Coconut products have been increasing in popularity recently in the United States. My aunt from the Micronesian island of Truk always tells me that coconuts can fix anything. Coconut oil makes acne disappear like magic, helps with strengthening and brightening one's hair, and can be used as a cooking substitute for butter. Along with coconut oil, coconut water is one of the fastest growing beverages in the world. It saw an increase in sales to a total of $265 million in 2011.
Coconut water in some cases has been seen to have better effects in humans than electrolyte drinks such as Gatorade and Powerade. Coconut water is a natural product compared to products like Gatorade which is processed and is artificially based and therefore cannot be digested properly in our own bodies. Coconut water also has more than double the amount of sodium and potassium than Gatorade. So how do these two products compare in exercise and performance during athletics?
An experiment was performed by having 12 males run moderately for an hour on a treadmill on four separate occasions. After running, the subjects drank either plain water, a sports drink, coconut water from concentrate, or VitaCoco (a coconut water product). The researchers found that from this moderate exercise, both VitaCoco & coconut from concentrate had more water retention and there was no significant difference in exercise performance. However, the subjects were more likely to have an upset stomach or feel bloated from the coconut products.
Coconut water and your basic water are great products to have during and after moderate exercise to re-hydrate. However, for elite athletes (like the ones on all of the Gatorade commercials) who experience high intensity workouts, sports drinks are better for the athletes to re-hydrate due to the lower "non-bloating" feeling after drinking it as well as a balanced and proper electrolyte level in their products to allow these athletes to perform at their best.
References:
"Coconut Water or Gatorade". (2012). News and Review Citizen Corps. Retrieved from http://citizencorps.com/coconut-water-or-gatorade/
Mahr, K. (2012) "The Coconut Craze". Time, 180(25) 44-47.
Melnick, M. (2012) "Can Coconut Water Replace Sports Drinks?". Huffington Post, Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/09/coconut-water-exercise_n_1250810.html
Rognlin, B. (2012). "What Happens In Your Body When You Eat Ramen and Gatorade". Huffington Post, Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/09/ramen-digestion_n_1263825.html
Interesting stuff!
ReplyDeleteDid you find any information on how the ion concentrations in coconut water compare to those in sports drinks?
Coconut water does seem to be the huge craze right now! Do they know why the coconut products received such bad reviews with digestion? It seems like coconut extracts are very pure and free of excessive manufactured products, thus making it easier for the product to be digested...maybe our bodies are so used to the high sugar fuel found in gatorade that the coconut water was unusual for the body after stress. I wonder if the coconut supplements could have added electrolyte enhancement without the huge amounts of sugars found in Powerade and Gatorade, would that product be hands down the best recover supplement on the market?
ReplyDeleteThe big selling point on most coconut water packaging that I have seen is the high levels of vitamin K. Gatorade I know incorporates vitamin K and it is commonly known that vitamin K is important in hydration and preventing muscle cramps. So I wonder if a banana, eaten with regulat plain old water would be comparable to coconut water?
ReplyDeleteHigh levels of potassium are actually found to be beneficial in combatting bloating like symptoms. The high potassium is believed to flush out the excess sodium in our body, thereby reducing bloating. Thus, i would think the high potassium levels found in the coconut water would not be the culprit for the bloating observed in participants in the study. However, it may be possible that too much of a good thing can cause the opposite? Perhaps, coconut water has such high potassium levels beyond the need for the body to balance out sodium levels in the blood. The residual potassium in the blood might then cause issues for digestion that were seen.
ReplyDeleteBilly, did you mean potassium (the element represented by the letter K) instead of vitamin K? It doesn't seem like coconut juice has any actual vitamin K in it, but it is very high in potassium. It's also really high in fructose. Which could explain coconut water's deliciousness. Sometimes fructose malabsorption, however, can lead to bloating amongst other symptoms. Maybe this fructose malabsorption is outcompeting with the de-bloating effects of potassium that Lauren mentioned and the overall effect is bloating.
ReplyDeleteBao Nhi, yeah I meant potassium. And yes, both vitamin K and potassium are found in high level in sports drinks. Thanks for the heads up!
ReplyDeleteGreat post about the latest trend of hydration...coconut water! I looked up other articles regarding this topic and an article I found on the National Public Radio's website suggested that not all coconut water brands contain the concentration levels of nutrients they claim there was only one brand out of three tested that contained the advertised amounts of nutritional facts most especially of sodium and potassium which was Zico Natural. The other tested brands were VitaCoco and ONE coconut Water.
ReplyDeleteReference: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/08/15/139638930/saved-by-the-coconut-water-parsing-coconut-waters-medical-claims