Yes to pure coco water!

MANILA, Philippines - Call me obsessed, but I’m a health buff. I’m up at 5 a.m. for my run — I’m training for a marathon this month, but I switch my routine to include CrossFit and Zumba. It’s crazy, I know — but if illness runs in your family, you get an early wake-up call to start taking care of your body. My mom has diabetes, and my dad has hypertension. Every day I see them deal with their problems and it becomes a reminder that I only have one body and I should take care of it.

I’m very careful with what goes into my body, too. I try to eat organic, stay away from red meat, and have lots of fruits and vegetables. To help me hydrate during my intense workouts, I’ve always relied on a sports drink, because it promised me boundless energy — until I realized one day that the energy came from sugar.

So my mission: Find an alternative. A quick trip to the supermarket and 30 minutes of reading nutritional facts revealed dozens of options, but I found that the best option was definitely buko juice, or as it is being called nowadays — coconut water. It is one of the highest sources of electrolytes, and yet it has zero fat, zero cholesterol, low calories and almost negligible sugar! 

Trivia: Some of the fittest Hollywood celebrities are reportedly in on the coconut craze as well: Madonna, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, Gisele Bundchen, Anne Hathaway!

But not all coco water products are created equal. Some are pumped up with sugar and additives to create a sweeter taste. Commercialism trumps nutrition again.

While I would love to climb a tree to get fresh buko for myself, there are no coconut trees where I live nor any coconut vendors around.  If I were to get my regular coconut water fix I would have to get it at our community supermarket! 

While I was checking out the coconut water section, I saw it… Nyogi. I picked it up because it sounded just like the punong niyog. And I’m glad I did: Nyogi tasted just like pure coconut water — that’s right, 100 percent pure coconut water.

On the side of their packaging it says, “Join the Coconut Rehydration Movement.” 

Reading up, here’s what I learned: Nyogi comes from the best buko in the world — that’s right, the Philippines! Hollywood celebrities reportedly pay a premium for a bottle of coco water that’s imported from other countries all over the world. I don’t know whether what they have over there is pure coconut water, but there is no fooling Filipinos on the subject of coconuts! I like Nyogi because it really has that real buko juice taste, as I know it. No sugar added, and no preservatives. 

The ingredients tells it all: Just pure coconut water — straight from the tree!