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Is coconut milk unhealthy?
Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2015 4:11 pm
by Lightningman_42
I don't drink coconut milk (didn't especially like it), and now I think that perhaps I should be glad that I don't.
A few days ago my mom was using coconut milk from a can to prepare dinner, and I noticed (looking at the nutrition label) that every serving had 10g of saturated fat out of a total 12g fat. 83% saturated fat!?

Yesterday when I was shopping for groceries I looked at the nutrition labels of Silk coconut milk, and each serving has 4g saturated fat out of a total 4.5g fat! 89% saturated fat!!?

I'm shocked that I didn't know about this (since I obsessively read nutrition labels and strive to be knowledgeable abotu nutrition).
I remember seeing discussion on other threads about coconut
oil being unhealthy, but I didn't grasp that this might be true of coconut milk that people drink from cartons.
Is coconut milk unhealthy? Is there some possibility that it might actually be healthy for some reason despite high concentration of saturated fat?
Re: Is coconut milk unhealthy?
Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2015 4:21 pm
by brimstoneSalad
Coconut milk is not healthy.
It's better than butter/dairy milk/cream, but that's about it.
It promotes heart disease as all highly saturated fats do.
You should probably moderate coconut product consumption.
I wouldn't worry about a little bit or be obsessive about it, though.
Re: Is coconut milk unhealthy?
Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2015 4:25 pm
by Lightningman_42
How is coconut milk any healthier than cows' milk if it has a higher percentage of saturated fat out of total fat than cows' milk does? Is it because the quantity of saturated fat within coconut milk per serving is still slightly lower than that of cows' milk?
Re: Is coconut milk unhealthy?
Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2015 4:31 pm
by miniboes
ArmouredAbolitionist wrote:How is coconut milk any healthier than cows' milk if it has a higher percentage of saturated fat out of total fat than cows' milk does? Is it because the quantity of saturated fat within coconut milk per serving is still slightly lower than that of cows' milk?
There's also other factors, such as the protein in cow's milk being harmful, cow milk containing trans fat (which is even worse than saturated fat) and cholesterol.
Re: Is coconut milk unhealthy?
Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2015 4:41 pm
by brimstoneSalad
miniboes wrote:
There's also other factors, such as the protein in cow's milk being harmful, cow milk containing trans fat (which is even worse than saturated fat) and cholesterol.
Yes. And the fact that half of the saturated fat in coconut is Lauric acid, which is probably less harmful than other saturated fats.
See comparison here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturated ... t_profiles
Re: Is coconut milk unhealthy?
Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2015 9:38 am
by Jebus
What are your thoughts on coconut water? It is often hailed as nature's best sports drink.
Re: Is coconut milk unhealthy?
Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2015 5:37 pm
by brimstoneSalad
Jebus wrote:What are your thoughts on coconut water? It is often hailed as nature's best sports drink.
It's over hyped, very expensive, and not particularly useful.
Time has an article on it:
http://time.com/3559621/coconut-water-nutrition/
The favorable review isn't really that favorable.