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Is Coconut Good for You?

Coconuts grow on beautiful trees. They’ve had songs written about them (“I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts,” anyone?), and we’ve been consuming coconut products for a long time, from candy bars to creamy Thai soups. But it’s only recently that they’ve taken the world by storm. From oil to water to personal care products, the humble coconut has become somewhat of a celebrity in the plant world and coconut health benefits are on the rise. But it’s a controversial celebrity, with as many detractors as cheerleaders. There’s a raging debate about whether coconut is good for you or bad for you due to the nutritional benefits and harms of various coconut products. And there are reasons to be concerned…

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Featured

 There Is Coconut Everywhere

If you feel like everything is starting to taste like a piña colada, it isn’t just you. Coconut is in everything. Packaged soups, baby foods and snack foods are made with coconut oil, flour and shavings. Gyms are stocking coconut water. For some, coconut oil is a substitute for butter on popcorn, and coffee shops are spooning it liberally in blended lattés.

Articles of Interest

Coconut Is in Foods Everywhere. Is It Healthy?

The world is going coconuts. Following the popularity of coconut water, a broad spectrum of foods now add coconut oil and coconut flour. WSJ's Anne-Marie Chaker and Tanya Rivero discuss the popularity of coconut as well as its actual and perceived health benefits.

Afternoon Snack: Could Coconuts Help You Lose Weight?

Do you like coconuts? It's one of those foods that's so often demonized by calorie and fat counters for it's saturated fat content. But, a growing body of evidence indicates that coconuts may actually help with weight loss.

Coconuts and Health: Different Chain Lengths of Saturated Fats Require Different Consideration

The coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) is common across the tropics and subtropics, and while it has become a symbol for warm, sunny vacation locations, it is an important crop for many communities globally, particularly the many islands of the Pacific. It is not just a food source; it provides fiber, timber, fuel, and medicine. It was first used worldwide as an oil when Europeans arrived in the Pacific Islands in the 19th century when it became the first vegetable oil used in world trade.

Death By Coconut: A Story Of Food Obsession Gone Too Far

The coconut has developed a bit of a faddish following in the West. Today, devotees add coconut oil to coffee, dab it on acne and, following Gwyneth Paltrow's example, swirl it around in their mouths to fight tooth decay. Starbucks has launched a coconut-milk latte. And the coconut-water business has surged to $400 million, with a little help from Madonna and Rihanna. No one would be more delighted at the coconut's rising star than August Engelhardt, a sun-worshipping German nudist and history's most radical cocovore.

Is Coconut Milk Good for You?

Even if you’ve never chugged coconut milk from the carton, there’s a good chance you’ve had coconut milk before. It’s one of the star ingredients of curry and other Indian food recipes, giving dishes a creamy texture and rich flavor. It’s all the rage these days, joining the ranks of almond milk, soy milk, and rice milk as one of the most popular plant-based alternatives to dairy milk. But coconut milk is also relatively high in calories and saturated fat, which may have negative health effects.

Saturated fats: Why all the hubbub over coconuts?

Coconut oil, with its sweet smell of the tropics and its purported claims to cure what ails you, is everywhere. People are using it in their shampoos, skin creams, and even in their smoothies and coffee. Chatter spiked even more recently, after a new science advisory from the American Heart Association recommended against ingesting coconut oil. The advisory(link opens in new window), an analysis of more than 100 published research studies dating as far back as the 1950s, reaffirmed that saturated fats raise LDL, or "bad" cholesterol. Tropical vegetable oils such as coconut oil contain high levels of saturated fats, and the authors reported that coconut oil raised LDL cholesterol in seven controlled trials.

The Health Benefits of Coconut

Coconut is the fruit of coconut palm trees (Cocos nucifera), which are native to tropical islands in the western Pacific. Coconut is known for its sweet taste and versatility. There are a number of different ways to consume coconut, including through its milk, oil, and eating the fruit raw or dried. In addition to all this, coconut comes with a host of health benefits! Here are our top reasons to add more coconut to your diet.

The History and Health Benefits of The Coconut

Coconuts are not, in fact, nuts. They’re “drupes.” Biologically and evolutionarily, they’re more closely related to peaches, plums, and cherries–fruits with fleshy exteriors and seed-housing central cavities–than they are to, say, walnuts, almonds, or pecans. Although its name is of Spanish origin (“coco” being the 16th-century incarnation of their word for “head”), the two prevailing theories about the origin of the coconut point toward the Indo-Pacific (such as Malenesia) or Northwestern South America (such as modern day Columbia), where, at one point, there were no Spanish around to name them.

Unlikely Source of Healthy Fat: Coconuts

A growing body of research suggests health benefits from coconut oil, including a recent study that found it protects mouse neurons against the buildup of proteins linked to Alzheimer's disease. But the coconut oil research, mostly in animals and in the laboratory, is too preliminary to laud it as a health food...

Resources

7 Health Benefits of Coconut

Craving something tropical? Coconut brings the beachy vibes and a bunch of health perks. From its chewy texture to its nutrient-rich profile, this versatile fruit does more than just taste good.

7 reasons why coconut is the new superfood

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you may have noticed that coconuts are having a bit of a moment. A big one, in fact. With Brits now spending £60 million per year on coconut water, up by 64% from last year, according to Holland and Barrett.