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.
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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.
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Thankyou for an excellent article. I have suffered from IBS like symptoms since I was 16 (I am now 56) and was dissapointed that although a Paleo diet was very beneficial to my health in may ways, that I still struggled with some intestinal pain. The FODMAP intolerance and in particular, my considerable consumption of coconut milk, and brassicas appears to be the heart of the issue. I have backed off on these foods and for the first time, I am pain free.
Janet
The title grabbed my attention, so I read the article. Makes some good points, has links to other information, and presents alternatives. I did not feel that the title was out of line with the content nor did I feel that the article was misleading. I drink coconut milk out of a carton but am trying to cut back on my intake of fructose. I may continue drinking coconut milk or may not and will be doing my own research to determine whether I do but Chris’ article has brought it to my attention. What I do with that information is now up to me.
Has anyone else seen a thin layer of gray film at the bottom of the Native Forest Coconut Milk cans?
Thank you for this interesting article about coconut milk. I live in Thailand, and next to me here on the shelf are several dozen 250 ml paper cartons of “Aroy-D” coconut milk. The label says that it is 100% coconut milk. By the way, Aroy-D, just like “Oishi”, means delicious in English. My concern is whether the inside of these cartons is treated with Bisphenol-A. Nothing on the label says anything about any other ingredients than coconut milk.
hello,
After reading the above info on coconut milk i have just one question. You say at the very end that there is no widely available coconut milk that is organic, bpa free and guar gum free but, in the article you referenced native forest as being both bpa free and guar gum free and i know for a fact they make organic coconut milk. Did you forget these things? Please explain.
Thanks, jana
The implication of what he said is that this particular brand is not widely available. That is also why he offered a link to the amazon store in case it’s not in your local grocery store. He’s not saying you can’t find it in SOME grocery stores. Just that not a wide range of areas will carry it. Personally, I’ve never seen it in stores. Does this answer your question?
You can easily avoid all that bad stuff by getting your own coconut milk!!! Its much more fun that was too!!!
You’re not doing your readers a service with this article, because you’re pulling them in with a misleading statement. The main issue is about canned foods (if you’d simply change your title to be “3 reasons why canned coconut milk may not be your friend”, the issue would be resolved, but maybe it’s an deliberate attempt by you to stir up a bit of controversy to get more traffic?).
And yes, I read the whole article, I realize the last part is not about cans, but is there a single food where you can’t find some subgroup of people who won’t have adverse reactions?
This is the first time I came to your website, and instead of having me sign up for your newsletter and potentially become a regular reader (like I do with many health related sites), I know have stored the name Chris Kresser away as “misleading”…
Geesh… some people really need to get a life. All this hoopla over a little article on coconut milk??? It was a good article with some pertinent information for SOME people. If you don’t like it, hit the back button and move on!
@Claire – are you aware of the difference between LDL-A and LDL-B? Then light fluffy LDL vs the dense one? We all NEED and MUST HAVE LDL. It depends on which one you have. Have you or your doctor made that distinction? You can’t condemn LDL any more than you can condemn all people of a race just because some of them are criminal or in jail. We tend to be over-simplistic to our detriment.
Yes Michael, I am aware of these differences, but still my LDL is too high and my doctor wants to put me on statins. As I don’t consume much PUFA or sugar, it has to be the coconut products. It is also disappointing, the my HDL hasn’t gone up much given how much coconuts I eat.
My test results –
LDL 153
HDL 46
VLDL 35
TOTAL Cholesterol 234!!
my LDL pattern density is A (large buoyant) which is one positive.
Even by Dr Mercola’s liberal recommendations ( see article) I’m over his 200 level. If you read the last page of his article he mentions coconut oil/products being a problem.
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/09/10/why-you-should-avoid-red-rice-yeast.aspx
Michael, I think your response to me was inappropriate, if you read my post again, I never once “condemned” coconuts nor saturated fat. So to draw comparisons to race/criminals is a little extreme, and I’m also very aware that we need saturated fat to make steroid hormones and other vital modulators.
I think the main problem with coconut oil/milk is that it raises not just HDL but LDL. Has anyone else noticed the LDL’s increasing on coconuts? I know saturated fat is good for us and has finally been vindicated and reached cult status, but seriously, we are all eating way too much of the stuff!
Natural Value is another brand of coconut milk available in BPA-free cans.
Excellent article. I had just been researching coconut milks online and in my local stores, and came to the same conclusion as the author. It’s almost impossible to find a brand without guar gum or carrageenan or BPA, or at least one that is available to Canada. I may have to make my own. I really appreciate you summarizing. I was unsure as to whether guar gum was safe or not, but instinctively knew to stay away from it. Thanks for confirming!
Natural Value sells Coconut Milk and Organic Coconut Milk in BPA-Free cans on Amazon!
Hello Mr Kresser, and everyone.
I have followed with great interest and sometimes amusement the many comments on this topic since this article was published. I had been in search of the cause of my digestive issues for at least 10 years without being able to pin it down. Until now I think.
I want to express a finding or rather a big newly found likely culprit of my issues and likely most of you out there. GMO.
The effects reported by the few studies done suggest that symptoms of consuming GM corn, wheat, soy, oats, etc. is indeed constant bloating, general digestive inflammation which leads to irregular flow through the digestive system. The whole lot of digestive disturbance leads to lack of quality sleep, that’s my cross.
I would be very interested to hear what you all think of this crazy but simple suspicion, everyone should consider this when evaluating coconut and its results. As long as you are consuming wheat, soy, corn, etc you are constantly irritating your system. A gallon of coconut milk a day is not going to matter.
Just sayin…
I started with consuming coconut products, mostly home made because I grew up with coconuts and I am a world cook. Results continued to be hit and miss, but when it fell right it felt great.. Then I started looking into GM staples and found that it most mayor grain commodities hence in everything everyone eats in North America including Canada.
I am now attempting to remove all GMOs from my diet while continuing to enjoy the many benefits of coconut.
Found this article very useful. Thank you for the heads-up
Also, the ingredients are 75% coconut extract and water, nothing else.
For anyone in the U.K., here you can get coconut in a carton at a good price, the price shown is for 12 1 litre cartons which is the same as 30 400ml cans.
Natural Value coconut milk…ALSO BPA-free, also additive-free. (No carrageenan, guar gum, etc…)
In response to the question in the article as to whether there are other ingredients in Aroy-D coconut milk, I have a can processed Feb 1, 2013, and the ingredients are Coconut extract 60%, and water. No fillers or other questionable ingredients.
I have been buying Trader Joe’s Coconut Milk unsweeterned, soy free, dairy free, gluten free, vegan, no artificial colors or flavors and no preservatives. Not in cans, in a container. A natural source of energy providing 3g Medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) per serving. A form of fatty acid mor readily metabolized than long chain fatty acids and that helps to support metabolism. The ingredients: Filteredwater, coconut crew. Triclcium Phosphate, carrageenan, gellangum, seasalt, natural flavors, vitamin a plmitate, ergocalciferol, (Vitamin D12) How good is this brand for me?
Well, first off, the brand you describe has carrageenan in it. Chris covered the negative effects of carrageenan. I would not use it for that reason alone. “Natural Flavors” can mean anything. The word natural means nothing anymore. “Natural Flavors” can include MSG. In my opinion, what you describe is pretty far from natural. I would ditch it. On the flip side, you can buy Trader Joe’s light coconut milk in the can (14 oz for 99 cents USD) contains only coconut and water, without chemical preservatives or added thickening agents. However, the can does not say BPA-Free, so the can probably is lined with BPA.
Natural Value brand does carry a canned coconut milk in BPA-Free cans, with no added agents. You can order it from amazon.
You can buy non canned coconut milk now. Silk and SoDelicious both make different kinds of coconut milk that are sold in the refrigerated section of common grocery stores. Problem solved!
Those all have some seriously weird and questionable ingredients!
Silk and So Delicious are coconut beverages, not milk. The article is not about coconut beverages, but about “coconut milk,” which is a traditional culinary product made from dried coconut meat and water. It is added to curries and other sauces to make them thick and creamy. It is not drunk. Most traditional “coconut milk” in the US is sold in cans, hence Chris’s concerns about BPA, and some brands contains guar gum, hence Chris’s concern about that. Again, this article is not directed at coconut-based beverages like like So Delicious and Silk. They have different ingredients and different issue to consider. Most of the coconut-based beverages contain sweeteners of various kinds as well. Most traditional “coconut milk” does not.