Coconut is one of those foods that
seems to ping-pong between the 'good food' and 'bad food' list, and if you're
confused about this, don't worry – even the experts can't quite agree.
First of all we need to distinguish
between the water, oil, milk and flesh. Although coming from a coconut the four
are all very different.
Coconut Water...
Naturally refreshing, coconut water has
a sweet, nutty taste. It contains easily digested carbohydrate in the form of
sugar and electrolytes.
Not to be confused with high-fat coconut milk or oil, coconut water is a clear
liquid in the fruit’s center that is tapped from young, green coconuts.
Low in calories, naturally fat-
and cholesterol free,
more potassium than four bananas, and super hydrating - these are just a few of
the many benefits ascribed to Australia's latest health craze: coconut water.
Dubbed "Mother Nature’s sports
drink" by marketers, the demand is skyrocketing, propelled by celebrity
and athlete endorsements and promises to hydrate the body and help with a whole
host of conditions, from hangovers to cancer and kidney stones.
But is coconut water capable of
delivering on all the promises or is it hype?
Simply put yes!! it is absolutely a
great drink however it should be used complementary to water for hydration not
supplementary!!
Its gluten and allergy free and
Nutritionally it has a great molecular composition of both our macro and micro
nutrients:
Ounce per ounce (30ml), most unflavoured
coconut water contains 23 kJ, 1.3 grams sugar, 61 milligrams (mg) of potassium,
and 5.45 mg of sodium compared to Gatorade, which has 26.5 kJ, 1.75 grams of
sugar, 3.75 mg of potassium, and 13.75 mg of sodium.
So as you can see it’s a great drink
however be mindful not to overdo it as the calorie count can still add up
quickly.
In the end a better choice than most
pre-packaged beverages but still in superior to water.
.
If we work inside to out next is
coconut milk or cream:
Coconut milk/cream (were going to use
the word milk form now on) is derived from the flesh of the
coconut. It is not the liquid that can be drained out from a coconut that has
been punctured, although many people assume this. Getting coconut milk from a
coconut requires some processing, but the ingredient is also available in cans
or bottles.
Coconut milk is used in cuisines &
tropical cocktails (did someone say piña colada) in a a number of
countries, form India to Indonesia but does that mean its a healthy
option?
Coconut milk is immensely rich in
vitamins and minerals. Coconut milk contains high levels of some of the crucial
minerals like, iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium and zinc. It also contains a
significant amount of vitamin C and E. One cup of coconut milk contains 13g
carbohydrates, 5g fiber, 5g protein and 57g fats, mainly saturated fats. One
cup of coconut milk can provide about 552 calories, which means that coconut
milk is high in calories and hence, should be consumed in small amounts.
The fat content of coconut milk is also
very high, which too highlights the importance of taking it only in small
amounts. Apart from these, one cup of coconut milk also contains about 6.7 mg
vitamin C, 0.4 mg vitamin E, 0.2 mcg vitamin K, 1.8 mg niacin, 38.4 mcg folate,
0.1 mg vitamin B6 and 0.1 mg thiamine. The same amount of coconut milk can give
about 38.4 mg calcium, 3.8 mg iron, 88.8 mg magnesium, 631 mg potassium, 240 mg
phosphorus, 1.6 mg zinc, 2.2 mg manganese, 0.6 mg copper and 14.9 mcg selenium.
Lastly
and possibly the most controversial Coconut Oil.
Coconut oil is an edible oil, like olive or
macadamia oil, extracted from the kernel or meat of mature coconuts. The confusion starts
because of the differences between the use of coconut oil in cooking, and the
use of coconut milk or coconut flesh. Both the American Heart Association and
the National Heart Foundation recommend avoiding the use of coconut oil for
cooking, but both their websites include recipes that contain coconut milk,
albeit a reduced-fat version.
Despite the fuzzy perception that all
things plant must be better for us, oil made from coconuts actually contains a
whopping 90+ per cent saturated fat. Saturated fats, usually the dominant type
in animal foods, are generally regarded as the baddies when it comes to heart
disease.
Even reduced-fat coconut milk contains
about 10 grams of saturated fat per 100 grams, compared to about 2.3 grams per
100 ml in reduced-fat cow's milk.
There are a number of websites claiming
that the saturated fats in coconut oil are different to the saturated fats
we're told to avoid in animal products. They also claim that coconut will help
you lose weight, prevent wrinkles, treat serious illness, and, well, change
your life.
All saturated fats are not equal
It's true that saturated fats differ
from each other chemically – depending on the number of carbon atoms they carry
– and different foods have varying concentrations of the different saturated
fatty acids. The saturated fat in coconut oil consists mainly of the lauric
acid and myristic acid, with lesser amounts of palmitic acid, whereas chocolate
and beef are dominated by palmitic acid.
There's no doubt that all the fatty
acids in coconut oil raise cholesterol, but the more important question is what
kind of cholesterol do they raise – is it the bad LDL cholesterol, or the good
HDL cholesterol?
The research isn't entirely clear on
this point, but it seems the fatty acids found in coconut oil do raise LDL –
bad cholesterol – as do other saturated fats, like butter.
But coconut may also raise HDL
cholesterol – good cholesterol – to some extent, though not as much as
unsaturated fats (the good fats).
So it's fair to say if you suddenly
swap your olive oil for coconut oil, it's not going to do your cholesterol
levels any favours and in particular, your levels of bad cholesterol will go
up.
So how do you decide what is better for
you?
If you have an extremely healthy diet
with little sources of trans and saturated fats then using coconut oil in your
cooking won’t cause harm; after all some amount of saturated fat in the diet is
okay. However the problems arise when the general population begin to consume
coconut oil in large amounts adding to the already over consumed saturated fat
in their diet all because they heard someone talking about the new wonderkid ‘coconut
oil’ over the aisle in Thomas dux.
So here are your pro’s and cons…
Pros:
1. It is
cholesterol free and very low in trans fats and although it is 92% saturated
fat, the highest of any type of fat, the fact it is not animal fat may give it some health benefits over other forms of
saturated fat - however research is yet to confirm this.
2. Coconut oil has an unusual blend of short and
medium chain fatty acids not seen in other saturated fats which may offer some
health benefit - however research is yet to confirm this.
3. It has many uses from cooking to using on your
skin and in your hair to diesel fuel for tractors.
Cons:
1. The fact it is so high in saturated fat needs to
be considered in the context of a Western diet.
- While much of Asia uses coconut in many forms,
coconut is/was one of only a few sources of saturated fat.
- Traditionally they don't tuck into cheese,
butter, chocolate, big steaks, bacon or fast food just to name a few common
sources of saturated fat in the Western diet.
- Day to day physical activity levels is/was also a
lot higher (ever seen one of those guys scale a coconut palm?)
2. Coconut oil is just as high in calories as
regular oil or butter (all fats are the same) and contains no vitamins or minerals.
3. It is expensive! At around twice the price of
olive oil it hasn't yet been shown to offer health benefits greater than extra
virgin olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil has proven heart health benefits,
evidence for coconut oil is limited.
