Going Coconuts: Coconut Water

Promoted as “nature’s sports drink”, coconut water is a natural source of potassium without any artificial ingredients.  However, for serious athletes who rely on sports drinks to replenish electrolytes lost during exercise, traditional sports drinks such as Gatorade and Powerade may still be the best option. Although coconut water is high in potassium, it has lower amounts of sodium, which is the primary electrolyte lost in sweat and therefore, more important to replace.

In addition, some brands have been shown in laboratories to actually have even less amounts of these and other minerals than claimed on their packaging.  For non-athletes, plain water is just fine and is in no way inferior to coconut water in terms of hydration. If you really enjoy the taste of coconut water, the extra calories, sugar, and sodium must be accounted for but can definitely still be enjoyed alone or added to recipes for an extra oomph.

Check back next week to learn about coconut oil.

By: Iliana Roldan