Bahamian Bush Medicine: Coconuts!

Behold the coconut palm, a beautiful, delicious, palm seen frequently in the Bahamas.

Behold! A child trying to open a coconut, with a machete, another frequent observance in the Islands.

For this 6th edition of Bahamian bush medicine I thought it was time to bring it back to some tasty treatment with Cocos nucifera. One of my favorite things about the Island is that we could have fresh coconut whenever we wanted, as long as we were willing to put in the time, physical strength and bravery to hack away at one with an extremely dull machete. It tasted so sweet and was an excellent addition to carrot cake, pineapple and rice and chicken and pineapple. Yum, yum, yum!

Okay, enough about food now for bush doctor talk,

The milk and immature jelly is used as a soothing gruel for a sore throat.

In general, coconut is eaten in the Bahamas for pleasure rather than for pure medicinal purposes. However, I'm sure you all know that coconut and the oil from it has many health benefits. One scientific study found it aids in satiation and can reduce waist circumference. Another recent study I came across found that adding coconut oil to a pot before cooking rice decrease the calories you intake from the rice. And one last example may explain for the relaxed mindset of islanders as coconut oil provides antistress benefit.

So go ahead maun, put the lime in the coconut and shake it all up.

Sources:

YEAP, SWEE KEONG et al. “Antistress and Antioxidant Effects of Virgin Coconut Oil in Vivo.” Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 9.1 (2015): 39–42. PMC. Web. 27 Mar. 2015.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/03/25/scientists-have-figured-out-a-simple-way-to-cook-rice-that-dramatically-cuts-the-calories/?tid=sm_fb

Liau, Kai Ming et al. “An Open-Label Pilot Study to Assess the Efficacy and Safety of Virgin Coconut Oil in Reducing Visceral Adiposity.” ISRN Pharmacology 2011 (2011): 949686. PMC. Web. 27 Mar. 2015.

Rolle, Christine. Bahamian Bush Medicine. Quincentennial ed. 2000. 34. Print.

Wilmanowicz, Renate. Bush Medicine in the Bahamas: A Modern Approach. Createspace, 2012. 40. Print.