Do you love Asian food and yet control your cravings due to the risks associated with soy sauce? Thankfully, you can now enjoy your favorite dish without compromising with your health as well as the taste, thanks to Braggs coconut aminos. Coconut aminos are a great alternative to sodium-rich, genetically-modified soy sauce. Further, if you are allergic to soy sauce, coconut aminos can let you indulge in Asian food without bothering about the allergic reactions. In this blog, we will be discussing the coconut aminos nutrition and how it is better than soy and other liquid aminos.

What is Coconut Amino?

Coconut amino is a salty sauce made from the nectar of coconut blossom, which is popularly known as coconut sap. The sauce is made from the nectar of unopened blossoms and then, it is fermented using a little salt. Coconut amino has similar color and consistency as light soy sauce. The taste is also almost similar, making it a perfect substitute for people who are allergic to soy or do not want to consume it for health related issues. It is not as rich as the soy sauce  and has a mildly sweet flavour. Yet, it doesn’t taste anything like coconut.

Coconut aminos keto sauce is perfect for people who are on keto diet or who are trying to reduce their sodium intake. As mentioned above, the conventional soy sauce contains about 280 mg of sodium, whereas the same serving of coconut aminos nutrition value of sodium is just 90 mg. (1) (2) Further, it is soy-free, wheat-free, and gluten-free, which means you are less likely to suffer from any form of allergies.

Although being a healthy alternative to soy sauce, coconut aminos nutrition is very insignificant. A lot of websites claim that coconut aminos are rich sources of a wide variety of nutrients. The truth however,is that all these websites attribute the sources and studies that are conducted on coconut and not on the aminos. As of now, no specific study has been conducted to prove coconut aminos nutrition and health benefits. This doesn’t mean that it is just a waste of money. It’s just that you must not expect it to be a highly nutritious product.

Coconut Aminos Varieties

As of now, there are only two reliable companies that are manufacturing coconut aminos. They are Coconut Secret and Bragg. Although the only ingredient in coconut amino is coconut blossom sap, there is a lot of difference between the products of these two companies. Coconut Secret has adopted a very simple and authentic method. The coconut flowers are cut to collect the sap, which is then fermented with slight salt. The final product you get after fermentation is the coconut amino keto sauce. As obvious, it doesn’t contain any additive or preservatives. Braggs coconut aminos is not fermented. Rather, it is an unfermented amino sauce with coconut tree sap, distilled water, salt, and apple cider vinegar as it’s main ingredients.

Coconut Secret Coconut Aminos

Bragg Coconut Aminos, All Purpose Seasoning

Benefits of Coconut Aminos

• All coconut aminos including Braggs coconut aminos are suitable for people with allergies.
• Liquid amino nutrition states that it has high quantity of sodium whereas, coconut aminos nutrition has approximately 70% less sodium than soy sauce and other alternatives.
• It is gluten free.
• Although being slightly sweet in taste, all coconut aminos including Braggs coconut aminos have a low GI scale i.e. it won’t spike your blood sugar. This is why it is suitable for people who are diabetic or want to reduce their sugar intake.
• Bacteria or yeast is not used for fermenting the sap. This means it is MSG free too.
• A lot of people claim that coconut aminos nutrition is very much similar to other coconut products. So, it is highly nutritious. It can prevent kidney diseases, prostrate cancer, and all other diseases that coconut can. However, as mentioned above, no studies have proven this so far.
• Braggs coconut aminos as well as Coconut Secret amino sauce are alkaline in nature.

Side Effects of Coconut Aminos

As mentioned above, coconut sap and salt are the only ingredients used for making this sauce, which means it is pretty safe for use. No side effects have been reported so far. So, unless you are allergic to coconut, you can use it safely.

Some people have reported that it has a slightly sweet, muted taste compared to soy sauce. When used for culinary purposes, it doesn’t really serve its purpose. This, however, depends on personal preferences as many others have reported that they are very happy with it.

Now that we have learnt almost everything  about coconut aminos nutrition, let’s learn about liquid aminos and liquid aminos nutrition.

What is Liquid Amino?

There is a lot of difference between liquid aminos nutrition and coconut aminos nutrition. Liquid aminos sauce are made of soybeans by treating them with an acidic chemical. The chemical breaks down the soy protein into amino acids, which is then treated with sodium bicarbonate to neutralize it. Liquid aminos look just like soy sauce. It also has a very unique savory taste like conventional soy sauce. It is rich in sodium, so it is not suitable for  people who need to reduce their sodium intake. However, liquid aminos nutrition is different than soy and is completely gluten-free.

Bragg liquid aminos Paleo sauce is the most popular product amino product. Braggs has been manufacturing healthy food alternatives for more than 100 years.

Benefits of Liquid Aminos

• As mentioned above, it looks and tastes exactly like soy sauce, making it the perfect alternative to soy.
• It has less sodium than soy sauce. However, the sodium content is still high and not suitable for people who are on low sodium diet.
• Liquid aminos nutrition is derived from legumes and therefore, it is packed with 16 amino acids, which are extremely important for our body.
• It is a chemical-free, healthier alternative of soy sauce.
• It is a non GMO product.
• It is gluten-free and therefore, it is suitable for people suffering from gluten allergy.
• Liquid aminos do not contain any artificial coloring, alcohol, or preservatives.

Side Effects of Liquid Aminos

As of now, no major side effects have been reported so far. However, as mentioned above, although it has low sodium content as compared to soy sauce, the sodium percentage is still high and not suitable for people who are on low sodium diet. Further, it is not suitable for people who are allergic to soybeans.

Coconut Aminos vs Liquid Aminos

Coconut aminos nutrition is decidedly better than liquid aminos nutrition. Although both of them have low sodium content, coconut one has far less salty than the liquid aminos.

Another reason why coconut is a winner when it comes to choosing coconut aminos vs liquid aminos is that it is MSG free. Liquid aminos are made by fermenting soybeans.
This fermentation process produces MSG, which, when consumed regularly, can damage the brain cells. (3)

Some studies have shown that MSG can cause obesity, liver diseases, high blood pressure, and other diseases. This is the reason why when we compare liquid aminos vs coconut aminos, the coconut variety obviously gets more points.

Another major difference between coconut aminos and liquid aminos is that the coconut ones rarely cause any allergic reaction whereas, many people are allergic to soybeans.

The only thing that coconut aminos lack is a very strong savory taste. Liquid aminos taste very similarly to soy sauce whereas, coconut ones have a slightly sweet taste. However, a lot of people like it tastes more than the liquid and the soy ones. It depends on one’s personal preference and taste.

We hope we have provided you a detailed analysis of coconut aminos vs liquid aminos. For more such helpful information, please keep reading our blog.

References and Citations

1- (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/321896

2- (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/341903

3-MSG Side Effects and How to Avoid Them. Retrieved from https://universityhealthnews.com/daily/nutrition/7-alarming-msg-side-effects/