The Health Benefits of drinking Coconut Milk instead of Cow’s Milk

It is still only a minority of people in the world who continue to drink milk after they stop taking their mother’s milk. This is partly because the enzyme needed to breakdown the lactose in milk quickly disappears from the body after a baby stops suckling. One in five people are lactose intolerant in the States and this figure is probably higher in Asia. A great substitute for cow’s milk, free of lactose, is coconut milk. This post will look at not only the health benefits of drinking coconut milk, but also how coconut milk shapes up in comparison to cow’s milk.

It is a commonly held belief that cow’s milk is essential for the healthy development of children. Kids are made to drink cow’s milk at school. The reason for this is that cow’s milk is rich in calcium and protein. There are, however, many other sources of protein available to children such as meat, fish and beans.

Coconut milk also contains protein and calcium, admittedly not as much as cow’s milk, but nevertheless enough for healthy bone development.

Coconut milk has a wide range of minerals and vitamins, in many cases in higher quantities than cow’s milk. Although cow’s milk is richer in vitamins B5 and B6, coconut milk is a better source of vitamins E, C, B1 and B3. Moreover, coconut milk has higher concentrations of potassium, selenium, phosphorous and magnesium.

Another great benefit of coconut milk is that it contains lauric acid. This is an antimicrobial agent that protects the body from viral infection. It also helps to detoxify the digestive tract and to balance the body’s PH. Research has also found a connection between taking coconut milk and oil in the diet and an improvement in the immunity system. These are health benefits that cow’s milk does not possess.

So it is clear that those people either from choice or necessity that drink coconut milk instead of cow’s milk are actually doing their bodies a big favor.