You've likely enjoyed the tasty, thirst-quenching coconut water fresh in the shell from your local Thai restaurant or at a roadside stand in some tropical country. Now all packaged up, coconut water is a trendy health drink popularized by celebrities like Madonna and basketball star Kevin Garnett.
Low in fat, free of cholesterol, full of vitamins and minerals, and hailed as a healthy alternative to sports drinks, coconut water is the clear, sterile liquid found inside the young, green coconut, harvested from five to seven months old. It is different from coconut milk, which is extracted from the meat of the ripe coconut.
Nature's power drink
Moira Khouri is a big fan of coconut water. She is a holistic nutritional consultant, life and health coach and head of faculty of the Global College of Natural Medicine, Santa Cruz, California (which has a Canadian branch in Nanaimo, BC, called the Vancouver Island College of Natural Wellness). "It is nature's power drink," she says. "It differs from sports drinks or vitamin water in that it has no dyes, chemicals or synthetic vitamins and minerals."
In the body, minerals like potassium and sodium become electrolytes, ions that can conduct electric currents and control fluid balance in the body. "Coconut water is loaded with natural minerals and functions as a natural electrolyte replacement," says Khouri.
Coconut water contains large amounts of potassium. According to the United States Department of Agriculture Nutrient Database, the water from one coconut (about 200 grams) contains 515 milligrams (mg) of potassium, about 22 percent more than a medium-sized banana, which contains 422 mg.
However, coconut water doesn't contain a high amount of sodium, which critics say makes it unsuitable for high-performance athletes, since the body loses more sodium than potassium during a heavy workout.
Khouri, for one, isn't concerned. "A lot of professional athletes get enough vitamins and minerals from eating whole, fresh foods," she says, "And in general, we get enough sodium in our diet."
Compared to sports drinks, coconut water doesn't provide as much carbohydrates or protein that's needed for the body to recover. But it does have natural sugars and amino acids (the building blocks of protein).
As for coconut water's high relative cost, "Compared with the electrolyte replacements on the market, you're getting good value in nutrition for your dollars."
Better yet, coconut water provides good clean energy, says Khouri. "Calories in coconut water get burned as energy right away and don't get stored as fat."
Khouri has her own experience with coconut water. In summer 2010, she was sick for six weeks and finally discovered through testing that she was dangerously low in potassium because of a kidney infection. Her director at the Global College of Natural Medicine told her to start drinking coconut water.
"I drank some right away and felt better by evening," she recalls. "I got my energy back within the first day." It works so quickly because "the liquid nutrients get in your bloodstream."
Ancient healing
Turns out coconut water isn't so new. In tropical countries where the coconut palm grows, including the Philippines (the top producer), southern Asia, South America, India and the Pacific Islands, coconut water has long been consumed fresh since it deteriorates once exposed to air.
Coconut water has a chemical composition similar to human blood plasma and is naturally sterile. It was used straight from the nut to give emergency transfusions to soldiers in World War II's Pacific War of 1941-45 when blood wasn't available. There have been cases of patients being given coconut water intravenously in place of medical saline for short-term hydration, in reports from the 1950s to 2000 in journals such as the American Journal of Emergency Medicine. One study from the Archives of Surgery concluded coconut water was not useful in hydrating patients because of its diuretic properties.
As a mild diuretic, coconut water can help prevent urinary tract infections. It is high in lauric acid, which has antiviral, antibacterial properties and helps fight herpes and flu. Coconut water has been recommended to help pregnant women stay hydrated (interestingly enough, lauric acid is also found in breast milk). In the tropics, coconut water is used to replace lost fluids as a result of diarrhea.
Big industry
According to natural health pioneer Siegfried Gursche, who brings in fair trade coconut oil and flour from the Solomon Islands through his company Alpha Health, there once was a time when coconut water was wonderful. Years ago, villagers drank it every morning, but all of a sudden people (from the west) discovered its health benefits and it became a big commodity.
The outcome is a little can of coconut water that's $4 and next to it is one that's $1.50, both of which say they contain coconut water. "How much coconut water?" he questions, "and what's in it? You can't put coconut water in a bottle because it starts fermenting. You need preservatives."
Big industry has found a way to preserve coconut water and market it as a healthy drink, says Gursche, likening it to the strawberry flavouring in yogurt and to Coca Cola, which also started as a health drink. "Now there's water, flavour, sugar, a bit of coconut," he says. "There aren't enough plantations in the world that can supply the demand for pure coconut
water."
"Now you buy coconut water for its health benefits, but the results are the exact opposite."
"Coconut water has gone into the wrong hands―pure coconut water is hard to find," Gursche continues. "All the big companies are going into natural drinks―what often started as family businesses are being bought out and they're not family businesses any more."
Battle for your heart, mind and money
The brand Vita Coco has been snapped up by Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, O.N.E. is partnered with Pepsi and Zico with Coca-Cola. Big companies are putting their marketing muscle and distribution channel behind coconut water. It's no wonder that coconut water is gaining popularity.
In 2009, the Wall Street Journal reported, "The goal now is to broaden the reach of coconut water drinkers beyond the athletically inclined. That is becoming increasingly important for beverage makers of all sizes that have watched sales of bottled water―their cash cow in recent years―get hurt by budget-conscious consumers and environmentalists who opposed the use of plastic bottles." These beverage companies are making up for declines in bottled water sales, which dropped six percent in one year (2009), while sales of coconut water have doubled to $20 million.
In June 2011, the New York Post reported that Major League Baseball star with the New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez announced that he'll appear in ads for Vita Coco, a company that his former girlfriend, Madonna, has invested in. Rodriguez made the move despite investing in Vita Coco's competitor, Zico, for more than two years. CNBC reports that Rodriguez switched when Zico compromised its "taste and functionality" when it started using coconut water concentrate. Rodriguez will be paired with singer Rihanna as part of a multi-million dollar advertising campaign.
Today, along with athletes, coconut water is being marketed to kids, pregnant and nursing women, and seniors who become dehydrated, often due to medications. Fruit juice blends increase vitamin and mineral content and give it a whole new taste.
A sustainable hydration source?
Like Gursche, Vancouver health and fitness coach Allan Lawry also cautions against the marketing and the hype. "We have some of the best water in the world, we have to alkalize it and add to it what we like. We should focus on local, organic. We can have good water without paying for its transport and packaging, paying marketers."
"Coconut water from the fresh young coconut right off the tree tastes great, on vacation―it has to be in its natural state," Lawry says. But he questions the value of bringing coconuts from overseas.
"The amount of time and energy to get coconut water from the tree down to the bottle to our door is hugely expensive and not sustainable." Lawry suggests there are alternatives, for example, water enhanced by a Cerra filter that mineralizes water and creates a higher pH than water. "This is better for hydration and provides more alkalinity," he says.
What's your choice?
My Edible Advice's Jennifer Trecartin, a registered holistic nutritionist in Vancouver and a certified raw and living food chef, is a big lover of coconut water, and her clients are, too, she says. "I often give my clients a coconut water recipe to help with hydration or to use when working out" (see sidebar).
Trecartin believes it's important to get coconut water from the cleanest and freshest source possible. "So get out your cleaver and start cracking open young Thai coconuts!" she says.
Partially husked young coconuts can be found at Asian food stores or health food stores. When selecting, look for a young coconut that's heavy and, when shaken, you don't hear a swishing sound, because it should be full with water. The husk should be white with no purple or brown spots.
Another choice, available from
Organic Lives in Vancouver, is unpasteurized organic coconut water, freshly pressed in Thailand then flash-frozen and shipped in BPA-free plastic bottles. You will need to consume it within three days of defrosting.
If you are into grab-and-go hydration, check out the tetra packs and bottled varieties, though the coconut water is pasteurized and will have lost its beneficial, digestion-aiding enzymes.
Coconut-Lemon Thirst Quencher
This beverage, created by Jennifer Trecartin, BSc, RHN, is ideal to replace electrolytes after a workout. It is rich in vitamins and minerals, low in sugar and easy to drink. Additionally, it works great as a thirst quencher on hot summer days and is perfect to replenish fluids in the dryness of the winter and, of course, on those mornings following that big night out.
1 lemon
1 1/2 cups coconut water
1/2 cup water (or more depending on desired concentration)
1 tbsp honey or agave
1/2 tsp grated ginger root
Sea salt to taste
Squeeze the juice of the lemon into a blender. Add coconut water, water, honey, ginger and sea salt into blender. Blend.
Alternative serving suggestions
Popsicle: Freeze in popsicle molds and make delicious, healthful popsicles for the whole family to enjoy!
Slushie: Replace a 1/2 cup of water with ice and make a nice cold refreshing slushie.
Health benefits
Coconut water is a natural isotonic beverage, with the same level of electrolytic balance as we have in our blood. It is full of natural sugars, salts and vitamins to ward off post-workout fatigue. Coconut water has 15 times more potassium than most sport drinks, no added sugars, no fat, no cholesterol and no preservatives.
Lemons contain unique flavonoid compounds with anticancer properties. Also rich in antioxidants including vitamin C, lemons help protect the body from free radical damage and boost the immune system. Lemons have been found to help protect against inflammation associated with arthritis.
Ginger is rich in potassium, magnesium and manganese, all-important minerals in maintaining electrolyte balance. Ginger is also very effective at relieving gastrointestinal distress and possesses numerous therapeutic properties including antioxidant effects, and has direct anti-inflammatory effects.
Sea salt is effective for the regulation of blood pressure, extracts excess acidity from the cells in the body, particularly the brain cells, helps balance blood sugar levels. Sea salt is also vital for the generation of hydroelectric energy in body cells, helps clear the lungs of phlegm and prevents muscle cramps.
Honey has antioxidant and has antimicrobial properties and also aids in wound healing. Honey helps sustain favourable blood sugar concentrations after endurance training, important for maintaining muscle glycogen stores, so that muscle recuperation is more efficient.