By Henrylito D. Tacio

Craig Elevitch, an agroforestry expert in Hawaii, notes: “The amazing thing about the coconut palm is that it provides almost all the necessities of life: food, drink, oil, medicine, fiber, timber, thatch, mats, fuel, and domestic utensils, as well as serving important environmental services such as soil erosion control in coastal regions, wind protection and shade for other crops.”

With multifarious uses, coconut is touted as a “tree of life.” Coconut is known scientifically as Cocos nucifera, but in the Philippines it has several names: niyog (among Tagalogs and Ilokanos), lubi (Bisaya), ngu-ngut (Pampangueño), and ongot (Ibanag).

In the past, coconut water was the “in thing.” During World War II, Japanese used coconut water to rehydrate wounded patients when there was a shortage of sterile glucose.

Coconut water is good for people with kidney problems. One Filipino doctor claimed that “two glasses of fresh buko juice every day can reduce one’s chance of having kidney or ureter stones.” Daily ‘bucolysis’ – renoculsis with ‘buko’ juice – result in a 10% reduction in size of all kidney stones.

Diabetics can also benefit from drinking coconut water. The Philippine Coconut Authority informs: “Potassium content of water is remarkably high at all nut ages. Together with sodium and phosphorus, potassium content also tends to increase with the ages of the coconut to peak at nine months. This characteristic of coconut water makes it a very good drinking water for diabetics. Diabetics waking from a coma recover quickly after drinking coconut water.”

A joint study by the University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital and the Department of Science and Technology found that coconut water from 9-month old nuts could be safely injected into a healthy person. But here’s a warning: Patients with weak kidneys may not be able to tolerate high doses of fluid due to its high potassium content. This can lead to heart attack!

Coconut water has been used for centuries as a remedy for a lot of ailments. Occasionally by itself, or often mixed with coconut milk, it has been used to treat intestinal worms and relives stomach and urinary problems. It is also said to diminish rashes caused by smallpox, chickenpox, and measles. It is also thought to be beneficial to the skin.

Ayurveda, a 5,000-year-old natural medicine from India, uses coconut oil/products as antiseptic, astringent, gargle for sores, gum strengthener, balm for ear aches/stomach aches, syphilis, gonorrhea, smallpox, leprosy, intestinal parasites, ringworm, and skin ulcers, among others.

Coconut milk, which is made from water and grated coconut meat, is indispensable in some food preparations: Indian jhinga molee, Malaysian curries, Fijian kokoda, Filipino ginataang bilo-bilo, Samoan lu’au, piri-piri’chicken from Mozambique, Brazilian vatapa, and Caribbean coo-coo.

Unknown to many, electricity can be produced from coconut milk. Plants of the Philippines, published by the University of the Philippines Press, gives this information: “Bacteria implanted in the coconut milk break it down to a simpler form thus producing electricity: this mechanism is called biochemical fuel cell. The fuel cell can convert chemical energy to electrical energy by the oxidation of the fuel directly. The fuel cell and the oxidant are supplied to the cell continuously during the operation by fermentation process.”

Remember the nutty song, “The coconut is a giant nut, if you eat too much you’ll get very fat”? Is coconut really bad for the health?

Celeste Tanchoco, nutritional science and technology division chief of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute, explains: “I think it’s because of the belief that saturated fat is hypercholesterolemic, and coconut oil is saturated fat. But what we should consider in classifying fats and oils is not just whether they are saturated or unsaturated, but it should be more on the fatty acid composition – whether it’s short-chain, medium-chain or long-chain. Coconut oil is medium-chain, which is saturated.

More explanation: “Now, what has been considered before was that saturated fat raises blood cholesterol. Coconut oil is saturated, therefore it can increase hypercholesterolemia. And they backed this up with previous studies that when a patient was given a diet that contained coconut oil, indeed his cholesterol levels went up. But they focused only on the change in the fat in the diet. They failed to consider the composition of the diet.”

Now sweeping the Philippines is virgin coconut oil, which is said to be anti-viral and anti-bacterial and touted to treat the virus that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

“Virgin coconut oil is coconut oil,” explains Dr. Conrado Dayrit, professor emeritus of the College of Pharmacology in the University of the Philippines. “The difference is just that when you say virgin, it did not pass the copra process.”

Generally, coconut oil is considered virgin when it is not heated, and when no additives or chemicals are used, according to Dr. Teresita M. Espino, director of the Laguna-based Biotech Institute. Once it has been heated or “cooked” and other materials are added to the mixture, the natural qualities are compromised and the oil may no longer be considered virgin.

The production of virgin coco oil, says Dr. Espino, starts from the grating process, followed by the extraction of the coconut milk. The extraction results in the leftover coconut meat called ‘sapal.’ This is mixed with enzymes that separate the oil from the aqueous matter.

The separated oil goes through a centrifugal (movement away from the
center) process and comes out pale yellow in color. This is the color one should look for in virgin coco oil. The entire process does not involve heat and takes place only in room temperature.

“This is the traditional method of coconut oil extraction that has been used in the Philippines for hundreds of years,” points out Joey Villa, a businessman whose product – cold-pressed flavored extra virgin coconut oil sold under the brand name ‘Wild Country’ – is getting rave reviews and with orders from both the domestic and offshore markets.

“Laboratory tests show that (virgin coconut oil) is a very high quality coconut oil, with the lauric acid content measured at 54.9 percent, which makes it an excellent anti-viral, antibacterial and antifungal agent. This oil is not mass-produced, but made by hand just as it has been done for hundreds of years.”

Yes, coconut is economically important. In an article that appeared in Reader’s Digest, author William Ecenbarger reports: “Coconut growing provides a living for about ten million families. The Philippines, Indonesia, and India are the world’s leading producers.”

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