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Coconut Craze Science fact or diet fad
Courtesy of homeremediesforlife
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Courtesy of homeremediesforlife.com
Foreigners learning Indonesian get cautioned against muddling up kelapa with kepala ' and for good reason.
One is the fruit of cocos nucifera, the other the head of homo sapiens, and the chances of confusion and embarrassment are great.
So no wonder Zainal Gani shied at the label 'Doctor Coconut'. However, being a jovial fellow, he happily suggested 'Doctor Santan' after the juice from the white endosperm lining the inside of the shell and usually, though incorrectly, called coconut meat.
For the former Malang hospital doctor is convinced that a diet rich in coconut products, particularly santan and virgin coconut oil [VCO], is the answer to many ills.
Despite being slim and fit Zainal, 69, was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes more than 30 years ago, a condition probably inherited.
The metabolic disorder that creates high blood sugar can be controlled through exercise and a strict diet. For Zainal, this meant abandoning coffee, sugar, rice and fizzy drinks ' and ensuring his daily menu included a cup of santan and a spoonful of VCO.
This is the liquid pressed out of the santan, and if the process doesn't involve fermentation or the use of enzymes and preservatives then it should be odorless, clear and have a two-year shelf life.
'I did a lot of research, including books from overseas, and concluded that coconuts have many health qualities,' he said. 'The food is nutritious, vitamin rich and high in fiber. It can help reduce weight and blood sugar.
He is aware there has been some criticism of coconut diets in the West but he's not concerned.
'When I was practising as a doctor maybe 20 percent of my patients, apart from those who'd had an accident, could find their problems reduced if not resolved with a change of diet rather than a chemical pill,' he said.
'Hippocrates [the ancient Greek physician] said: 'Let food be thy medicine, and medicine thy food.' That's my philosophy.'
When he retired, Zainal and his wife Arliek Rio Julia, who is also a doctor, decided to back their beliefs and produce their own products under the label Vico Bagoes. Some bottles found their way to Denpasar in Bali where they were picked up by visiting Japanese searching for VCO.
The businesspeople bought samples from different manufacturers and subjected them to a sniff and taste test. Zainal's product passed. More analysis, this time in laboratories. After a year of negotiations his company is now shipping 2,000 liters a month.
The Japanese want double that quantity, but Zainal's daughter Arni Rahmawati, who looks after product development, said the policy was to advance slowly.
'We believe we're the only Indonesian company using centrifugal processing and exporting VCO to Japan,' she said. 'Till now, the Philippines has been the main supplier. The Japanese don't want fermented VCO, though this produces a greater yield than our mechanical system.'
For seven hours each day, 30 workers handle 1,800 coconuts. The nuts are imported from Bali because these have higher oil content. The 'meat' is scooped out of the shell by hand and shredded by machine.
This mash is then forced through a screw press that squeezes out the juice ' a process that's conducted nine times. The resulting VCO is then put through a centrifuge to spin out any surviving contaminants.
VCO is as clear as water and retails locally for Rp 25,000 [US$2] for a 130 millilitre bottle, though some outlets charge double.
The Indonesian market was going well till 2008 when foul smelling VCO, not from Zainal's company, got a bad press.
'Getting into the export market, particularly Japan which is serious about standards is a major advance,' Arni said. 'We can do this only because we maintain high levels of hygiene. That means having our staff understand the importance of quality control. We have regular meetings to explain what's happening.
'We want to develop a use for by-products. The husks go to make charcoal and other waste becomes rabbit food, but we must be more efficient.'
The so-called milk, spilled when the coconut is split, goes down the drain. It could be trapped and sold, but preservation is a problem as it rapidly goes rancid.
Zainal said his family had so much faith in the future that they were building a new warehouse and buying equipment. 'I don't know how much we've spent,' he said. 'Whatever we earn goes back into the business.
'Trying to understand the best processing system has been a trial and error affair and taken a long time. I just wish the government would support research and development to help people get into exporting.'
Indonesia and the Philippines jostle for top spot in the ranks of coconut producers, but Indonesian exports are usually the whole fruit, with processing and value-adding done overseas.
