Jackfruit is one of its own kind of tropical fruits, recognized for its unique shape, size, and fruity flavor that can be appreciated from a distance. The fruit is delicious sweet taste. In common with other tropical fruits such as durian, banana, etc., it is also rich in energy, dietary fiber, minerals, and vitamins and free from saturated fats or cholesterol, making it one of the healthy summer treat to relish!
Botanically, this popular Asian tropical fruit belongs to the family of moraceae, genus: Artocarpus and is closely related to figs, mulberry, and breadfruit. Scientific name: Artocarpus heterophyllus.
Health benefits of jackfrui
1. 100 g of edible jackfruit bulbs provide 95 calories. The fruit is made of soft, easily digestible flesh (bulbs) with simple sugars like fructose and sucrose that when eaten replenishes energy and revitalizes the body instantly.
2. Jackfruit is rich in dietary fiber, which makes it a good bulk laxative. The fiber content helps protect the colon mucous membrane by binding to and eliminating cancer-causing chemicals from the colon.
3. Fresh fruit has small amounts of vitamin-A, and flavonoid pigments such as carotene-ß, xanthin, lutein and cryptoxanthin-ß. Together, these compounds play vital roles in antioxidant and vision functions. Vitamin A is also required for maintaining integrity of mucus membranes and skin. Consumption of natural fruits rich in vitamin-A, and carotenes has been found to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.
4. Additionally, jackfruit is a good source of antioxidant vitamin-C, provides about 13.7 mg or 23% of RDA. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful free radicals.
5. It is one of the rare fruits that is rich in B-complex group of vitamins. It contains very good amounts of vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), niacin, riboflavin, and folic acid.
6. Fresh fruit is a good source of potassium, magnesium, manganese, and iron. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure.
Source: nutrition-and-you.com
Jackfruit is common in my country and it is something that we enjoy raw or cooked. We have a lot of sweet delicacies and recipes that uses jackfruit and it is really delicious and nutritious.