Looking At Dragon Fruit Health Benefits

As consumers shift their attention to healthy and organic food sources, more and more exotic fruits are brought into the public’s consciousness. The latest in this parade of cheap and healthy food options is dragon fruit. In this article, we’ll briefly discuss dragon fruit health benefits so consumers can open their doors to new possibilities in organic nutrition without having to buy fancy products from big name manufacturers.

The dragon fruit is a variety of vine-like cactus that flowers at night. The fruit is pear or heart-shaped and blessed with intense red colors with overgrowth green accents that looks like scales giving it its fabled name.

In English speaking countries, it is more commonly known as “pitaya” or “pitahaya.” The plant is originally endemic to Central and South America including Mexico but has since grown prominence as a cultivated species in Asian countries like Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, The Philippines, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. Dragon fruit has also found its way to areas like South China and Northern Australia paving the way for its recent inclusion into many Chinese and Australian dishes.

Much like other super foods that have been recognized before it, dragon fruit health benefits are primarily rooted in high concentrations of antioxidants that help to combat diseases like cancer, heart attack, stroke, and high blood pressure. Antioxidants act like cleaning agents in the body reacting with mutation-causing free radicals before they inflict damage to cells.

Local citizens in many Asian countries have also been known to substitute their rice for dragon fruit, lowering calories and sugars in their diet and increasing their consumption of dietary fiber. There are also studies showing that dragon fruit helps in expelling heavy metals toxins in the body reducing the risk to heavy metal toxicity by those that work in heavy metal mines, smelters and other working environments with elevated concentrations of heavy metal.

Pound-for-pound, dragon fruit health benefits also extend to its abundant concentration of vitamins and minerals. Red-skinned dragon fruits are rich in Vitamin C helping the body fight off common illnesses like colds and the flu. It is also abundant in phosphorus, calcium and iron fulfilling dietary requirements of these minerals by consuming 3-4 servings of dragon fruit a day. Overall, incorporating more dragon fruit into one’s diet can help lower weight and promote a healthier and fitter body by reducing the percentage of visceral fat and bad cholesterol.

There are a variety of preparation ways to avail of dragon fruit health benefits. The fruit can be eaten fresh, sliced or included in a fruit platter with mango, banana, papaya, melon and other healthy options. It can also be juiced and mixed with a sweetener creating a refreshing beverage that can be used as substitute for artificial fruit juices, soda and sugar-rich energy drinks.

Dragon fruits carry a lot of health benefits for everyone willing to add a little fruit into their diet. With dragon fruit health benefits, the promise of a healthy lifestyle is within everyone’s grasp.

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