Is Eating Raw Grated Coconut Good For You?

Raw, grated coconut can add texture to fruit salads and frozen desserts, and can change the flavor of exotic recipes. It contains a few essential nutrients, but coconut is not usually a healthy choice. As long as you plan for it, a small amount of raw, grated coconut may fit into a balanced diet as an occasional treat.

Saturated Fat

The most important reason why eating raw, grated coconut is not good for you may be that each cup provides 23 g saturated fat. Saturated fat raises levels of bad LDL cholesterol in your blood, which may increase your risk for heart disease, according to the Mayo Clinic. Try to keep your intake of saturated fat to no more than 7 percent to 10 percent of your total calories, or 15 g to 22 g per day on a 2,000-calorie diet.

Weight Gain

Eating raw, grated coconut is not good for you if you are trying to lose weight or prevent weight gain because it is has 283 calories in each cup. With less than 3 g protein and nearly 28 g total fat, or 252 calories from fat, coconut gets nearly 90 percent of its calories from fat. A high-calorie, high-fat diet can lead to obesity, which increases your risk for chronic diseases such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Dietary Fiber

A benefit of eating raw, grated coconut is that each cup provides 7 g dietary fiber, which is a complex carbohydrate, from plant foods, which your body cannot digest. Fiber is good for you because it lowers your cholesterol levels, may help to stabilize your blood sugar levels and may reduce your risk for constipation because it has a laxative effect, according to the Mayo Clinic. The daily value for fiber is 25 g, and most Americans only get 15 g per day.

Other Information

Each cup of raw, grated coconut provides 1.9 mg iron, or 11 percent of the daily value for this essential component in healthy red blood cells. Another healthy feature of coconut is that it may help lower your blod pressure because it has 285 mg potassium and only 16 mg sodium. However, coconut is lower in nutrients than many other plant-based foods, such as fruits, which are often high in vitamin A or C, and nuts, which provide higher amounts of vitamin E and magnesium.