Best "sports" drink is water.

Zico is from concentrate and really not worth the money. If you want legit good coconut water, I suggest springing for Vita Coco. They're the same price but a huge difference in taste and quality.

Vivienne's answer is right on point.

I stay away from sugar in general, but I do love the taste of coconut water. I wouldn't ever have it as more than an occasional indulgence though. Leaving aside the science of how much sugar is too much (from reading Conditioning Research, my understanding is the answer is "almost any"), our ancestral environment had very, very few sources of sugars. Fruits were not bred to their current levels of sweetness and (except in the jungle) are very seasonal. About the only "natural" source would have been wild honey, which is prized by hunter-gatherers worldwide but obviously is not that plentiful. So, drink your Zico, just not much more frequently than you would eat wild honey if you had to pull it out of an active hive by yourself.

It does contain a fair amount of sugar. You can actually ferment this out if you have water kefir grains. I bought some on ebay and fermented the water from young thai coconuts...which are like Zico, but sometimes cheaper and non pasteurized so it often has a better flavor...plus you get some delicious jelly too.

If you are interested in natural water, check out Find A Spring. Some are free!

I definitely agree with Marcie, Vita Coco is the way to go. Best taste by far!

I do NOT like Zico- I drink a LOT of coconut water and Vita Coco is the only one to buy. Water is fine for sports but coconut water is great drink when you want something other than water. If it is only about dollars and cents- gather rain water in a pail.

Then again - there is the philly standby- PICKLE JUICE after a good sweat

I bought a new one yesterday Amy & Brian's Coconut Juice - just young coconut juice and it comes with the pulp or without. Grabbed the one with pulp and.. its GOOD! All the other coconut drinks skeeve me out.. a little slimy and tasting kind of like raw meat. I think it was around $2 for a 17.5oz can. Will get again for sure but more than likely only drink on those day's when my WOD's are particularly intense.

Hmmm, let's do the math: ZICO coconut water, 16 cents per ounce; generic bottled water, 1 cent per ounce; filtered tap water, less than 1 cent per ounce. To me, its price point makes coconut water a luxury item, not an everyday "thirst quencher."

I think someone needs to delete the vita coca spammers from this question... It's so blatant it's almost funny

I think everyone missing the point Here. When asking the question"is tap water better for you than drinking coconut water?" My first question would be how much poisonous flouride is in your tap water. Seems like everyone is so hung up on sugar. Let's not forget that when anything unnaturally introduced to things as simple as water or coconut water. We should be asking ourselves why would you have to add anything at all?

I have experimented with various electrolyte sources for the past 5 years using them during intense personal training (combination of cardio and weights). I would avoid Gatordade, Powerade and the like because of artificial colors, sweeteners, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, etc.

I used Vita Coco, One and Zico coconut drinks for 3 years (like Vita Coco the best of them) but once I weaned off sugars/sweeteners in Paleo/Primal I found them too sweet. After having tasted real green coconut water in various tropical regions - Central America, Asia, etc. I am convinced that the commercial coconut waters sold in the USA (and maybe other countries) are too sweet. Perhaps they are using a sweeter breed of coconut and/or they have concentrated the sugars and dehydrated the water portion to make them sweeter to cater them to the American palate. Or maybe green coconut water is less sweet than brown coconut water (not exactly sure).

The green coconuts also have a white fleshy, fatty part that is very tasty when scooped out after drinking the water. I have seen monkeys do this (maybe they like the lauric acid too)!

My personal trainer said real coconut water (one that you'd cut open) is similar to IV saline and electrolyte fluids used in the hospital and can be the best electrolyte.

Owater Lemon-Lime Electrolyte I also used for several years (when I alternated with Vita Coco) but now find it too sweet. They also changed the formulation/taste so it has rosemary extract(why?!) and so I don't care for it anymore.

I now take 750 ml of spring water and eat a banana (has potassium and other nutrients) before or after the gym. If I really crave salt I will have homemade oven roasted potatoes sprinkled with sea salt or add extra sea salt to the protein/fat I eat afterwards.

I mean, it's the fluid from inside a coconut, and that's it, right? Or is it really "from concentrate"? If you drink this, it's a "natural" source of sugar. But it's still carbs. You'll have to give up carbs elsewhere in your diet. So that's the trade off. Do you want to drink your carbs from a commercially packaged box, or eat them from a natural, unprocessed source?

Bottom line: don't drink it because you need hydration. Drink it because for some reason that's how you want to get those carbs. (Sometimes, it might make sense to get your carbs with some fluid).

Seriously, no one is going to live off of coconut water, it's meant as an alternative from drinking water every hour of the day 7 days a week for the rest of your life(style) So, drink it from the most natural source possible, whether it's straight from young coconuts or from a bottle. Just do it...Also make your own almond milk. It's easy and delish! take two cups of almonds 1 cup of water (or so) Blend in a good blender...then strain through a nut juice bag (yes really the name) Then you can reuse the pulp left over. Win-win.

i've only had fresh young coco. water[~$1.50@wholefoods]--how does vitacoco compare to fresh? i find it too sweet unless i'm starving or had lots protein,fats &/or spices.

tartare, where can i get a deal like that?

Zico is not the best coconut water because it has additional ingredients such as citric acid--it's unhealthy. I personally drink Vita Coco because it's the only coconut water that is all natural.