Soy sauce is a popular staple that adds a salty and umami flavor to our food. But, if you love to add soy sauce to dishes or use it for dipping dumplings and sushis, there is another healthier alternative condiment your dietitian loves!
Coconut aminos is a healthy substitute for overly salty soy sauce. It is a dark sauce with a thin consistency that tastes similar to soy sauce but has a sweet aftertaste. But how is coconut aminos a healthier substitute, and what are its benefits? Let us learn more about the health secrets of coconut.
What Are Coconut Aminos?
Coconut aminos come from coconut sap. Therefore it is packed with vital nutrients, minerals, and vitamins. Moreover, it has a low glycemic index, making it an ideal soy sauce substitute for people with diabetes.
Coconut aminos are also an excellent source of amino acids. Young flowers’ coconut sap or nectar is aged and infused with sea salt to make coconut aminos.
It is then fermented with salt through an all-organic process. Since it doesn’t use additives or preservatives, coconut aminos are a healthy substitute for soy sauce.
Benefits of Coconut Aminos
Coconut aminos have numerous health benefits as it comes from pure coconut sap. Moreover, coconut aminos has a low sodium content which is vital for keeping blood pressure levels in check. Here are the many benefits of coconut aminos.
Amino Acid Content
Amino acids are responsible for making up the protein in your body. They are also vital for hormone synthesis and regulating the body’s immune system.
Coconut aminos has 17 essential and non-essential aminos. Therefore, this amino acid-rich soy-sauce alternative provides your body with the vital building blocks of protein.
Real-Food Condiment
Coconut aminos only contains two ingredients: sea salt and coconut sap. In contrast, other sauces contain numerous additives, artificial flavorings, MSG, chemical preservatives, thickening agents, and added sugar.
These chemical agents and artificial food flavoring are unhealthy for our bodies. Therefore, we should use healthier substitutes such as coconut amino, a simple and clean condiment made from whole-food ingredients.
Low-Sodium Alternative
A high sodium diet is detrimental to our health as it has a negative impact on our blood pressure. Soy sauce contains 73% more sodium than coconut aminos. If you’re looking for a healthier alternative, coconut aminos is the perfect condiment with low sodium content.
Organic coconut aminos help say goodbye to artificial flavorings and sauces with high sodium content. Moreover, coconut aminos has a natural taste.
Since a diet high in sodium harms our heart health, coconut aminos can help lower our sodium intake and improve heart health.
However, there isn’t much research regarding coconut aminos on your heart health except that it lowers your sodium intake when you substitute soy sauce with coconut aminos.
Allergy-Friendly Substitute
Wheat and soy are two of the most common food allergies. Coconut aminos is a more allergy-friendly substitute as it does not contain gluten or soy.
It has a similar taste to soy sauce. Thus it provides the same taste and flavor to your dishes without putting you at risk for an allergic reaction.
Soy-Free, Grain-Free, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free
Coconut aminos is an allergens-friendly alternative to many products as it is grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free.
It also does not contain any nuts. Therefore, people with allergies can safely consume coconut aminos without having an allergic reaction.
Since coconut aminos only contains salt and coconut sap, it is a healthy substitute for soy, gluten, nuts, dairy, and other allergens.
MSG and Gluten-Free Alternative
Soy sauce contains monosodium glutamate, also called MSG. MSG exacerbates migraines and increases blood pressure.
It also has various other negative impacts on our bodies. Coconut aminos is an MSG-free condiment. Thus, it is a safer and healthier MSG-free alternative to soy sauce and other seasonings that have preservatives and additives.
People with celiac disease cannot digest gluten as it has severe consequences. In this scenario, Coconut aminos work as an excellent alternative condiment.
Great Flavor
There is a widespread belief that coconut aminos taste like coconut. However, this is false. Coconut aminos is a dark brown, thin, and salty liquid with a mild sweetness. It tastes similar to a mild soy sauce with low sodium content.
Since coconut nectar is aged and fermented with salt, it tastes nothing like coconut as it has its unique flavor. Thus it’s a mild savory sauce with a mild buttery aftertaste.
You can use coconut aminos in various recipes or as a dipping sauce for sushi and dumplings.
Boosts Probiotics Digestion
Fermented foods such as yogurt, kimchi, kefir, and coconut aminos can improve your gut health by increasing the gut bacterial content.
Coconut aminos boost probiotic digestion by providing the gut flora with more good bacteria. Good gut bacteria aid digestion and decrease the symptoms of food allergies.
Moreover, fungal infection candidiasis results from the overgrowth of bacteria in our gut. Therefore, it causes numerous symptoms, including gas, nausea, bloating, and diarrhea.
Coconut aminos contain lactobacillus, which inhibits the fungal candida Albicans, reducing the overgrowth of fungus.
How to Use Coconut Aminos
There are various ways to use coconut aminos. You can use it as an alternative to soy sauce in every recipe. The liquid aminos has a slightly less salty taste as it is sweeter than soy sauce.
But coconut aminos will only have a bitter aftertaste when you use it in recipes. Here are the numerous ways of using coconut aminos.
- Additional flavor for soups, sauces, and salads
- Dipping sauce for egg rolls, wontons, and sushi
- Flavoring for vegetables, noodles, and rice
- Marinade for chicken, fish, or any meat of choice
You can use coconut aminos with any dish that uses soy sauce as a flavoring. But coconut aminos is a healthier alternative as it has low-sodium content and does not produce any allergic reaction.
Final Words
Coconut aminos is a natural whole food ingredient with no reported adverse side effects. It also doesn’t have the risk of allergies.
Therefore, it is a much safer and healthier alternative to soy sauce. Moreover, coconut aminos does not have any interactions with medications. Thus, it is safe to consume. Also, read this article about coconut oil and see how it is different from coconut aminos.
