accountable for improving the resistant power of the body, which helps to improve body’s disease fighting capacity
• It also exerts antiviral and antibacterial activities that help to reduce the susceptibility of developing infectious diseases

Role on renal health

• It contains significant amount of potassium, which plays vital role in promoting renal health
• Drinking coconut water is very effective for inhibiting the risk of developing kidney stones
• Kidney stones are small crystals, which have generally developed when various compounds such as calcium, oxalate etc. bind together. Coconut water helps to inhibit the sticking of these crystals to the kidney thus reduces the consequences of renal calculi
• It also helps to clean the urinary tract by stimulating urination hence reduces the risk of developing renal infections as well as renal disorders

Role on hydration

• It helps to hydrate the body as it provides significant amount of water as well as electrolytes
• Its potassium content is responsible for maintaining the fluid and electrolyte balance of the body hence helps to prevent dehydration
• It is very effective to be consumed in the condition of vomiting or diarrhea to restore the loss of fluid and electrolytes within body

Role on preventing cancers

• Cytokinin component of coconut water is considered as the principal component responsible for exerting anti-carcinogenic activities
• It helps to suppress the growth of cancerous cells by inhibiting their proliferation and also helps to prevent their metastasis

Antioxidant activities

• It contains numerous substances that exert antioxidant activity
• Its consumption is extremely beneficial for preventing oxidative damages of the body as it helps to decrease the concentration of free radicals
• It also helps to protect several important biological substances of body like DNA, RNA, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids from oxidative damages hence helps to sustain their functionalities
• It helps to decrease the susceptibility of developing chronic diseases by lessening oxidative stress

Role on weight management

• It is considered as a low calorie and low carbohydrate drink hence it should be included in the diet of those individual who want to reduce their body weight
• It helps to decrease appetite as its consumption is related with providing a feeling of fullness as a result it tends to decrease food consumption that facilitates weight reduction by generating a negative energy balance within body
• Its fibre content also plays significant role in preventing obesity as it helps to increase the catabolic rate and also prevents fat accumulation within body

Role on skin

• Drinking of coconut water is extremely beneficial for preventing dry and flaky skin as it helps in proper hydration
• It is associated with promoting circulation, which helps to enhance the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the skin that helps to provide proper nourishment hence promotes skin growth

• It also helps to keep the skin firm as well as youthful

Role on preventing hangover

• It acts as an effective remedy for hangover
• It is associated with replenishing electrolytes within body and also improves hydration that helps to prevent vomiting and headache
• Its antioxidant activity is responsible for combating oxidative stress caused by too much alcohol consumption

Role on digestive health

• Individual who suffer from indigestion should consume coconut water
• Its fibre content is responsible for enhancing bowel movement, which helps to improve regularity and hence prevents constipation
• Its fibre content and bioactive compounds are also accountable for decreasing the prevalence of bloating and acid reflux

 Role on mental health

• Consuming coconut water is a great option for improving mental health
• It helps to decrease anxiety
• Consumption of coconut water helps to calm the mind and also helps to slow down the heart rate, which is very effective for reducing stress
• Its consumption is awfully useful for making an individual feel refreshed

 Role on endurance

• Athletes should consume coconut water after exercise as it helps to replenish the loss of water and electrolytes, which have occurred during exercise

• It helps to carry oxygen as well as nutrients to every cell that helps to restore body’s fluid after exercising
• Consumption of coconut water before exercise is very helpful for boosting up energy level of body hence it is associated with enhancing endurance

 Role on detoxification

• It acts as an imperative detox, which helps to eliminate the toxin and rehydrates the body
• Consumption of coconut water helps to inhibit the accumulation of toxins within blood
• It also has diuretic properties that help to increase urination, which is associated with eliminating waste products from body

Therapeutic applications

• It is used as an imperative preventive measure for cardio vascular diseases
• Its potassium content plays significant role in reducing blood pressure
• It also helps to decrease the concentration of cholesterol within blood hence helps to reduce the susceptibility of developing atherosclerosis and coronary artery diseases
• Consumption of coconut water is very effective for maintaining healthy heart beat
• It is a low carbohydrate drink hence its consumption is very useful for diabetic patients
• It helps to reduce general weakness and fatigue
• It act as an effective alternative for sport drink

Recent findings

• Recent studies have shown that consumption of coconut water is very much health worthy but consumption of fermented coconut water is comparatively healthier and according to the research addition of Lactobacillus casei L4 while preparing fermented coconut water is most effective as it enhances probiotic activities of fermented coconut water (Giri et al., 2018)

• Current studies have also shown that addition of Lactobacillus plantarum DW12 during the preparation of functional beverage from mature coconut water is a great health choice as it exerts relatively better taste, biological activities as well as probiotic activities (Kantachote et al., 2017)

General consideration of using coconut water

• It can be consumed in any time of the day
• Pregnant women should consume coconut water as it helps to hydrate them and helps to prevents constipation. It also reduces the consequences of morning sickness and heart burn
• Lactating mother should also consume coconut water as it is associated with providing sufficient water and electrolyte, which helps to enhance milk production
• Consumption of too much coconut water is not good for health as it may lead to increase potassium load in blood that can affect the kidney adversely and also causes irregular heart beat

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Dayrit, F.M. and Nguyen, Q., 2020. Improving the Value of the Coconut with Biotechnology. In Coconut Biotechnology: Towards the Sustainability of the ‘Tree of Life’ (pp. 29-50). Springer, Cham.

Giri, S.S., Sukumaran, V., Sen, S.S. and Park, S.C., 2018. Use of a potential probiotic, Lactobacillus casei L4, in the preparation of fermented coconut water beverage. Frontiers in Microbiology, 9, p.1976.

Kantachote, D., Ratanaburee, A., Hayisama-ae, W., Sukhoom, A. and Nunkaew, T., 2017. The use of potential probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum DW12 for producing a novel functional beverage from mature coconut water. Journal of Functional Foods, 32, pp.401-408.

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Reddy, E.P., Kumar, K.M., Lakshmi, T.M. and Kiran, S.R., 2018. Tender coconut water uses, health benefits, good nutritive value and antioxidant capacity. Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development, 9(4), pp.184-188.

Srisukh, V., Young Coconut Water: The functional drink from nature.

Zulaikhah, S.T., 2019. Health benefits of tender coconut water (TCW). Int J Pharm Sci Res, 10(2), pp.474-80.