12 Benefits of Eating Dragon Fruit

Nowadays, exotic fruits are becoming people’s favorites. This could be because of the long list of benefits that they possess. One of these common, beautiful, and nutritious exotic fruits is Dragon Fruit.

Dragon fruit is a recently introduced super fruit in the Indian market. It is gaining tremendous popularity among growers as well as consumers because of its attractive fruit color and mouthwatering pulp with an edible black seed embedded inside the pulp, nutritional value, appearance, etc.

This article is about dragon fruit, what is it, its nutritional value, its benefits, and how should one consume it.

Dragon Fruit’s Nutritional value

Dragon Fruit is also called a superfood and it also has some medicinal properties. The pulp and the peel have high water content and are rich in fiber and contain many nutrients including a high number of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. dragon fruit nutritional value per 100g are as follows:

Energy – 60 kcal 
Carbohydrates – 12.94 g 
Protein – 1.1 g 
Fat -0.57 g 
Total fiber – 2.9 g 
Vitamin C – 2.5 mg 
Iron – 0.74 mg 
Magnesium – 40 mg 
Calcium – 18 mg 

Here, we can see that it has a lot of magnesium. Magnesium plays a big role in many metabolic processes of the body. Hence, dragon fruit is also a good source of magnesium.

Dragon fruit also contains antioxidants such as phenolic compounds, flavonoids, betacyanin, ascorbic acid, tocopherols, and many more.

Dragon Fruit has seeds in its pulp, they also act as a good source of fiber for the gut. The peel of the fruit also works wonders as it has a lot of quasi-nutrients and antioxidants such as betacyanin compounds, phenolic compounds, ellagic acid, cinnamic acid, and many more.

Health Benefits of Dragon Fruit

1.Reduces the risk of diabetes

The anti diabetic capacity of dragon fruit has been the subject of numerous studies. The pulp of the fruit has the potential to reduce fasting blood glucose levels.

Some studies showed that dragon fruit has an anti-insulin-resistant activity too which is helpful to reduce insulin resistance. The high fiber content and the red pulp of the red pitaya are responsible for the anti-insulin-resistant activity.

2. Fight chronic disease

Dragon fruit contains 3 types of antioxidants (1)

• Vitamin C – several studies found the correlations between vitamin C intake and cancer risk. One study found that people associated higher intakes of vitamin C with lower rates of head and neck cancer (2).
• Betaines – it can help you to combat oxidative stress and may have the ability to suppress cancer cells
• Carotenoids – beta carotene is responsible for giving dragon fruit its color. Carotenoids have been linked to reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease

3. It is loaded with fiber

Dietary fibers have multiple health benefits. Dragon fruit is an excellent whole-food source. Fibers are excellent for digestion. Research suggests dragon fruit is also good in protecting against heart disease, managing type 2 diabetes and maintaining a healthy body weight (3).

4. Boost immune system

Vitamin C and carotenoids present in the dragon fruit are helpful to boost your immunity, prevent infections and protect your white blood cells from damage. White blood cells are very important for the immune system and are susceptible to damage by free radicals.

Vitamin C and carotenoids help to neutralize free radicals and defend your white blood cells against harm.

5. Reduce inflammation

Dragon fruit reduces inflammation due to its anti-inflammatory properties which are because of the wide variety of anti-oxidants and functional compounds present in it such as betaines and squalene.

6. Improve gut health

Your gut is home to 400 different species of good bacteria (4). Dragon fruit contains prebiotics which can improve the balance of good bacteria in your gut. Dragon fruit promotes the growth of two families of healthy bacteria: lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacterial.

7. Good during the pregnancy

Dragon fruit is rich in vitamin B, folate and iron that making it an ideal fruit for pregnant mothers. B vitamins and folate help to prevent birth defects and boosts energy during pregnancy.

Calcium present in dragon fruit is responsible for the bone development of the fetus. Its content of magnesium helps fight postmenopausal complications in women.

8. Protect liver

The hepatoprotective activity of pitaya could be related to its rich composition of antioxidants such as triterpenes, flavonoids, glycosides, tannins, saponins, and alkaloids. It caused a significant reduction in SGOT and SGPT.

9. Protect your heart

Dragon fruit has betaines which inhibit lipid peroxidation. It also has hypocholesterolemia activity.

10. Improve hair health

Dragon fruit is rich in nutrients that are beneficial for hair. It protects hair damage from artificial hair coloring and improves hair texture, thus, leaving it soft and shiny.

11. Support eye health

Beta carotene present in the dragon fruit is excellent in preventing eye problems, including macular degeneration and cataracts.

12. Fight skin ageing

Stress, exposure to pollution, poor diet, and other factors can cause faster ageing. Dragon fruit is a rich source of antioxidants, which help treat dry skin, acne, and sunburns, which are the major causes of skin aging.

The vitamin C present in dragon fruit helps to fight against skin damage caused by free radicals, thus leading to brighter, rejuvenated, and healthier skin.

How to eat a Dragon Fruit?

It’s just a fruit, so it can be eaten in many ways, such as,

1. Cut the fruit into a horizontal half and just scoop out the pulp with the help of a spoon.
2. You can also make a smoothie bowl out of it.
3. The powder of dragon fruit is called pitaya powder which is pink in color and is rich in antioxidants, it can be used in smoothies, smoothie bowls, crepes, pancakes, etc.
4. You can chop it into small cubes and make a salad out of it.
5. The juice of dragon fruit can be put into ice trays. Freeze it overnight and then you can use the ice cubes for applying it on the skin for some hydration and glow.
6. The ice cubes can also be used to make some unique mocktails or cocktails.

Conclusion

Dragon fruit is a tasty and delicious fruit that’s definitely worth incorporating in your diet.

Dragon fruits are delicious, add a pop of color to your plate and supply essential nutrients, prebiotic fibers and beneficial plant compounds — all in a low-calorie serving.

If you’re looking for a way to add some variety to your fruit intake, dragon fruit is the best option with many potential health benefits.