In a pinch, coconut water can be used medically for intravenous hydration. Coconut water — not coconut milk — is relatively similar to the body's intracellular fluid and works like a saline solution when it mixes with blood plasma. There are several reported cases of soldiers being rehydrated with coconut water in extreme circumstances, as well as a Solomon Islander who was successfully rehydrated with coconut water in 2000.
More facts about coconuts:
- Coconut water is not the same thing as coconut milk. Coconut water occurs naturally in coconuts, but coconut milk is made out of grated coconut meat.
- Coconuts are not actually nuts. Botanically speaking, they are drupes, the same as peaches, mangoes and olives.
- Coconuts play a role in some religions. Coconut flowers are considered lucky in both Hinduism and Buddhism, and coconut halves filled with rice are ritually offered to dead ancestors in some regions of the Philippines.