Coconut water is an excellent sports drink — for light exercise

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 20, 2012 — Coconut water really does deserve its popular reputation as Mother Nature’s own sports drink, a new scientific analysis of the much-hyped natural beverage concluded here today at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

However, people who engage in strenuous exercise that involves a lot of sweat might want to take it all with a grain of salt ― literally ― or stick with a more traditional sports drink like Gatorade, said Chhandashri Bhattacharya, Ph.D. She presented a report on an analysis of coconut water to the ACS, the world’s largest scientific society, which is meeting here this week.

“Coconut water is a natural drink that has everything your average sports drink has and more,” said Bhattacharya. “It has five times more potassium than Gatorade or Powerade. Whenever you get cramps in your muscles, potassium will help you to get…