Coconut Water: A Healthy, Low-Sugar Alternative to Soft Drinks

Take a glass and fill it with 10 spoonfuls of granulated sugar. No, you’re not going to make a cake, this is a visual exercise. I want you to imagine yourself “drinking” the Sugar like you would a glass of water. This is how much Sugar you would consume if you drank a 12-ounce serving of Coca-Cola, or any other carbonated drink for that matter. Each 12-ounce serving of soda contains the equivalent of 10 or more teaspoons of Sugar (mostly in the form of high fructose corn syrup).



The thought of eating this much sugar at one time is sickening, yet every time you or your children drink a soda, this is the amount of sugar you get. If you order the large size drinks often available at convenience stores and fast food restaurants you can take in two or three times this amount in one sitting. It’s no wonder that soft drinks are called “liquid candy.”



Americans consume huge amounts of carbonated soft drinks. We drink on average 52.4 gallons of soda a year. That’s a yearly consumption rate of 557 twelve-ounce cans for every man, woman, and child. That equates to 5,570 teaspoons or 52 pounds of sugar a year just from soft drinks!



Many people, particularly infants, don’t drink any soda so those who do, drink far more than these figures indicate. In addition, we also drink large amounts of noncarbonated soft drinks like fruit drinks, sports drinks, iced teas, and the like which are also loaded with sugar. Don’t think fruit juices are any better than sodas. They’re not. They contain just as much sugar as carbonated drinks and often contain preservatives , dyes, and other additives.



Overindulgence in sugary drinks means excess calories that end up as body fat. We are in the midst of an obesity epidemic. Sixteen percent of children ages 6-19 are overweight; this up from only 5 percent in 1971. Among adults the rate of obesity has double over the past 30 years, rising from 15 to 31 percent. A total of 65 percent of adult Americans are now overweight.



Carbonated soft drinks are the single biggest source of calories in our diet, providing about 7 percent of calories; adding in noncarbonated drinks brings the figure to 9 percent. Teenagers get 13 percent of their calories from carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks.



The average teenage boy consumes the equivalent of 2 twelve-ounce cans of soda a day, the average girl consumes 1 1/3 cans per day. That equates to 20 and 13 teaspoons of refined sugar respectively. When you exclude non-consumers, the daily consumption for teenagers averages 31 ounces or 2.6 twelve-ounce cans. That amounts to 361 empty calories a day. In a year it comes to a total of 131,765 calories. It takes 3500 calories to produce one pound of body fat. Theoretically, in a year this amount of calories could be converted into a total of 38 pounds of body fat.



No wonder Americans are getting fatter! No wonder our kids are experiencing an obesity epidemic. No wonder diabetes rates are increasing among teenagers and young adults. With this amount of sugar from soft drinks alone, not to mention other sources such as candy and sugary breakfast cereals, its no wonder kids are flying off the walls in school and teachers are demanding students be medicated to control hyperactive behavior.



The USDA along with the World Health Organization (WHO) and many foreign governments have recommended that people limit added sugar to 10 percent or less of their daily calorie consumption. For example, a person who consumes 2,000 calories a day should limit themselves to 10 teaspoons of added sugar. That’s the amount found in an average 12-ounce soft drink. We get sugar from many other sources of food throughout the day—pancakes, breakfast cereals, sweet breads, candy, snack cakes, etc. The 10 teaspoon maximum represents the amount from all sources, so even one 12-ounce drink is over the limit.



An alternative to sweetened beverages are the diet or sugar-free varieties. In place of sugar, artificial sweeteners such as Aspartame and sucralose are used. Artificial sweeteners, however, are no better for your health than excess sugar is. Studies have shown that these substances cause numerous health problems ranging from seizures to weight gain.



Both diet and regular soft drinks contain numerous other ingredients which can also adversely affect health such as caffeine, phosphoric acid, and sodium benzoate, to mention just a few. Soft drinks are a problem not only for what they contain, but also for what they push out of the diet. When people fill up on soft drinks they tend to eat less of the foods that supply essential nutrients. Studies show that children who consume more than 16 ounces of sweetened beverages per day have lower intakes of calcium, magnesium, zinc, vitamin A, and other nutrients, which increases risk of developing nutrient deficiencies.



Soft drinks contribute to a number of health problems. As soft drink consumption has increased, certain health problems have become more prevalent. Several studies have provided evidence that soft drinks are directly related to weight gain. Weight gain, in turn, is a prime risk factor for type 2 diabetes. As we get older, excess weight also contributes to heart attacks, strokes, and cancer. Studies indicate that frequent use of soft drinks increases risk of tooth decay, attention deficit disorder (ADD), osteoporosis, kidney stones, and increases susceptibility to infectious illnesses.



Sugar is one of the primary causes of tooth decay. Bacteria that feed on the sugar produce acids that erode tooth enamel allowing cavities to develop. Soft drinks promote cavities because they bathe the teeth in sugar water, weakening the enamel and encouraging bacteria growth. A recent large study of young children in Iowa found the soda consumption was the strongest predictor of the dental cavities.[1]



In a study on bone mass development in girls, researchers found that soft drink consumption was associated with lower bone mass.[2] Girls build 92 percent of their bone mass by age 18 and begin to lose bone mass at around the age of 30. Lower bone mass increases risk of osteoporosis later in life. In another study, Harvard researchers found an association between consumption of carbonated beverages and bone fractures in teenage girls.[3] Among active girls, the risk of bone fracture was almost five times greater in girls who consumed colas compared to girls who did not. Among all girls in this study, the risk of bone fracture in those who consumed carbonated beverages was more than three times that in girls who did not consume carbonated beverages.



kidney stones are one of the most common disorders of the urinary tract. It is estimated that 10 percent of all Americans will develop kidney stones at some point in their lives. Seventy percent of those people who have had kidney stones have a reoccurrence. Studies show that soft drink consumers have an increased risk of developing kidney stones. In one study, for example, subjects who had suffered with kidney stones were divided into two groups. On group was asked to refrain from drinking sodas, while the other group had no restrictions. After three years those who reduced their consumption to less than half of their customary levels were one-third less likely to experience a recurrence of stones.[4]



Sodas and fruit drinks are popular, in part, because they taste good. Water, a much healthier alternative, is considered by many to be too bland. Many people have been so conditioned to drinking flavored beverages that they don’t like to drink water. Children particularly, prefer beverages of one sort or another to comparatively tasteless water. Some health specialists recommend unsweetened herbal teas or even seltzer water, but what kid is going to willingly drink these? You need a beverage that is low in sugar, has no questionable additives, supplies essential nutrients, and tastes good enough that kids, as well as adults, will enjoy drinking it. The perfect solution is coconut water.



Coconut water is the liquid found inside young coconuts. We’ve all seen the advertising photos of vacationers on the beach sipping coconut water through a straw from a fresh coconut. The water has a unique, refreshing taste. Contrary to what you might think, coconut water does not taste like a coconut. It has a mildly sweet, slightly nutty flavor.



The water in a young or immature coconut is distinctly different from the liquid found in older, mature coconuts commonly sold in grocery stores. Mature coconuts are the brown hairy nuts you typically see in the grocery store. Young coconuts are picked before they are fully mature. The juice in the young coconut is sweeter and much better tasting. It is the most popular beverage in the tropics.



Coconut water is sometimes referred to as coconut juice. In the United States, it is often mistakenly referred to as coconut milk. Coconut water is not the same as coconut milk. Coconut water is the fluid inside coconuts. Coconut milk, on the other hand, is a manufactured product produced by crushing or squeezing the juice from coconut meat. Coconut water and coconut milk are very different from one another in appearance, taste, texture, and nutritional content. Coconut milk is a white color with a thick creamy consistency. Coconut water is a clear, slightly opaque, liquid and looks pretty much like water.



Coconut water is completely natural with no artificial additives or chemicals, flavorings, no cholesterol, low in sugar, low in fat, with an assortment of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other health promoting phytonutrients. It is an excellent source of health promoting potassium.



You don’t need to live in the tropics to enjoy coconut water. It is available in the temperate climates in various forms. The most natural way to get coconut water is directly out of the shell. When the coconut is on the tree, the shell—the brown hairy thing you see in the store—is covered by a thick fibrous husk. This husk is removed when they ship the coconuts to market. That is why we only see the hard, brown shell. You can also buy young coconuts in the shell as well, but they look different. Ordinarily only the outside of the husk is removed, leaving about an inch-thick layer of white colored husk around the shell. After the outside layer of the husk is shaved off they look like large toy tops—flat on one end and pointed on the other. You can find them in the refrigerated section of most good health food stores. Store them in your refrigerator. They are perishable so it is best to consume them within a few days of purchase.



Young coconut water is also available in a variety of commercially packaged containers—bottles, cans, and Tetra Paks. The benefit with these is that they will last for several months, don’t need refrigeration, and can easily be carried to work, school, or recreational events. They make an excellent thirst quencher when participating in sports or outdoor activities.



Next time you visit your health food store, ask them about coconut water.■







References



[1] Marshall, T.A., et al. dental caries and beverage consumption in young children. Pediatrics 2003:112:184-191.



[2] Whiting, S.J., et al. Relationship between carbonated and other low nutrient dense beverages and bone mineral content of adolescents. Nutr Res 2001;21:1107-1115.



[3] Wyshak, G. Teenaged girls, carbonated beverage consumption, and bone fractures. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2000;154:610-613.



[4] Shuster, J., et al. Soft drink consumption and urinary stone recurrence: a randomized prevention trial. J Clin Epidemiol 1992;45:911-916.





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