With the rise in popularity of plant-based diets, many people are looking for nutritious, great-tasting alternatives to dairy products. Coconut yogurt is a popular choice thanks to its creamy texture, but you may wonder how it stacks up nutritionally.
What are the health benefits of coconut yogurt? Does it provide other kinds of benefits? And is coconut yogurt the best dairy-free choice?
As a vegan registered dietitian, I’ll answer these questions and help you make a well-informed purchasing decision that best supports your health and personal values.
What is coconut yogurt?
Coconut yogurt is a non-dairy alternative to traditional yogurt. It’s made from coconut milk instead of cow’s milk, making it a popular choice among vegans and people following dairy-free diets.
Like dairy yogurt, coconut yogurt contains live and active cultures of gut-friendly bacteria, making it an excellent source of probiotics. These probiotics are often added after the coconut milk is fermented and pasteurized to kill any harmful microorganisms that may be present.
Benefits of coconut yogurt
1. Contains probiotics
Like dairy yogurt, coconut yogurt is a fermented product. While both beneficial and harmful bacteria are killed off during the pasteurization process, live & active cultures are added back in after pasteurization.
This makes coconut yogurt a great source of probiotic bacteria, which can:
- Promote the growth of beneficial bacteria, optimizing the gut microbiome
- Strengthen the gut lining
- Reduce intestinal inflammation
- Support a healthy immune system
- Reduce the growth of pro-inflammatory gut bacteria
RELATED: 10 Vegan Probiotic Foods for Better Health
2. Dairy-free
Coconut yogurt is dairy-free, making it a safe choice for vegans and people following dairy-free diets or who are lactose intolerant.
Considering the negative impacts of dairy on the environment, coconut yogurt is a more sustainable choice for the planet.
And since the dairy industry often employs harmful tactics like tail docking and separating baby calves from their mothers, coconut yogurt is a better choice for supporting animal welfare.
3. Good source of vitamins & minerals (if fortified)
Coconut yogurt can be a great source of bone-friendly calcium, vitamin B12, and vitamin D if the brand chooses to fortify the product with these micronutrients. Not all brands choose to do this, however, so it’s important to check the nutrition facts label.
Highlighting this variability, a 2021 study published in the journal Nutrients1 found that out of 249 non-dairy yogurts (including 79 coconut-based products), only 45% were fortified with 10% of daily value (DV) for calcium. Additionally, only one in five had adequate vitamin D and B12 fortification at the 10% DV level.
I’ve included the nutrition content of multiple popular brands below so you can easily compare the differences between them:
As you can see, Siggi’s and Cocojune don’t fortify their plant-based yogurts with calcium, vitamin D, or vitamin B12. So Delicious adds all three, while HEB Higher Harvest only adds vitamin D, highlighting the high degree of variability between brands.
Disadvantages of coconut yogurt
1. May be low in protein
Coconut milk isn’t a great source of protein, so coconut yogurt usually contains only 2 grams of protein or less. This may not be much of an issue if you already get enough protein elsewhere in your diet, but it’s important to be aware of.
If you’re looking for non-dairy yogurt higher in protein, look for soy yogurt or non-dairy yogurt that has been fortified with additional protein.
2. May be high in added sugars
Many non-dairy yogurts are high in added sugars, and coconut yogurt is no exception.
A small amount of added sugars throughout the day isn’t going to cause problems for most people, but too many added sugars can provide unnecessary calories and displace nutrient-dense foods from the diet.
They can also make it difficult for people with type 2 diabetes to manage their blood sugar levels.
Look for unsweetened varieties and add flavor through fresh or frozen fruit or a light drizzle of maple syrup. When choosing between sweetened yogurts, try looking for one with 10 or less grams of added sugar per serving, and be mindful of how many other added sugars you’re getting throughout the day.
3. Higher in saturated fat
Coconut milk is known for its high saturated fat content, so it shouldn’t be surprising that coconut yogurt can be high in saturated fat as well. Depending on the brand, one serving can provide anywhere from 20% to 75% of the recommended daily value limit for saturated fat.
This may not pose an issue for many vegans considering that plant-based diets tend to be much lower in saturated fat, but it’s something to be mindful of.
Now, it’s true that some of the saturated fats in coconut are medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). MCTs are easier for the body to absorb and use quickly for energy, meaning they’re less likely to be stored as fat in the body compared to long-chain saturated fats.
There are three main types of MCTs in coconut: caprylic acid, capric acid, and lauric acid.
Caprylic and capric acids only make up about 17% of the fats in coconut oil2. The rest are primarily lauric acid, which is technically an MCT but acts more like a regular long-chain saturated fat in the body.
So while coconut does contain some MCTs, I don’t think it quite deserves the health halo that many people have attributed to it.
If you already eat a lot of other plant-based foods rich in saturated fat, such as certain meat alternatives, coconut milk ice cream, or coconut oil, choosing yogurt made from soy milk, almond milk, or a blend of coconut and other non-dairy milks may be a better choice for your metabolic health.
Summary
Coconut yogurt is a delicious vegan yogurt alternative that can provide valuable nutrients like calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin B12, depending on the brand. As a dairy-free product, coconut yogurt is also better for the environment than dairy yogurt and is a better choice for supporting animal welfare.
Keep in mind that some brands are low in protein and high in added sugars and saturated fat, so it’s important to compare nutrition labels to see which product best fits your health needs.
Interested in learning more about non-dairy alternatives? Check out A Vegan Dietitian’s Guide to Non-Dairy Milk!
The scientific information in this article was accurate at the time of publishing but may change over time as new research becomes available.
References
- Craig WJ, Brothers CJ. Nutritional Content and Health Profile of Non-Dairy Plant-Based Yogurt Alternatives. Nutrients. 2021;13(11):4069. Published 2021 Nov 14. doi:10.3390/nu13114069
- Eyres L, Eyres MF, Chisholm A, Brown RC. Coconut oil consumption and cardiovascular risk factors in humans. Nutr Rev. 2016;74(4):267-280. doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuw002
