Coconut Water: Not So Magically Healthy After All?

It's been touted as Mother Nature's Gatorade, but the über-trendy coconut water may not be all it's cracked up to be. ConsumerLab.com tested three leading brands, and only one contained what it actually said it did. The trouble seems to lie in the beverages' sodium and magnesium quantities: These electrolytes form the basis of the drink's rehydration claims. But the test revealed that in the Vita Coco and ONE brands, there was as much as 82% less sodium than advertised, and as much as 35% less magnesium.

CNN reports that Zico Natural did deliver its promised levels of the two ingredients. What's an athlete to do? "Drink water and get sodium and potassium from foods like bananas or almond butter," writes MB Quirk for the Consumerist. Still, coconut water tops a "Big Gulp of soda or another sports drink, so if you're hankering for a little something liquidy and sweet, by all means, drink up." (More coconut water stories.)