In Sri Lanka, wholesome King Coconut water is tourists’ favorite
Sri Lanka, Dec 31: Sri Lanka, the Southern Asia’s tropical island nation, is acclaimed as one of the top tourist destinations of the world. Visitors to this island are mesmerised by its beauty, history and culture.
Among the memorable experiences encountered here is the lingering taste of its exquisite natural drink – the King Coconut water. The King Coconut water is the favorite beverage of the Sri Lankans, which is becoming increasingly popular with the tourists.
The King Coconuts, locally called ‘Thambili’ are bright-orange coloured variety of coconuts which are indigenous to Sri Lanka. These are extensively found throughout the country especially on the beaches and roadside kiosks which are in plenty during the dry, hot summer months.
Sri Lanka is increasingly becoming a preferred getaway while food and drinks in Sri Lanka are also yet another attraction that draws tourists from outside the country. And the King Coconut is the prime favorite. Tourists make it a point to stop at King Coconut roadside vendors and relish the drink.
Kobatte Jeelani, a Bahrain resident who recently visited Sri Lanka, King Coconut was a real winner. He feasted on it whenever he sighted the king coconut stall. “We get this in India as well and called Kandhali. It is really sweet drink,” he said.
The beverage is becoming increasingly popular with tourists. (Supplied)
For locals, it is an everyday thirst quencher and the most preferred drink of the city folks. Says S.M. Syed Naazim, a businessman in Colombo, “King Coconut water, reminiscent of childhood summers, is wholesome, nutritious drink. It is Nature’s own fluid.”
The star hotels and resorts in Sri Lanka offer King Coconut drink upon arrival at their properties as welcome drink.
The King Coconut trees are abundantly grown freely throughout the coastal belt of Sri Lanka with little or no human intervention and also are a common sight in most Sri Lankans’ homes.
The King Coconuts are exclusively used as beverages while the common green coconuts have multiple uses. And although the young green coconut water is also consumed; the preferred choice of many Sri Lankans is the King Coconut water.
The King Coconut has several sub-varieties in Sri Lanka; the commonest being the ‘kaha or gonthambili’ and ‘ran thambili’. The King Coconut water is the favorite drink of the locals and its drinking has been a centuries-old tradition in Sri Lanka, being widely prized for its nutritive and curative properties and extensively used in Ayurvedic therapy since millennia.
Tourists make it a point to stop at King Coconut roadside vendors and relish the drink. (Supplied)
A nutritional drink
The main constituents of the King Coconut water are easily digestible sugars, minerals and vitamins. The minerals are the potassium and sodium, the ‘serum electrolytes’ of which potassium is found in much higher concentration than sodium.
The King coconut water also contains other key minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, manganese and phosphorus. It also contains vitamin C and some vitamins of the B-complex group such as thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, biotin, pyridoxine and folate.
Laden with such vital nutrients; the King Coconut water has multiple health benefits and the Sri Lankans treasure this thirst-quenching nature’s gift. Some of its benefits are outlined below:
It is an everyday thirst quencher and the most preferred drink of the city folks. (Supplied)
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As it is rich in serum electrolytes, it is used as a rehydrant fluid and energy booster especially after physical activities.
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The vitamins in the King Coconut water are required as coenzymes essential for cellular functions.
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Cytokinins in the King Coconut water are believed to reduce the risk of degenerative and age-related diseases and also helps to fight against cancer.
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The minerals in this water help to regulate the blood pressure levels and also promote general wellness of our being.
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As King Coconut water contains higher dietary soluble fibre and naturally occurring bioactive enzymes; it aids in digestion and improves constipation. It is useful in treating diarrhoea and cholera and other gastrointestinal diseases.
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King Coconut water acts as a diuretic and flushes our toxins and drugs from the body. It is also effective in the treatment of bladder infections as well as kidney and urethral stones.
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As it is isotonic with human blood, it had been used during World War II for emergency plasma transfusion; being a natural substitute for saline solution.
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Since the King Coconut water contains more sugar, it is tastier and sweeter when compared to water of other varieties of coconuts although it’s sugar content is much lesser than other aerated drinks and processed fruit juices.
Thus, the King Coconut water brimming with nutrition and vitality is considered to be a ‘pharmaceutical wonder’ or a ‘living pharmacy’ by Sri Lankans. And in recent years, Sri Lanka has been packing this ‘fluid of life’ into tetra packs and bottles and widely exporting to other countries wherein consumers have adopted the coconut water as ‘Mother Nature’s Sports Drink’.
The King Coconut has several sub-varieties in Sri Lanka. (Supplied)
The craze and virtues of coconut water appeals the health-conscious people who are increasingly preferring it over the fizzy drinks and packed juices; the King Coconut water is surely making waves further from its native Sri Lanka.
Courtesy: english.alarabiya.net
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LoP Ashoka targets CM govt over corruption, says being 'shameless' in public life not forgivable
Bengaluru (PTI): Targeting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Congress government in Karnataka on corruption, BJP leader R Ashoka on Friday said, being foolish was forgivable, but being "shameless" in public life was not.
The Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly claimed that in just 30 months of its tenure, the Congress administration has broken every previous record on corruption-related controversies.
He was responding to Siddaramaiah's post on 'X' on Thursday hitting back at the BJP, stating that Upa Lokayukta Justice Veerappa's claims of "63 per cent corruption" were based on his report in November 2019, when BJP's B S Yediyurappa was the CM.
"But Ashoka, without understanding the Upa Lokayukta's statement properly, has ended up tying the BJP's own bells of sins onto our heads and has effectively shot himself in the foot," the CM had said, as he accused Ashoka of foolishness for trying to twist Veerappa's statement to target the current government.
Responding, Ashoka said, "it is one thing to be called foolish in politics, that can be forgiven."
"But in public life, especially in the Chief Minister's chair, one must never become shameless," Ashoka posted on 'X' on Friday addressing Siddaramaiah.
Noting that the CM himself had admitted on the floor of the Assembly that a Rs 87 crore scam took place in the Valmiki Development Corporation, he said that when a CM acknowledges such a massive irregularity inside the floor of the House, the natural expectation is immediate action and accountability.
"But instead of taking responsibility, you continue in office as if nothing has happened. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
Pointing out that the CM's Economic Advisor and senior Congress MLA Basavaraja Rayareddy had publicly stated that under Congress rule, Karnataka has become No.1 in corruption, Ashoka said, "Yet, you still cling to the Chief Minister's chair without a moment of introspection. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness."
Senior Congress MLA C R Patil had exposed the "money for House" racket in the Housing Department and even warned that the government would collapse if the details he has were made public, Ashoka said.
"Despite such serious allegations from within your own party (Congress), you neither initiated an inquiry nor acted against the concerned minister. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," Ashoka asked the CM.
Highlighting the "40 percent commission" allegation Congress made against the previous BJP government, the opposition leader said, the commission that the Siddaramaiah government appointed concluded that the accusation was baseless.
"After your own panel demolished your own claim, what moral right do you have to continue repeating that allegation. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
For the last two and a half years, Karnataka has been 'drowning' in corruption, scandals, irregularities and allegations across departments. Ashoka said, "If I begin listing every case that emerged under your government, even 24 hours would not be enough."
"And the most tragic aspect of your administration is this: the unbearable pressure, corruption demands and administrative harassment under your government pushed several officers and contractors into extreme distress - including the suicide of Chandrasekharan which exposed the Valmiki Development Corporation scam - a sign of how deeply broken the system has become under your watch," he said.
Instead of fixing this hopeless environment, the government has tried to bury every complaint and silence every voice, he charged.
"Being foolish is forgivable, but being shameless in public life is definitely not."
"When your own ministers admit scams, when your own advisors certify Karnataka as No.1 in corruption, and when your own MLAs expose rackets inside your departments - clinging to power without accountability is not leadership. It is shamelessness in its purest form." PTI KSU
Earlier on Thursday Ashoka had demanded that the corruption case and allegations in the state against the Congress government be handed over to a CBI investigation, citing a reported statement by Upalokaykta Justice Veerappa alleging "63 per cent corruption", following which Siddaramaiah hit back at the BJP leader.
