Is Coconut Water Wholesome? Tips on how to Reap Its Advantages for Our Physique

Coconut water is touted for its super-hydrating qualities and all-natural origin. However whenever you actually break it down, is coconut water good for you?

This fashionable tropical beverage has a lot of well being advantages that you simply in all probability don’t find out about. From electrolytes to antioxidants, let’s dive deep into the advantages of coconut water by taking a look at its dietary details. And if you happen to don’t just like the style of coconut water alone, we’ll even embrace a number of recommendations on how one can take pleasure in coconut water in inventive methods.

Coconut Water Vitamin Details

In keeping with the USDA Nutrient Database, one cup of unsweetened, ready-to-drink coconut water has the next dietary profile¹.

• 44.1 energy
• 0.54 grams protein
• 10.4 grams carbohydrate
• 9.6 grams sugar
• 17.2 mg calcium
• 14.7 mg magnesium
•  12.2 mg phosphorus
• 404 mg potassium
• 63.7 mg sodium
• 24.3 mg vitamin C

As you possibly can see, coconut water is an effective supply of potassium — and it’s additionally a low-sodium and low-calorie beverage that helps hydration and different well being advantages.

Is Coconut Water Hydrating

Sure, coconut water is unquestionably hydrating. This is because of coconut water’s numerous content material of electrolytes like sodium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium². These electrolytes assist keep regular blood quantity and forestall dehydration. 

Due to this, coconut water will help scale back fatigue, stress, and muscle rigidity. Equally, coconut water hydration additionally helps with restoration from train or hangovers³.

What Are the Advantages of Coconut Water?

Past hydration, the well being advantages of coconut water stem from their antioxidant content material. Analysis reveals that coconut water accommodates antioxidants like flavonoids, in addition to plant-based compounds with antioxidant properties like caffeic acids and catechin⁴.

These antioxidants will help scale back irritation within the physique, and in flip assist struggle off free radicals that might trigger cell harm. Consequently, consuming such antioxidants commonly will help scale back one’s danger of power ailments like coronary heart illness⁵.

What Does Coconut Water Do for the Physique?

The antioxidant compounds in coconut water can profit your physique in a number of methods, like:

• Supporting coronary heart well being⁶
• Enhancing the well being of the intestine microbiome, in flip decreasing danger of gastrointestinal well being points⁷
• Enhancing immune well being⁸
•  Supporting iron absorption via its vitamin C content material⁶

Why Is Coconut Water Good for You?

Now that what coconut water does to the physique, let’s take all the pieces you’ve heard to date and sum up precisely why coconut water is sweet for you. 

1. Its hydrating properties make coconut water probably the greatest liquids you possibly can drink, alongside water itself. 
2. It may well enable you get well from hangover signs, that are usually attributable to dehydration.
3. It’s a very good supply of potassium, which might assist a coronary heart wholesome life-style.
4. This refreshing beverage is a flavorful, low-calorie different to sweetened drinks like juice and sodas, which might be extraordinarily dangerous to our well being.

How Do You Add Coconut Water to Your Routine?

Though it will probably simply be loved by itself, there are additionally inventive methods to incorporate coconut water in your wholesome routine to make life fascinating. Listed below are some examples of the way to include coconut water in your weight loss program:

FAQs

Is it OK to drink coconut water every day?

Coconut water is a low-calorie beverage you possibly can drink on a regular basis to assist hydration and coronary heart well being. It shouldn’t be your main beverage all through the day, however it will probably assist complement hydration alongside water.

Is there a number of sugar in coconut water?

There are almost 10 grams of pure sugar in a cup of unsweetened coconut water. That is tremendous sparsely for most individuals, however is probably not wholesome to eat for these with diabetes or vulnerable to growing diabetes. Nonetheless, in terms of diabetes danger, it’s a a lot more healthy different to sugar-sweetened drinks like soda.

What are the professionals and cons of coconut water?

The professionals of coconut water are that it’s naturally low calorie and a very good supply of potassium and different electrolytes. It is usually pretty low in sodium, which is heart-healthy. And let’s not neglect the antioxidant content material of coconut water, which might improve immunity and scale back irritation within the physique.^7,8

Although coconut water is wholesome for many, there are some folks that ought to restrict or keep away from coconut water. To begin with, these with power kidney illness ought to keep away from coconut water due to its excessive potassium content material. As their kidneys are usually not in a position to filter potassium from the physique effectively, consuming a number of potassium may trigger these with kidney illness to develop hyperkalemia, or an excessive amount of potassium within the blood².

Secondly, coconut water accommodates round ten grams of pure sugar per cup. Due to this fact, folks with prediabetes, diabetes, or different individuals who must restrict carbohydrate consumption to handle their well being, could not profit from consuming a couple of cup of coconut water every day.

Sources:

1. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/174831/vitamins
2. https://well being.osu.edu/wellness/exercise-and-nutrition/is-coconut-water-healthy
3. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7473379/
4. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11696670/
5. https://www.coronary heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/changes-you-can-make-to-manage-high-blood-pressure/how-potassium-can-help-control-high-blood-pressure
6. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1155/jfq/7286503
7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38278200/
8. https://www.researchgate.web/publication/353603073_An_Overview_on_Coconut_Water_As_A_Multipurpose_Nutrition
9. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7231580/

Staci has been a registered dietitian since 2010 and has handled a whole lot of sufferers for nutrition-related points ranging from … Extra about Staci Gulbin, Registered Dietitian

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