Despite the numerous health claims some companies and their proponents have made about the benefits of the compounds found in coconuts, we would like to point out that their is no scientific evidence supporting coconut water weight loss.
The past couple of years has seen a wave of star celebrities jump on the coconut water bandwagon. These starts mention in interviews how great the stuff is and how they have been using it to maintain their weight and youthful appearance. Often they will be holding a bottle of their favorite brand, or one will be strategically placed within the camera range. But how much of this coconut promotion is self serving? If you look beyond the wild reviews and hoopla, you’ll learn that many of these celebrities have made financial commitments to companies manufacturing coconut products. Madonna was perhaps the first to join the party in January 2010 when she invested a reported $1.5 million in the coconut industry. Since then, other celebrities such as Matthew McConnaughy, Demi Moore, and Anthony Kiedis are said to have followed suit. And this rush into a new trend has not gone unnoticed by large beverage bottlers. PepsiCo has just released a new line of coconut water fortified products named Phenom, in cooperation with GNC.
Those advocating this coconut panacea would have us believe that it is the miracle health cure to all ailments. One of the more outlandish claims is that coconut water actually prevents or even cures cancer. They base this position on a research study out of the Mayo Clinic which they have taken out of context and reworded to support their cause. In actuality, the research study so often misquoted, found that certain coconut extracts were helpful in the reduction of tumor size. (1) The important thing to realize here, is that the study does not actually link coconut water with tumor prevention.
Coconut Water Health Benefits
Coconut water contains Cytokinin which is a naturally occurring plant growth hormone. Within plants, it slows the aging process and it has been theorized that it may do the same within the human body. It has been theorized that it may help to ward off certain types of cancers because the compound regulates protein degradation. Yet these remain theories only.
There is even less evidence for the benefits of coconut water in dieting and weight loss. Some argue that the naturally diuretic effect that it has causes the body to detox and shed excess pounds gained through water retention. If this is your goal, we would like to point out that you will have far more success drinking cranberry juice due to its considerably greater diuretic effects.
We do remain open to the possible health benefits of coconut water. However, until their is a greater body of medically proven evidence advocating its use, we don’t see many reasons to go out of your way to incorporate it into your diet. If you don’t mind the price premium placed on it, it still remains a great product for adding variety to your drinks and shakes. Hint: you can use coconut water in place of regular water in your favorite juicer and smoothie recipes:
For the following recipes, pulse frozen fruit in blender until it is chopped into small pieces, prior to adding the other ingredients. It using fresh fruit, blend all ingredients at the same time.
Thick Fruit Smoothie:
2 Cups of frozen fruit (use a combination of fruits if desired)
1 Six ounce container of plain Yogurt (we recommend the low fat variety)
6 Ounces coconut water
1 Tbsp honey
Tropical smoothie:
1 cup pineapple
1 banana
1 lemon squeezed
1/2 apple (seeds removed)
2 cups pineapple juice or grape juice
1 cup coconut water
Apple Smoothie:
2 apples (seeds removed)
2 cups apple juice
a pinch of cinnamon
2 cups frozen yogurt (we recommend the low fat variety)
1 cup coconut water