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The coconut has been a popular subject of many posts in diabetes related e-forums recently. Some posts, it would appear, raise its oil to the level of a miracle food that can do many wonderful things including keeping blood sugar levels within safe limits. Miracle mongering appears to be an entrenched trait of a majority of us human beings. But is coconut the miracle food it is portrayed to be?
Coconut is a favorite food for mine and I relish it in the many different forms we consume it. Since as long back as I can remember, coconut has been a very significant part of my daily diet. We consume it everyday in its various forms -- its grated meat, its meat ground into a paste form, and of course the oil pressed from its dried meat are all integral parts of the various curries we make in my tiny home state of Kerala in India. Everyday, when the coconut is broken, we as children would collect and eagerly drink the cool, sweet water inside it. And the milk obtained by pressing fresh grated meat of the coconut is a favourite ingredient in some curries and many sweet desserts. Before coming to Canada, we obtained enough coconuts from our own backyard for all the above purposes. After coming to Canada, we buy the oil and grated meat from stores here.
The coconut has been an important part of the daily diet not just for us, but also for my ancestors going back to time immemorial. Has the coconut, including its oil, been of help in diabetes control in anyway? Frankly, I do not know. I know that some of my immediate ancestors were diabetic. So were my late dad and late eldest sister. So are my older brother and another older sister. So are some of the nieces and nephews. And most important, so am I. We ended up as diabetics in spite of heavy use of coconut in our daily diet.
So, did the coconut help us with our diabetes? Perhaps it did. My dad and siblings could keep their BGs within safe limits in spite of eating a relatively high carb diet all their lives. I keep by BG well in the safe range even after continuing to eat all the things I used to eat before my diabetes diagnosis which are all high carb. Perhaps it is here that coconut really helped us all and is continuing to help us -- we are able to eat (of course in moderation) all the things we like in spite of our diabetes and still keep our BG levels safe. Just a thought.
Regards,
Rad
Coconut is a favorite food for mine and I relish it in the many different forms we consume it. Since as long back as I can remember, coconut has been a very significant part of my daily diet. We consume it everyday in its various forms -- its grated meat, its meat ground into a paste form, and of course the oil pressed from its dried meat are all integral parts of the various curries we make in my tiny home state of Kerala in India. Everyday, when the coconut is broken, we as children would collect and eagerly drink the cool, sweet water inside it. And the milk obtained by pressing fresh grated meat of the coconut is a favourite ingredient in some curries and many sweet desserts. Before coming to Canada, we obtained enough coconuts from our own backyard for all the above purposes. After coming to Canada, we buy the oil and grated meat from stores here.
The coconut has been an important part of the daily diet not just for us, but also for my ancestors going back to time immemorial. Has the coconut, including its oil, been of help in diabetes control in anyway? Frankly, I do not know. I know that some of my immediate ancestors were diabetic. So were my late dad and late eldest sister. So are my older brother and another older sister. So are some of the nieces and nephews. And most important, so am I. We ended up as diabetics in spite of heavy use of coconut in our daily diet.
So, did the coconut help us with our diabetes? Perhaps it did. My dad and siblings could keep their BGs within safe limits in spite of eating a relatively high carb diet all their lives. I keep by BG well in the safe range even after continuing to eat all the things I used to eat before my diabetes diagnosis which are all high carb. Perhaps it is here that coconut really helped us all and is continuing to help us -- we are able to eat (of course in moderation) all the things we like in spite of our diabetes and still keep our BG levels safe. Just a thought.
Regards,
Rad