Pure Coconut Water - A Natural Electrolyte Replacement Sports Drink

Coconut milk is actually both the "water" from mature coconuts AND the juiced meat. As the coconut reaches maturity, the water is used by the plant and the resulting liquid attains a high level of fat and smells and tastes more like you would think a coconut drink would taste/smell like. Fresh young coconut water will often times have very little taste or odor. Mature coconut milk will be very milky in color and have a strong coconut smell due to the high fat content and long exposure to the meat. Commercial versions of the meat are simply retailers creating more milk than that which natually occurs in the ripe coconut. They do this of course by taking what milk is left, adding more water and basically blending and juicing the meat to make a thicker milk. My cousin works for a large international coconut supplier and has been creating the commercial version of the milk since the 70's. He tells me that the purists still only drink the milk provided by the plant, but the 'American Milk' as he calls it, is what everyone else drinks. Cheers!

Once you open the carton of zico, how long can you keep in refrig?

Wow. We have this coconut drink in our place. Nice to hear this.

Great post! I discovered coconut water several years ago, and have found it to be a fantastic hangover cure! Hahahahah! Its true, athletes and such use it to replenish electrolytes. Alcohol consumption drastically reduces the natural electrolyte supply of your brain tissue, so rehydration with such a rich source makes the day-after-the-night-before so much more easy to tolerate! It works wonders!

Coconut Water is considered to be very good for the pregnant ladies. At our place there are plenty of coconuts and we really enjoy the coconut water.

Hello, I came across your page by accident. Very informative. I just wanted to add, if I may, that coconut water can come from more mature coconuts as well as young green ones. In fact, I believe it would be healthier for all health conscious people to obtain their coconut water from the produce section of most any American supermarket (sometime as low at 99 cents each at "Food City" and even Safeway!) and drink the water fresh. I can't help but question if the pasturization used by Vicco and other vendors destroys some of the benefits of the water, which is why I would prefer fresh. They are actually quite easy to crack open with the claw side of a hammer (just hold the coconut with one hand, and tap firmly with hammer around the circumference of the nut - creating a straight crack line. Pry open a small hole through the flesh and let the water out, then pry open the whole coconut to eat the "meat" if you want. But since the coconut is cheaper than a store bought pre-packaged one, you could just drink the water and throw the rest in the compost (wasteful, I know, but still more economical and buying a prepacked one!) or save it in the fridge for later use. The easies way to get the meat out of these halved shells is with a Filipino coconut grater, available at most Asian markets. The other thing I wanted to add is that coconut milk is actually the milk obtained from the white, mature "meat" inside the coconut (the milk must be sqeezed out of the meat - it is not a naturally occurring liquid). Coconut milk is white, milky, creamy and very rich! Thanks again for the great article!

Cocunut water is the liquid inside a coconut. Coconut milks is when the "meat" of the coconut is "juiced" into milk.

I had heard tips from our oldies that coconut water is a good oral alternate for dextrose. Now I know, it's because of its electrolyte content. The most preferred coconuts are those with meat between not too thin and not too hard, or those not too young and not too mature. Great hub! Thanks!

I drink at least a gallon of water a day, so I was shocked when my nutritionist tested me and told me I was dehydrated. After talking it through, the conclusion was I wasn't getting enough electrolytes. Well I didn't want to even go near the freakish sports drinks. Coconut water was the solution for me. I started drinking a glass a day and was shocked by the results. I started feeling less thirsty and my water intake decreased (still above average). I went in for a follow up test and found out I was "hydrated to an optimum level." Amazing. Thanks for the great hub.

I love coconut water and milk. I think the best coconut water comes from those beige colored Thai coconuts. Those are the best. They're often inexpensive at Asian food stores. I use a manual, hand held hacksaw to open them though.

I see this really catching on at Yoga studios and such! It has to be a lot better for you than those sugar filled sports drinks. While all these drinks are great for staying hydrated or getting re-hydrated, drinking quality water is by far the number one tip! Thanks!

Damn nice information ,its amazing for me as coconut water a natural electrolyte replacement sport drink.Thanks to share with us.

I love coconut water, especially Vita Coco. It tastes amazing and is wonderful for you. There's no competition for the best coconut water out there.

...i'll bookmark this, thank you very much, very informative! ^.^

Always did love coconut water, used to call it milk...it tasted so good, especially after working so hard to crack that brown hairy shell in such a way as to not lose a drop. Good to know it know comes bottled.....MFB III

Sounds great. I've got to try it. Thanks.

Good Hub! I have a friend who's husband is diabetic, and she uses coconut cream to "fry" his eggs, "butter" his pancakes, and other ways. She says it has helped him alot. But I don't know how that would relate to coconut water as far as the properties involved. I personally use coconut milk in cooking. But I enjoyed this Hub, and now want to find out if this would be a good drink for my kids! Thanks so much!

Wonderful stuff, many thanks :-)

Jen, You should become acquainted with The Body Ecology website, and The Body Ecology Book, by Donna Gates. It is recommended for people with a variety of health problems, including autism, cancer, and MS. I have a brief review of the book in my hub “Books That Impacted My Journey” and will be writing more in weeks 2 & 4 of the contest. Among other strategies, Donna recommends making kefir from young coconut water. I think it would be great for your husband and you! Here is the kefir link:

http://www.bodyecology.com/coconutkefir.php

Donna uses fresh young coconuts, but I use the boxed. It was sporadic to get it from Whole Foods. If you order 2 cases from Amazon, the shipping is free ($25 and over), and the coconut water is about the same price as the grocer. I've used Vita Coco and Zico.

It's a really good drink, my husband likes it. But he likes it with rum too LOL

I wonder how it tastes, as I don't care for coconut. It would be great though to get the kids off all these high sugar sports drinks they love so much. Great article Jen as usual.

It is a very good drink. Most Brazilians drink that when at the beach, plain water or cervejas. Acai, now coconut water. Next it'll be eating black beans.

valeu

This is a good hub, Jen. I never would have thought of coconut water as a sports beverage, but it sounds much healthier and much more natural than what you see; especially any drinks that are bright blue.

Great article Dar!!! Spreading the awareness as you find it yourself, awesome! Nothing can beat natural so step aside gatorade, which is something I do not indulge in. Just FYI for your diabetic husband, I hope he likes the taste because it will have no ill effects for him and actually be beneficial for his condition, this from my dad who is a DR. of Chiropractic as well as being diabetic. Looking forward to your personal experience updates!!! =)