Buko Juice!

I chopped the top off all by myself! It took me

a good 20 minutes :)

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We absolutely love buko (or coconut) juice! The first thing we do whenever my husband buys some is leave them in the refrigerator as soon as they arrive and bring them up to the freezer, one at a time, about 20 minutes before enjoying the deliciously hydrating juice.
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We prefer the "malakanin" or "malauhog" bukos when buying them (this is when the coconut meat is thin enough to effortlessly scrape off the shell) -- the meat at this stage is sooo tender, light, and yummy -- quite delightful when matched with the juice. Drink the juice straight from the fruit. I read somewhere that buko juice ferments quickly once outside the shell so the processed liquid may not be as beneficial as when you drink it straight from a freshly cracked coconut.

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We've been having fresh buko juice often, since the start of summer, so I decided to do some research on it (just to make sure we're not gaining too much weight from all the coconut we're enjoying). ;-)

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Here are some of the health benefits of the fruit that is the COCONUT:

1. Coconut water is an isotonic solution that replaces fluids and minerals the body loses during physical activities. If you like working out, coconut water is highly recommended for fluid and mineral replenishment.
2. Consuming coconut water on a regular basis reduces urinary tract problems.
3. Drinking coconut water with one teaspoon olive oil for three days kills intestinal worms, which makes for better digestion.
4. People plagued by kidney stones should drink coconut water alongside taking their meds. Drinking the juice regularly helps break up kidney stones, making them easier to push out.
5. Coconut water is almost identical to blood plasma, making it easy to use for blood transfusion.
6. Coconut water contains monolaurin, an antiviral, anti-bacterial and antiprozoal monoglyceride used to kill lipid-coated viruses as HIV, Herpes, cytomegalovirus, flu and various pathogenic bacteria.

Further research shows that Coconut water:

• is more nutritious than whole milk -- less fat and no cholesterol
• is far healthier than orange juice -- much lower calories
• is better than processed baby milk -- it contains lauric acid present in human mother's milk
• is naturally sterile -- water permeates through the filtering husk
• contains more potassium (about 294 mg) than most sports and energy drinks (117 mg)
• has less sodium (25mg) than sports drinks (41 mg) and energy drinks(200mg)
• has 5mg of natural sugars whereas sports and energy drinks hold ranges from 10-25 mg of altered sugars
• is high in chloride at 118 mg, compared to sports drinks at just 39 mg

People who have typhoid, malaria fevers or other ailments known to induce vomiting drink coconut water to settle their stomachs. As such, coconut water is also a good thing to drink during a hangover. So, after enjoying this, drink this.