Coconut

coconut trees produce a lot more than just coconuts and coconut oil. A whole spectrum of surprising food ingredients are derived from coconut trees

For example, did you know that coconut trees produce their own soy sauce? It's not really made from soy, of course. It's called Coconut Aminos, and it's a dark, amino acid liquid harvested directly from coconut tree sap. Containing 17 naturally-occurring amino acids, this sap is combined with mineral-rich sea salt to create a soy-sauce-like "aminos" liquid that can help flavor salads, raw vegan dishes, sauces or even Chinese stir-fried cuisine.

Coconut Nectar. It's a very low glycemic liquid sweetener derived from the liquid sap of the coconut blossoms, and it naturally contains vitamins, minerals, amino acids and other nutrients (including vitamin C).

The manufacturer says the glycemic index of this liquid is 35, making it one of the lowest among any sweeteners.

Natural coconut blossom sap, by the way, is only 1.5% fructose when collected from the blossoms. As this sap is dried and thickened, removing much of the water, the fructose content of the final liquid only reaches about 10% -- far lower than the 50% - 90% fructose found in agave nectar products.

Coconut crystals
If you take the coconut nectar described above and air dry it down to its crystalline form, you get coconut crystals! Think of it as "evaporated cane sugar" except it's not from cane sugar. It's from coconut tree blossoms and it has a far lower glycemic index than cane sugar.

These crystals are nutrient rich, loaded with vitamins and minerals, and they have a naturally brown or sandy color (indicating higher nutrition than white sugar).

Coconut vinegar - better than apple cider vinegar?
There are some really great apple cider vinegar products on the market that are used by health food enthusiasts everywhere, and they're really good for you! But I think coconut vinegar may be even better because it comes from a source that's naturally higher in minerals and other phytonutrients.

It's high in potassium, for example, and also quite abundant in a naturally-occurring probiotic called FOS. Although vinegar is chemically acidic, it is believed to create an alkalizing effect inside the body during digestion, probably due to its high content of alkalizing minerals.

This coconut vinegar is made by aging (fermenting) coconut sap from coconut tree blossoms.

Coconut flour works in thousands of recipes
made from non-heated, tumbler-dried coconut meat (with the oils already pressed out). It contains 40% dietary fiber and tastes absolutely delicious!

Think about this, too: Coconut trees grow near mineral-rich ocean waters, so products derived from coconut trees are often very high in natural minerals (because the soils near the ocean are high in minerals themselves).

(above excerpts taken from http://www.naturalnews.com/030110_coconut_nectar_vinegar.html coconut
Coconut nectar, coconut liquid aminos, coconut vinegar and coconut flour all come from coconut trees
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com)

There is widespread misconception that coconut oil is bad for you because it is said to raise blood cholesterol and cause heart disease. The only "proof" is one four-decades old study. The study used hydrogenated coconut oil.(Hydrogenated oil is made by forcing hydrogen gas into oil at high pressure. Both animal and vegetable fats can be and are hydrogenated. In general, the more solid the oil is, the more hydrogenated it is. Two common examples of hydrogenated oil are Crisco and margarine. In the 1990s, it was realized that these products might have deleterious health effects, a tragic irony since they were originally produced and promoted as being healthier than conventional oils.From http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-hydrogenated-oil.htm )

In other words, a study based on hydrogenated coconut oil has no relevance to the non-hydrogenated coconut milk or coconut oil that you eat.

Widespread studies of coconut-consuming populations such as those found in Polynesia and Sri Lanka, show that "dietary coconut oil does not lead to high serum cholesterol nor to high coronary heart disease mortality or morbidity." Other studies show no change in serum cholesterol level from coconut oil.
(taken from http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/features/cocgood.html)