What are the health benefits of coconut milk? Some of the vitamins and nutrients of coconut milk are Vitamin C, iron, magnesium, potassium, etc. One of the negative things that it has is a high amount of saturated fats. What’s interesting is 93% of its calories come from fat.
What are the health benefits of coconut milk? iStock-photo credit: Liudmyla Yaremenko
Here are the nutritional health facts of one cup of coconut milk:
• Calories- 532
• Fat- 57 grams
• Protein- 5 grams
• Carbs-5 grams
• Fiber- 5 grams
• Vitamin C- 11% of the RDI
• Folate- 10% of the RDI
• Iron- 22% of the RDI
• Magnesium- 22% of the RDI
• Potassium- 18% of the RDI
• Copper- 32% of the RDI
• Manganese- 110% of the RDI
• Selenium- 21% of the RDI
Coconut milk is high in saturated fat and because of this it may not be the most suitable heart healthy option. There was an 8-week study done on 60 people who consumed coconut milk, and it lowered their LDL bad cholesterol levels more than soy milk. Coconut milk also raised HDL good cholesterol levels by 18% compared to soy by 3%.
Studies in general have revealed that consuming coconut intake improved overall cholesterol and triglyceride levels in that group.
Coconut milk is safe for most people according to the FDA as long as you are not allergic to coconut. It is considered a high calorie food so if your goal is to want to lose weight this would not be something you would be consuming often.
The Bottom Line is coconut milk is a high calorie food that has a high amount of saturated fat. If you do consume coconut milk, you want to do it within moderation because it is not a weight loss friendly food or snack.
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References
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2) Liau KM, Lee YY, Chen CK, Rasool AH. An open-label pilot study to assess the efficacy and safety of virgin coconut oil in reducing visceral adiposity. ISRN Pharmacol. 2011;2011:949686. doi: 10.5402/2011/949686. Epub 2011 Mar 15. PMID: 22164340; PMCID: PMC3226242.
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4) Cardoso DA, Moreira AS, de Oliveira GM, Raggio Luiz R, Rosa G. A COCONUT EXTRA VIRGIN OIL-RICH DIET INCREASES HDL CHOLESTEROL AND DECREASES WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE AND BODY MASS IN CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE PATIENTS. Nutr Hosp. 2015 Nov 1;32(5):2144-52. doi: 10.3305/nh.2015.32.5.9642. PMID: 26545671.
5) Cox C, Mann J, Sutherland W, Chisholm A, Skeaff M. Effects of coconut oil, butter, and safflower oil on lipids and lipoproteins in persons with moderately elevated cholesterol levels. J Lipid Res. 1995 Aug;36(8):1787-95. PMID: 7595099.
6) Trinidad TP, Loyola AS, Mallillin AC, Valdez DH, Askali FC, Castillo JC, Resaba RL, Masa DB. The cholesterol-lowering effect of coconut flakes in humans with moderately raised serum cholesterol. J Med Food. 2004 Summer;7(2):136-40. doi: 10.1089/1096620041224148. PMID: 15298758.
7) D’Amato A, Fasoli E, Righetti PG. Harry Belafonte and the secret proteome of coconut milk. J Proteomics. 2012 Jan 4;75(3):914-20. doi: 10.1016/j.jprot.2011.10.009. Epub 2011 Oct 20. PMID: 22037231.
