Words: Positive Dialogue Communications
There are very good reasons why coconut water is making evermore frequent appearances at the gym and on high performance sports fields. The refreshing liquid found in young green coconuts is packed with essential electrolytes and provides a welcome, pure alternative to sports drinks laden with refined sugars and chemical additives.
Rehydrating after a strenuous work-out, training or a competitive sports event is one of the most important steps to ensuring that your physical efforts benefit, rather than strain the body. Any exercise that causes you to perspire, whether it’s half an hour in the hot outdoors, well over an hour in the gym or an endurance race, can adversely affect your body’s water balance and blood pH. Along with the water, vital electrolytes are lost through sweat. These are organic compounds such as potassium, magnesium, sodium, calcium and phosphorous that become ions in the solution of your blood and are able to conduct electricity. Electrolytes are responsible for the vital electrical signalling throughout the body that helps to maintain a healthy brain, heart, muscles and nervous system.
Fresh, pure coconut water such as CocoZone deserves its place in your hydration regime - before, during and, importantly post-workout - as it is an extraordinarily balanced and abundant source of electrolytes. Its levels, particularly of potassium, but also of magnesium and calcium, are much higher than what you will get from the same size serving of a typical sports drink. You can effectively rehydrate and replenish your body; restore optimal muscle functioning, water balance and energy without taking in refined sugars and other unwanted additives, such as chemical flavourings, colourants and preservatives.
It is important to distinguish coconut water from the more familiar coconut products, such as coconut milk and coconut cream. The latter are derived from the fat-rich meat of ripe coconuts; whereas coconut water is the light, almost clear fluid found inside young green coconuts before that meat has formed. A pure source of coconut water is fat-free and contains about 2.2 grams of natural sugar per 100ml, providing an excellent low-calorie, healthy alternative to fruit juices, canned ice teas and fizzy cold-drinks. It provides ideal to support those following weight management programmes or as part of an overall healthy lifestyle.
The nutritional profile of natural coconut water is well-documented and a growing body of scientific studies attests to its reputation as a health-boosting ‘superfood’. Apart from its high electrolyte content, coconut water is also very rich in essential vitamins, trace elements, amino acids, enzymes and plant hormones known as cytokinins. This means that if you are using coconut water in your post-workout rehydration regime, you are getting the remarkable added benefits of also boosting your immune system, protecting your digestive and cardiovascular systems, assisting kidney functioning, as well as regulating blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
To ensure that you receive all these benefits to your well-being; it is important to know and understand the source of the coconut water product you are using and make sure that it is not concentrate-based, and contains no added sugar or preservatives. To truly benefit from this ‘elixir of Nature’, choose a brand, such as CocoZone, which is 100% pure coconut water directly extracted from young, green coconuts and bottled at the source of a single origin plantation that relies on natural rainfall and is farmed without the use of chemicals.
There’s more than enough evidence that while playing a highly effective role in your post-workout hydration and replenishment, coconut water will also make a health-filled contribution to your active lifestyle.
For more information on CocoZone please visit http://www.cocozone.com. CocoZone will be available to purchase on the website at a special launch price of R199.99 per case (12 x 330ml Tetra Paks in a case).
