Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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We bought a coconut at the grocery store today - well, my 11-yr-old daughter did. I didn't pay too much attention just supervised the drilling of the shell at home. Turns out, there was an almost invisible crack on the 'nut already, and not only was the thing devoid of a single drop of coconut 'milk', the flesh inside was covered with mold. Beyond her disappointment, my daughter is worried because she probably inhaled some of the mold in the process (she tried to 'drink' it through a straw before she realized it was 'empty'!). I'm told her not to worry, but to let me know if she had ANY coughing, sore throat, headache, etc.

Other than some lab tests on a sample of the stuff, is there anyway to find out if she's inhaled something toxic?

flag	asked Mar 14 2012 at 22:05 VJH 11●1●2

	I've drank a few sips of soured coconut water out of moldy coconuts on several occasions. I have never experienced any symptoms from it. – raney Mar 15 2012 at 3:54
	Not to complain, but every time I see your question I hear THAT GOOFY SONG in my head. (LOL) – Nance Mar 16 2012 at 2:13

Soul · Answer 1 · 2012-03-15 03:04:43Z UTC

Are you talking about a young coconut or a mature coconut? Coconuts are filled with water so you would not find milk in there. When you grate the meat and blend it with water and strain the resulting liquid from pulp, that is what's called "coconut milk". Usually Asian stores have two "kinds" of young coconut. One is the most common where they shave the green outer layer leaving white "top shaped" coconut which is usually sprayed with alot of chemicals(formaldehyde I think), and the other is the young coconut without the outer green layer shaved off. I would'nt worry too much about the mold. If what you are talking about is a mature coconut, next time shake it at the store to see if theres alot of liquid inside (or if there isn't) and you should be able to tell which one is too ripe(with no liquid). Choose a coconut with alot of liquid inside. Make sure there are no cracks and check the "eyes" if they are wet. Well hope this helps you out.

Jen · Answer 2 · 2012-03-14 22:09:31Z UTC

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What color was the mold?

answered Mar 14 2012 at 22:09

Jen
586●1●5

Todd · Answer 3 · 2012-03-14 22:56:07Z UTC

I've stumbled across bad ones before. Each time the inside was purple and smelled foul. Luckily I only blindly ate/drank the water once. Outside the dreadful taste, I didn't get sick.

After throwing away quite a few, I always check the bottom of the coconuts for purple-toned cracks. It's not a perfect system, but has cut down the bad ones dramatically.

Vjh · Answer 4 · 2012-03-16 01:53:54Z UTC

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Thanks! It was black and white mold, and it was a mature coconut. She seems fine so far, and from now on we're shaking all coconuts! :-)

answered Mar 16 2012 at 1:53

Vjh
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Who put the MOLD in the coconut? (Or, why you should ALWAYS shake it first!)

4 Answers