Health Benefits of Coconut The popularity of coconut doesn’t end with hot-right-now coconut water. A variety of coconut-derived ingredients—from coconut oil to coconut flour and coconut milk—are increasingly being used in home kitchens, restaurants and packaged foods. But can a food so rich in calories and laden with saturated fat be healthy? Here are the health benefits and cons of coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut flour, coconut water and coconut meat Coconut Oil Coconut oil was once a heart-health "don’t" thanks to its 87 percent saturated-fat content. Solid at room temperature, it’s making a comeback in some packaged foods and for cooking and baking. While it may be marketed as helpful for cholesterol levels, some nutrition experts disagree about the health benefits of coconut oil. Coconut oil contains a mixture of saturated fatty acids, some of which don’t adversely affect cholesterol levels, but while its predominant saturated fat —lauric acid—does raise beneficial HDL cholesterol, it also raises harmful LDL cholesterol, which can increase the risk of heart disease. Coconut Milk Coconut milk is made from a brew of coconut meat and water. But don’t confuse it with lower-calorie coconut water. Rich and thick and more like cream than milk, coconut milk packs an eye-opening 445 calories and 48 grams of fat (43 grams saturated) per cup. That’s where "lite" coconut milk comes in: you can substitute "lite" coconut milk for traditional coconut milk to trim roughly two-thirds the fat and calories without sacrificing flavour. Coconut Water Coconut water has gotten a lot of buzz for its purported health benefit as a "natural" sports drink. It is a great hydrator for light workouts, as 1 cup serves up more than 10 percent of your daily dose of potassium—an electrolyte you lose through sweat. (Just be mindful that 8 ounces of coconut water delivers 45 calories.) But it won’t do the job if you’re sweating up a storm. Why? When we sweat we lose up to 10 times more sodium than potassium. And coconut water only contains about 30 mg of sodium per cup, whereas sports drinks usually deliver about 110 mg. Coconut Flour Coconut flour is a healthy way to add decadent coconut flavor to baked goods. As for health benefits of coconut flour: it packs a whopping 5 grams of fiber per 2 tablespoons (with only 2 grams of total and saturated fat). Coconut flour has health benefits for people with diabetes, too: adding coconut flour to baked goods lowers the glycemic index (a measure of the rate that a food increases blood sugar). Coconut Meat Once the outer green husk of the coconut is removed, what remains is the seed and its rich inner white lining, the coconut meat. If you’re eating a low-carb diet, you’ll be happy to know each 2-by-2-inch piece of raw fresh coconut meat contains only about 7 grams of carbohydrate (less than a third of what you’d get from a medium apple) and is jammed with 4 grams of fiber (16 percent of your daily dose). On the flip side, coconut meat is the nutritional opposite of what you’d expect from a fruit: what it lacks in carbohydrates, it makes up for in fat with 15 grams of fat per 2-inch chunk of coconut, most of which is unhealthy saturated fat. Another reason to not eat coconut meat with abandon: that little piece sports 160 calories.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 09:34:50 +0000
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