Benefits of dragon fruit for skin
What Is Dragon Fruit?
Dragon fruit is a food that grows on a climbing cactus called hylocereus, which you’ll find in tropical regions around the world. The plant’s name comes from the Greek word “hyle,” which means “woody,” and the Latin word “cereus,” which means “waxen.”
On the outside, the fruit has the appearance of a hot pink or yellow bulb with spike-like green leaves shooting up like flames around it. Cut it open, and you’ll find fleshy white stuff inside dotted with black seeds that are OK to eat.
This fruit comes in red- and yellow-skinned varieties. The cactus originally grew in southern Mexico and South and Central America. The French brought it to Southeast Asia in the early 19th century.
Central Americans call it “pitaya.” In Asia, it’s a “strawberry pear.” Today, you can buy dragon fruit throughout the U.S.
Dragon fruit is juicy with a slightly sweet taste that some describe as a cross between a kiwi, a pear, and a watermelon. The seeds have a nutty flavor.Dragon Fruit Nutrition
In one 6-ounce serving of dragon fruit cubes, you’ll get:
- Calories: 102
- Fat: 0 grams
- Protein: 2 grams
- Carbohydrates: 22 grams
- Fiber: 5 grams
- Sugars: 13 grams
You’ll also get these vitamins and minerals:
Dragon Fruit Health Benefits
Dragon fruit has many potential health benefits, including:
- It’s rich in antioxidants like flavonoids, phenolic acid, and betacyanin. These natural substances protect your cells from damage by free radicals — molecules that can lead to diseases like cancer and premature aging.It’s naturally fat-free and high in fiber.
- It makes for a good snack because it can help keep you full for longer between meals.It may help lower your blood sugar. Researchers say this might be partly because it replaces damaged cells in your pancreas that make insulin, the hormone that helps your body break down sugar. But the studies were done on mice, not people.
- It’s unclear just how much dragon fruit you’d have to eat to get these benefits.It contains prebiotics, which are foods that feed the healthy bacteria called probiotics in your gut. Having more prebiotics in your system can improve the balance of good to bad bacteria in your intestines. Specifically, dragon fruit encourages the growth of the probiotics lactobacilli and bifidobacteria. In your gut, these and other helpful bacteria can kill disease-causing viruses and bacteria. They also help digest food.It can strengthen your immune system. Dragon fruit is high in vitamin C and other antioxidants, which are good for your immune system.It can boost your iron levels. Iron is important for moving oxygen through your body and giving you energy, and dragon fruit has iron. And the vitamin C in dragon fruit helps your body take in and use the iron.Dragon Fruit Health Risks
Dragon fruit is generally safe to eat, although studies have reported isolated allergic reactions. Symptoms include swelling of the tongue, hives, and vomiting. This type of reaction seems to be very rare.
If you eat enough red dragon fruit, it might turn your pee pink or red. This symptom looks more alarming than it actually is. The same thing can happen if you eat a lot of beets. Your pee should turn back to its normal color once the fruit is out of your system.How to Prepare Dragon Fruit
Before you buy dragon fruit, squeeze it gently. It should give a little bit without feeling too soft or mushy. Avoid fruit that has bruises or dry leaves — signs that it’s overripe. If it feels hard when you press on it, let it ripen on the counter for a few days before eating.
To prepare the fruit, cut it into quarters. Either peel away the skin or remove the flesh with a spoon, ice cream scoop, or melon baller. Don’t eat the skin.How to Eat Dragon Fruit
You can eat dragon fruit in a few ways. Toss it into a fruit salad along with other tropical fruits like pineapple and mango. Cut it into a salsa. Churn it into ice cream. Squeeze it into juice or water. Use it as a topping for Greek yogurt. Or freeze it and blend it into a smoothie.How to Store Dragon Fruit
Store any leftover dragon fruit in a plastic bag in the fridge for up to 5 days. Or freeze it for up to 3 months.
Here are more ways to eat dragon fruit.
Types, nutritional value, health benefits and how you can eat it?
Dragon fruit, also known as pitaya is a tropical fruit that grows on the Hylocereus cactus, a plant that is inherent in places such as southern Mexico and Central America. Besides its exotic appearance, the fruit also holds various health benefits and nutritional values.Known for its bright red skin and green scales, the fruit is said to resemble a dragon, which is why it is called a dragon fruit. However, in contrast to its features, the fruit tastes quite ordinary switching from the flavours of kiwi to a pear.Types of dragon fruitsThere are three types of dragon fruits.
1. Hylocereus undatus – Also known as white-fleshed pitahaya, hylocereus undatus is a vine-like cactus. It consists of bright red skin, studded with green scales and white flesh.
2. Hylocereus megalanthus – Native to northern South America, hylocereus megalanthus is a cactus species grown for it’s yellow fruit.
3. Hylocereus polyrhizus – Hylocereus polyrhizus, known as red pitaya, is native to Mexico. It consists of red skin with red flesh and is popular for it’s high antioxidant properties.
Nutritional value of dragon fruit/pitayaAside from it’s exquisite and unique appearance, dragon fruits are rich in vital nutrients. Low in calories, it is filled with essential vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. To give you a better look at it’s nutritional content, here’s what a cup of dragon fruit serving can provide your body with.
Health benefits of eating dragon fruitsLike many other nutritional fruits, dragon fruit have several potential health benefits.
Rich in different types of antioxidants, it helps protect your body from free radicals that can lead to chronic illnesses and also fasten the process of ageing.
Dragon fruits are also known for it’s high fiber content, which plays an important role in maintaining digestive health and watching unhealthy weight gain.
Due to its high nutritional value, dragon fruits or pitaya can strengthen your immunity as well. The vitamin C and carotenoids in dragon fruit can prevent infections to enter your body and therefore can keep illnesses at bay.Besides that, consumption of dragon fruit can keep insulin level in check, reduce inflammation in the body and can reduce risks of heart diseases. Ways to add dragon fruits to your diet As difficult as it may seem to incorporate dragon fruits in your diet, it is as easy to do so. While the fruit may seem intimidating with it’s thick skin and exotic appearance, preparing it is quite simple. Here are some ways to eat it. – Use a knife to slice the fruit in half. – Then take a spoon and use it to scoop the flesh out of the fruit. You can also draw vertical and horizontal lines with a sharp knife, forming cubes of the edible fruit. Push onto the back of the skin, so as to reveal the cubes and making it easier to remove. – You can then eat it as it is or add it to salad, make smoothies out of it or incorporate it with yogurts.
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