Coconut milk is often a staple fat source for those following a Paleo diet. From a nutritional perspective, it’s an excellent choice. It’s high in saturated fatty acids and medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), which are both easily burned as fuel by the body. MCTs are particularly beneficial in that they don’t require bile acids for digestion, and they’re directly shunted to the liver via the portal vein.
Coconut milk and fruit can be a great snack for Paleo folks, and coconut milk smoothies make a great Paleo breakfast choice – especially in the summer.
So what could be wrong with coconut milk? Here are three things to consider.
Bisphenol-A
Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a chemical that has been used in consumer goods since the 50s. It’s found in reusable drink containers, DVDs, cell phones, eyeglass lenses, automobile parts and sports equipment. While the research on BPA is still mixed (some studies indicating harm and others not), given the uncertainty I think it makes sense to avoid it whenever possible.
So what’s the solution here? In short, if you want to be on the safe side and reduce your exposure to BPA, you have to reduce your consumption of canned foods (including coconut milk) as much as possible. I made this recommendation in 9 Steps for Perfect Health-#3: Eat Real Food. A study published in Environmental Health Perspectives found that families who ate fresh food for three days with no canned food, and using only glass storage containers, experienced a 60% reduction of BPA in their urine. The reductions were even higher (75%) for those with the highest BPA levels at the beginning of the study.
The good news, however, is that there are brands of coconut milk with BPA-free cans or carton packaging. One is Native Forest, which you can purchase on Amazon if it’s not available at your local store.
Coconut milk can also be made quite easily at home, with coconut flakes, a blender and cheesecloth. Here’s a video to show you how (get a load of the soundtrack). I find that blanching the coconut flakes prior to blending improves the results.
Guar gum
It’s primarily the endosperm of guar beans.
Beans and legumes have a variety of compounds in them that make them difficult to digest, especially for people with digestive problems (1 in 3 Americans, from the latest statistics). In my clinical experience, many patients with gut issues improve when they remove guar gum from their diet—including canned coconut milk.
There’s no evidence that guar gum may cause serious harm. So, if you’re able to tolerate guar gum, there’s no reason to avoid it. If it does give you digestive trouble, look for a brand that’s free from guar gum. The other option, of course, is making coconut milk at home.
Fructose malabsorption
Fructose malabsorption (FM) is a digestive disorder characterized by impaired transport of fructose across the small intestine. This results in increased levels of undigested fructose in the gut, which in turn causes overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine. Undigested fructose also reduces the absorption of water into the intestine.
Symptoms produced include bloating, gas, pain, constipation or diarrhea, vomiting and fatigue (to name a few). Recent research has also tied fructose malabsorption to depression.
Lest you think this isn’t a common problem, studies have shown that up to 30% of people in Western countries suffer from fructose malabsorption.
Even in healthy people without fructose malabsorption, however, only about 20-25g of fructose can be properly absorbed at one sitting. Glucose assists in transport of fructose across the intestine, so in general foods with equal amounts of glucose and fructose will be better absorbed than foods with excess amounts of fructose (in relation to glucose).
While fructose malabsorption can cause symptoms in anyone, those with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are particularly affected. While the prevalence of FM is the same in healthy populations and those with IBS & IBD, the experience of FM appears to be more intense in the latter group. This is probably due to the increased visceral sensitivity common in IBS and IBD patients.
In fact, one of the most promising clinical approaches to managing IBS & IBD right now is the low-FODMAP diet. FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligo-, Di- and Mono-saccharides And Polyols. These include:
- fructose (fruits, honey, HFCS)
- fructans (wheat, onions)
- lactose (milk sugar)
- polyols (sugar alcohols like sorbitol, xylitol & mannitol, along with fruits like apples, pears and plums)
- galactooligosaccharides (legumes & beans, brussel sprouts, onions)
- other sweeteners like polydextrose and isomalt
Studies have found that restricting FODMAPs can significantly improve the symptoms associated with IBS, IBD and fructose malabsorption.
What does this have to do with coconut milk, you ask? According to Drs. Gibson & Barrett, experts in fructose malabsorption, coconut milk is a FODMAP and should be avoided by people with digestive conditions like IBS & IBD.
According to NutritionData.com, coconut milk has very little sugar of any kind – including fructose. Nevertheless, I do have patients that cannot even tolerate homemade coconut milk (which has no guar gum in it), even though they are fine with coconut oil. I assume that they are reacting to the fructose in the coconut milk – but I can’t be sure. According to Monash University, small quantities (up to 1/3 of a cup or 80g) of coconut milk may be tolerable for those who are sensitive to FODMAPs.
Like what you’re reading? Get my free newsletter, recipes, eBooks, product recommendations, and more!
Recommendations
Let’s bring this together into recommendations for three different groups of people:
- Women who are trying to get pregnant, pregnant or breastfeeding, children and other vulnerable populations (chronically ill): should avoid canned coconut milk products except for those that are BPA-free, like Native Forest and Arroy-D. Note: Native Forest is organic, but Arroy-D is not.
- People with digestive problems (IBS, IBD, GERD, etc.): may want to avoid coconut products entirely, except for coconut oil
- Healthy people: may be fine with canned coconut milk, provided they don’t react to the guar gum, and provided they’re willing to take the side of industry scientists that claim BPA doesn’t cause harm in humans
Want organic coconut milk – but without the BPA and guar gum?
There are available options to buy organic, guar-gum-free coconut milk in a BPA-free container. Or, with a little extra effort, you can easily make this at home yourself.
- Purchase coconut cream (Let’s Do Organic and Artisana are good choices) and blend with water to make coconut milk.
- Purchase shredded coconut (again, Let’s Do Organic is a good choice), and follow the instructions below for making homemade coconut milk.
Homemade coconut milk instructions
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 1.5 – 2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
Instructions
- Heat water until hot (but not boiling).
- Add shredded coconut and water to blender (preferably a Vitamix!
) If all of the water won’t fit, you can add it in two batches.
- Blend on high for several minutes until thick and creamy.
- Pour through a colander to filter out the coconut pulp, then squeeze through a cheese cloth or nut milk bag
to filter the smaller pieces of coconut.
- If you separated the water into two batches, put the strained coconut back into the blender with the second batch of water.
- Drink immediately or store in the fridge. Fresh coconut milk should be used within 3-4 days of making it for the best flavor and texture.
Better supplementation. Fewer supplements.
Close the nutrient gap to feel and perform your best.
A daily stack of supplements designed to meet your most critical needs.
I’d say I’m one of those who cannot tolerate coconut in any form. I live in Indonesia and coconut product is used highly in Indonesian culinary. Even when I get fresh coconut picked from the tree, drink its water and eat its meat, I get stomach cramps every. single. time.
Also virgin coconut oil makes me nauseous, diarrhea, shaky, etc.
It’s rather odd because when I was younger, I was totally fine with coconut. This problem only started about 2-3 years ago.
I used to be the same but I started taking taking Betaine HCL and that cleared it all up. Could be due to low stomach acid. Try taking some Betaine HCL with your meals and see if that works.
a little late, but did B HCL really cure your coconut intolerance?
i have that and a bunch of other ones for healthy fats that limit my diet to where its a mother effer
Fructose malabsorption is determined by a single oral dose of pure fructose at 25 g. While virtually no one consumes pure fructose alone, never mind 25 grams at a time, it has since been estimated that fructose malabsorption affects less than 10% of healthy individuals. See: Frieling T, et al. Fructose malabsorption: how much fructose can a healthy subject tolerate? Digestion. 2011;84:269-72.
My Grandmother always made coconut cake for Christmas and a few other holidays. She always bought just coconuts and did it old school. I never did get sick. I sometimes think that these health articles can be a little extreme. Just walking outside and breathing is bad for your health. You can never protect yourself from all health risks, so why make your life so miserable.
This site is for ill people though. It’s helpful for us to know if something is contributing to our illness or not. I’m glad there are people like Chris willing to question these things, if anything the debates it sparks provide lots of useful information.
I live in Thailand and the coconut milk and cream available here are all sold in UHT packed cartons. No BPA there, I guess?
Aroy-D (Aroy means tasty and Dee means good) and Chao Koh are the two common brands you can find in any supermarket. Chao Koh also makes coconut cream which I think is just a thicker version of the milk, that’s what I usually buy. The only listed ingredient is 100% coconut cream. I’ve heard from some people that labeling is not strict in Thailand, so maybe they’re cheating, but if you think like that, you can’t trust anything you buy at all.
Also available (but harder to find) is extra virgin coconut oil in glass bottles, I love cooking meat with it.
i’m rather shocked by the response – by some – to this article, and would like to speak out in support of mr. kresser’s article…
all the title proposes is ‘3 reasons why coconut milk MAY not be your friend,’ and it does give 3 issues that are possible …if those of you upset by this article don’t feel that the issues provided are a big deal, why is That such a big deal?
also, the bpa issue may not be isolated to cans exclusively …some products available in cartons (not just coconut milk) also contain bpa in their lining …it’s just good to be aware, and that way you can try to avoid it …that’s all. warmest wishes to all 🙂 debs
I have had fructose malabsorption since (at least) 2006 and while I have my safe and problematic foods pretty down pat, coconut milk and cream are still a puzzle to me.
I can eat fresh and desiccated coconut flesh (studies done by Monash University in Australia report that it is low FODMAP) but my reactions to coconut milk/cream do not seem to fit with current reports that it is in fact low FODMAP (this is in contrast to “pre-2010” evidence, which used to list coconut milk/cream as high FODMAP) apparently there is a minuscule amount of sorbitol present (<0.1g/100g) but I can eat cherries and blackberries without issue so sorbitol wouldn't (*shouldn't*) be it.
I came across your coconut milk post because I am trying to research why I end up doubled over within an hour of consuming full cream coconut milk but the light milk does not cause any noticeable GI symptoms. Since moving to the USA from Australia, I have found that my local GP had not even heard of fructose malabsorption until I became her patient, so I need to find my information elsewhere.
You mention that BPA can cause "harm" in adults, as well as neurobehavioural issues in children – could this "harm" potentially be mimicking my FM symptoms? But then, the light coconut cream would probably be coming in cans with BPA as well, so that doesn't fully fit.
I understand that this is a pretty big ask, considering you don't know my PHx or the like but if you could shed any light as to other components of coconut milk that could potentially be causing stomach aches and GI upset then I would be very grateful. I might just buy a fresh coconut and see what happens with the cream… wish me luck 😛
Cheers, Nat.
Useful article that reminds me everyone is different. I generally follow FODMAPS and find that it helps, especially during periods when my gut is acting up. That said, broccoli which is a FODMAPS no no always agrees with me, as does coconut milk. Although it is in cans, Trader Joe’s sells a Coconut Cream that doesn’t have carragenean (sp?) or guar gum in it. I use it regularly and it makes my very sensitive gut happy.
Ok so if we are trying to buy cans that are BPA free, what are they lining the cans with? I contacted Sprouts (grocery store) to see if their cans had BPA in them. I got the most interesting answer. They do not contain BPA, but they are now lined with polyester and vinyl… can’t we get lead poisoning from vinyl? So now we have to worry about lead leaching into our food.
Here’s the answer I received from Sprouts:
“Good afternoon Lisa, We have moved away from an Epoxy coating within our containers to a polyester coating and a vinyl coating. The polyester and vinyl replacements have been thoroughly tested and are known, safe, long-lasting and reliable. We do not use the words Non-BPA as this is apparently a misnomer. Our suggested term is non-Epoxy, which means that BPA will not be a part of the initial can, but as you know BPA is now present in our world and will take years to disappear from water, soil and other places before we can say BPA free. Thank you for your inquiry and please feel free to contact us with any other questions or comments you may have. Have a great weekend.
Stephanie
Sprouts Farmers Market
Customer Relations Specialist”
Arroy-D Coconut Milk has only two ingredients. Water and 50% Coconut Milk. There is Coconut milk you can buy from the dollar store ***NEVER BUY C.MILK FROM THE DOLLAR STORE*** and it has a wack ton of other weird ingredients. But Arroy-D in a tetra pack is what I buy and its amazing! 🙂
Thanks!
Great Article.
I found your article fascinating and very helpful. I have UC and feel like I react poorly to coconut so now I know why. My question for you is this: if I eliminate baking with coconut flour and already avoid almond flour because I don’t tolerate nuts well, is there another flour alternative in your opinion? Thanks so much for all you do!
I found the best prices on the aroy-d brand (coconut milk and cream!) at a paleo web store. Here’s the link.
https://www.wildmountainpaleo.com/directsearch?!manfID266
I use coconut milk in tons of recipes (https://'www.yummycoconut.com) and I find it hard to get something that is just coconut milk when buying it in can form. Which I don’t like to do anyways because of BPA.
It can get pretty annoying when I go to buy some for a recipe and have to put down every can/carton that I pick up.
Trader Joe’s has a light coconut milk in a can that is just coconut milk and water, unfortunately it is both light and canned. I used to be able to get large boxes of Arroy-D coconut cream that was only the cream but my store actually discontinued the item. 🙁
I get mine from Amazon. Natural Value. No Guar Gum, No BPA.
CoconutLover,
My understanding the light version of Trader Joe-s which has coconut milk and water, is BPA free. Since it also has water added to it, it is ready for latte or smoothies once from the get go. Yes you are paying for the water also, but the fact is it is alot a cheaper, so fat content/price I don’t think it is any worse than the full fat coconut milk cans out there. My issue with saying BPA free is the following. If there is no BPA, what else did they substitute that with which years from now, we will find out can be causing issues.
I agree with the logic of staying away from can when you can, but if not this might be a better product compared to the cartoon So delicious brands (where bunch of stuff is added to it).
regards,
Hi Chris,
I am grateful for the information you provided as it has helped me tremendously. I first learned of FODMAPs through your site and have come to realize that coconut products, especially coconut flour cause the most harm. I’m saddened to hear that people have been so harsh about your article. I appreciate the help you’ve passed on to me and many others.
About the Thai brand ArroyD – I do read Thai but every can I’ve ever seen lists ingredients in both Thai and English.
What I found with ALL the Thai brands of coconut milk is that you cannot go by brand. The same brand can carry with or without the preservatives. You have to read the label every time. There are a quite a few Thai brands of coconut milk but only a few that do not contain the junk.
I’ve called some of the Thai companies (yes, I speak Thai, as well, or used to. Getting pretty rusty these days) and they’ve claimed to not have anything in the can but water and coconut milk.
Do I believe that? I lived over a decade there. So. I feel I can trust them as much as I can the manufacturers here. Which isn’t too much.
I do use canned coconut milk from time to time but prefer to use fresh whenever possible. And I fondly recall the days of buying it in the open market from the vendors that made it on the spot then poured it into a plastic bag, and rubber-banded it closed for me 🙂
Coconut has been a wonderful food for me, but there’s no one food-fits-all, and we each must find what works best for our own body. And, hopefully, respect others’ choices.
I think the Omega 3 intake has been distorted over the years. In hot temperature countries near the Equator we found hot temperature trees such as Palm Tree and Coconut Tree. So the people who live in hot temperature countries rely on such fruits of these tree to live by.
If I would to travel further North or South to COLD weathers, then the Omega 3 will help me in the winters and also Sqaulene Oil (which can be obtained from Olive Oil) to balance out my diet when I m in winter months. Hence, the studies of rich-Omega 3-plants such as Flax, Chia, etc are located beyond Tropic of Cancer (20 degree North) and Capricorn (20 degree South). None of us can find Palm Tree and Coconut Tree at the North Pole or Arctic countries.
Hence, the ancient world people somehow eat the food found in their own lands (or countries of residence). The next 10 to 20 years, nutritionists or whoever will need to closely study Foods found according the their land of residence (Plants found in their resident land).
I submit my paper.
Hi,
My one year old son has a true milk protein allergy. I now give him organic coconut milk and organic soy milk. I’ve read your articles on both soy and coconut. I’m wondering which is the lesser of the two evils and if the coconut milk is organic, wouldn’t that be safer?
Thank you so much and I’ve enjoyed reading all your articles!
I’m just gonna go ahead and answer this. Coconut milk is a better choice as it’s unlikely to come from GM sources.
If it were my child however I’d give him almond milk.
Thanks. Yes almond milk would be good but he has an allergy to almonds….poor kid. I do buy the organic soy and coconut milk (in cartons) but I think coconut probably better too. I was always leaning to soy because he needs the extra calories.
Thank you for the comment!! Off to the organic market I go.
This article is a classic example of trying to sell certain product by spreading FEAR over the competing products, in this case, the rest of the brands not mentioned by his article.
He is clearly endorsing Native Forest and Let’s Do Organic, which are owned by the same company. He threw in Arroy-D as a decoy because he knew most US consumers won’t be able to access Arroy-D unless they go to ethnic markets or shop online.
He stated on the article that he doesn’t read Thai, yet he recommended Arroy-D?
This article is a joke. Sponsored articles need to be declared as sponsored otherwise it is just an insult to intelligence.
I have no relationship whatsoever with these companies. Anytime I am an affiliate for a product I state that clearly at the end of the article. Here’s an example: https://chriskresser.com/how-to-get-your-mojo-back-introducing-the-sexyback-summit
That is such a weird thing to say
Julie,
Listen to this podcast or read the transcript – there are many reference to MS. They are discussing the GAPS diet. http://www.gaps.me – when you are not having grains, nuts, seeds and nightshades, you are eliminating lectins. Very important. An individual’s tolerance to each and every food can greatly vary, but the goal in this diet is to heal and seal the gut lining, so proper nutrients can be absorbed. There is a strict initial protocol, but after the heal and seal is accomplished, you can integrate many foods – as long as they each don’t cause gut or physiological reaction. It’s a test one at a time protocol. Listen to this podcast, though – and read the text. it’s packed with very valuable information.
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/05/12/dr-campbell-m cbride-on-gaps.aspx (the audio)
https://mercola.fileburst.com/PDF/ExpertInterviewTranscripts/DrNatashaCampbe ll042412.pdf (the text)
I can’t speak for others but I briefly read thru some of these comments and my first instinct to the article was complete frustration, as I sense in others. I must say in my mission to find the PERFECT diet that may put my Multiple Sclerosis in remission- my head is spinning with the information available. I have an ailment and want to cure it (to the best of my ability). In doing so I am slowly eliminating things from my diet and replacing it with something that is a healthy alternative. Every day it differs because the information is so contradicting. Let’s see -Gluten Free, Wheat Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free, Paleo, Raw, The Starch Solution (book), The China Study (Book), I could go on and on. About a week ago I thru my hands up and told my bestie (in tears) the only thing I can flippin’ eat is organic fruits and vegetables. What the hell!!! Just tonight I tried a lovely coconut milk and was elated that I finally found a suitable replacement for my chocolate milk that I can not longer enjoy. All this happiness came quickly down when I read this article. You have to realize that it’s not about the article’s title. People are so sick of all these dangers that we have to read about ALL THE TIME, that some of us have become incredible irritable. Coconut milk may not mean much to you but to me it is a GODSEND. I finally had a bit of peace that I could eat (all these ways) and enjoy it to. I have no choice but to change my ways. My diet greatly affects how much brain damage that I incur. Some people get to enjoy going to bed every day or feeling really confident in their food choices. You have a peace about you, Right? Well I want that confident peace too, and all these articles are simply draining. No offense to the author. I’m just kind of over the whole thing! As you can see, there is an emotionally attachment to that coconut milk.
I think Chris’s whole point in this article is to discuss issues people may have with coconut milk and suggest alternatives for brands to use to avoid things like BPA and guar gum. He never said there is anything inherently wrong with coconut milk. There’s no reason you can’t drink it, just try to find the kind sold in cartons if you can.
Hi Chris,
I submitted a question earlier about whether coconut milk (itself) had any effect on hormones…. I had, at that time, missed the portion of these comments where someone called Tony discussed the estrogenic effects of BPA. I should have specified that I am drinking (Koko brand, available in UK) coconut dairy-free milk substitute in tetra-pak type cartons. I am not aware of whether tetra-paks contain any BPA (have put out enquiries but, as yet, unanswered). This is not a pure coconut milk, but a milk substitute which contains filtered water, coconut milk 8.4%, grape juice concentrate, calcium phosphate, emulsifier: Sucrose ester, sea salt, colour: natural carotene, Vitamin D2, Vitamin B12. I’ve been using it more than a year and haven’t noticed any negative effect. I recently found and tried, however, a coconut milk yogurt [containing Coconut milk (97.9%), Tapioca Starch, Xylitol, Selected probiotic cultures], which is delicious but seems to leave me feeling “hormonal” (same way I felt years ago after switching from dairy to soy milk — cringe). Do you have any prior experience that suggests a link between coconut products and estrogen effect? Thank you!