Jackfruit is a unique tropical fruit that has become more famous over the past few years.
It tastes sweet and unique, and you can use it to make many different recipes. It’s also very healthy and may have a number of health benefits. This piece will talk about why eating jackfruit is a good idea.
What Is Jackfruit?
Jackfruit is a peculiar fruit that grows in warm parts of the world. It comes from South India.
This plant belongs to the Moraceae family, which also includes figs, mulberries, and breadfruit. A jackfruit has a spiked, green or yellow exterior.
The extremely large size of jackfruit is one thing that makes it stand out. It can weigh up to 80 pounds (35 kg) and is the biggest tree fruit in the world.
The taste of jackfruit is slightly sweet and fruity. People have said that it tastes like a mix of vegetables, like apples, pineapples, mangoes, and bananas.
Vegans and vegetarians frequently use this fruit in place of meat because it has a texture similar to chopped meat.
Jackfruit can grow in tropical areas, so it can be a big source of calories and carbs for people in developing countries who are at risk of going hungry.
Usually grown in warm areas, jackfruit is becoming easier to find in other places, like the US. It’s in season in the summer.
People typically eat jackfruit meat, or fruit pods. You can consume these whether they are ripe or not. You can use it in both sweet and savoury recipes, such as curries and desserts. You can also eat the seeds.
Nutrients
The nutritional value of jackfruit is very high. It has 155 calories in a one-cup (165-grams) serving, which is a modest amount. The carbs make up about 92% of the calories. The protein and a small bit of fat make up the rest.
For added health benefits, jackfruit has a good amount of fibre and almost all the vitamins and minerals you need.
One cup of sliced fruit contains this ingredient.
- Calories: 155
- Carbs: 40 grams
- Fiber: 3 grams
- Protein: 3 grams
- Vitamin A: 10% of the RDI
- Vitamin C: 18% of the RDI
- Riboflavin: 11% of the RDI
- Magnesium: 15% of the RDI
- Potassium: 14% of the RDI
- Copper: 15% of the RDI
- Manganese: 16% of the RDI
Jackfruit is different from other fruits because it has a lot of energy. As a comparison, apples and mangoes only have 0–1 grammes of protein per cup, while this fruit has more than 3 grammes.
Jackfruit contains a wide variety of vitamins. These are probably what make it so good for you.
Protect Against Disease
Jackfruit has a lot of powerful antioxidants that are good for your health and can lower your chance of getting a number of diseases.
Antioxidants protect your cells from oxidative stress and inflammation, which are frequently the result of free radical damage.
Here is a list of the vitamins that are most abundant in jackfruit:
- Vitamin C: Jackfruit has a lot of vitamin C, which may help stop the inflammation that can cause long-term illnesses like cancer and heart disease.
- Carotenoids: Studies have shown that the pigment carotenoids can help lower inflammation and lower the chance of many long-term diseases, like heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
- Flavanones: Flavanones may help lower blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels by reducing inflammation. These are important factors in lowering the chance of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Blood sugar control
There are some things about jackfruit that may help you control your blood sugar.
It doesn’t raise your blood sugar too quickly after you eat it, which is known as its glycemic index (GI). Experts believe this is due to the presence of fibre, which slows down digestion and prevents excessive blood sugar rise. Studies have shown that eating a lot of low-GI foods can help control blood sugar.
Besides that, jackfruit has protein, which might help keep blood sugar levels from rising too quickly after a meal.
According to one study, jackfruit extract significantly improved the blood sugar levels of those it lowered.
A study with diabetic mice also found that jackfruit leaf extract helped lower blood sugar levels when the mice were fasting and kept blood sugar levels stable over time.
It was believed that the flavonoid antioxidants in jackfruit had these benefits because they are known to help maintain stable blood sugar levels.
Although the results of these studies appear promising, further research involving actual individuals consuming fresh jackfruit is necessary to confirm these potential health effects.
Potential Health Benefits
People say that jackfruit is good for you in other ways that haven’t been studied in detail.
- Immune health: The immune-boosting vitamins A and C in jackfruit may help keep you from getting sick. Eating this fruit is also believed to reduce your vulnerability to viruses.
- Keeping your skin healthy: This fruit has many nutrients and antioxidants, like vitamin C, that may help your skin stay healthy. Some people claim that eating it may make your face look younger.
- Heart health: The potassium, fibre, and vitamins in jackfruit may make it less likely that you will get heart disease.
Additionally, traditional Indian and Sri Lankan medicine has long used the roots and preparations to treat asthma, diarrhoea, and stomach ulcers, but science has never supported these claims.
Even though there isn’t any scientific proof for these health benefits, adding jackfruit to your diet is still a good idea if you want to get healthier.
Risks of eating jackfruit
Some people may need to limit or avoid jackfruit, even though it’s safe for most. A few people are allergic to it, mostly people who are allergic to birch pollen.
Additionally, because this fruit may lower blood sugar, people with diabetes may need to change how much medicine they take if they eat it often.
Anyway, most people can safely eat jackfruit because there have never been any significant negative effects linked to it.
How to eat
Jackfruit is very useful because you can eat it raw or cooked. To get it ready, cut it in half and take out the yellow fruit pods and seeds from the skin and centre. To do this, you can use your hands or a knife.
You should know that the white, woody part inside jackfruit is very sticky, so it might be best to wear gloves when you handle it. You can eat jackfruit on its own or cook it into sweet or savoury recipes, depending on its ripeness. When used in savoury recipes, unripe fruit tastes best. When used in sweets, ripe fruit’s sweetness is the best.
Due to its unique taste, fresh jackfruit can be hard to find in grocery shops, especially when it’s not in season. However, grocery shops often sell it in cans, which is convenient.
Vegetarians and vegans often substitute jackfruit for meat due to its texture. For instance, you can cook the fruit and then mix it with veggies and spices to make jackfruit tacos without real meat.
You can also roast jackfruit and add it to soups or sauces. When the fruit is ripe, it tastes great added to yoghurt or muesli.
You can also eat jackfruit nuts. You can cook or roast them and then mix them with spices. You can also make hummus with seeds.
The bottom line
Jackfruit is good for you in lots of ways. It has a lot of nutrients and antioxidants, and it may be good for your health in many ways, such as helping you manage your blood sugar better.
You can easily add jackfruit to your diet by eating it alone or in different meals. It’s a great meat substitute in recipes for vegetarians and vegans.
To find fresh jackfruit, you should look during the summer. However, you can always find canned jackfruit in most grocery shops. If you want to try something new, add jackfruit to your diet. It’s pretty healthy and fun to try.
