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.
) If all of the water won’t fit, you can add it in two batches.
to filter the smaller pieces of coconut.
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The coconut milk I use is made at home, from coconut meat that was freshly grated from a whole coconut at the local wet market. I’ve tried drinking it as a cow’s milk substitute (back when I didn’t have a source yet for raw grass-fed milk), but found that I simply couldn’t tolerate more than about 1/3 cup of raw coconut milk. For whatever reason, if I drink more than that, I get quite dizzy and I have to sleep it off for an hour so! However, I have no problems at all with cooked coconut milk– it’s really tasty too, with seafood or curry dishes.
This is a terrible article! It discourages people from coconut milk without telling them the truthful options. It’s simple…make it fresh yourself at home. It takes 10 minutes max and tastes much better that store bought. I always tell my wife that in the same time I could get up and go buy a liter of coconut milk from the store, I could make 4 liters and put it in the fridge. This article only furthers the stereotype that eating healthy is difficult and near hopeless giving rise to the “everything is unhealthy,” excuse.
Did you read Chris’s article? He clearly mentions- and instructs how- to prepare your own coconut milk.
Hi Chris,
Thank you for your article. For the last few weeks I have been drinking high fat / protein shakes in the am. I have been having diarrhea for week or so that I’ve noticed. Today, after having it again, I looked up if coconut could milk could be the culprit, and found your article. I’ve drinking anywhere from 1/4 to 3//4 cups of coconut milk, two egg yolks, chia seeds, and egg white protein powder or whey protein powder with RO water.
I think I’ve finally nailed down it is the coconut milk and your article seems to point to it (fructose malabsorbtion) as well. Does that mean my body simply can’t tolerate it and I should stop having coconut milk altogether? It has been quite satiating having it in my drink, trying to get healthy fats in my body, which has helped me also lose weight. Of course I have been doing other things to help myself as well, mainly by eating whole foods and eliminating all grains and sugars. Any thoughts about stopping coconut milk altogether would be greatly appreciated.
Juan, I think the problem might be most of the ingredients in your protein shakes. (I am only speaking out of personal experience of course) If I were to have the same shakes you do every day I would probably get diharrhea as well. 3/4 cup of coconut milk seems like a lot to me and too many eggs alone in a day provoke that effect on me. Furthermore I am certain I am not suffering from fructose malabsorption!
Try changing up the content of your shakes. I would also recommend vegan protein powders, they’re the only ones I can eat and be sure my stomach won’t complain.
Now that I think of it though, your current diet might be lacking in fiber (which prevents diharrhea in good amounts or constipation with excessive amounts). If it is a high-protein diet that you are following, please reconsider, they are known for great short term results but often cause more harm in the long term!
Finally, this may help :
http://www.livestrong.com/article/251098-how-to-stop-diarrhea-on-high-protein-diet/
http://www.ted.com/talks/sandra_aamodt_why_dieting_doesn_t_usually_work
Sometimes coconut products can help a person’s GI track cleanse if they have previously be on drugs (like steroids) at the same time that they didn’t have enough good fats coming in. the body stores the toxins in fat cells until good fats come in and then swap them out. Many people who haven’t not taken good care of their diet, too low of good fats, too high of carbs/sugars, and too many drugs end up getting the runs the first time they take coconut oil/milk. They get rashes from coconut itself. They think they are allergic to the coconut. Nope. They are TOXIC and finally starting to “clean house” a little. Kinda like the big mess made in/around the house they are rehabbing down the block. People all over, garbage coming out, dumpsters in the yard, etc. More mess than when they started. Gonna look better later though.
another informative article by chris – thank you.
to avoid those nasty containers + additives, why don’t you simply buy fresh nuts from florida (e.g.) ?
i’m living in germany – no coconuts growing here, nobody ever needed them, but they are of great nutritious value, i know.
bye-bye coconut^^
Just wanted to mention there’s a site: wildernessfamilynaturals.com that sells coconut milk in cartons and the only added item is xanthan gum which I saw you wrote about… it’s generally fine for most people. Just fyi.
Thanks Chris for all you do for promoting public health. The Wahls Paleo Plus protocol is heavy on the coconut oil, so it is great to have some resources for healthy coconut oil that do not have BPA and guar gum. Also, is this healthier coconut oil, milk and cream okay if one have celiac disease? Thanks for your response.
Emilee,
This was a good article. It makes you think about
consuming “processed” coconut.
The facts are good… your reference website affirms mostly the same things said in Chris’ article.
We all need to be mindful and aware of what we put in our mouths, not so much due to some baloney about 50,000 years ago, but to what is happening today.
Thanks to those who pour through the real research and provide us with insight to make sensible decisions.
What about saturated fat content and its effects on blood lipids?
You mean like it’s beneficial effects on HDL level and HDL to LDL and HDL to TC ratios?
Saturated fat is not bad, and the fats in coconut are among *the* best fats of any kind for you.
The only solution is a subscription based co-operative that will do the scientific testing of all of the products available and has no financial interest in anything other than good information for its members.
EG Test all of the coconut milks and publish it.
Every information site seems to have an opinion or a financial angle.
You mean an organization like Consumerlab.com? They have an article on Coconut water already, and I imagine with enough interest they would test Coconut Milk as well. They have reviews on almost 150 health and nutritional products created by independent testing. I find their testing and studies to be very helpful in choosing how I supplement my diet.
Thanks for the article.
I found it because I wanted to ‘use’ the can of coconut milk lurking in my pantry (cite: funny x-girlfriend story) … kinda outa food, so gotta cook this weekend.
Didn’t know if I needed to ‘cook’ it or not, so one short google search later, and here I am.
After 30 years of being a vegetarian, now I eat whatever the hell I want.
Don’t get me wrong … I never liked eating things that didn’t fly or swim. Now I occasionally include a cow or a pig. I know, sounds crazy when I say it like that doesn’t it? It is.
Anyway, I work online, so I tend to live in a cave … eating the same things sometimes for days at a time. And this is something that I learned.
If you give your body time to adjust, it will adjust to anything. Unfortunately, that adjustment may come in the form of cancer (as in my case). I tend to try to listen to my body and eat things that make me FEEL good.
‘FEEL good’ to me means gives me nutrition, easily passes through my body, increases (or at least doesn’t impair) my mental clarity, adds to my energy, and satisfies my hunger.
Like many American’s, I still watch too many movies and struggle with western food addictions. I only hope my running regimen will help get the sugar monkey off my back.
If not, maybe the Florida political brains will get off their duffs and legalize medicinal weed in which case I can just eat twinkies for the rest of my life (sarcasm). Anyway, we’ll see.
Good luck all. Interesting discussion.
Hey ,my impetus was MS, and I agree 100% with you! Guess I needed validation, with so much “info” thrusted upon all of us, healthy and not-so-much. Also I’m in FL, too, even my parents voted yes last time, we’ll get it this time! Altho we really need it on the Fed level – I live in HUD apt. building so it would STILL be illegal for me (at least in my bldg.).
Chris
Why all the agitated readers-I don’t get it.
Thanks for your efforts!
Marlon
Coconut withdrawal…gets ’em cranky.
Whenever these conversations get tense, it seems, it’s because people make a blanket statement about what is good or bad. If it’s one thing I’ve learned from a year on paleo, it’s that everyone is different. I don’t feel well on any kind of dairy, and coconut milk also makes me feel lousy. I can eat coconut or coconut butter, and use coconut oil in numerous ways, but coconut milk or coconut cream make me feel sick. Why? I don’t really know. I could spend a lot of time trying different things to find out exactly why, but it’s not a hardship to give it up, so I do that and move on with my life. It’s not that I’m not curious, it’s that I have other concerns that are more pressing. I found a great recipe for homemade almond/macadamia nut milk that makes my coffee taste great. That’s all I was using coconut milk for, so now I’m good. As Chris says so often, you have to find what works for you.
I visited Boston last week and went by a place called Cocobeet (www.cocobeet.com). They make cold pressed organic Coconut Mylk. Thailand ships the frozen coconut meat and coconut H2o and this place is the first to thaw out. It comes in a 5oz bottle that is strictly a blend of the coconut meat and raw coconut water. I used it this week in my smoothie and a special treat coconut flour pancake for our daughter since she’s been eating so clean! I believe they’ll ship overnight to you in cold packs. Worth a try if you don’t make your own!
Thanks Chris…unlike a lot of people here who seem to be peusdo experts in what seems like a lot of areas…I appreciate the info.,..we are all responsible for finding out what works best for our OWN body and rather than spend a lot of time bashing and nit-picking everything about a simple article…I read it , made my own again, and then hit the gym!! lol…healthy behavior creates healthy attitude!
How do you know that Native Forest coconut milk is BPA free? I couldn’t find that stated anywhere on their web site.
I buy this organic brand from Amazon, it has nothing added to it like guar gum and the cans are BPA free and lined. You will have to get used to the separation in the milk and fat if you are used to brands that have guar gum to emulsify them, but honestly the flavor and overall quality of this brand is excellent.
http://www.naturalvalue.com/community/bpa-status/
Chris~ I took your advice and checked local stores-none of the brands you recommended available so I went on Amazon. Native Forest Coconut Milk-second ingredient is guar gum. I am ordering Let’s Do Organic Coconut Cream which has only one ingredient: organic coconut! It is in a package not a can.
Thank you for all of your articles and advice on my Paleo journey back to health. I am completely off my diabetic meds, losing weight (12 lbs. so far), and feeling strong and energetic for the first time in a long time.
I have this problem as well. I do fine with coconut oil, but coconut flakes, coconut milk, or coconut cream mess up my intestines badly – even with no additives. Absolutely sick as a dog!
Is there any good substitute for this in creamy paleo recipes like ice cream or tom kha gai that need full fat?
I have been trying a vegan alfredo sauce made from cashew cream that I tolerate really well. Would something like that work?
Hidden reactions to everyday foods can contribute to weight problems in surprising ways – starting with water retention. Also, chemicals involved in sensitivities to foods may slow metabolism. A side effect of food sensitivities may be to reduce the body’s ability to burn fat which makes weigh control nearly impossible. A simple blood test can help identify food intolerances. The Immuno Bloodprint® has been helping people to feel well for more than 36 years. Discover the link between what you eat and how you feel by watching our short animation here: http://www.immunolabs.com
Chris,
I enjoyed your artical. My question is why is boxed Coconut milk not mentioned. I rarely if ever buy canned coconut milk because boxed milk is offered, more to a container without the fear of metal in cans. Local grocery stores offer Silk brand but have sugar added to milk. I use Trader Joe’s brand that gives unsweetened option. What’s your option about the coconut milk that comes in a box?
Thanks,
Rotonya T
“Silk Coconut Milk” is garbage. Don’t drink it.
INGREDIENTS: Coconut milk (Filtered Water, Coconut Cream), Cane SUGAR, NATURAL FLAVOR (some sort of bogus poison, like MSG or similar), CARRAGEENAN (toxic MSG-like precursor), Yam Flour (why?).