These two coconut-derived beverages are often confused with each other, but they couldn’t be more different from a nutritional standpoint. Coconut water is a clear liquid extracted from the center of young, green coconuts, whereas coconut milk is a thick, white fluid produced by pressing and straining the fleshy “meat” of the coconut. Despite having a slightly higher protein content, coconut milk taps out right away with a whopping 552 calories and 57 grams of fat per cup, compared with 46 calories and 0.5g of fat in coconut water. And 479 of those coconut milk calories come from fat, including 254% of your daily value for saturated fat! Coconut water, meanwhile, has such a perfect ratio of the electrolytes sodium and potassium that it was occasionally used for intravenous hydration infusions in World War II and is today considered a natural energy drink.
