Coconut sales go bananas in diet trend

Jess Ainscough incorporates coconut products in her diet. PIC: Marc Robertson Source: The Courier-Mail

THE coconut craze has reached new heights, with health food retailers struggling to meet demands for the superfood trend, as consumers spend up big for coconut-derived waters, flours and dairy replacement products, despite the high saturated fat content.

Organic food retailer Deborah Wray reports that coconut water sales have tripled in the past six months, and her eight Wray Organic stores are unable to import enough coconut flour to keep up with customer demand.

There's also strong demand for drinking coconuts and coconut milk-based beverages, yoghurts and ice cream.

Coconut oil - used for nutritional and beauty reasons - sells for up to $32.95 per litre online, while coconut flour costs $15-20 per kg.

Demand has steadily grown since Miranda Kerr was misquoted by Cosmopolitan magazine in late 2011 saying she consumed four tablespoons - rather than teaspoons - of the oil daily.

"Two years ago we had one brand of oil, now there's about eight. Customers say they love the taste and regularly add it to smoothies," Ms Wray said.

Previous health concerns, she adds, probably related to hydrogenated coconut oil, which can convert the pure saturated fats into trans-fats, rather than the extra-virgin organic varieties now in fashion.

City-based nutritionist Jessica Cox cautions that it can be easy to overdo it.

"It's not evil but it's not a miracle cure," she said. "

It would concern me if you were having a smoothie in the morning, with loads of coconut milk, snacking on coconut chips then roasting with coconut oil.

"A certain amount of fat in the diet is really important but once you exceed that . . . it will start to affect your fatty acid profile, which can bump up your cholesterol."

Jessica Ainscough, a health coach and wellness blogger, says she incorporates coconut water, flour and nectar into her daily diet, and cooks with coconut oil because of its high smoke point.

Ms Ainscough started consuming coconut products in 2008 when she was diagnosed with soft-tissue cancer in her arm, and also uses coconut oil as a moisturiser, hair treatment and for "oil pulling", an ayurvedic practice of swishing oil around the mouth for 20 minutes to remove toxins.

She says in the past six months social media and health bloggers have spread the pro-coconut message, with the water, milks and oil forms of the drupe fruit going viral.

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