Which Coconut Products are Good or Bad (Coconut Milk vs Coconut Water vs Coconut Oil)

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Which Coconut Products are Good or Bad (Coconut Milk vs Coconut Water vs Coconut Oil)

Coconut, COCOnut, COCONUT!!! Coconut oil, water, milk, etc etc etc. That's all we hear. Take this coconut product. Take that coconut product. But how does it impact you when you are on a Low Carb/Keto diet? There is alot of science to get into! Lets dive in and I'll see you in the COMMENTS!!

Coconut water is the translucent fluid found in the core of young coconuts. It is sugary with little-to-no fat (all other coconut products are fatty) and full of electrolytes. If you’re on a low-carb diet, avoid coconut water. If not, it’s a great substitute for Gatorade.

Coconut milk comes from the fatty flesh of the coconut and is made by boiling or blending the flesh with water in about a one-to-one ratio. Great for curries.

Coconut cream is basically the same thing as coconut milk, except the coconut meat-to-water ratio is about four-to-one. Great for desserts.

Coconut oil (refined) is pure coconut fat, just as olive oil is pure fat from the olive fruit (yes, both coconut oil and olive oil are, technically speaking, fruit juices). If it’s not labeled as “virgin” coconut oil, then it is refined, which means the oil may have been heated, bleached, and/or deodorized. This doesn’t just sound bad, it is bad. The refining process strips the oil of over 80% of its healthy disease-fighting polyphenols and generates cell-toxic hydrogen peroxide.

Coconut oil (virgin) hasn’t been harmfully treated with heat or chemicals, like its abused sibling. This means it contains about seven-times more healthy polyphenols as does refined coconut oil. (Examples of virgin coconut oil polyphenols for your googling pleasure: caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, methyl catechin, dihydrokaempferol, gallic acid, quercetin, and myricetin glycoside.)

The takeaway is that refined coconut oil is probably unhealthy, whereas virgin coconut oil is probably healthy. Processing matters! Please choose virgin!

Coconut Butter (raw) is simply whole coconut meat that’s been drained of water and ground into a pasty substance, similar to peanut butter. I’m going to go on a little bit about this one because (i) it’s probably the coconut product you haven’t heard of before and (ii) it is the best coconut product around for nutrition, versatility, and taste! By the way, that’s a fact, not my opinion (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

Nutrition. Because it’s whole coconut meat that has not been roasted, toasted, heated above 118°F (that’s what “raw” means), it contains the same healthy polyphenols as virgin coconut oil, plus fiber and protein. But make sure to get it labeled RAW.

Versatility. Melt it and drizzle it over yellow squash or berries. Use it as the base for curries and stews. Use it as a dip for chocolate or macadamia nuts. Simply toss it with your favorite neutral protein, like shrimp, chicken, or tofu and give it a quick stir-fry. Blend it in a smoothie. Make coconut ice cream. Or, my favorite, eat it with a spoon!

Nicholas Norwitz - Oxford PhD Researcher and Harvard Med Student:

[electronworld]

Dude. Coconut water is vastly preferable to Gatorade.

[adsa]

Can’t believe this dude just tried to tell me not to replace Gatorade with a natural alternative like coconut water. 👎👎👎 Coconut water after a workout is the bomb, and I rest easy knowing it wasn’t formulated in a lab.

[LeoandLongevity]

For those that are unclear, coconut milk in a carton or bottle is a processed food.

[pcfreakx]

"Add coconut cream in late to your cooking or it will separate . . " O_O

I've made curry several times and let my chicken simmer in coconut milk/cream and had no idea why it turned from creamy to soupy, oily mess. Never thought it would separate. Thanks for the tip!

[trelligan]

*_Thank you!_*
This whole subject has been a confusion factor for me for years. Every Keto/Paleo/Primal thing I read has a separate section just for coconut products and their use in recipes, and none of them explained the differences in these products. Content like this is why I'm a subscriber.

[toolbaseball]

Coconut water + chia seeds is great while hiking. That's my main usage for it!

[leliuthelement]

I have some coconut water from young green coconuts, very low in carbs, the Raw Coconut Butter is my favorite, and I use the Coconut cream in deserts and curry. I look for the high quality raw stuff! I love Raw unfiltered Coconut oil as well!

[mansoor.ahmed.m]

When you have mouth or stomach ulcers, taking coconut water (from coconut directly, not from box) on empty stomach helps a lot. From time to time, I have to skip keto to address body heat.

[ceilihmcgrady]

I put a can of whole fat coconut milk in the blender with a tsp of vanilla extract and sometimes a tsp of cinnamon, blend until smooth and store in a mason jar in the fridge. It is the BEST coffee creamer!

[phoenixflyz_]

Thank you for breaking down the difference between the oils. I always make my own coconut milk with the canned stuff. I'll take the can of full fat coconut milk put that in the blender with about four cups of water a little bit of vanilla extract and a little bit of monk fruit sweetener or stevia. And I love love love coconut butter You can take the unsweetened coconut flakes and blend those up to make coconut butter without any additives including sweetener it has its own natural taste to it it's phenomenal

[divuirfu]

Never knew you guys could make soooo many variants from coconut. In India, we use fresh coconut meat for everything we cook. And a lot of coconut oil for frying, body massage, what not!

[avivaadler]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I really needed to learn this! I live in Israel; the English labels are often covered by Hebrew labels; and my Hebrew isn't good enough yet to understand the answers to the questions I ask about these products in the health food stores. Love your videos! Thanks again.

[arulross]

the carton cocounut water maybe garbage but as a south indian the tender coconut water straight from the tender coconut that I get back home is an elixer of healing and doesnt come clossse to knocking me out of ketosis .

[trappercreekd]

Recently obsessed with Coconut Butter - it tastes really sweet to me so I use it in my fat bombs to avoid using actual sweeteners

[sendtowill]

I've done the Atkins back in my 20's and it worked well, but rather strict. Now at 50, I wanted to modify my diet to include fat burning but more complete diet with real honest information and an education to go with it. I'm completely happy I found a Thomas DeLauer video this past weekend. Everything you talk about sounds accurate to my logical engineering mind. I'm 5'10" @ 235#. My goal is 175#-180#. I've already begun going through my kitchen removing high carb foods and replacing them with low carb foods, I've bought Keto strips for testing, Boron and Chelated magnesium for my gut. I"m planning on a two week transition to full KETO diet by the end of the Memorial Day week. I am going to scour your videos for a blood sugar test as well as breath testing devices. If you have not done a video yet, I"d like to see on on blood & breath testing devices. I"m going with you as my mentor for this 3rd season of my life. All the best..!

[theresac.]

Just wanted to say thank you for all your informative videos, been watching you for almost a year now and I have learned so much from you. God bless you and your family👋🏼🌹😘

[paulinewqi]

My coconut products are from my coconut tree...hehehe...
Thanks for sharing...good information

[genevievelovell]

Can you do a vid on all the sports drinks like Gatorade and why they suck

[happiness]

Excellent segment! I was expecting you to talk about MCT oil, coconut flour or coconut sugar too, but still enjoyed this segment alot. Hope you do another one.

[robinsontimg]

Thomas; I just say this video is so helpful to make a descision, thanks so much