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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I do not understand why people cannot express differing opinions without being rude.
Well done on the article Chris and keep doing what you are doing. At least you are trying to make a difference and be a source of information to others instead of doing nothing and criticising other’s efforts.
Take what you can from the article, discard the bits that you do not agree with and move on. If you have a differing opinion or wish to provide correction, do so politely.
Does anyone know if our digestive systems break down the coconut flakes?
I have a friend that can eat fresh coconut, and it doesn’t bother him, but the processes sweet shredded coconut will cause him to turn very pale. I found this out when I made a homemade Coconut Custard Pie. What is the difference in the coconut?
I stumbled on this doing other searches and thought I’d add in a bit more info.
The thing with BPA and canned goods is that the industry has not pound a very good alternative to BPA the inner can lining that can hold up very well to thermal processing.
I understand the contention with the use of BPA and current scientific research and their findings but the following white paper is a summery of the global studies on BPA written by the Grocery Manufacturers Association. This paper does support the claim of detrimental effect of BPA on the young/infant but not so much on adult populations.
https://www.gmaonline.org/downloads/research-and-reports/SciPol_Bisphenol.pdf
I know there is quite a bit out there on the subject, and I present this as no attempt to nay-say Mr. Kresser’s argument. I just present it as more info on the subject.
Cheers
Chris-
My friend consults with you via phone counseling, and is very pleased. You came highly recommended and I have just now gotten to looking at your site. Have already sent some of your info on GERD to my parents, who are very interested in what you have to say. I liked this article. It would take more time than I have to read all the comments, but I just wanted to say thanks and keep up the great work. Looking forward to more science based nutrition info to come!
Marit Harney, RD CPT
The title is misleading. Rather than “why coconut milk may not be your friend” it should read “why CANNED GOODS may not be your friend”. I have always bought my coconut milk in cartons, which are readily available. I fully expected to read why coconut milk is bad. What I got is what I already knew, canned goods are bad. Disappointing title, but I’m happy to know that drinking my coconut milk (from cartons) is perfectly safe.
My coconuts make their own milk. No guar gum in that, baby! 😉
For the love of god…just don’t eat the freakin coconut milk. Unless you crack the coconut and get it yourself; if it’s in a can or tetrapak it’s SH!T. Processed garbage. Get over it and eat REAL food.
Ha, don’t feed the trolls, Chris! What a bunch of weirdos, why don’t they go on Yahoo ‘health’ message boards and slam them, THOSE are the most misleading articles I’ve come across!
Anyway, I was wondering what your take is on UHT (Ultra High Temperature) coconut cream, also it’s in something called a ‘tetrapak’ which looks like a juicebox. It is plastic lined, and does not say what type of plastic they use. Zico coconut water and the coconut cream (Kara) I had bought both use the same packaging. They don’t say to recycle it, there is only a drawing of a person throwing the container in the trash, which makes me suspicious of what type of plastic they use, since coconut is an oily food. I personally can’t stand any type of plastic, even the so-called ‘safe’ ones, I always had an aversion to them, ditto microwave ovens and cell phones.
Going back to your discussion with theresa and dairy products / milk, in particular cows milk, i am against it, first of all milk contains lots of estrogens, secondly, the cows are injected with hormones to prolong production of milk, i dont know if you are aware of patrick holford but in his book one of the main reasons he doesnt reccommend cows milk is because of its calcium to magnesium ratio, which masically causes an imbalance, magnesium is proven to help prevent cancer. Yes milk has some benefits and prevents certain types of cancer but it also increases the risk for cancers like prostate and breast, your much better off getting calcium from green vegetables instead of milk, and it may be an age old saying but milk is for babies, what possesed humans to grab another animals breasts and drink the fluid it produces is beyond me! If people are desperate to drink milk it should be organic because at least those cows are not injected with hormones… This is still not ideal and dairy should be avoided alltogether. There are many products which have good and bad sides for e.g a glass of red wine, it has some protective properties but you can obtain those from other foods without the negatives, the same applies to milk, it is not made for us, it is made for a baby cow!
Patrick Holford is a quack. Amongst others, he believes that everyone needs to take vitamins and minerals supplements for health (funny that cos he has his own supplement line), that whole grains are good for you (questionable), IgG food intolerance testing works and is legitimate and to paraphrase him the science he uses to support this claim “is to just trust him”.
He also claims that high dose vitamin C cures H.I.V and people with H.I.V are better of taking high dose vitamin C and to ditch their anti-virol drugs. Again, no science behind this claim and the study he uses to support this claim is based on putting vitamin C on the HIV virus, in a lab, on a petri dish. But then he is selling his own supplements. Oh and scizophrenics can cure themselves by taking high dose Vitamin B3.
This is not to have a go, it’s just this guys is a conman. My piece of advice, don’t listen to him.
Fair enough jamie Your entitiled to your own opinion but he actuallymcame out with his book the optimum nutrition bible years before the supplementmline came out… Im not saying i blindly agree with everything he says but there are alot of things that make sense, vitaminc for example is a very powerful thing and i do beliebe it should be combined with hiv medicines, also i do believe in todays modern society we do have to supplement because of the quality of food and there are so many anti-nutrients around us inc pollution bad foods and processed foods. A typical human today doesnt get what they need and even if they eat healthy the food they eat have alot less nutrients in them because of all the artificial fertilisers and chemicals that are used in todays farming. Organic is the way to go and on top of this avoiding plastics is also important, thats why this article interested me. Alot of the things ive just said are mentioned in patrick holfords book, im not trying to say he is the be all and end all of everything but there are certainly things in there that are correct and make sense! And one of them is the consumption of dairy!
Thank you for this article. I deduced that I have a problem with packaged coconut milk drink (in the paper carton) , and with coconut ice cream when it has CARAGEENAN in it, which greatly irritates my intestines and stomach. (I have never known such stomach pain)
I have started to steer clear of tree gums as well. I am hoping to find a good source for fresh coconuts so I can make coconut milk myself.
What is paleo??? does it start with the invention of the tin can or tetra pak, or perhaps the vita-mix
how can you call adding water to dessicated coconut fresh homemade coconut milk
can you not buy a fresh coconut in America….grate it, squeeze it..enjoy it
healthy Self
So what about coconut milk that comes from a carton. Like the one from trader joe? What’s the deal with fructose? I notice on the carton it says 1g carbs. I’m doing heavy training and would fear if that 1g of fructose per serving is going to knock me out of ketosis……
Hi!
I have a question…
Thanks for this article… I did not know about this BPA thing….. I just saw Silk, the company that make soymilk…. now make coconut milk, its stored in these paper cartoons, is that ok?? That shouldn’t have any BPA, is that correct?
Thanks in advance for any input.
I really appreciate this article. I seriously have no idea what I have, except that I’ve had digestive problems all my life and eliminating and reintroducing foods has led me to see a little progress trying to figure out what triggers this issues. Until recently could drink coconut milk fine until I eliminated it and re-introduced it. I didn’t know why but your article has kind of given me a clue. I has a suspicion that I may be FODMAP intolerant, so hopefully if I follow the dietary restricitions I’ll keep seeing progress. Thanks again!
Great article and a ridiculous amount of angry/negative people with not enough to do in their life. By the way, if the other two issues aren’t a problem for you there is one brand that sells coconut milk in a can that is BPA free. It is by Native Forest. I’ve always wondered about the Guar Gum but seem to do OK with coconut milk so I stick with my Native Forest brand or make my own. Thanks for all the great info!
This may be a bit off-topic, but what about xanthan gum? It’s used in many gluten-free products and I use it for gluten-free baking to approximate the stickiness that gluten would normally bring to baked goods. According to Wikipedia “It is produced by the fermentation of glucose, sucrose, or lactose by the Xanthomonas campestris bacterium. After a fermentation period, the polysaccharide is precipitated from a growth medium with isopropyl alcohol, dried, and ground into a fine powder”.
Considering that it’s a product of fermentation, but is still a polysaccharide, does it make it as problematic as guar gum for people with IBS/IBD? I have been struggling with IBS for a long time. I found Mark Sisson’s site a couple years ago and started the Primal Diet. When I finally realized that gluten was an issue and stopped eating gluten from its various sources it made a drastic improvement in my overall health. Sometimes, when eating gluten-free baked foods I still get similar problems as those associated with eating gluten – bloating, abdominal pain, nausea, etc. Any thoughts on the Xanthan gum? Thanks.
Mendonca makes a frozen coconut milk. People in hawaii prefer Mendonca over any coconut milk out there. It is not in a can but sealed in a plastic freezer bag.
Wow!!!! This article and all the comments were very helpful to me. I work out 6 days a week, and adhere to a very strict diet. Like another reader, I started gaining weight rapidly (10 pounds!!!!). I had major bloating, gas, and constipation; and when I look back, the ONLY addition I made to my diet was 1/4 cup coconut milk in my oatmeal preworkout. Believe me, People, I love the stuff too, but don’t hate the writer of the article bacause you don’t like what you may have to do, i.e., give it up!!!! Thanks again for the info.
I am unable to eat dairy in any shape or form, but have luckily found organic coconut yoghurt that seems to agree with me. I get no digestive problems what so ever and the flavour is amazing, very addictive. Co-Yo is the brand name but unfortunately it is only available in Australia.
You should also be aware that some of the symptoms can be caused by gluten which is added to many coconut milks, so unless gluten free, the likelyhood of gluten being present is high, which may cause some of the digestive problems as well.
E224 also exists in wine, beer and many other products, so if you are fine with them, you shouldn’t have any problems with it in coconut milk. https://blog.caloricious.com/2011/05/20/potassium-metabisulfite-e224-the-antioxidant-used-to-preserve-beverages/
Isn’t coconut cream the kind with a ton of sugar so just adding water to it would be defeating the purpose of being healthy. I found a brand in a can without additives even guar gum. It’s good. Also, I’ve never seen coconut cream in anything but a can. There is a coconut water and coconut milk that is sold in a carton that I’ve seen. The “milk” probably has the guar gum, but the water doesn’t and it’s in a carton. It’s pretty new and too expensive though 🙁