August 26, 2014
Q: How beneficial is coconut water?
A: When coconut water broke into the U.S. market 10 years ago, it was billed as a miracle drink able to fight viruses, kidney disease and other ailments like osteoporosis.
Global sales now reach $400 million a year, and many consumers believe that the beverage has a wide variety of health benefits. But they may be unaware that the drink’s marketers have sharply scaled back their claims.
Coconut water is the clear fluid from young, still-green coconuts. The flavor is an unusual mix of salty and sweet. The typical coconut water has 30 to 70 milligrams of sodium and 9 to 12 grams of sugar per 11.2-ounce container — saltier but much less sweet than most fruit juices.
The minerals in coconut water are what prompted the early claims of curative power, but their amounts are quite modest and they are widely found in other foods. A banana, for example, has 422 milligrams of potassium, compared with 660 milligrams in a typical container of coconut water.
The water’s big three minerals are potassium (19 percent of the daily recommended intake), calcium (4 percent) and magnesium (4 percent).
These days, coconut water’s big rival may be plain old water. A 2012 study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that neither coconut water nor sports drinks were better than water in hydrating young men after workouts.
Coconut water seems poised to become just the first in a wave of natural waters; already for sale are bottled waters from maple and birch trees, barley, cactus and artichokes, with their own exuberant promotions.