Hi there, this is Monica Reinagold, the nutrition diva, here with your quick and dirty tips for eating well and feeling fabulous.

Carrie recently posted a question about coconut water on my Facebook page.

Does coconut water really have special benefits she wants to know or is it just the latest

nutrition fad?

There's been a lot of buzz about coconut water lately.

Here's a description from the website for one of the leading brands.

For more than 4,000 years, Coconut Water has been revered as a natural source of nutrition, wellness, beauty, and hydration.

In times of famine and war, coconut water has been used as an intravenous fluid

and saved many lives. It's the only natural substance that can be safely injected into the human bloodstream and now modern

science has validated its effectiveness. Now I don't think they're suggesting that you

inject it directly into your veins at least I hope not but it certainly makes

coconut water sound pretty special.

The site goes on to list many of the amazing benefits of coconut water.

It's said to help with muscle performance, energy, weight loss, heart health, stress reduction, skin, hair, and nail health,

mental acuity, kidney cleansing, and hangovers. If your hype detector is starting to

tingle, then I've trained you well.

So let's take a closer look at this miraculous liquid and see what's behind all these

amazing benefits.

Now first, let me just quickly clarify the difference between coconut water and what

many people refer to as coconut milk. Coconut milk is made by grinding

up coconut meat and pressing out the liquid. Like the coconut meat itself, coconut milk is very high in

fat and therefore calories. One cup of coconut milk is very high in fat and therefore calories.

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