Gilligan's Island: When Life Gives You Coconuts, Make Coconut Cream Pie?

Working at a health food distributing company, I couldn't help noticing the proliferation of coconut products on the market right now.

Some of the coconut products I have
 in the pantry at the moment 
(forget the Cacao powder packet)

I was thinking that maybe Mary Anne off the TV show Gilligan's Island was ahead of her time with the supposed benefits of eating coconuts ... not that you would have much choice on a deserted island, I guess.

Surviving Gilligan's 

Island 

Documentary (2001)

While these coconut products were all around me at work, it took me until this year's Bluesfest at Byron Bay, where I was feeling quite thirsty and didn't want to fork out ten bucks for a beer, that I ran across a guy selling non-alcoholic piña coladas for five bucks, with coconut being the main ingredient.

No, it wasn't Bobby Alu selling
  piña coladas at BF:-)

It was a guy from this company
 selling them

This drink really gave me a boost that I couldn't believe and I ended up coming back another three times on the day, they were that refreshing.
The guy at the stall and I got into a conversation about the benefits of coconut products and I even bought the book pictured below off him.

Coconut Water for 

Health and Healing

"Coconut water is a refreshing beverage that comes from coconuts. 
It’s a powerhouse of nutrition containing a complex blend of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, carbohydrates, antioxidants, enzymes, health enhancing growth hormones, and other phytonutrients. 
Because its electrolyte (ionic mineral) content is similar to human plasma, it has gained international acclaim as a natural sports drink for oral rehydration. 
As such, it has proven superior to commercial sports drinks. 
Unlike other beverages, it is completely compatible with the human body, in so much that it can be infused directly into the bloodstream. 
In fact, doctors have used coconut water successfully as an intravenous fluid for over 60 years.  
Coconut water’s unique nutritional profile gives it the power to balance body chemistry, ward off disease, fight cancer, and retard aging. 
History and folklore credit coconut water with remarkable healing powers, which medical science is now confirming. 
Published medical research shows that coconut water can aid in exercise performance, reduce swelling, dissolve kidney stones and improve kidney function, protect against cancer, improve digestion, relieve constipation, reduce risk of heart disease, lower high blood pressure, improve cholesterol levels, and enhance immune function." 
Coconut Water for Health and Healing

Whilst I'm convinced of the benefits of coconut water, I'm still not so sure about the coconut fat sold in bottles, that is quick to solidify at cool room temperatures.
I just about gag on a spoonful of coconut oil.
It might be OK as cooking oil, but I have my doubts about the health benefits of coconut oil, even though it's said to be a preventive measure for avoiding Alzheimer's Disease.

And according to a packet of Spiral brand coconut paste I was reading at work, coconuts kill ten times more people a year than shark attacks.

So, it's good to see the dangers of this food being placed on packets, similar to the law in Australia requires of cigarette packets to spell out the dangers that smoking causes to your health:-)

Cigarette packets

in Australia

Anyway, it looks like Mary Ann was on to something with her coconut cream pies.

Probably why she (Dawn Wells) still looks and acts so good today.

Mary Ann's Coconut

Cream Pies

Oh, and Mary Ann has always been my pick over Ginger ... even more so now that my (soon to be ex-)wife was named Tina Louise after the actress who plays Ginger.
Both stuck up bitches, who only think of themselves in my books, so the name choice for my wife turned out to be spot on, I think;-)

PS
If Mike Perry should read this post, have a look at the two numbers either side of the radio dial on the radio out of the TV show.