Health Benefits of Eating Coconuts
It Can Lower Cholesterol Your Levels: In a study performed by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute, in Bicutan, Taguig, in the Philippines, twenty-one test subjects with moderately elevated blood cholesterol who ate dried coconut flakes daily for fourteen weeks lowered their serum triglycerides and LDL cholesterol levels by up to 6.3 percent.
Reduction of Stroke and Heart Disease Risk: In a study published in the March 1993 issue of the Journal of Internal Medicine, a team of researchers from the Primary Health Care Centre in Sjöbo, Sweden, set out to study incidence of stroke in the coconut-eating population on the island of Kitava in Papua New Guinea. The population, which practices a subsistence lifestyle that is uninfluenced by Western dietary habits, relies on found tubers, fruit, fish, and coconut as dietary staples, with coconut making up the largest portion of the inhabitants’ diets. Of the total population, 1,816 subjects were estimated to be older than three years of age, and 125 were estimated to be sixty to ninety-six years old. The frequencies of spontaneous sudden death, exertion-related chest pain, hemiparesis, aphasia, and sudden imbalance were assessed through semi-structured interviews of 213 adults aged twenty to ninety-six. Resting electrocardiograms (ECGs) were recorded in 119 males and 52 females. No case corresponding to stroke, sudden death, or angina pectoris was described by the interviewed subjects. Stroke and heart disease were absent in this population, even in the older adults. In Western cultures, stroke and heart disease occur in an average of more than 11.3 percent of the overall, adult population.
For Better Cardiovascular Health: Before 1991, coconut was the primary dietary staple in Sri Lanka. The average Sri Lankan ate 132 coconuts per year. Heart attacks and heart disease were rare. In fact, they were so rare that in 1978 the United Nations reported that Sri Lanka had the lowest death rate from ischemic heart disease than any other country in the world. Yet, after an aggressive health campaign in the early 1990s that discouraged coconut-eating (due to a misguided theory that fat in coconut leads to heart disease), coconut consumption dropped to about 90 per person. With the drop in coconut consumption, hospital admission rates for heart attacks increased by about 120 percent for women and137 percent for men.
A study published in the January 2012 issue of Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that Filipino women who consumed coconut had healthier blood lipid profiles, a major determinant of heart disease, than those who did not.
Reduction of Parasites and Other Pathogens: The medium chain fatty acids and lauric acid in coconut have long been credited, in coconut-eating cultures, for their impact on reducing parasites and bacterial, fungal, and viral infections. In 2010, researchers from Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, Germany, found that coconut also works to keep sheep parasite-free.
"EASY AND MOIST SOUTHERN COCONUT CAKE RECIPE WITH COCONUT MILK" - Southern Foods Recipes
Serve your friends and guests with this delicious coconut cake – a perfect for any special occasion or family desserts. A real treat for those who love great tasting food.
SERVES 8
INGREDIENTS:
Cake
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature, for the pans
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped out and reserved
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2-1/4 cups cake flour, plus more for the pans
1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon fine salt
12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces, slightly cold
Coconut Filling
3/4 cup Coconut Custard (follow the recipe below), cold
3/4 cup heavy cream, cold
Coconut Butter cream
1-1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cup Coconut Custard (follow the recipe below), cold
Pinch of fine salt
Coconut Simple Syrup (follow the recipe below)
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut, lightly toasted
BAKING DIRECTIONS:
1) To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9 × 2-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
2) Whisk together the milk, egg whites, vanilla seeds, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl.
3) In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer running at low speed, add the butter, one piece at a time, and continue beating until the mixture resembles moist crumbs. Add all but 1/2 cup of the milk mixture and beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 1-1/2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the remaining 1/2 cup milk mixture. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 30 seconds more. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 20 seconds longer. Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
4) Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 22 to 24 minutes. Cool in the pans on a baking rack for 10 minutes. Then run a small knife around the sides of the pans and invert the cakes onto the baking rack. Remove the parchment paper and let cool completely, about 45 minutes.
5) To make the coconut filling, combine the custard and cream in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form.
6) To make the coconut butter cream, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the coconut custard and salt, and beat until smooth.
7) To assemble the cake, use a long serrated knife to slice each cake horizontally into 2 layers. Reserve one of the flat bottom layers for the top of the cake. Place another one of the layers on a cardboard round, cut side up, and brush with some of the coconut simple syrup. Spoon one-third of the coconut filling onto the cake, and using a small offset metal spatula; spread it into an even layer, leaving a ½-inch border around the edge of the cake. Repeat with 2 more layers. Brush the cut side of the reserved cake layer with the remaining syrup. Place the layer, cut side down, on top of the cake. Frost the sides and top of the cake with the butter cream. Pat the toasted coconut onto the sides of the cake and sprinkle some on the top.
Related Post: If you like, nutritious coconut then you will surely love this coconut bread. Get the recipe here; click… Jamie Oliver's Paleo- Grain Free COCONUT BREAD Recipe (Original Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread).
How to Make Southern Coconut Custard
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out, bean and seeds reserved
4 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons Malibu coconut rum (you can also use Coconut Rum Liquor Quik Essence)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
COOKING DIRECTIONS:
1) Combine the milk, coconut milk, and vanilla bean and seeds in a medium nonreactive saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat.
2) Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch together in a large bowl. Slowly whisk the warm milk into the egg mixture. Then return the mixture to the pan, set it over medium heat, and bring to a boil. Cook, whisking constantly, until thickened. Scrape the mixture into a bowl, remove the vanilla bean, and whisk in the rum and vanilla extract. Let cool to room temperature; then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours.
Related Post: Have you watched an episode of Game of Thrones? Try Sansa's favorite food, click for the recipe, Sansa Lemon Cakes Medieval Recipe- Game of Thrones Food Recipes.
How to Make Coconut Simple Syrup
INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
COOKING DIRECTIONS:
1) Combine 1-1/2 cups water and the sugar in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Stir in the coconut, remove from the heat, and let sit for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours.
2) Strain the liquid into a clean saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until the mixture is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Let it cool.
Related Post: Do not buy those highly processed foods full of artificial additives. Make your own healthy food; it is very easy and fast. Try this one! How to Make Homemade Coconut Mayonnaise - Healthy Coconut Recipes.
References:
This coconut cake recipe was adapted from Bobby Flay’s "Toasted Coconut Cake with Coconut Filling and Coconut Butter Cream" from the famous book:
Bobby Flay, Stephanie Banyas and Miriam Garron. 2010. Bobby Flay's Throwdown!: More Than 100 Recipes from Food Network's Ultimate Cooking Challenge, First Edition edition. Clarkson Potter. ISBN-10: 0307719162
Stephanie Pedersen. 2015. Coconut: The Complete Guide to the World's Most Versatile Superfood (Superfoods for Life). Sterling. ISBN-13: 978-1454913405
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