If you’ve been keeping up with the celebrities of Hollywood, you would know that the latest health fad is coconut water. Everyone from Gossip Girl’s Ed Westwick to Star Trek’s Chris Pine have been spotted around town with Vita Coco Coconut Water.

Other celebrities have invested in the coconut water company including Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman, Anthony Kiedis, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher.

While the trend is in full swing state side, it has been a popular drink for a long time in  Southeast Asia,  Hawaii, Costa Rica and Panama and the Caribbean, where it is available fresh right out of it’s shell!

Why have people around the world been consuming coconut water and why are A-list celebrities investing their time and money in it? HEALTH BENEFITS!

The benefits of coconut water are countless, as coconut water is…

Low in calories, fat-free, cholesterol-free, rich in electrolytes, loaded with potassium, natural and serves a purpose: hydration.

Specifically, an 11 ounce serving of coconut water has 60 calories and almost twice the amount of potassium than a banana!

Coconut water is also a great hangover remedy due to it’s rehydrating properties which battle the morning after headache caused by dehydration!

Because of being rich in electrolytes, coconut water is being marketed as a great alternative to sports drinks (specifically for short workouts)!

Why?

Sports drinks contain 2 of the 5 electrolytes found in human blood while coconut water naturally contains all 5.

But be warned–according to the director of sports nutrition at UC Davis, Liz Applegate, coconut water is NOT good for long strenuous physical activity because unlike sports drinks, coconut water is heavy on potassium and light on sodium.

“Even though the belief is that when you exercise you need a lot of potassium, sodium is more important,” says Applegate. “When you sweat, you lose a lot more sodium than potassium.”

You can purchase reliable brands of  coconut water (Vita Coco, Zico, Harvest Bay, etc) at…

1) Your Local Retailers (Whole Foods, GNC, Kroger)
2) Online via Amazon.com
3) Official Online Stores (e.g. Vita Coco)

With all it’s health benefits, it’s no surprise that celebrities are running around drinking coconut water. Only time will tell if this trend is here to stay, or just a fad amongst the celebrities like acai juice!