10 Tips To Healthy Eating

1. Eat a variety of nutrient-rich foods. You need more than 40 different nutrients for good health, and no single food supplies them all. Your daily food selection should include bread and other whole-grain products; fruits; vegetables; dairy products; and meat, poultry, fish and other protein foods. How much you should eat depends on your calorie needs. Use the Food Guide Pyramid and the Nutrition Facts panel on food labels as handy references.
2. Enjoy plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Surveys show most Americans don't eat enough of these foods. Do you eat 6-11 servings from the bread, rice, cereal and pasta group, 3 of which should be whole grains? Do you eat 2-4 servings of fruit and 3-5 servings of vegetables? If you don't enjoy some of these at first, give them another chance. Look through cookbooks for tasty ways to prepare unfamiliar foods.
3. Maintain a healthy weight. The weight that's right for you depends on many factors including your sex, height, age and heredity. Excess body fat increases your chances for high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, some types of cancer and other illnesses. But being too thin can increase your risk for osteoporosis, menstrual irregularities and other health problems. If you're constantly losing and regaining weight, a registered dietitian can help you develop sensible eating habits for successful weight management. Regular exercise is also important to maintaining a healthy weight.
4. Eat moderate portions. If you keep portion sizes reasonable, it's easier to eat the foods you want and stay healthy. Did you know the recommended serving of cooked meat is 3 ounces, similar in size to a deck of playing cards? A medium piece of fruit is 1 serving and a cup of pasta equals 2 servings. A pint of ice cream contains 4 servings. Refer to the Food Guide Pyramid for information on recommended serving sizes.
5. Eat regular meals. Skipping meals can lead to out-of-control hunger, often resulting in overeating. When you're very hungry, it's also tempting to forget about good nutrition. Snacking between meals can help curb hunger, but don't eat so much that your snack becomes an entire meal.
6. Reduce, don't eliminate certain foods. Most people eat for pleasure as well as nutrition. If your favorite foods are high in fat, salt or sugar, the key is moderating how much of these foods you eat and how often you eat them.
   Identify major sources of these ingredients in your diet and make changes, if necessary. Adults who eat high-fat meats or whole-milk dairy products at every meal are probably eating too much fat. Use the Nutrition Facts panel on the food label to help balance your choices.
   Choosing skim or low-fat dairy products and lean cuts of meat such as flank steak and beef round can reduce fat intake significantly.
   If you love fried chicken, however, you don't have to give it up. Just eat it less often. When dining out, share it with a friend, ask for a take-home bag or a smaller portion.
7. Balance your food choices over time. Not every food has to be "perfect." When eating a food high in fat, salt or sugar, select other foods that are low in these ingredients. If you miss out on any food group one day, make up for it the next. Your food choices over several days should fit together into a healthy pattern.
8. Know your diet pitfalls. To improve your eating habits, you first have to know what's wrong with them. Write down everything you eat for three days. Then check your list according to the rest of these tips. Do you add a lot of butter, creamy sauces or salad dressings? Rather than eliminating these foods, just cut back your portions. Are you getting enough fruits and vegetables? If not, you may be missing out on vital nutrients.
9. Make changes gradually. Just as there are no "superfoods" or easy answers to a healthy diet, don't expect to totally revamp your eating habits overnight. Changing too much, too fast can get in the way of success. Begin to remedy excesses or deficiencies with modest changes that can add up to positive, lifelong eating habits. For instance, if you don't like the taste of skim milk, try low-fat. Eventually you may find you like skim, too.
10. Remember, foods are not good or bad. Select foods based on your total eating patterns, not whether any individual food is "good" or "bad." Don't feel guilty if you love foods such as apple pie, potato chips, candy bars or ice cream. Eat them in moderation, and choose other foods to provide the balance and variety that are vital to good health.

Home Remedies for Fever

Below are some important usefule home remedies for fever which can provide quick relief :

* Whenever you need to drink water, add a pinch of salt to the glass of water and drink till your body temperature gets normal.

* In case of high temperatures, apply cloth piece soaked in mixture of water and salt on the forehead. This will avoid brain fever.

* Consumption of onion juice is believed to be the best treatement of fever.

* Add 1 tablespoon of turmeric powder to 1 glass of milk and mix it gently. Drink it before going to bed, turmeric is very useful due to its antiseptic, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties. Turmeric is also best for blood purification.

* Make mixture of mint juice with honey, take both in equal proportion. Consumption of this mixture after every two hours helps in getting quick relief from Pneumonia.

* In case of severe vomitting, consume 1 tablespoon mixture of salt, cumin and lemon juice. This will stop vomitting immediately.

* In case of fever due to cough, consumption of mixture of holy basil juice with honey is very effective. Holy basil is having many health qualities and is used in the form of herbal medicines for many diseases.

* Consumption of mixture of ginger juice, lemon juice, holy basil juice and honey is very effective for treatement of cough, fever and weakness. 

* Prepare paste of 10gm holy basil juice with black pepper powder and 1/4 tablespoon of honey. Consumption of this paste twice a day helps in getting quick relief from typhoid fever.

Household Tips

Blood and Grease 

To remove blood from clothes, soak in strong COLD salt solution, as soon as possible after the stain happens. For mild stains on white cloth, sunshine is a very good harmless bleach.

To get rid of grease (e.g. chicken fat) stains from clothes, dab on eucalyptus oil just before washing. The eucalyptus binds with the other fat and is volatile so disappears with hot water. Heavy staining might take a few applications.
 

Cleaning Hint. Use liquid laundry detergent half cup to 20 ounces water put in spray bottle good to use in bathroom & soap scum 'sink & clean toilet' also can add teaspoon alcahol to the cleaner to disinfect. healthier for your lungs.

The Absolute Best All Purpose Cleaner.Engine degreaser. It comes in a huge 5 gallon bottle that can be purchased at wal-mart , k-mart, target, or automotive part store for about $5. It removes adhesives, cleans carpets, furniture, clothing, walls, bathrooms...EVERYTHING. It sounds like it would be a very harsh astringent, but it actually isn't. I use it all the time and have for years.

Cleaning Crayon off Walls Tip. For removing crayon off walls or doors simply heat on a low setting with a hairdryer and simply wipe of with a wet slightly soaped cloth.

Oven tip. If you are only using one tray in the oven, remove the other(s) so that any grease on them doesn't get burned on even more.

More tips Using Spices

• Soothe really bad cough and chest pain
  Get half an inch of "fire ginger" (Halia bara), pound and squeeze a drop or two of its juice, mix with a teaspoon of wild honey, consume twice a day. Halia bara is smaller in diameter, has a ring of red coat under its skin. Tastes hotter than normal ginger.
• Soothe stomach wind
• Too much hot spicy food can sometimes make your tummy full of wind. Prepare green tea with a slice of ginger. Drink slowly. Feel its magic work. An ointment prepared with menthol and nutmeg also works wonder. Rub on your stomach sparingly. Nutmeg ointment is available at the chemist. Also good for headache or travel sickness and sea sickness.
• Reduce the swelling of mumps
  This is one of the household tips using spices which I used on my son when he had mumps. The inflammation of thyroid glands at the side of the neck can be very painful and uncomfortable especially to young children. Mix a little water to tamarind pulp. Simply paste the wet tamarind pulp to affected area. I know it sounds gross, but tamarind is very cooling and soothing. Leave the paste till it dries.
• Reduce the heat of chillie (this time, the spice IS the culprit)
  Sometimes if you slice too many fresh chillies or handle too much dried ones, your fingers are in pain with burning sensation. To reduce this, wash rice grains in your usual rice cooker pot, the act of washing your hands in water mixed with rice soothes the burning sensation. Try it.
• Eliminate the smell of garlic from your hands (this time, the spice IS also the culprit)
  After chopping or handling garlic, your hands smell awful. To get rid of the smell is very simple - take a stainless steel knife or other stainless steel kitchen utensils and rub your hands against the blade as if you are washing the tool under running water at your sink. The bad smell magically will disappear.

A few more household tips

• Toothache (especially caused by a cavity or gum infection)
  Take a piece of clove, pound it into powder or simply crush it, and place the paste on where it hurts in your mouth. You will feel a tingling feeling and after a while, the pain will ebb away. I know toothache worsens during the night, so prepare this simple remedy and pop it into your mouth before your bedtime.
• To get rid of cooking odour
  Sometimes the smell of cooking can be overpowering. To sweeten the smell of your kitchen, boil slowly clove, cinnamon and ginger in a saucepan for 20 minutes. Previous cooking odour will go away and your kitchen will smell nice and fresh. This is a good alternative to commercially bought air freshener which may contain harmful chemicals.
• Minor cuts
  If your child fall and scrapes her knees, or you accidentally cut your own finger while preparing food, get a piece of cinnamon, grate it against your stone mortar, paste the powder on the wound. It is said that the resulting scar would be less noticeable using this method.
• Burns or hot oil splatterSoy sauce is a quick and easy solution for burns caused by hot soup or splatter of hot oil. Simply drench affected area with soy sauce till the burning sensation go away. I know soy sauce is not a type of spice BUT this tip is so useful and effective, I feel obliged to share it with you. (I am talking from my own experience!). Apparently, using cold milk also works.
• Get rid of ants and rice weevils
  Ants and rice weevils hate the smell of garlic. Simply place slightly crushed garlic cloves inside your rice bin and around the edge of your kitchen floor or cabinet where ants are known to "patrol".
  Ants also hate the smell of clove. Arrange a "fortress" of cloves around that bottle of honey on your kitchen countertop.

What white vinegar can help us?

Here are some great cleaning tips that make use of undiluted white vinegar

• A cloth soaked in it is great for cleaning your counter tops, it will kill all the germs and bacteria too.
• Do you have a smelly drain ? No problem mix one cup of baking soda with one cup of it, pour down the offending drain and leave for 10 minutes before washing away.
• Mix 1 part water with 1 part white distilled vinegar and use this with a cloth to clean the shelves and the walls of your fridge.
• Keep the inside of your dishwasher clean and sparkling by pouring a cup of it inside and running through a cycle.  If you repeat this on a regular basis, the inside of your dishwasher will soon look like new again.
• Do you get limescale building up inside your kettle ? Add a cup of it to the water in the kettle, bring to the boil, then leave overnight.  In the morning rinse thoroughly with cold water.
• Do your lunch boxes smell of last weeks lunch ?  Soak a slice of bread in it and leave it in the lunch box overnight.
• If you find that you have ants in the house in hot weather, they can be discouraged by spraying it, undiluted, around doorways, windows and anywhere else you spot them.

Ant and Mosquito

Ant Control:

• Spread some ground cinnamon where you think the ants are coming in to the house.
  
• Basil repels flies and mosquitoes. To deter ants, use catnip. Sprinkle it in their paths.
  
• Make a mixture of 2/3 cup water, 1/3 cup white vinegar, and 2-3 Tablespoons dish soap. Spray where the ants are marching.

Natural Mosquito Repellents:

• Splashing plain rubbing alcohol on yourself and allowing it to dry will deter mosquitoes from biting you.
  
• Rub Vick's Vaporub® on your pants and legs to ward off ticks.
  
• Use half vanilla (has to be pure vanilla) and half water and for a mosquito and tick repellent.
  
• Dab lavender oil on your pulse points; it smells great on you but repels insects.

Mouse Control

For Mouse Control:

• Place USED kitty litter from a litter box in small tubs in several places around the garage. Mice think... "it smells like a cat--must be a cat - I'm outta here!".
  
• Buy a mesh/net laundry bag that you would use for washing nylons and 5 boxes of moth balls. Put the moth balls in the bag and hang it in your garage near the door to get rid of mice, birds, and bugs.
  
• To prevent mice from gaining entry to your garage, stop up any openings with steel wood pads. Mice will not chew through these!
  
• Sprinkle ground cayenne pepper around the garage (inside & out), and especially near entry holes. Pests don't care for the smell of it.
  
• Mice hate the scent of peppermint extract. Simply sprinkle *pure* peppermint extract on the items in your garage you don't want the mice in or on.

A Few Simple Tips

• Sleep on silk or satin pillowcases. Yes, they feel fancy, but they also don't absorb moisture like cotton, and they're smoother. That means that your skin and hair don't lose as much hydration overnight, and that there aren't as many rough spots for your hair to catch on, which reduces breakage.
• Braid your hair before bed. This is another breakage preventer, and it also works when you're exercising or growing out bangs.
• Use plasters to help prevent and lessen wrinkles. Annie's talked about Frownies, the modern-day inheritors to old-fashioned facial plasters. These strips work because on your face, the muscles are attached directly to your skin. So when you use a plaster to flatten your skin out, it also "relaxes" wrinkles.
• Stick your nails in a lemon. Cutting a lemon in half and shoving your nails into it may seem a little silly, but it's actually a really easy way to whiten the tips and soften your cuticles. You can also use half an orange to soften up skin on your knees and elbows.
• Use beer as a clarifier. If my gran was recommending this, I would assume it was just an excuse to drink. But yeasty, hops-filled beer (think Guinness, not an IPA) helps pump up your hair shaft, giving you extra volume. And the acid in it helps remove product buildup to make your hair all shiny.
Source: Thinkstock

Multi Tips

Fragrance 


To make a room smell nice spray a fragrance you like onto a light bulb and when you turn on the light bulb it will let of the smell with the heat. Caution - Only do this when the bulb is cold 




Carpet Spot Cleaner


To clean spots on rugs and carpets, use window cleaner. It works as well as the spray-on carpet cleaners.




Talc 


Talc removes sticky labels. Use talc to make playing cards easier to use. Remember to put a little quantity of talc in your rubber gloves.




Slow draining sinks 


If your sink drains are chronically slow and you live in an older house, the problem may be an accumulation of sludge in the lines. No amount of plunging and chemicals is going to fix this. What's needed is to climb up onto the roof of your house with a metal snake (preferably one with a business end looking a bit like a ballpeen hammer) and ram that snake down each of the drain lines, entering through the vent stacks, with a fair amount of force.




Bathroom Smells


To help get rid of 'bathroom' smells, instead of using air fresheners, try striking a match, (regular not safety) sounds strange but very effective.

Do You Know The Uses Of Salt ?

SIXTY USES OF SALT

Although you may not realize it, simple table salt has a great number of uses other than simply seasoning your food.

The following list will give you sixty uses of salt, many of which you probably didn't realize:-

1.   If you drop a whole egg on the floor, pour salt all over the egg, let it sit for awhile, then use dustpan, the egg will come right up, without all that mess.

2.   Soak stained hankies in salt water before washing.

3.   Sprinkle salt on your shelves to keep ants away.

4.   Soak fish in salt water before decaling; the       scales will come off easier.

5.   Put a few grains of rice in your saltshaker for   easier pouring.

6.   Add salt to green salads to prevent wilting.

7.   Test the freshness of eggs in a cup of salt water;    fresh eggs sink; bad ones float.

8.   Add a little salt to your boiling water when       cooking eggs; a cracked egg will stay in its shell       this way.

9.   A tiny pinch of salt with egg whites makes them     beat up fluffier.

10.  Soak wrinkled apples in a mildly salted water solution to perk them up.

11.  Rub salt on your pancake griddle and your      flapjacks won't stick.

12.  Soak toothbrushes in salt water before you first    use them; they will last longer.

13.  Use salt to clean your discolored coffee pot.

14.  Mix salt with turpentine to whiten you bathtub       and toilet bowl.

15.  Soak your nuts in salt brine overnight and they     will crack out of their shells whole. Just tap the        end  of the shell with a hammer to break it open easily.

16.  Boil clothes pins in salt water before using them   and they will last longer.

17.  Clean brass, copper and pewter with paste      made of salt and vinegar, thickened with flour

18.  Add a little salt to the water your cut flowers will   stand in for a longer life.

19.  Pour a mound of salt on an ink spot on your   carpet; let the salt soak up the stain.

20.  Clean your iron by rubbing some salt on the   damp cloth on the ironing surface.

21.  Adding a little salt to the water when cooking foods in a double boiler will make the food cook faster.

22.  Use a mixture of salt and lemon juice to clean        piano keys.

23.  To fill plaster holes in your walls, use equal    parts of salt and starch, with just enough water     to make stiff putty.

24.  Rinse a sore eye with a little salt water.

25.  Mildly salted water makes an effective       mouthwash. Use it hot for a sore throat gargle.

26.  Dry salt sprinkled on your toothbrush makes a      good tooth polisher.

27.  Use salt for killing weeds in your lawn.

28.  Eliminate excess suds with a sprinkle of salt.

29.  A dash of salt in warm milk makes a more        relaxing beverage.

30.  Before using new glasses, soak them in warm       salty water for a while.

31.  A dash of salt enhances the taste of tea.

32.  Salt improves the taste of cooking apples.

33.  Soak your clothesline in salt water to prevent your clothes from freezing to the line; likewise,      use salt in your final rinse to prevent the clothes     from freezing.

34.  Rub any wicker furniture you may have with salt    water to prevent yellowing.

35.  Freshen sponges by soaking them in salt water.

36.  Add raw potatoes to stews and soups that are       too salty.

37.  Soak enamel pans in salt water overnight and        boil salt water in them next day to remove       burned-on stains.

38.  Clean your greens in salt water for easier removal of dirt.

39.  Gelatin sets more quickly when a dash of salt is    added.

40.  Fruits put in mildly salted water after peeling will not discolor.

41.  Fabric colors hold fast in salty water wash.

42.  Milk stays fresh longer when a little salt is       added.

43.  Use equal parts of salt and soda for brushing your teeth.

44.  Sprinkle salt in your oven before scrubbing    clean.

45.  Soaked discolored glass in a salt and vinegar solution to remove stains.

46.  Clean greasy pans with a paper towel and salt.

47.  Salty water boils faster when cooking eggs.

48.  Add a pinch of salt to whipping cream to make it   whip more quickly.

49.  Sprinkle salt in milk-scorched pans to remove       odour.

50.  A dash of salt improves the taste of coffee.

51.  Boil mismatched hose in salty water and they will come out matched.

52.  Salt and soda will sweeten the odor of your    refrigerator.

53.  Cover wine-stained fabric with salt; rinse in cool   water later.

54.  Remove offensive odours from stove with salt       and cinnamon.

55.  A pinch of salt improves the flavor of cocoa.

56. To remove grease stains in clothing, mix one   part salt to four parts alcohol.

57. Salt and lemon juice removes mildew.

58. Sprinkle salt between sidewalk bricks where you    don't want grass growing.

59.  Polish your old kerosene lamp with salt for a brighter look. Remove odors from sink        drainpipes with a strong, hot solution of salt   water.

60.  If a pie bubbles over in your oven, put a handful    of salt on top of the spilled juice. The mess       won't smell and will bake into a dry, light crust       which will wipe off easily when the oven has      cooled.

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Parsley

CLEAN YOUR KIDNEYS WITH LESS THAN RM 1.00 (parsley / daun sup) Years pass by and our kidneys are filtering the blood by removing salt, poison and any unwanted entering our body. With time, the salt accumulates and this needs to undergo cleaning treatments.    How are we going to do this?  It is very easy, first take a bunch of parsley and wash it clean.  Then cut it in small pieces and put it in a pot and pour clean water and boil it for ten minutes and let it cool down and then filter it and pour in a clean bottle and keep it inside refrigerator to cool.  Drink one glass daily and you will notice all salt and other accumulated poison coming out of your kidney by urination. Also you will be able to notice the difference which you never felt before.  Parsley is known as best cleaning treatment for kidneys and it is natural!

Why Breakfast?

"Importance of having Breakfast"

Breakfast can help prevent strokes, heart attack and sudden death. Advice on not to skip breakfast!

Healthy living
For those who always skip breakfast, you should stop that habit now! You've heard many times that "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." Now, recent research confirms that one of the worst practices you can develop may be avoiding breakfast.

Why?
Because the frequency of heart attack, sudden death, and stroke peaks between 6: 00a.m. and noon, with the highest incidence being between 8: 00a.m. and 10:00a.m.What mechanism within the body could account for this significant jump in sudden death in the early morning hours?

We may have an Answer.


Platelet, tiny elements in the blood that keep us from bleeding to Death if we get a cut, can clump together inside our arteries due to cholesterol or laque buildup in the artery lining. It is in the morning hours that platelets become the most activated and tend to form these internal blood clots at the greatest frequency.

However, eating even a very light breakfast prevents the morning platelet activation that is associated with heart attacks and strokes.. Studies performed at Memorial University in St.Johns,    Newfoundland found that eating a light, very low-fat breakfast was critical in modifying the morning platelet activation. Subjects in the study consumed either low-fat or fat-free yogurt, orange juice, fruit, and a source of protein coming from yogurt or fat-free milk. So if you skip breakfast, it's important that you change this practice immediately in light of this research. Develop a simple plan to eat cereal, such as oatmeal or Bran Flakes, along with six ounces of grape juice or orange juice, and perhaps a piece of fruit. This simple plan will keep your platelets from sticking together, keep blood clots from forming, and perhaps head off a potential Heart Attack or stroke. So never ever skip breakfast

Avoid Gas & Vapor!!

Did you know this??  AVOID GAS & VAPOR !!

*

*TIPS ON PUMPING GAS INTO YOUR VEHICLE AT GAS STATIONS.

I don't know what you guys are paying for gasoline in your part of the rest of the world, but here in California we are also paying higher, up to $3.50 per gallon.

*But my line of work has been in petroleum industry for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every gallon. Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work, they deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline. One day its diesel the next day its jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and premium grades. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons.

*

*TIP # 01:  Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon. It has expanded relative to the ambient temperature!!

*In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role.  A one degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

*TIP # 02:  When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.

*

*TIP # 03: One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL or HALF EMPTY. The reason for this is, the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.

*

*TIP # 04: Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up--most likely the gasoline in the ground storage is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom. Hope this will help you get the most value for your money.

Coconut Water

Why Drink Coconut Water? Coco Water is naturally: > Low in Carbs > 99% Fat Free  > Low in sugars Coconut Water contains organic compounds possessing healthy growth promoting properties that have been known to help: Keep the body cool and at the proper temperature Orally re-hydrate your body, it is an all natural isotonic beverage Carry nutrients and oxygen to cells Naturally replenish your body's fluids after exercising Raise your metabolism Promote weight loss Boost your immune system Detoxify and fight viruses Cleanse your digestive tract Control diabetes Aid your body in fighting viruses that cause the flu, herpes, and AIDS Balance your PH and reduce risk of cancer Treat kidney and urethral stones Boost poor circulation Coconut Water Information (complied by John Kohler) The English name coconut, first mentioned in English print in 1555, comes from Spanish and Portugese word coco, which means 'monkey face.' Spanish and Portugese explorers found a resemblance to a monkey's face in the three round indented markings or 'eyes' found at the base of the coconut. On the Nicobar Islands of the Indian Ocean , whole coconuts were used as currency for the purchace of goods until the early part of the twentieth century. Coconuts are the fruit of the coconut palm, botanically known as cocos nucifera, with nucifera meaning 'nut-bearing.' The fruit-bearing palms are native to Malaysia , Polynesia and southern Asia, and are now also prolific in South America , India , the Pacific Islands , Hawaii and Florida . The light, fibrous husk allowed it to easily drift on the oceans to other areas to propagate. In Sanskrit, the coconut palm is known as kalpa vriksha, meaning 'tree which gives all that is necessary for living,' since nearly all parts of the tree can be used in some m anner or another. The coconut itself has many food uses, including milk, meat, sugar and oil as well as functioning as its own dish and cup. The husk was also burned for fuel by natives, but today a seed fibre called coir is taken from the husk and used to make brushes, mats, fishnets, and rope. A very potent fermented toddy or drink is also made from the coconut palm's sap. Coconut oil, a saturated fat made from dried coconut meat, is used for commercial frying and in candies and margarines, as well as in non-edible products such as soaps and cosmetics. Although it takes up to a year for coconuts to mature, the trees bloom up to thirteen times a year, so fruit is constantly forming yielding a continuous harvest year-round. An average harvest from one tree runs about 60 coconuts, with some trees yielding three times that amount. The coconut's name is a bit of a misnomer, since it is botanically classified as a drupe and not a nut. It is the largest seed known. If you've ever opened a fresh coconut, you will have seen the thin, opaque almost clear coconut juice or water which has a slight almond flavor. Contrary to popular belief, this is not the coconut milk. However, the water is consumed as a drink fresh from the coconut by many, and it can also be used in recipes. Here is some information about Coconut Water: 'It's a natural isotonic beverage, with the same level of electrolytic balance as we have in our blood. It's the fluid of life, so to speak.' In fact, during the Pacific War of 1941-45, both sides in the conflict regularly used coconut water - siphoned directly from the nut - to give emergency plasma transfusions to wounded soldiers. Most coconut water is still consumed fresh in tropical coastal areas - once exposed to air, the liquid rapidly loses most of its organ oleptic and nutritional characteristics, and begins to ferment. Coconut Water is More Nutritious than whole milk - Less fat and NO cholesterol! Coconut Water is More Healthy than Orange Juice - Much lower calories Coconut Water is Better than processed baby milk- It contains lauric acid, which is present in human mother's milk Coconut water is naturally sterile -- Water permeates though the filtering husk! Coconut water is a universal donor-- Its identical to human blood plasma Coconut Water is a Natural Isotonic Beverage - The same level we have in our blood. Coconut water has saved lives in 3rd world countries thru Coconut IV. 'Coconut water is the very stuff of Nature, biologically Pure, full of Natural Sugars, Salts, and Vitamins to ward off fatigue... and is the next wave of energy drinks BUT natural!', according to Mortin Satin, Chielf of the United Nation's Food & Agriculture Organization. Coconut water contains more potassium (at about 294 mg) than most sports drinks (117 mg) and most energy drinks. Coconut water has less sodium (25mg) where sports drinks have around 41mg and energy drinks have about 200 mg! Coconut water has 5mg of Natural Sugars where sports and energy drinks range from 10-25mg of Altered Sugars. Coconut water is very high in Chloride at 118mg, compared to sports drinks at about 39mg.       Data is based on a 100ml drink.