While coconut water has become a trendy drink on social media due to its cute packaging and health benefits, there’s more to it than meets the eye. Besides being delicious and refreshing, the drink is PACKED with vital nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that you can benefit from having in your diet. From lowering blood sugar levels to helping clear up the skin with antioxidants, there are plenty of reasons why people can’t get enough of coconut water lately. If you want to learn how you can incorporate the drink into your diet and skincare to figure out how it can help you, we’ll give you all the facts you need to know.
Coconut water is the juice found in the center of a green coconut that helps nourish the entire coconut as a whole. Green coconuts are considered “young” coconuts, but as the coconut matures, some of the juice stays in liquid form while the rest ripens into the solid white flesh known as coconut meat (1).
The juice forms naturally in the fruit and contains 94% water and very little fat. Sometimes it can be confused with coconut milk, which is made by adding water to grated coconut meat, which makes it high in fat and only about 50% of water.
In just one cup (an average green coconut can produce a ½-1 cup of coconut water), there are amazing nutrients, minerals, and vitamins such as vitamin C, vitamin B2, vitamin B3, magnesium, potassium, sodium, and calcium. Plus, it’s a great source of fiber!
Besides buying bottled coconut water from the grocery store or getting the water straight from the coconut itself, there are other yummy ways to include it into your food and drinks. Because of the sweet flavor, it’s an awesome source of natural sweetness.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
If you need a liquid component to add to your smoothies and want to change it up, try coconut water! Dieticians recommended buying 100 percent coconut water with no added sugar or preservatives.
Adding it to your healthy pudding, like a delicious chia seed pudding or rice pudding, is a foolproof way to add extra sweetness to a rich and tasty dish.
Love adding fruits like strawberries, blueberries, and apples to your salads? Using a sweeter salad dressing can be a great option in comparison to savory tastes. Whisk the coconut water with some lime juice, honey, and a pinch of salt, and you’ve got yourself a restaurant-worthy vinaigrette (2).
Adding it to an infused drink, especially to detox water or tea, is a great way to take care of your gut health while enjoying the taste.
Frozen treats are super refreshing, especially on a hot day. To make them at home, add coconut water with some fruits to a mold and pop them in the freezer for a few hours.
Coconut water is super hydrating and has stellar moisturizing benefits for the skin. Plus, thanks to its vitamins and minerals, applying it in a topical form is also beneficial for your skin. However, before applying coconut water topically, be sure to perform a patch test.
Here are three topical benefits:
When applying it topically, the amino acids can help nourish and moisturize a dry skin mood. Keeping your skin hydrated will help you stay clear of a dry, itchy skin mood, fine lines, and rid the body of toxins to further improve the appearance of the skin. Many skin-thusiasts also credit coconut water for giving their skin a visible plump and dewy glow.
A study from 2017 shows that coconut water has antimicrobial properties that can help aid in fighting acne (3). Mixing it with turmeric to form a paste for a mask is also helpful to target dryness and speed up healing.
As we mentioned before, coconut water contains powerful antioxidants to neutralize the effects of free radicals, which can prevent aging and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles due to loss of collagen and skin elasticity. In fact, with its hydrating properties and high amounts of vitamin C, it has been said that it can strengthen the skin’s elasticity, help with cell turnover, and boost collagen production.
Written by Selena Ponton
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