Coconut Water

It is used as a sports drink by some and I like it as a more natural alternative to Gatorade or sports drinks.  I think the plain tastes gross, though. Otherwise, I would feel totally fine using it.

I ordered a case of it.  I got the plain, and it was not exactly what I expected.  I have been mixing it in smoothies, and with pure fruit juice, and sometimes mixing it with water and using Nuun or Zym in it.  May's issue of Bicycling has coconut water featured in the nutrition section.  It provides a smoothie recipe.

jami 

Hi Carly,

Hijacking thread-sorry!  I bought the Zym at Fleet Feet in Kingsport, TN.  I saw them at the FF in Roanoke, VA too, so maybe it's a product that most FF carry.  I like the Zym better than Nuun.  I got the lemon-lime and it tastes like watered down gatorade, which is how I drink gatorade anyway.

jami 

 I have been using the "Vita coconut water " or the ZICO coconut water as my electrolyte drink for a while now and I am a complete fan of it!!! I have a very sensitive gut and I have not had any problems with coconut water either on the bike or run. I also tend to get calf cramps and so far sooooooo good!!!!

I give coconut water a super high five

Hey, I just realized that I didn't hijack the thread because Carly was the OP.  Silly me!

The cramps are more likely due to how hard you are training than due to electrolyte imbalance.  Your diet likely provides more than enough electrolytes and unless you workouts are very long, it is unlikely that you are depleting your electrolytes enough to run into issues.

Shane

coconut water is also a natural laxative, and can be substituted for blood plasma if u ever happen to be lacking.

I really like coconut water straight out of the young coconut better than the "canned" stuff. We pour it straight into a water bottle and take it cycling with us.

I love it and order it by the case. I'm not sure that the electrolyte content is any better than Heed or Gatorade, but I like the taste of the coconut water and drink it every morning - I'd drink it more often if wasn't so expensive. Anyone found anything but the single serving cans/containers?

Coconut water is about personal taste I think. Personally I didn't like the taste but to be honest when I substitued it for Lucozade and Gatorade I found myself wishing I hadn't. It is a good replacement for electrolytes but taste aside it hasn't given me reason to switch as I found  the sports drinks were better suited to my needs

Sam

I am a huge fan of coconut water. I find it really does the trick when I've been having a bit 'too' much fun. I went out on a friday night and I had planned to race a duathlon on Sunday - didn't mean to stay out late but well, my friends are fun and I'm fun and there's simply a lot of fun to be had sometimes. So naturally, I spent all of Saturday cursing my ability to have fun. I just happened to have some coconut water in my pantry so I drank two that day. Woke up on Sunday feeling fresh as could be and went on to have a great race.  

Every since that weekend, I've kept a full stock of coconut water around - I find it REALLY helps when I'm stressed out too. After a crazy day of work, I'l come home and crack one of those open and ahhhh.... I don't know what it is but it really helps.