Coconut Water for Athletic Performance vs Sports Drinks

Coconut water is tested head-to-head against plain water and sports drinks in athletes.

Here are the videos I alluded to about coconut oil in the video:

Other coconut oil videos include:

Thanks for watching. I hope you’ll join in the evidence-based nutrition revolution!
-Michael Greger, MD FACLM

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Image credit: Mike Mozart / flickr

[NikeonaBike]

These studies miss the point. a 970 second time trial? Thats not going to be long enough. Most cyclists and runners dont drink ANYTHING during races lasting less than an hour. Stuff like electrolyte imbalance or lack of carbohydrates isn't going to happen until much farther into a workout. I have no idea if coconut water is worth a damn since I've never had any, but its ridiculous to expect a performance difference in a 15 minute work out. Try comparing the marathon times of people who drink nothing but water and people who drink something with carbohydrates, the difference is huge.

[TheWascal]

I live in Taiwan, where I lose lots of water due to dehydration...I can buy coconut water straight from a coconut lady who chops off the top in front of me and pours out the fresh juice...since drinking it on a regular basis dehydration and subsequently headaches have decreased...I have also recently started eating a plant based diet so this could also have had some effect

Were these particular studies carried on fresh coconut water or the processed ones? Could be a factor!

[thejokingjenkins]

This is life-changing for me, I used to drink a litre of coconut water a day. Thanks so much for spreading this golden information!

[AllYourRAw]

Coconut water is the most readily available dense source of magnesium.

[KnowOne]

Keep up the videos on physical performance! Would be nice to see some info on muscular hypertrophy too

[trainingtall]

Very interesting... Probably not what a lot of people wanted to hear! Thanks for always showing the science, Doc!

[thinkoflovelight]

Well, I love coconuts and they seem like such a natural food source, and I live on an island! Hopefully the next vid can say that it has some nutritional value

[WhiteKitta]

OMG I am so in love with Coconut anything....I buy fresh baby coconut all the time...Coconut water is my second favorite drink!

[jamesmaples]

I just wanted to say thanks! As a vegan I throw out a lot of facts to sceptic carnists and it is wonderful to be able to reference nutritionfacts.org knowing the treasure trove of reliable data they can access. Thanks to you and your team!

[obunga]

Okay if the next episode doesn’t take into account loosing electrolytes or even mentioning cramping that takes place during intense exercise(CrossFit, gymnastics, marathon running, exc.) then I’ll still believe coconut water would be better for you. Also coconut water has sugars (not as much as sports drinks) which is needed especially when your glycogen stores are running low

[r.m]

These studies don't make any sense at all. They're seriously comparing the beverages by telling people to drink it and then run. I can think of at least one thousand factors to impact their running performance other than the beverages. What should have been said it's that coconut water has much higher nutrients density it's not like it has only potassium in its composition. It's ridiculous to compare with a processed drink.

[xxathrex]

Those tests were done using processed coconut water, as it was done by the same companies that sells them. Need to do tests using freshly picked coconuts. Fresh fresh fresh!

[dronepilotcanadian]

Thanks Doc I'm an Intermediate level Cyclist and I will be sticking to the water as always . If it isn't broke .... right?

[zbridgjpxupzm]

Thank you, this topic is just what I needed! I hope you can expand upon ways to fix electrolytes depletion/imbalance during long distance running (20k, marathon).

did you know only 20 percent of medical research is available to the public? the corps that fund these studies classify it and throw it away if it disrupts their buisnesses ect. so, even with research its really hard to come to a conclusion with many things.

[christianr]

I don't understand how does coconut water have too much potassium? If 1 cup has 600mg of potassium and for an adult we are supposed to receive 4, 700mg daily.

[Deffine]

Everyone know that Sport Drinks for short sessions or competitions are useless. Its only after 1+ hours of strenuous exercise that it matters.

[weeksago]

I was wondering, waiting and hoping for this .. thank you!

[KeyofDavid]

stating that coconut water has too much potassium and will overflow the body is simply nonsense! potassium is water soluble in the body will excrete what it doesn't use. Also potassium is the key element in the sodium potassium pump in each muscle cell. Most people that get cramps are lacking the one to 2% potassium needed in the cell to perform at a high level. therefore potassium is extremely important in aerobic and anaerobic activities.

[ninjanerdstudent]

I drink Chaokoh brand coconut water from Thailand. It tastes good.