In most of the tropical areas, coconut is seen as an important source of food. Coconuts and Western Pacific go a long way back too and people in the region have always loved them. Some people simply avoid coconuts because of their thick exterior but once you smash it open, the coconut flavors prove to be totally worth all that hard work. There’s always a bit of apprehension about eating coconuts though even if it has already been cracked open with many people asking: is coconut good for you? Let’s find out if it is.
Nutritional Facts of Coconut Water, Coconut Oil and Coconut Milk
Coconut oil has a variety of fatty acids with there being quite a mix of medium chain fatty acids and short chain fatty acids. Lauric and myristic acids are the ones in majority as coconut oil contains 44% lauric acid and 16.8% myristic acid.
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Coconut Water
Coconut water delivers a lesser amount of calories and sodium when compared with a sports drink and the potassium gained with coconut water is high. When comparing Gatorade (a sports drink) with coconut water on an ounce per ounce basis, coconut water delivers 5.45 calories to Gatorade’s 6.25 calories. Moreover, coconut water delivers 61 mg of potassium and 1.3 g of sugar as compared to Gatorade’s 3.75mg potassium and 1.75 g sugar.
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Coconut Oil
Totally pure coconut oil (the one in which hydrogen isn’t added to make it hard) consists of 90% saturated fat. Every type of fat actually delivers the same amount of calories. A single tablespoon of coconut oil delivers 14 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat and a total of 117 calories.
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Coconut Milk
Coconut milk also delivers a lot of calories with a cup of it containing 445 calories. Not just that, a cup of it also contains 48 g fat (with 43 g saturated fat).
