Hence it is gaining popularity in the English Rugby Union and Premier Football circles.It has similar potential for waka ama given its history of use in Polynesia.

The national English rugby team has now used coconut oil as part of their nutritional weaponry in their 2003 and 2007 World Cup campaigns.

See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/england/2327310/RFU-academy-building-gilded-generation.html
And http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/jan/15/healthandwellbeing.foodanddrink

It is ideally suited also to waka ama for its properties to build muscle, allow paddlers to have instant sustained energy over long periods of time.

As an energy source coconut oil mimics carbs and is sometimes called the carbs of the fat world.
However unlike carbs that result in blood sugar spikes and crashes, coconut oil moderates blood sugar levels resulting in feelings of satiety / fullness over long periods of time.

Coconut Oil contains medium chain triglycerides (MCT’s). MCTs differ from Long Chain Triglycerides (LCT’s). MCT’s are absorbed directly from the portal vein in the stomach into the liver making them instantly available for energy. Whereas LCT’s have to be processed through the bile system thus taking longer to be available as an energy source

The body can use MCT's for a number of purposes. These include being used for muscle energy, fat burning, and for the production of adenosine triphosphate.
Although conflicting data has arisen regarding the efficacy of medium chain triglycerides for weight loss, anecdotal evidence continues to mount that MCT's are effective for weight loss and athletic performance.

Many paddlers in Aotearoa will appreciate the history of use of coconut oil over many hundreds of years as key fuel in the diets of Polynesian people. It will be associated with very high levels of good health, little degenerative disease and so on despite it being a saturated fat.

It is making a major resurgence in sports in the face of all the dogma and ignorance that exists about low fat diets and the saturated fat.
You can explore more of the science of nutrition and coconut oil at these sites.
www.westonaprice.org
www.coconutresearchcenter.org

You can also try for yourselves and your team by purchasing online at
www.zenian.co.nz
For more information contact
Ian Haldane
Chien Thang Ltd
Zenian Organic
0211 692 611
06 759 7478
[email protected]

Disclaimer: This article was supplied by Zenian Organic
As such Nga Kaihoe o Aotearoa Inc cannot be held responsible for the reliability of the content, and does not necessarily endorse the views expressed within