Coconuts have been so maligned in dietary circles that those of us who’ve jumped on the coconut bandwagon and started singing it’s praises are often maligned ourselves.
Coconuts are mostly saturated fat, so surely we must be absolutely crazy to promote it as a healthy food.
But — wonder of wonders — coconut is making a comeback! And it’s not just in circles like ours where we challenge politically correct nutrition in favor of traditional food wisdom. You’ll never believe what I just saw. ABC News NOW ran a story on coconuts in which they interviewed a registered dietitian, and the dietitian only had positive things to say.
In fact, she called coconut water “nature’s Gatorade.” What an apt description! Go watch the video.
Here are some of the highlights of the short piece.
First, she defined a coconut and its various life-cycle stages. Coconuts are neither fruits, nor are they tree nuts. So, if you have a tree nut allergy, you have nothing to fear from coconuts. Coconuts are actually the seeds of the palm tree.
When coconuts are young, they are essentially like green water balloons. They have a very thin skin, almost no meat, and are mostly water inside. This coconut water has many benefits. It’s full of potassium and electrolytes and has an osmolality identical to our own blood. Translation: it’s amazingly hydrating, and the water is absorbed almost immediately into our cells. Hence, it’s “nature’s Gatorade.” Perhaps you need to rehydrate after intense physical activity? Maybe your child is ill and you want to prevent dehydration? Why turn to high-fructose, synthetic-vitamin laden drinks like Pedialyte or Gatorade when you can drink a traditional beverage straight from nature that tropical people have relied on for thousands of years?
Plus, if you add a little water kefir grains to the coconut water, you can make one of the most healthful probiotic beverages on the planet — one that (according to the Body Ecology Diet and Gut and Psychology Syndrome) has helped halt, reverse, and even heal austism spectrum disorders in young children.
As coconuts mature, their shell thickens and meat starts forming inside. The coconut water content starts falling, and the juice inside is now what we call coconut milk. Coconut milk is higher in fat and protein, and makes a delicious addition to curries, stews, stir fries, and soups. It can also be used to replace dairy in products like ice cream. Coconut milk is harvested by squeezing coconut meat through cheesecloth. The meat that remains can be dried and used as unsweetened dry coconut flakes in all your cooking. Coconut cream is simply really thick coconut milk.
If you let coconut milk set, it will eventually separate into oil & milk. The coconut oil has many benefits, which I’ve highlighted before. Perhaps the best thing about coconut oil is that it’s high in medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) — a type of fat that does not require typical digestion. That’s right. MCFAs don’t require our body to produce bile salts to digest them, nor do they need to be altered from their current form in order to be assimilated into our body. In other words, they get used as fuel almost immediately upon eating. As such, MCFAs can actually promote weight loss because they help our bodies start metabolizing fat rather than storing it.
Honestly, I was surprised to see such a glowing segment honoring coconut on a national cable news network. It’s about time!
(photo by nidriel)
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That is so encouraging! I’ve been adding lots of coconut to my diet lately. In fact, just today I received my gallon of coconut oil from Nutiva. My son plays high school football and he has been complaining of having intense sugar cravings after practice. I figured it was his body needing some quick energy replacements. He’s wanting some type of sport drink. Wonder where I can get my hands on a good supply of coconut water?
.-= Tara
@NoMeatAthlete Next time, take some coconut water with you (not coconut milk!) http://bit.ly/fJxdx
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I’ve been buying coconut water at my health food store. It’s not inexpensive, but we rarely drink anything other than water, raw milk and homemade kombucha, so it is worth it to me to make the investment. I love drinking coconut kefir, especially in hot weather like we’ve had this summer. When a tummy bug ran through our family, it was particularly helpful to have coconut kefir on hand to soothe upset tummies and replace lost fluids.
.-= Local Nourishment
“Coconut Is Nature’s Gatorade.” Major cable news network covers the health benefits of coconuts. http://su.pr/26h2G8 (RT @FoodRenegade)
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Peggy — Sounds like the beverages in your house are identical to ours. 🙂 We also sometimes make a fermented lemonade using the NT recipe for “Punch,” but only when lemons are in season and cheap.
Tara — You can buy it at most health food stores, Asian markets, or online. Try to get just plain coconut water without any additives, though. Sometimes that can be difficult. 🙁
Coconut Milk Is Nature’s Gatorade http://tr.im/wHBm
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Great post! I’ve been using coconut oil for awhile now, but never thought to use coconut water. I’ll have to check it out.
Karla
.-= Living A Whole Life
http://bit.ly/14l2RZ More benefits of coconut. “Coconut water is nature’s gatorade.” (minus the HFCS!)
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Coconut Milk Is Nature’s Gatorade: http://bit.ly/fJxdx
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I have a coconut water chilling in my fridge that I have yet to try; I may have to crack that baby open now that I know the benefits!
.-= Alisa – Frugal Foodie
Good to see coconuts are getting good press! I fed my husband coconut water when he fell really ill this past January. It really helped to keep him hydrated (even tho he could only sip a little here and there) and helped kick his illness in the butt, lol.
I’ve been planning to make some coconut water!
Reading this makes me wonder if it might be a good drink to sip on during labor. I wonder…
.-= Stacy@Delighting in the Days
All the packaged Coconut Water I have seen (VitaCoco, O.N.E., Zico, etc.) are all pasturized so they don’t have all the good stuff! We bought and drank a small fortune of it before I realized this!
Now we just buy the Young Thai Coconuts from a good source -it tastes so much better and I noticed it seemed to set better on my stomach than the packaged coconut water.
As a health conscious athlete, I think it’s unfortunate how many people think they need sports drinks to support their physical activity. I’ve always been intrigued by coconut water, but have never tried it. I’ve tried making my own by melting coconut oil and mixing it in water, but it doesn’t work so well. 😉 Normally, I just put some sea salt in my water.
Has anyone had success making their own coconut water? I assume you need pre-ripened coconuts rather than coconut oil? Are there any reputable brands of coconut water that can be ordered online?
By the way, what a great sign for a registered dietitian (ADA I assume) to be promoting coconut!
.-= Vin – NaturalBias
Vin — You can harvest your own coconut water by buying young (not mature!) coconuts at your grocery store (usually in the produce aisle), opening them up with a knife, then draining the water inside. There are plenty of reputable brands out there. Just look for the ones without any additives.
Like Vik said, you can’t find any truly raw, fresh coconut water on the shelf (that I know of), but that doesn’t affect it’s unique hydration properties or electrolyte balance, just it’s enzyme content. Obviously, it’s better for you raw. But it’s up to you to decide whether or not it’s worth harvesting it yourself from a young coconut.
Among those sold pre-packaged, I’ve heard good things about Dr. Martin’s coconut water because they don’t flash pasteurize. Instead, they do some sort of patented process whereby the coconut juice is extracted under cold temperatures and packaged in an airtight container so that it never sees light nor heat. It has a short shelf life (3 weeks), but it’s technically “raw.” If someplace near you sells it, it’s probably in the refrigerator section. I’m not sure about buying it online. You’d have to research that.
Just saw an interesting article on Coconut Water Kefir:
http://www.bodyecology.com/coconutkefir.php
Anyone here tried this? Sounds like it would be downright tasty, and healthy to boot!
Reading @foodrenegade Coconut Water Is Nature’s Gatorade http://tinyurl.com/nn7ra9
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Any suggestions of similar products for those of us who live in temperate climates? It seems every climate has a local product that does similar things, and I hate to think about all the energy it takes to get coconuts to Michigan!
God Save The Coconuts! I won a coffee at starbucks because I knew that coconuts are the worlds largest seed. A very impressive peice of silly trivia. 🙂 So glad that there are RD’s out there who get it. I recently sat through a hearing in the CAlifornia Legislature in which RD after RD got up and demonized whole milk while holding up (pink), non-fat, strawberry milk as a healthy alternative. I wanted to scream. so frusterated.
.-= dailydiner
THANKS for answering a question I have had for years and no dietician or doctor could answer it. I have a tree nut allergy and have always wondered if that included coconuts. I have avoid them as the risk was too high. Now I know.
Though I love coconut water, I have mixed feelings because coconuts isnt local to me (California). I cook with and eat coconut oil, and buy young coconuts occasionally, but still feel conflicted because it doesn’t fit with my “buy and eat local” goals. I cant find anything else that compares to coconuts
.-= Carla
I am hoping to convince my husband to drink coconut water over Gatorade, but for my money, I’d like the most nutrients possible…not a pasteurized juice! I looked into Dr. Martin’s coco water and it seems that the company is in Europe. I am wondering if there is a place to buy fresh or unpasteurized coconut water in San Diego. Sounds like Whole Foods and other stores just have the pasteurized waters. Anyone know anything I don’t know? I don’t want to buy online if I don’t have to because that gets expensive. My husband will never go for it if the price is out the roof.
so true! rt @Zacharycohen Coconut Water Is Nature’s Gatorade http://ff.im/-7ipzu
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I love coconut water. Yes oh yes. It is a wondrous food. http://tinyurl.com/nn7ra9
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Wow, didn’t know Coconut Water could be so good in a diet, thanks for sharing.
Just read above comments about coconut water ( I call it juice.) In my eagerness to add my 2 cents, I posted my comments on FACEBOOK (lol).
You can buy young coconuts in ASIAN markets. They usually have the green skin. It is easier to slice (sharp thick knife) on top then make a small quarter size hole ( smaller knife)to make an opening. Be careful not to spill the juice.
The younger and fresher the coconut the better the taste ( sweet and refreshing!)!
Good luck!
PS
The flesh( meat) can be scraped as a delicious treat!
It is available frozen at Asian markets.
hi ! where do you get your coconuts? you live in bay area right? i have been reading about the processing of coconuts and coconut waters lately… (:
I have found that fresh coconut water directly from the fruit is delicious. However, the packaged i.e. can, bottle or other is unpalatable to me.
I bought vita Coco water before reading the comments here and now find out that it’s pasteurized but it doesn’t say that anywhere on the container.. so am i getting any benefit from this at all nutrition-wise or do I actually need to find raw coconut water?
Just some extra info that I’m sure you’ve heard at some point – in Indonesia, where I live, coconut water is the go-to antidote for food poisoning. Also, coconut water (from young coconuts and sometimes sweetened with coconut sugar- coconutception!) is a popular beverage here and can be easily found in small roadside restaurants.
And by coconut water, I mean fresh, unpasteurized coconut water, sometimes straight from the coconut. (I never knew coconut water can be pasteurized like what the fudge?) Another additional info from my driver (who grew up in a traditional village and therefore is familiar with the traditional preparation of food in Indonesia and whatnot)- people here prepare (real) coconut oil by heating the milk until it thickens. The result is a suspension of coconut oil and a brown, sweet-savoury thing called ‘blondo’.
What about ZICO coconut water? Would you recommend it to an athlete?