Coconut sugar. The “superfood sugar” that lied to you. Coconut sugar makes us think of sun-kissed skin, salty Hawaiian breezes, and pina coladas; when, (in reality) it’s nothing more than a twin sister to sugar.
Coconut sugar is very different than raw coconut.
Health Food? The facts point to no:
1. Coconut sugar is secreted from the sap of the cut flowers of the coconut palm and then boiled and dehydrated. It doesn’t come from the coconut fruit (the healthy and beneficial part). Hence, we should call it by its proper name: Coconut Palm Sugar.
2. Coconut sugar has the same number of calories and carbohydrates as regular sugar with some traces of vitamins and minerals. However, the nutrients are in such small amounts, it’d be better to get these nutrients from real food without the adverse side effects.
3. Some coconut sugar brands, mix coconut sugar with white sugar in their packages- look at the labels!
4. Some claim that coconut sugar has “less fructose” than white sugar but coconut sugar is 70-80% sucrose and 3-9% glucose. Sucrose is comprised of half fructose, making coconut sugar 38-48% fructose, which is very similar to the makeup of white sugar. The body converts coconut sugar into glucose the same as any other sugar.
5. Eating too much coconut sugar taxes your liver, increases risk of disease, decreases brain function, causes toxic accumulation, and metabolizes to fat.
Marketing Lie
There are many health benefits of coconuts and many coconut products, so it is easy to brand coconut sugar as another healthy coconut product. Again, coconut sugar does NOT come from the healthy coconut fruit, but the coconut palm.
There are better ways to avoid the harmful effects of sugar and coconut palm sugar!
Please post questions or comments below!
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Resources:
https://www.drweil.com/diet-nutrition/nutrition/is-coconut-sugar-a-healthier-sweetener/
https://blog.bulletproof.com/5-not-so-sweet-facts-about-coconut-sugar/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/coconut-sugar
https://www.livestrong.com/article/403275-side-effects-of-eating-too-much-coconut/
6 comments
Thank you for the very informative message on coconut palm sugar. I would like to inquire as to whether coconut nectar has any more nutritional value and is in fact similar to coconut sugar. I use a lot of coconut nectar. I however love your lakanto monk fruit golden granules and drinking chocolate. Just wish it was more easily accessible in Canada.