Coconut Water:
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
How well do you know your coconut?
The Tree of Life: Why you should reach for your next Coconut Water
Here in Lago Bay, coconuts are great on the menu but should also be considered as medicine, part of the culture, and (according to some ancient teachings) life itself. Many cultures have honored this fruit for thousands of years. In war...coconuts have saved lives on battlefields. Your body recognizes coconut as something close to its own essence. Yes...coconut lore runs deep.
This article aims to bring food for thought. The next time you feel like buying coconut water at the supermarket, you can think about what it actually represents and how amazing this fruit is.
Holy Coconuts? Spiritual Water
Few natural symbols carry as much spiritual weight as the coconut.
To the casual observer, it is simply a tropical fruit: hardy, versatile, and nutritious. But to those rooted in many spiritual traditions, it is something far greater: a sacred vessel of divine energy, a tool of protection, and a bridge between the human world and the spiritual one.
Every part of the coconut tells a story. The hard outer shell symbolizes protection against negative forces. The white flesh within speaks to inner strength and resilience. The water and its core represent the vitality of the soul.
For cultures that understood the natural world as deeply spiritual, a plant this generous and sustaining could only be a gift from the divine. In Hindu tradition the coconut is called the fruit of the Tree of Life. Its clear water is related to the pure essence of the human spirit. In Polynesian culture it is a divine gift. In African and Afro-Caribbean spiritual practices coconut water was used in cleansing rituals to wash away negative energy and restore balance.
For thousands of years, people have honored the noble coconut one sip at a time.
Coconut Properties for the Body. Healthy Water
But beside spirituality, the properties of coconut are extremely important for our organism on a cellular level.
Every heartbeat, every muscle contraction and nerve signal in our body is powered by electricity. The body conducts tiny electrical charges across cell membranes to make our heart beat, our muscles move, and our brain think. And what carry those charges are called electrolytes.
Electrolytes are charged minerals like potassium, magnesium, sodium and calcium.
And when you sweat, you’re not just losing water. You’re losing the electrical conductors that keep your body functioning.
And coconut water is basically nature’s recharge cable.
The potassium content also does quiet work on cardiovascular health, helping to regulate blood pressure and reduce strain on the heart over time. Alongside this, coconut water contains antioxidants that help the body manage oxidative stress, essentially slowing the kind of cellular damage that accumulates through daily life.
There’s also evidence that it may reduce the formation of kidney stones, support healthy digestion, and contribute to better blood sugar regulation, though research in these areas is still developing and shouldn’t be overstated. In tropical cultures, drinking coconut water is the way people in hot climates keep their systems clean and functioning for decades.
The Mighty Coconut in Times of War. Blood & Coconut Water
During World War II, many soldiers were dying from dehydration and blood loss. In the Caribbean, in the worst cases of emergency they even inject coconut water directly into their veins. And it saved lives.
This because coconut water is naturally sterile inside the shell. Its composition is pretty similar to human blood plasma. Doctors in field hospitals began using it as an emergency IV fluid when nothing else was available.
Let’s be clear: Coconut water is NOT blood. It doesn’t carry oxygen or nutrients like real blood does. What is sure, is that in a life-or-death situation coconut water was the solution.
Pretty badass for something you can crack open with a machete.
Coconuts are island builders
Another very little-known truth about coconut palms is that they are literally island builders. Sounds crazy but here are the facts:
Their buoyant nuts can float across oceans for months, traveling thousands of miles until they wash ashore on empty sandbars or coral atolls.
Once they take root, their roots stabilize the sand, their fallen leaves create soil, and they provide the shade and conditions needed for other plants to colonize. In this way bare sandbars become living islands.
Not only that. Their tall, narrow trunks and high canopies let sunlight reach the ground. This means you can grow bananas, papayas, pineapples, cacao, ginger, turmeric, and grasses beneath them, creating an incredible ecosystem.
One mature coconut tree produces 50-150 coconuts per year. Each coconut takes 6-12 months to mature, which means at any given moment, the same tree has flowers, baby coconuts, and full-grown coconuts all hanging together.
The Coconut at Lago Bay.
In Lago Bay we have over 5000 coconut palms. All planted by hand.
Just imagine that one mature coconut tree produces 50-150 coconuts per year. Each coconut takes 6-12 months to mature, which means at any given moment, the same tree has flowers, baby coconuts, and full-grown coconuts all hanging together.
In permaculture, coconut palms form the upper canopy layer of a food forest — mimicking a natural jungle and maximizing biodiversity. They give water, food, oil, and flour. And they make room for everyone else to thrive too.
At Lago Bay, the coconuts are an important part of the ecosystem strategy that we've laid out for our permaculture design. They’re part of the Lago Bay story. We often crack one open here for a great boost. A blessing that has been filtered by nature, kissed by the sun, and handed to us by trees that have been giving for centuries.
So, the next time you’re drinking a coconut after a swim, a hike, a day under the sun, remember the extraordinariness of this fruit. Because it is much more than just refreshing water.
Here at Lago Bay we know it very well.
Saludos from Lago Bay
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