Coconut milk is a milky substance extracted from the flesh of mature coconuts. It can benefit health in several ways, such as lowering cholesterol and stimulating weight loss.
As a result, coconut milk has gained popularity in the healthcare community and as a substitute for dairy milk.
In this article, we describe what coconut milk is, its health benefits, and how manufacturers make it.
Coconut water is a liquid inside the coconut, while coconut milk comes from the fruit’s white flesh.
Coconut milk can be thin or thick. When making thick coconut milk, manufacturers grate the flesh of mature coconuts, then squeeze it through a cheesecloth to extract the liquid. Thick coconut milk retains more fat than thin milk.
Thin milk comes from the squeezed coconut flesh left inside the cheesecloth. Manufacturers mix this with warm water then strain it through cheesecloth a second time. The resulting liquid is much thinner than before.
Research proved that coconut milk has three main health benefits. Below, we describe the effects on heart health, weight loss, and the immune system.
How coconut milk helps in Weight loss
Coconut milk contains MCTs – medium-chain triglycerides, which researchers have linked with weight loss. MCTs, stimulate energy through a process called thermogenesis, or heat production.
Some studies are indicated that MCTs work to waist size and reduce body weight. They also balance out unstable gut microbiota. A lack of this stability might be played a role in developing obesity.
One study which has been done in 2015, found that consuming MCTs at breakfast led to reduced food intake later in the day.
Findings of a 2018 study Source suggest that MCTs increase insulin sensitivity, and many researchers believe that this sensitivity promotes weight loss. Insulin is an essential hormone that controls blood sugar levels and breaks down glucose.
How does it help in Heart health?
Research has linked diets rich in saturated fat with an increased risk of heart disease and high cholesterol.
Many people may not consider coconut milk to be heart-healthy, because of its high-fat content.
Different sources of saturated fats may affect the body in different ways. Also, genetics play a role in how a person metabolizes saturated fats and the extent to which these fats impact human health.
Scant research has investigated the effects of this coconut milk on cholesterol levels. However, a substantial body of research has explored the effects of organic coconut oil.
One study found that coconut oil did not significantly increase levels of “bad cholesterol,” or low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, but that it did increase levels of “good cholesterol,” or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL).
It is important to know that the study period was short, only 4 weeks and that the research was lacking in controls.
HDL cholesterol removes LDL cholesterol from the blood and protects the heart. It carries LDL cholesterol to the liver, which breaks it down, and the human body eventually eliminates it.
While coconut oil may not raise levels of LDL cholesterol, coconut-based products are high in calories and fat.
Keep in mind that organic coconut oil has substantially more fat per serving than coconut milk, which will have less dramatic effects on cholesterol levels.
How does it Boot immune system
Coconuts are containing with a lipid called lauric acid, and many researchers believe that lauric acid can support the immune system.
Some findings are indicating that lauric acid has antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.
In research of the antimicrobial effects of lauric acid from coconuts, the researchers isolated various bacterial strains and exposed them to lauric acid in Petri dishes.
They found that lauric acid effectively inhibited the growth of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Other study Source found that lauric acid triggers apoptosis, cell death, in breast and endometrial cancer cells. The findings show that this acid inhibits cancer cell growth by stimulating certain receptor proteins that regulate the growth of cells.