Hello all! I am reading contradicting information on whether young coconut water is a warming or cooling beverage. My mother has told me it is warming in nature but I am skeptical. I can’t wrap my head around how young coconuts can be found in the tropics yet causes heat in the body. Surely it’s abundance in those locations must mean it is utilized by locals to cool down the body.
Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.
I think part of the problem is often from limiting things to just a binary set of options (i.e. warming or cooling). In technical terms coconuts are considered tonifying to the spleen qi and mildly nourishing to the fluids - so they are mildly warming and somewhat nurturing (i.e. mildly “cooling”). I think it is helpful to remember that “warming” is a complex term that is not limited to temperature, it can be imply some range of strengthening, moving, ascending, and, yes, warming - same with cooling - it can be nourishing, descending, and, yes, cooling.
Comment by Archived User
Hi, I’ve been living in Taiwan for 5 years and have taken a few college classes in TCM. What I believe is that coconut water is more on the cooling side, but the meat and milk/cream of the coconut is more on the warming side. (Think dried coconut flakes and coconut curry soup… yum)