Coconut Water for Detox

Fasting has long been used as a great way to detox the human body.

The basic principle is to flush out all toxins in the body.

This process of flushing out works very well while fasting because our body does not need to divert any attention to process such as digestion and elimination of food we eat.

Whatever we eat or drink during fast is very light which puts minimum pressure on our system.

Thus our body works effectively in healing itself (our body has a mechanism of self-healing, how amazing ! ) which also includes removing toxins, healing internal and external wounds, etc.

While fasting has been around since ages, the benefits of the same are scientifically understood today. There are various ways people observe therapeutic fasting today:

• Water fasting - taking just water
• Juice fasting - taking various vegetable / fruit juices
• Other fasting - taking other, very light liquids (coconut water, etc.)

Coconut Water Fasting

Coconut water detoxication involves fasting by drinking just coconut water and water (some people also eat coconut meat, this is optional).

While coconut water fasting is not as popular as fasting using other fruit / vegetable juices it is equally effective.

Some key points which make coconut water a great fasting medium are:

• It has vital nutrients such as minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, etc. in a balanced form which provide great help to the body in the healing process
• Coconut water also provides sufficient energy (unlike water) so that person on the fast can still continue with his / her daily routine
• It is pure - if you directly coconut water from a fresh coconut, you are drinking one of the purest forms of water. This water has several salts (which are present only in the sea) and not found in many other foods.
• Coconut water is alkaline and has a great cleansing effect on the body

One can do coconut fasting from one day to a week's time. There are of course who have done it for a longer duration.

Over the internet, I found people who have done it for a month, but I am not sure of the authenticity of the same.

Which coconut to use for fasting?

Well, here are three ways you can get coconut water for fasting arranged in descending order of preference:

• Directly drinking coconut water from immature coconut (green): An immature coconut was lots of water in it. Also, it is more delicious than that of a mature one.
• Directly drinking coconut water from mature coconut (brown): In most cases, you will not get an immature coconut, then you can go ahead with a mature one. The quality of water in these are pretty less.
• Packaged coconut water: If even mature coconut is not available or you find it difficult to break them to get water go for packaged coconut water from a good brand.

Coconut water fasting steps

Coconut water fasting is not very different from juice or water fasting, you just use coconut water here. Some guidelines for coconut fasting:

• Drink close to 1.5-2 litres of coconut water in a day. This may vary based on age, body type and season you do fasting. It is best to cut a fresh coconut and drink water rather than storing it at one go.
• In addition to coconut water, you will have to drink a good amount of water too as coconut water is diuretic. This is the reason why one should not fast exclusively on coconut water.

One can add some fruit / vegetable juices too in case need be.

Precautions during coconut water fasting

One key thing, as already highlighted above is to avoid pure coconut water based fast because of its diuretic nature. If you are at work, you will get embarrassed by visiting washroom again and again!

Second important precaution is because of sugar content in coconut water.

As with several juices with high sugar content, excessive usage can also feed candida which can negatively impact blood sugar.

One way to keep this issue under control is to add vegetable juices in the fasting diet.

My personal experience with coconut fasting

I am not a very big fan of fasting because I get a severe headache if I do not eat at my usual meal times. This then disrupts my whole schedule of work etc. I tried coconut water fasting for just a day.

I got 6 fresh immature coconuts, prepared fresh apple and orange juice along with the juice of Bottle Gourd.

I was somehow able to survive the day with a mild headache, my energy levels were fine though. Another point - yes

I had to visit washroom a lot of times, even though I did not take too much coconut water.

There were of course benefits, I had mild constipation a day before and it improved a lot after the fast.

I am not sure, I will be able to do a fast again, but if you do then do try using coconut water this time.

If you do try fasting with coconut water, please send or share your experience here with all of us!