You in all probability see cartons of it lined up within the grocery retailer (and in your match buddy’s fridge), however is coconut water good for you? What are its advantages, and with all the opposite forms of water, is it value shelling out the additional cash?
Read on to search out out what you must find out about this stylish drink and the advantages it provides.
What Is Coconut Water?
“Coconut water is the liquid taken from an immature coconut,” explains Trinh Le, MPH, RDN. (Most of the water in a younger coconut turns into coconut meat because the coconut matures.)
“It contains water, some sugars, and electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and magnesium,” she provides.
If you concentrate on chopping off the highest of a younger coconut, the meat is on the within of the husk and kinds a cup for the coconut water on the middle.
The Benefits of Coconut Water
Here are six methods you may profit from ingesting coconut water, based on the specialists.
1. Naturally hydrating
“Coconut water can be a great rehydration drink for athletes and heavier exercisers to replace some of the electrolytes and replenish carbohydrate stores that are utilized during exercise,” says Emily Tills, MS, RDN, CDN.
One small research discovered that coconut water with added sodium was simply as efficient at rehydrating folks as a sports activities drink.
2. Lower in sugar than most sports activities drink
This is an easy swap should you’re watching your sugar consumption. Popular sports activities drinks have 13 grams of sugar per 8-ounce serving. Coconut water has about 9 grams of sugar in the identical serving dimension, however there’s no added sugars.
3. Easy on the abdomen
If you wrestle with occasional post-workout nausea, coconut water is likely to be rehydration possibility to think about. One research discovered that coconut water brought on considerably much less nausea, fullness, and abdomen upset after a exercise than sports activities drinks or plain water.
4. Coconut taste with out the fats
Unlike coconut milk, coconut water doesn’t include fats. Coconut water is a good way to infuse tropical taste into smoothies and shakes with out including a great deal of fats and extra energy.
The draw back? Coconut water isn’t wealthy and creamy like coconut milk.
5. Good supply of potassium
Coconut water may aid you meet your each day potassium wants, which Tills says many people fail to do. One cup of coconut water delivers about 600 mg potassium. It’s not a mineral to be ignored, she says, because it’s “needed in the body to help with nerve pulses and sending messages from the brain throughout the body.”
Even a light potassium scarcity may cause fatigue and muscle weak spot.
6. Easy calorie-saving swap
Coconut water “contains less sugar than typical fruit juice and is likely a good swap if you regularly drink juice but want to cut down on sugars,” says Le.
She provides that though coconut water doesn’t have fats, you may nonetheless trigger a calorie surplus by ingesting an excessive amount of of it. So whereas ingesting it rather than higher-calorie drinks is usually a wholesome swap, you must nonetheless be conscious of how a lot you’re consuming. You can even dilute coconut water with plain water.
So should you may use a wholesome various to water or sports activities drinks in your life, then coconut water is a good alternative.