What are Coconut Aminos?

If you enjoy preparing traditional Asian cuisine, but are gluten-free or are following the Whole30 or Paleo diet – you likely have a love/hate relationship with soy sauce.

While tasty, soy sauce does have a few downsides. For starters, soy sauce contributes to high-blood pressure due to its high levels of sodium. Additionally, there are concerns with chemical soy sauce production, which is cheaper and quicker than the traditional way of making soy sauce and can potentially contain toxic compounds and cancer-causing substances.

An increasingly popular alternative, coconut aminos, have entered the scene for those who are looking to reduce salt, avoid gluten, eliminate soy, or just use a healthier substitute.

While coconut aminos may make a great soy sauce alternative, what’s all the buzz about? Here’s why coconut aminos are amazing:

Reduced Sodium Levels: Coconut aminos have 73% less sodium than soy sauce with 90 milligrams (mg) of sodium per teaspoon (5 ml) compared to traditional soy sauce which contains about 280 mg of sodium in the same serving size. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,300 mg a day of sodium. With this in mind, you can easily stay within the healthy range of sodium intake by using coconut aminos instead of soy sauce.

Natural Ingredients: Traditional soy sauce contains soy and wheat, two of the eight most common food allergens, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). With two simple ingredients, coconut aminos offer flavorful simplicity without the potentially negative side effects. Made from the fermented sap of coconut palm and sea salt, coconut aminos are contrived from tapping the unopened flowers of a coconut tree, then fermenting the resulting nectar with a little bit of added salt.

Health Benefits: Thanks to a lack of additives, such as MSG, GMOs and phytoestrogen and phytic acid, there is a reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes, and colon cancer when using coconut aminos over soy sauce. It is a low-glycemic, vegan, and gluten-free alternative with 17 amino acids. Further, research suggests that coconut aminos can aid in weight loss, immune system support and promote mental health.

If these reasons aren’t convincing enough, just wait until you taste the difference for yourself. Soy sauce at times can be overpowering. Alternatively, coconut aminos don’t take away from the main dish and instead work collaboratively to complement flavors versus dominating them.

Whether used as a sauce, marinade, seasoning or dressing, cooking with coconut aminos is easy, tasty and healthy!