Even coconut milk, a trendy health conscious dairy substitute, can’t escape the food industries ongoing efforts to put mysterious additives into absolutely everything. The ingredients lists of the most common coconut milk brands now look like a chemistry lab report. It doesn’t have to be this way. If you are lactose-intolerant or otherwise avoiding dairy, you don’t have to settle for unnatural ingredients with limited health data, there are some good options for coconut milk without additives like carrageenan and guar gum. Below I’ve put together the best coconut milk brands that eschew additives and other dubious ingredients.
Ingredients I Avoid
Coconut milk is a staple in many homes so it’s important to opt for a brand with only quality, natural ingredients. Here are some common additives in coconut milk that I recommend avoiding:
Carrageenan: emulsifier; Gut irritant that has been linked to cancer, GI distress, and general inflammation [1]
Gums (Acacia, Gellan, Xanthan, Locust Bean, Carob Bean, Guar, Tara): emulsifiers; Gut irritants causing gas, bloating, inflammation [2]
These are not essential ingredients of coconut milk and are only added as cheap fillers. The brands listed below do not contain any of them.
Best Additive-free Coconut Milk Brands
While it’s relatively easy to find coconut milk without carrageenan– most brands do not use it, it’s almost impossible to find ones without guar gum. After scouring the web for ingredient info on all of the coconut milk brands I could find, only these two below proved to be free of guar gum.
Native Forest
Edward and Son’s Nature Forest line was the first to sell a guar gum free coconut milk. Be careful though as some of their coconut milk products, including the “Classic” and “Premium” lines, do contain guar gum. The can labeled “Simple” is the only one that doesn’t use guar gum and will say “No Guar” on the can as shown in the above picture.
Ingredients: Organic Coconut Milk (Organic Coconut, Filtered Water)
Thrive Market
I was pleasantly surprised that Thrive Market’s house brand of coconut milk is the only other brand besides Native Forest that doesn’t include additives. Only available on Thrive Market.
Ingredients: Water, Organic Coconut Extract
Sources
- https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/carrageenan#side-effects
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6683227/
