Can drinking coconut water help you lose weight?
Coconut water has been much hyped recently. This popular drink is an ideal drink for rehydration, and is packed full of vitamins and minerals. It is a naturally healthy drink perfectly suited for helping to prevent fatigue and a general feeling of lethargy. Interestingly, it has also been shown to help shed those unwanted pounds.
Tropical countries, particularly those such as Brazil, India and most of south-east Asia, know all about the health benefits of coconut water, they've been drinking it for years. Only recently has it been popularised in the UK, Europe and USA.
How does it help you lose weight?
Coconut water helps aid weight loss in a number of ways. firstly, it helps to increase your metabolic rate. It mainly does this through keeping you hydrated. If your body is well hydrated, it is less likely to store fat. When we are dehydrated our bodies actually lose temperature, and your metabolism is affected adversely affected.
Additionally staying hydrated helps you to feel fuller for longer, as thirst is often masked as hunger. This should mean that you actually eat less, thus reducing your body's calorie intake. Furthermore the drink also contains antioxidants, which help to flush toxins out of the body, which will not only help you lose fat faster, but also to stave off sugar cravings.
Fibre for fat loss
Unlike tea, coffee, water or milk, a cup of coconut water contains around 3 grams of fibre. Dietary fibre reduces the speed at which food is absorbed, helping to avoid spikes in glucose levels and thus eliminate sugar cravings and dips in energy.
Low in cholesterol, high in vitamin C
Coconut water is cholesterol free, so consuming it instead of products that do contain cholesterol is an instant benefit. Compared to other natural drinks such as orange juice, the water contains fewer calories, again providing an automatic benefit. Like orange juice however it contains vitamin c, which helps to distribute energy to each cell. Independent research has shown that those with higher vitamin c intake, are usually slimmer and have higher energy levels.
When the body is lacking in vitamin c it can't distribute nutrients as energy properly, instead it stores them as fat. So the high levels of the vitamin in the water can help with reducing weight.
There is certainly no question that coconut water is healthy drink, and nearly all of its benefits contribute to towards weight loss. Many of it's weight loss properties work by suppressing the appetite, and helping the body to use its energy more effectively rather than store food as fat. So if you like the taste and know where to buy coconut water, then it's an ideal drink to help you reach your weight loss goals.