Learn about the nutritional content of coconut macaroons — cookies made of shredded coconut, egg whites, cream of tartar, condensed milk and almond extract.

A number of world cuisines, including Jamaican, Filipino, Indonesian and Indian, incorporate coconut into savory dishes as well as sweet desserts. In Thailand, which has the lowest cancer rate of all 50 countries surveyed by the National Cancer Institute, some form of coconut appears in almost every dish.

If you've got a weakness for coconut -- the tropical fruit that adds so much flavor to German chocolate icing, coconut cake and Thai coconut curry -- you might wonder if it's good or bad for you. The fact is, nutritional facts about coconut can be confusing.

Coconuts are famous for their flavorful white meat and milk. These fruits are not only delicious, but they're packed with fiber and minerals, including calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc. They also contain vitamin C and folate, an especially important nutrient during pregnancy.

Coconuts grow on tall palm trees in tropical climates. The fruit of the coconut palm, coconuts are round nuts that start life green in color and turn brown as they ripen. To eat a coconut, you must break the seed in half. Inside a ripe coconut, you'll find fresh coconut meat and coconut milk.