Coconut Water Doesn’t Hydrate You Better Than Exercise Water
Coconut water is touted as a healthier alternative to sports drinks like Gatorade for “better” hydration and replenishing electrolytes lost from hard workouts. However, for your daily workout routine, coconut water isn’t necessarily a smarter choice than plain water.
If you exercise for an extended period of time, such as running a half marathon, replenishing your carbohydrate, calorie, and sodium stores will help you stay strong. Previous research on coconut water has shown that drinking coconut water has little or no benefit over other sports drinks or water before or after exercise. However, in this study, published in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism , the researchers wanted to investigate its effect on hydration, if any, during exercise.
In a study conducted by scientists from the University of Northumbria, ten active subjects participated and they cycled 60 minutes at maximum load no more than 65% of their maximum effort, followed by a 10 km time trial in the same session (conducted two different times). Throughout testing, subjects drank plain or coconut water at varying intervals. The researcher measured heart rate, urine hydration, thirst and satiety, sweating rate, blood glucose, blood lactate, and several other subjective assessments.
In the end, they found no evidence that coconut water was better than water for other metrics such as heart rate, sweating rate, or perceived exercise level.
The findings are consistent with what has been previously stated in other studies like this one in Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism – that coconut water is no better than water for hydration. However, the small sample size and the fact that they did low to moderate intensity exercise for less than 80 minutes are some of the limitations of the study.
Takeaway: For short workouts ( less than an hour ), water is a great choice if you don’t need calories. For longer, more intense workouts, drink coconut water if you like the taste (but add more sodium and carbohydrates for it to be effective). If not, try these sports drink alternatives.
Coconut Water Does Not Improve Hydration During Submaximal Exercise And Performance In Subsequent Timed Trial Compared To Water Alone | International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism