10 health benefits of Dragon Fruits that will definitely surprise you.
I know what you’re thinking, but whatever is it, No, you’re mistaken. It’s not a fruit that came out from a Dragon.
If there were a competition for the weirdest looking fruit, Dragon Fruit, known in many names as Pitaya, Moon lovers, Night Blooming Cereus, Strawberry Pear, Belle of the Night, Cinderella Plant, would win the match.
Dragon fruit is a type of cactus that has yellow-green spines and a reddish-pink color. It is native to Mexico and other parts of Central and South America and is most frequently seen on the markets of Asian countries like Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia.
The Pitaya’s texture has a tiny black seed inside and is often compared to that of kiwi fruit, and the taste is described as with kiwi, pear, and watermelon.
Whether you’re a fitness nut looking for healthy fruits to eat or just conscious about this fruit, this article is for you.
I will share some health benefits of this “Superfood”, the Dragon Fruit.
1. Healthy for your Heart
As one of the healthiest fruit, dragon fruits are perfect for your health. Commonly planted and consumed in Asian countries Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia.
One dragon fruit normally weighs about 100 to 160 grams, 40 percent of the fruit, including the fleshy spikes, is not edible, and thus the remaining 60 percent of the fruit can be consumed.
Dragon fruit does not contain any harmful substances and is free from trans-fat, saturated and cholesterol.
Dragon fruits seeds contain a high amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids that help your body remove any bad cholesterol. It also promotes proper blow-flow, reduces triglycerides, and lowers the risk of any cardiovascular diseases caused by blocked bad cholesterol.
Dragon fruit is healthy. It’s perfect for pleasing your sweet tooth as well as maintaining your weight.
2. Boost and Improve your Immunity
Dragon fruit like Oranges, Lemon, and other Citrus Fruits contain a rich amount of Vitamin C, which is very good to strengthen and boost our body’s immune system. It stimulates the antioxidants activity to detect and eliminate free radicals, the dangerous by-products of cell metabolism on your body linked to severe diseases in your cardiovascular system and can cause cancer.
Pitaya is also packed with essential vitamins and minerals like Vitamin B1, Niacin, Iron, Calcium, Pytoalbumin, and Phosphorus to keep us away from bacterial and viral attacks.
Check out this video for more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8SQfbPcx2M
3. Great for your body’s Detoxification
Detoxification or Detox is our body’s mechanism where toxic substances are being removed which is mainly carried out by the liver.
Consuming the Dragon Fruit will give you significant benefits if you’re on a diet and worrying about gaining weight, high blood sugar levels, or irregular bowel movements.
It is packed with high fibers and proteins, which can help with poor digestion and constipation. It eliminates harmful toxins in your body by improving your body’s digestion process.
What are the ways to detoxify the body?
- Eat plenty of fibers including brown rice and organically grown fresh fruits and vegetables.
- Take herbs like dandelion root, burdock, and milk thistle, it will help to cleanse and protect your liver.
- Take Vitamin C.
- Drink at least 2 Quarts of water a day.
- Breathe deeply.
- Reduce your stress with positive vibes.
- Practice Hydrotherapy.
- Sweat.
- Dry-brush your skin using detox foot spas/baths.
- Exercise yoga or jump-roping at least one hour every day.
4. Helps you to achieve younger-looking skin
Aging is inevitable, and it’s embarrassing to see those Wrinkles, fine lines, dullness, and sagging skin, right? Aging is mainly caused by the deterioration of the cells in our body, and as I said, we’re all bound to get old one day.
Don’t worry because Dragon Fruit has its unique characteristic to hide and lessen all of those signs of aging.
Pitaya is packed with antioxidants that can significantly benefit your skin, making it smooth and look younger. It also boosts the anti-aging department in our body. Thanks to its Phosphorus content, phosphorus plays a big role in repairing every damaged cell in our body and makes up about 1 percent of your total body weight.
So if you want to have a youthful appearance, impress yourself and eat dragon fruit now.
Here’s a do-it-yourself Dragon fruit face pack that will make you look younger:
You Need
- ½ Dragonfruit
- 1 tablespoon yogurt
How to do it
- Make a smooth paste from scooped dragon fruit pulp.
- Add the yogurt to the prepared dragon fruit paste.
- Apply the paste on your face and neck for about 20 minutes.
- Rinse your face with warm water and dry it with a clean towel.
- Repeat the process once a week for two months to achieve younger looking and smooth skin.
5. Prevents Cancer from developing.
The study shows that Dragon fruit has the characteristic to reduce the multiplication of cancer cells in your body.
As mentioned earlier, dragon fruit can boost your immune system with its antioxidant and vitamin C properties. Dragon fruit contains enzymes such as carotene and lycopene, which have the important qualities of an anti-carcinogenic that prevent the tumors from forming and decrease their size. The Pitaya is also packed with chemicals that may fortify our body from any cancers called polyphenols.
Whether it’s for protection from a common cold or any severe illnesses, the Consistent eating of dragon fruit and other cancer-fighting foods is the easiest way to ensure your good health.
6. Regulates Blood Sugar and Prevents Diabetes.
Medical professionals suggest that consuming dragon fruit can reduce the chances of diabetes developing. The fruit can regulate Glycaemia or the presence of glucose in the blood. It contains polyphenols, carotenoids, thiols, tocopherols, and glucosinolates which help to reduce your sugar level.
A study published in the journal pharmacognosy research found that the fruit has a significant effect of preventing stiffness of the aorta due to stress frequently seen in patients with diabetes, specifically on type 2 diabetes.
However, it’s important to remember the proper guidance from your doctor before deciding to stop your medication.
Here are the other healthy fruits that are good for people with diabetes:
7. Good for your Cardiovascular Health
As mentioned above, this exotic fruit can lower your cholesterol and reduce the chances of plaque development on your arteries and veins that can narrow the passage of blood circulation, and cause severe heart impairments such as Heart attacks, strokes, and atherosclerosis.
Dragon fruit seeds carry a good amount of monosaturated fats, which is essential for good or HDL Cholesterol and keeping your heart in a healthy condition. Good cholesterol reduces the amount of LDL cholesterol to develop usually on the arteries walls.
Here are the other healthy foods you should know about to ensure your cardiovascular health and prevent severe heart diseases.
8. Helps to prevent anemia.
Lack of hemoglobin in the blood can cause Anaemia, which is common amongst women. Low hemoglobin count and iron deficiency can cause severe issues such as kidney failure.
Worry no more because Dragon fruit is not dubbed as “Superfood” without its superb qualities. It has a high content of iron that approximately meets 8% of your daily iron requirements. As mentioned above, it is rich in vitamin C, which helps your body absorb more and more iron. So grab a dragon fruit now and start living a healthy lifestyle.
Here’s a healthy and simple Dragon fruit recipe for you
The Pitaya Breakfast Bowl
Ingredients
- 3 ounces frozen dragon fruit.
- 1 frozen banana.
- 2 frozen strawberries.
- 1 cup of ice.
- 3 ounces fresh orange juice.
Suggested toppings
- ½ Banana sliced.
- 2 strawberries
- 4 blackberries
- 4 raspberries
- 8 blueberries
- Honey
- Granola
How to do it
- Add the dragon fruit puree, frozen fruits, orange juice and ice to a blender. Blend until you achieved the creamy smoothie texture.
- Pour the mixture into a bowl and top with any sliced fruits listed from above.
9. It helps to strengthen your bones and teeth
Bone health and dental health are very important for our daily activities, so we need to maintain and strengthen them from an early age so that we do not regret any consequences later.
Dragon fruit, as mentioned earlier, is packed with calcium, Vitamin D, and phosphorus which is essential for bones and teeth development. Every 100 grams fruit contains 8.8 grams of calcium.
Consuming dragon fruit can prevent any renal osteodystrophy, Osteoporosis, and other bone diseases from occurring and increase the bone’s density and mass while strengthening the roots of the teeth.
So start putting this superfood into your daily diet now.
10. Essential for Dengue Patients
Low platelet count with as little as 10,000 is normally seen on vector-borne disease infected like dengue which, if not treated in time, can lead to severe complications and, worst, to death.
The common platelet count on a normal person is 150,000 – 450,000 for every microliter of blood. The platelet’s function is mainly to clot the blood vessel’s injuries to stop the bleeding. Scary right? Don’t worry. Consuming healthy antioxidant-rich vegetables and fruits like Pitaya can help to increase the platelet count, fortify your immune system, and keeps you away from any diseases.
The dragon fruit or Pitaya is a “Superfood”, it may appear in weird shapes or looks, but surprisingly, it has many health benefits. It can be enjoyed in various ways, from eating the pulp inside, jams, fruit salads, and smoothies.
Grab one of this exotic but wonder fruit and start your journey to a healthy lifestyle now!