It’s hot again on our planet and we’ve been thinking about how to stay hydrated. We’re big water drinkers. It’s free, it’s easily available, it’s free, it’s not too sweet, and, did we mention, it is free.
We were kvetching at dinner about how we can’t remember what it’s like to not be sweaty and thirsty, one thing led to another and the topic of coconut water (CW) came up. A friend told us about the explosive growth in the sector and we remembered that we noticed last week that our local supermarket is suddenly carrying a section of half gallon milk-like cartons emblazoned with coconuts. We really should be paying more attention, but to be honest, when we read early on that Madonna invested gobs of dough in one of the CW companies and planet Hollywood started walking around consuming coconut water as the next new ‘it’ drink (don’t forget ‘Water Bars’– places selling designer bottled water sprang up in La- La-Land) we decided to remain woefully ignorant.
Besides, as we were rushing through the refrigerator section in the market, we thought it was coconut milk and as any nutritionally competent B* knows, you wouldn’t want to be chugging coconut milk from a half gallon milk container. Now that we think about it, it does make sense that we thought it was coconut milk. Note to whichever marketer is selling from the refrigerator case: if you put coconut in a milk container in the refrigerator case any normal person would think it is coconut MILK. We digress.
We’ve spent the morning researching coconut water–when we should really be studying mother’s milk for our next book–and, yes, CW is a good electrolyte replacer. As for the other health benefits, it seems the jury is still out (check this US News article). The bottom line for us is it is way pricey compared to water for simple thirst quenching. So, for now we’re sticking with tap water and are planning on trying coconut water as a fragrant hydration solution in our next batch of Jasmine rice.
Our most stunning and exciting finding? Coconuts are not nuts. They are the largest seed out there. Who knew?
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Thanks for sharing your article with us. I myself have been drinking CW all my life and even before the healthy conscious community took a curiosity to it, I’ve always been told by my elders in the caribbean that it is the water from the “Tree of Life”. In realtion to your article you wrote-
“We’ve spent the morning researching coconut water–when we should really be studying mother’s milk for our next book–. . . ”
I thought i’d give you a segway to this story and your research for your Mother’s Milk book.
Both inthe Pacific & Carribean islands all young mother’s are encouraged to drink plenty of CW to ensure that their breast milk is rich and plentiful and that the baby grows strong and healthy. Often infants are given both Mother’s milk & CW. If a mother can’t nurse or the baby has digestive problems, it is given CW. The mixture of the young coconut’s water and the jellylike meat is also used to wean babies off their milk.
Since CW is the only water or juice from a plant or fruit that is a living liquid endosperm, it is the only naturally sterile liquid packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants & anti-aging growth factors. The natural oils from the coconut with interest to you has MCT’s aka Medium fatty acids. The one I believe might be of interest to you is C12… Lauric acid which makes up almost half of these “good for us fatty acids” found in Coconuts. That componenet (C12) is the same acid found in human breast milk and is responsible for the heightend immunity that breast fed babies have over bottle-fed babies. I’m sure you’ve read the research that information was formed on.
I hope that this will guide you towards continuing your research in conjuction with this story.
A curious lifetime drinker whose also reporting and researching it’s benefits.
Instead of taking US News at their word, ask people who live in hotter areas (Central America, Polynesia) where drinking coconut water is the norm.
I find it very hydrating, and if cost is an issue, it is frequently on sale in those handy packages. It is also often on sale (on the hottest days) at ethic grocers where you get the actual coconut with a straw.