When coconut water broke into the American market 10 years ago, it was billed as a miracle drink able to fight viruses, kidney disease and other ailments like osteoporosis. Global sales now reach $400 million a year, and many consumers believe that the beverage has a wide variety of health benefits. But they may be unaware that the drink's marketers have sharply scaled back their claims.

十年前，椰汁打入美国市场时被宣传成是能抵抗病毒、治疗肾病和其他像骨质疏松这样的小恙的神奇饮料。而今它的全球年销售额达4亿美元，很多消费者认为这种饮料有多种保健作用。但是他们可能没有察觉到，卖家们急剧降低了这样的宣传。

Young and Green

幼嫩，绿色

Not to be confused with coconut milk (the milky-white liquid made from coconut meat), coconut water is the clear fluid from young, still-green coconuts, packaged in angular Tetra Paks, as well as in bottles and faux coconut shells.

不要把椰奶和椰汁混为一谈。椰奶是用椰肉做成的乳白色液体；椰汁是幼嫩的绿色椰子里的透明液体，装在有棱角的利乐包、瓶子或假椰壳里。

An Acquired Taste

后天养成的嗜好

The flavor is an unusual mix of salty and sweet. The typical coconut water has 30 to 70 milligrams of sodium and 9 to 12 grams of sugar per 11.2-ounce container — saltier but much less sweet than most fruit juices. The same amount of apple juice has 10 milligrams of sodium and three times as much sugar: 33 grams.

椰汁的味道很奇特，是咸味和甜味的结合。常见的一盒11.2盎司的椰汁中含30至70毫克钠、9至12克糖——比大多数果汁咸，远没有大多数果汁甜。等量的苹果汁含10毫克纳和33克糖——是椰汁糖分含量的三倍。

Essential Elements

基本成分

The minerals in coconut water are what prompted the early claims of curative power, but their amounts are quite modest and they are widely found in other foods. A banana, for example, has 422 milligrams of potassium, compared with 660 milligrams in a typical container of coconut water. The water's big three minerals are potassium (19 percent of the daily recommended intake), calcium (4 percent) and magnesium (4 percent).

最初的宣传称，椰汁中的矿物质有治疗作用，但是它们的含量很小，而且在其他食物中也广泛存在。比如，一根香蕉含422毫克钾，一盒常见的椰汁含660毫克钾。椰汁含有的三大矿物质是钾（占每日推荐摄入量的19%），钙（4%）和镁（4%）。

A Sports Loss

与运动饮料相比

Vita Coco, a leading brand, once boasted that it had 15 times the electrolytes — substances like sodium and potassium that are lost in sweat — in sports drinks. Then a 2011 class-action lawsuit contended that some of the mineral sums on its packages were exaggerated; as part of a settlement, Vita Coco agreed to stop saying that it rehydrated better than sports drinks. "We don't try to compare ourselves to much of anything anymore," said Arthur Gallego, the company's publicist.

Vita Coco是椰汁领导品牌，它曾吹嘘说它的椰汁中的电解质含量是运动饮料的15倍。电解质指的是出汗时流失的钠和钾等物质。2011年的一场集体诉讼声称，该公司的椰汁包装上的一些矿物质含量被夸大了；作为一项和解条件，Vita Coco公司同意不再说它比运动饮料更能补水。“我们不再试图把自己与其他大部分饮料相比较，”该公司的公关亚瑟·加莱戈(Arthur Gallego)说。

One Last Comparison

最后一项比较

These days, coconut water's big rival may be plain old water. How do they compare? Scientists are still wrestling with the question, and while their findings vary, water is starting to look just fine for most people. A 2012 study (funded by Vita Coco) in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that neither coconut water nor sports drinks were better than water in hydrating young men after hourlong workouts.

如今，椰汁最大的对手可能是普通的水。它们比较起来又如何呢？科学家们仍在争论这个问题，虽然他们的研究结果不太一样，但是对大部分人来说，喝水就够了。2012年一项发表在国际运动营养协会学刊(Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition)上的研究（由Vita Coco公司资助）发现，年轻男子在一小时的锻炼之后，椰汁和运动饮料的补水效果并不比水更好。

So What's the Appeal?

那么它的吸引力是什么？

Coconut water taps into a "deep consumer vein," Tom Pirko, a beverage industry analyst, wrote in an email. "It is not seen as a ‘manufactured' concoction, but rather the issue of Mother Earth." And it seems poised to become just the first in a wave of natural waters; already for sale are bottled waters from maple and birch trees, barley, cactus and artichokes, with their own exuberant promotions.

饮料行业分析师汤姆·珀克(Tom Pirko)在邮件中说，椰汁进入了“消费者的血液深处”，“人们不认为它是‘加工出来的'混合物，而是大地母亲的汁液”。它似乎以自然之水浪潮中的第一位而泰然自居；其他在售的还有枫树、桦树、大麦、仙人掌和洋蓟的瓶装汁液，各自都有华丽的宣传。

More Than a Drink

不只是饮料
Meanwhile, coconut water flows on. Best-selling cookbooks are using it as an additive in soups and smoothies. And it's not just for drinking: Dial has released a soap and a body wash that use coconut water as a hydrating agent — and as a powerful image on the package.

与此同时，椰汁还有其他用途。最畅销的食谱把它用作汤和冰沙的调味剂。它不只可以用来喝：Dial公司推出了用椰汁做保湿剂的香皂和浴液——其包装盒上醒目地点出这一成分。