Coconut water has marched onto the gym and natural drinks scene in the past few years and makes many claims about what it can do for you. It markets itself as fun and re-energising and often also as an essential drink for your post gym workout.
Coconut water comes from green coconuts - the young ones before they get the brown husk. At this point the white flesh is thinner and jelly-like and the coconut it filled with a cloudy liquid - the coconut water (or known as green coconut juice in some places). In countries lucky enough to be in the tropics many people drink it straight from the coconut itself and it's can be their main drink (as I saw in Papua New Guinea).
So it's definitely a natural product (it comes from a tree). Do the health claims stack up too? The best way to know is to look at what coconut water contains. We can tell this from the ingredients list as well as the nutrient panel on the side of the carton.
Ingredients: coconut water (and sometimes vitamin C, it may also be mixed with another fruit juice)
(red, amber, green per UK FSA traffic light labelling for fat, sal and sugar)
The energy per 100mL is roughly the same as 1/3 of a slice of bread. Remember it often comes as a 300mL, 500mL or 1L drink so you might drink a lot more than this. There is no fat in coconut water (coconut milk is high in saturated - bad - fat, so make sure you're choosing the right product) and it has some potassium (electrolyte we might lose through sweat). The fibre content is next to nothing.
The pro's: there is no added sugar only the sugar from the fruit. It is fat free.
The con's: it is still a sugary drink and more comparable to soft drink than water (about half the sugar of cola). It is marketed as a sports drink but doesn't contain a range of electrolytes (salts) for rehydration.
The verdict: enjoy coconut water as an occasional treat instead of other juices or soft drinks. Have water when exercising. If doing endurance exercise (over one hour high intensity or in vey hot conditions) have a complete sports drink or a rehydration solution.
picture source: free digitalphotos.net
Coconut water comes from green coconuts - the young ones before they get the brown husk. At this point the white flesh is thinner and jelly-like and the coconut it filled with a cloudy liquid - the coconut water (or known as green coconut juice in some places). In countries lucky enough to be in the tropics many people drink it straight from the coconut itself and it's can be their main drink (as I saw in Papua New Guinea).
So it's definitely a natural product (it comes from a tree). Do the health claims stack up too? The best way to know is to look at what coconut water contains. We can tell this from the ingredients list as well as the nutrient panel on the side of the carton.
Ingredients: coconut water (and sometimes vitamin C, it may also be mixed with another fruit juice)
Nutrition Information Panel
Per 100mL coconut
water
|
|
Energy (kJ)
|
72
|
Sugar (g)
|
5
|
Fat (g)
|
0
|
Potassium (mg)
|
195
|
Sodium (mg)
|
20
|
Fibre (g)
|
<0.5
|
The energy per 100mL is roughly the same as 1/3 of a slice of bread. Remember it often comes as a 300mL, 500mL or 1L drink so you might drink a lot more than this. There is no fat in coconut water (coconut milk is high in saturated - bad - fat, so make sure you're choosing the right product) and it has some potassium (electrolyte we might lose through sweat). The fibre content is next to nothing.
The pro's: there is no added sugar only the sugar from the fruit. It is fat free.
The con's: it is still a sugary drink and more comparable to soft drink than water (about half the sugar of cola). It is marketed as a sports drink but doesn't contain a range of electrolytes (salts) for rehydration.
The verdict: enjoy coconut water as an occasional treat instead of other juices or soft drinks. Have water when exercising. If doing endurance exercise (over one hour high intensity or in vey hot conditions) have a complete sports drink or a rehydration solution.
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