What Is Coconut? 

How to Enjoy the Fruit-Nut-Seed and What It Offers Your Health

Are you crazy for coconut? The fruit-nut-seed comes in various forms, like oil, milk, and water. 

Coconut has enjoyed one of the best modern-day comeback stories. You probably remember being told to avoid it at all costs because it’s high in saturated fat, which could harm your heart. But in recent years, some folks have begun embracing coconut as a potential health-promoting food.

Defining Coconut: What Is It Exactly, and Where Does It Come From?

First, what is coconut considered? A fruit? A nut? To make things more confusing, coconut can be a fruit, a nut, and a seed. (1) (Technically it’s a fibrous one-seeded drupe. Try telling that to your friends.) If you were to pick up a coconut that fell from a coconut palm, you’d notice it’s hard and green, a layer called the exocarp. Right past that layer is the husk (it looks brown and hairy), called the mesocarp. Inside that is the endocarp, which is the outside of the seed. Open up the seed and you’ll get to the white layer of coconut “meat” and liquid.

The fruit-nut-seed has been in use for a long time — travelers wrote about coconuts after visiting India in the fifth century. (1) Today, coconut palms grow in the tropics from Hawaii to Madagascar. While they’re not native to the continental United States, the coconut palm was introduced and now grows well along coastal regions in Southern states like Florida. (2)

Here’s the rub: Coconut was once maligned by dietitians. Take coconut milk, for instance, which is made from the liquid from the grated meat. One cup has 552 calories and 57 grams (g) of fat (yes, you read that right). What’s more, nearly 90 percent of that fat (50 g) is saturated fat. (3)

Nutrition Facts of Coconut, Coconut Milk, Coconut Water, and Coconut Oil

You’ll find coconut available in a variety of forms, all of which have their unique nutritional profile. (4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11)

Coconut Meat, Dried (Unsweetened), 1 Ounce (Oz)

·         Calories: 187 (9 percent daily value, or DV)

·         Fat: 18 g (28 percent DV)

·         Saturated fat: 16 g (80 percent DV)

·         Protein: 2 g (4 percent DV)

·         Carbohydrates: 7 g (2 percent DV)

·         Fiber: 5 g (20 percent DV)

·         Sugar: 2 g

Coconut Milk, 8 Oz

·         Calories: 552 (27 percent DV)

·         Fat: 57 g (88 percent DV)

·         Saturated fat: 50 g (250 percent DV)

·         Protein: 5.5 g (11 percent DV)

·         Carbohydrates: 13 g (4 percent DV)

·         Fiber: 5 g (20 percent DV)

·         Sugar: 8 g

Coconut Water, 8 Oz

• Calories: 46 (2 percent DV)
• Fat: 0.5 g (1 percent DV)
• Saturated fat: 0.4 g (0 percent DV)
• Protein: 2 g (4 percent DV)
• Carbohydrates: 9 g (3 percent DV)
• Fiber: 3 g (12 percent DV)
• Sugar: 6 g

Coconut Oil, 1 Tablespoon (Tbsp)

• Calories: 121 (6 percent DV)
• Fat: 13 g (20 percent DV)
• Saturated fat: 11 g (55 percent DV)
• Protein: 0 g (0 percent DV)
• Carbohydrates: 0 g (0 percent DV)
• Fiber: 0 g (0 percent DV)
• Sugar:  0 g

What Are the Potential Health Benefits of Coconut?

As you can see, coconut is actually a great source of digestion-friendly and satiating fiber, notes the U.S. Department of Agriculture's MyPlate guidelines. You’ll also get vitamin B6, iron, and minerals like magnesium, zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium.  (4) About half of the saturated fat in coconut comes from lauric acid, which can help raise levels of heart-protective HDL (“good”) cholesterol. (12) (Unfortunately, it increases more harmful LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, too.) In the context of a healthy diet, there’s nothing wrong with using small amounts of coconut oil, but it shouldn’t be the only oil you use.

Coconut water offers a good source of potassium, a mineral that helps balance sodium levels in the body and regulate blood pressure. (13) But the idea that coconut water is more hydrating than plain water or is a superior postworkout drink is largely a myth, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. (14)

As for coconut flour, which is dried, ground coconut meat, it has 5 g of fiber in just 2 tbsp, making it an impressive replacement for traditional white flour, especially for those following a gluten-free diet. (15)

Can Eating Coconut Help You Lose Weight?

Despite the fact that you may see references to “fat-burner coffee” that contains coconut oil, it’s not clear if coconut will actually help you slim down. Keep in mind that coconut is a calorie-dense food — not a common trait in foods that tend to help with weight loss. It’s commonly noted that coconut oil may help you lose weight because it’s a good source of a fatty acid called medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), which are quickly metabolized in the body. (You can also buy MCT oil.) But some people conflate coconut and MCT oil, assuming that they both have the same impact on the body. (16)

Research on that point is skeptical — they’re in fact not the same — and one review says that studies don’t show that coconut oil can help you shed pounds. (16) Another study comparing the effects of coconut versus MCT oil (or a vegetable oil control) found that eating a breakfast smoothie containing MCT oil improved fullness ratings and reduced the amount of food consumed at lunch compared with coconut and vegetable oils. (17)  The authors concluded that the results showed that people can’t make the assumption that eating coconut oil is just like having MCT oil.

Top 10 Health Benefits of Coconut

Apart from the benefits mentioned above, here are ten more to take advantage of:

      1.      Supports immune system health: it is anti-viral, antibacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-parasite.
2.      Provides a natural source of quick energy and enhances physical and athletic performance
3.      Improves digestion and absorption of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals
4.      Improves insulin secretion and symptoms associated with diabetes
5.      Helps protect the body from cancers through insulin reduction and removal of free radicals             that cause premature aging and degenerative disease
6.      Reduces the risk of heart disease and improves good cholesterol (HDL)
7.      Restores and supports thyroid function
8.      Helps protect against kidney disease and bladder infection
9.      Promotes weight loss
10.  Helps keep hair and skin healthy and youthful-looking, prevents wrinkles, sagging skin, age spots, and provides sun protection

Is Coconut Oil Good for the Heart?

Another study — a randomized, double-blind crossover study (a research gold standard) — on obese adolescents found that compared with a meal containing 20 g of fat from corn oil, eating one with the same amount of coconut oil didn’t improve satiety or boost metabolism. (18)

The bottom line: Coconut for weight loss is still the stuff of lore, despite what tons of dubious health sites may say. Until more research is done and proves otherwise, you shouldn’t consider coconut a magic elixir for weight loss. What’s more, if you freely eat coconut oil (or other coconut products) believing it will help you lose weight, you can easily take in more calories than your body needs and gain weight.

How to Select and Store Coconut for the Best Quality

Here’s what you need to know about popular coconut products.

Coconut Oil You have lots of options here, depending on what you want to use it for. Mainly, you can buy virgin or refined coconut oil. Unrefined virgin coconut oil can be used to cook in temps up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (F) and can applied to your skin and hair. (19) Refined coconut oil has a higher smoking point, so you can use it to cook food up to 400 degrees F. (20) It also doesn’t have the telltale tropical smell and flavor that virgin coconut oil does, making it a better neutral cooking oil. Find coconut oil next to other cooking oils at grocery or natural foods stores.

Coconut oil does not have to be refrigerated. Simply store it in a cool, dry place. (19)

One note: Coconut oil is a solid when under 76 degrees F; higher than that, it’s a liquid. That doesn’t compromise the taste or quality of the oil, but it is something to be aware of when you go to use it. (20)

Coconut Milk Coconut milk can be bought in a can, and you have the option of full- or reduced-fat, depending on your dietary goals. Make sure that the brand you buy is free of added ingredients. Ideally, coconut milk contains just coconut and water. The cans can be stored unopened in your pantry. Find them in the global area of the grocery store.

Canned coconut milk (usually used in cooking) is different from coconut beverages, which are a nondairy alternative to milk. Look for unsweetened varieties. Coconut drinks are already slightly sweet, so you won’t miss the added sugar. These are usually found in the refrigerated section or packaged in a shelf-stable box in the aisle with other nondairy milks like almond and soy. When opened, they need to be refrigerated.

Coconut Water You have a lot of options when shopping for coconut water, and it mainly comes down to your taste preference. However, look for beverages with no added sugar. Some flavored versions contain the no-calorie sweetener stevia. You can often find these in the refrigerated case.

Coconut Flour Look for coconut flour as a new addition to the other flours at the grocery store. You can also easily buy bags online. Store flour in a cool dry place. (15)

Whole Coconut Occasionally, your grocery store may sell whole coconuts, but it’s far easier to buy shredded or flaked coconut. Just like most of these products, make sure that the coconut you’re using does not have added sugar — packages will likely be marked as “unsweetened.” Look for these in the baking aisle or bulk bins of your grocery store. Keep in a cool, dry place in your pantry. (21)

How to Eat Coconut and Cook With It at Home

If you’re interested in adding coconut to your meals, here are some ideas:

·         When you’re baking with coconut flour, replace 20 percent of the flour in a recipe with coconut flour. (15)

·         If you’re baking with it, coconut oil has a higher fat percentage than butter. When you’re looking to replace butter with coconut oil, you’ll have to use less oil. (22)

·         You can easily replace the oil in any cooking recipe with coconut oil, but make sure you choose the type — virgin or refined — best suited to your particular tastes.

·         When it comes to cooking, virgin coconut oil lends a nice tropical, coconutty taste to dishes like stir-fries and curries. Unrefined coconut oil has a more neutral flavor.

·         Add coconut milk to your coffee in lieu of creamer.

·         Make stove-top popcorn with coconut oil.

Other Uses for Coconut in Your Skin and Hair

·            Apply the oil to your hair for moisture and to tame flyaways.

·            Rub the oil on your skin to reduce dryness.

·            Slather the oil on your cuticles for an at-home manicure.

·            Apply on skin and then wipe off with a tissue to remove makeup.

The Side Effects and Health Risks of Coconut

You can’t have a conversation about coconut without talking about the saturated fat content it contains. In fact, 1 tbsp of coconut oil has 13 g of fat, 11 of which are saturated. Butter, on the other hand, packs 11.5 g of fat per tbsp, with 7 g of saturated fat. (23)

If your doctor has advised you to cut down on saturated fat, coconut is not going to be your go-to cooking oil. A 2017 advisory from the American Heart Association (AHA), published in the journal Circulation, said, “Coconut oil increases LDL without known beneficial effects.” The AHA has also noted that replacing saturated fat (such as coconut oil or butter) with unsaturated fat (such as olive oil) can reduce heart disease risk. (24,25) That said, there is some evidence that while coconut oil may contain more fat and saturated fat than butter, it does not raise LDL levels as much as butter does and may increase HDL cholesterol. (26)