Why I love coconut milk?

There are so many benefits to coconut milk. We enjoy it a lot. We make chocolate pudding and lots of coconut milk ice cream.

Benefits of Coconut Milk:

Following are some of the health benefits of coconut milk:

1. Helps to maintain blood sugar places:

Glucose intolerance may cause manganese deficiency in your body. Coconut milk is a rich source of manganese. Nuts are some other excellent sources of manganese.

2. 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.

3. Aids in building strong bones:

Coconut milk is not rich in calcium, but it is rich in 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.

4. Helps to prevent anemia:

Lack of iron is the most common nutrient deficiency among the people throughout the world. Iron deficiency in body does not allow the body to develop enough hemoglobin for keeping sufficient oxygen levels in red blood cells, resulting in anemia. Each cup of coconut milk supplies the body with nearly a quarter of daily value of iron.

5. 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. One of the functions of magnesium is it acts as a gate block in many nerve cells. If magnesium is not present in body, nerve cells become very active because of calcium that activates nerves. Excess contraction of muscles is caused by over-active nerve cells.

6. Helps in Controlling Weight:

This can be good news for people who are trying to reduce weight. Coconut milk makes you feel full very quickly because of high concentrations of dietary fiber.

7. Decreases the risk of joint inflammation:

Selenium is an important antioxidant. It controls the free radicals and thereby helps in relieving the symptoms of arthritis. It is observed that people with low levels of selenium may suffer from rheumatoid arthritis.

8. Helps in lowering high blood pressure:

People who are concerned about their blood pressure will not face any problem consuming foods containing potassium. Potassium helps in lowering blood pressure levels in the body.

9. Helps in maintaining healthy immune system:

Coconut milk helps in warding off colds and coughs by keeping the immune system healthy. It supplies vitamin C to the body which boosts the immune system.

10. Promotes the health of prostate gland:

Zinc plays a vital role in promoting the health of prostate gland. A preliminary study showed that it slows down the activities of cancer cells. 

I hope the above mentioned information helps you in understanding the relation between health and coconut milk. It can also be consumed by people with cow’s milk allergy. It is free from gluten and soy. Hence people who are allergic to these substances can also use coconut milk. 

 Even some of my family who can eat dairy find the taste of the coconut ice cream better than regular ice cream from the store. 

Healthy life

Suzanne

 

Heal Your Gut

The gut has a mind of its own, the "enteric nervous system". Just like the larger brain in the head, researchers say, this system sends and receives impulses, records experiences and respond to emotions. Its nerve cells are bathed and influenced by the same neurotransmitters. The gut can upset the brain just as the brain can upset the gut.

The gut's brain or the "enteric nervous system" is located in the sheaths of tissue lining the esophagus, stomach, small intestine and colon. Considered a single entity, it is a network of neurons, neurotransmitters and proteins that zap messages between neurons, support cells like those found in the brain proper and a complex circuitry that enables it to act independently, learn, remember and, as the saying goes, produce gut feelings.

The gut's brain is reported to play a major role in human happiness and misery. Many gastrointestinal disorders like colitis and irritable bowel syndrome originate from problems within the gut's brain. Also, it is now known that most ulcers are caused by a bacterium not by hidden anger at one's mother.

http://chriskresser.com/beyond-paleo-6

This is a good article from Chris Kresser who states " Nor did we have any control over whether we were breast-fed or whether our mothers had healthy guts when they gave birth to us." So it is up to us to feed ourselves the best food available like probiotics, prebiotics, seaweeds, fruits, vegetables and wholesome meats.

 There are steps you can take to restore your gut flora:

• Remove all food toxins from your diet
• Eat plenty of fermentable fibers (starches like sweet potato, yam, yucca, etc.)
• Eat fermented foods like kefir, yogurt, sauerkraut, kim chi, etc., and/or take a high-quality, multi-species probiotic
• Treat any intestinal pathogens (such as parasites) that may be present
• Take steps to manage your stress

Following the GAPS diet, SCD diet and Paleo keeps us from making the wrong choices and helps ultimately to heal and recover from autoimmune diseases.

A few good recipes for getting the healing benefits of coconut are below:

 Dairy Free Hot Chocolate Milk

1 can coconut milk

1 tbsp. vanilla

½  cup coconut sugar

½  cup cocoa

1 tsp. cinnamon

Whisk all in a large pot together thoroughly, add 4 cups boiling water slowly.

Chocolate Snowballs

½  cup melted coconut oil

½ cup honey

1 ½ c. finely shredded unsweetened coconut

½ c. cocoa

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix all together. Drop onto parchment paper or pat in an 8 x 8 pan. Put in fridge to cool.

Rich Chocolate Chia Pudding

2 cans coconut milk

½  cup maple syrup

1/3 cup chia

2/3 cup cocoa

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine all ingredients in blender or food processor

Pour mixture into a storage container, preferably glass. Mix thoroughly until ultra smooth.

Store in the fridge. Top with coconut, chopped nuts or banana.

Healthy life.

Suzanne

Coconut Oil Crunchies

1.5 cups shredded coconut
3/4 c maple syrup or honey
3/4 c cocoa powder
Dash Vanilla Extract
1/4 c coconut oil (melt gently)
Mix all together and pat in pan.
Put in fridge to harden.