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Overview Of Jackfruit
The jack of all fruits, the Jack fruit is one of the sweetest fruits available on mother earth! It’s a tropical fruit having its origin in Western Ghats of Southern India and the rainforests of Malaysia. Let’s zero in on the benefits of jackfruit in the below:
Jackfruit is being widely planted across all the tropical regions of the world. This is in fact the largest fruit available so far with each fruit weighing about 120 pounds approximately. From a mature jack fruit tree, we get over 200 fruits per annum.
Coming on to how the fruit is by nature, it has got thorny green outer whereas to the contrary, the inner layer is filled with soft fleshy yellow fruits with seeds.
Let’s explore the benefits of jackfruit and its intense health benefits for you to consume the fruit very often and feed it also for your kids.
Do you know?
Jack fruit is an integral part of South Indian and Southeast Asian cuisine. Interestingly, for its meaty texture, it is often referred to as vegetable meat. In fact, the vegan diet replaces meat with the jack fruit! Wondering? You have more to feel awe. Read on:
Health Benefits of Jackfruit
1. Amazing source of Vitamins and Minerals
One of the main reasons to go and munch on the jackfruit is that it is uber-rich with ample vitamins and minerals. May I list out the vitamins contained in the fruit? Here you go: Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Thiamin, Calcium, Iron, Zinc, Potassium, Niacin, Riboflavin, among others. Besides, jackfruit is also rich in folic acid which is essential for pregnant women. Being rich in iron, it is often recommended for anemic patients. Additionally, jackfruit is also rich in vitamin B6.
As far as its nutritional value is concerned, it acts as a rich source of poly-nutrients. The fruit keeps your body immune and while serving fewer calories i.e. 94 calories per 100 grams of the fruit.
Jackfruit is completely intact with rich antioxidants and anti-ageing properties!
2. Extensive Ayurvedic properties
One more health benefit of Jackfruit is that it gets widely used in Ayurvedic medicine. For those of you who don’t know, Ayurveda is an age-old medicinal practice that’s widely practiced in India, particularly in the south. The jackfruit contains extensive medicinal values and is predominantly used in curing various kinds of diseases and health ailments. In fact, not just the fruit, even the parts of the jackfruit tree carry intense medicinal values including its leaves, barks, and other parts as well.
Do you know? There are rich anti-inflammatory properties in the jackfruit leaves. You can make a simple decoction with these leaves and consume to reap its health benefits.
The jackfruit is heavy and sticky by nature, and it takes much time to get digested in your gut. Hence, it acts as a body coolant. Similar to its leaves, the jackfruit roots can also be used to make a decoction. This clears your intestinal motility and helps in curing dysentery troubles. And its seeds can be used for treating erectile dysfunction. Furthermore, the jackfruit leaves are made into ashes to cure ulcer condition.
3. Integral part of cuisine
Jack fruit is a delight to eat: both raw and cooked. It is widely used in south Indian and Malayali cuisine. The fruit is generally used to make Payasam – a dessert that’s often served after a meal. In a few regions, unripe jackfruit is deep-fried in coconut oil and consumed as a snack by itself. The fruit is one among the staple foods in Kerala state of India.
The jackfruit seeds are also put to use. They are used by boiling in hot water with salt. These serve as good evening snack. Or the seeds can also be used along with vegetables in making curries and gravies, or Avial varieties that are made by steam cooking veggies with final mix of fresh coconut milk. The Bengali cuisine also uses the jackfruit in preparing various dishes.
Considering Malaysia, tender jackfruit is used in making curries and it is much loved by the locals. Besides, the jackfruit is predominantly used in the making of sweets and puddings. It is also used as a natural alternative to white sugar. Jackfruit can also be used for making jams, pickles, and other kinds of flavoring agents.
4. Wrinkle-free skin and prevents anemia
The seeds of jackfruit are ground with milk and applied on the face as a pack. This helps in reducing fine lines and also removes wrinkles that result due to ageing. This face pack gives a boost to your skin and maintains its youthfulness by keeping it supple. With regular application of this pack, you will stay younger forever and avoid early ageing symptoms as well.
Apart from its benefits for skin, the jackfruit seeds are rich with protein content which aids in hair growth and regrowth.
There are many other benefits of jackfruit which are as follows: its seeds are rich in iron content and can be of help in treating anemic patients.
Note that Iron is the primary component of blood i.e. hemoglobin. With regular intake of these seeds, your body will maintain healthy levels of iron and the chances of falling anemic gets dipped.
Why not?
Jackfruit has medicinal values, health values as well as healing values. Why don’t you get a bunch of these fruits right away?
5. Stronger, sturdier bones and improved vision
What makes jackfruits furthermore healthier is its calcium content which forms the basics of bones. The fruit helps in maintaining bone density which gets gradually decreased as you age. Its calcium content keeps bones nourished and safe. Importantly, disease pertaining to bones such as osteoporosis or arthritis can be prevented with regular consumption of jackfruit. The fruit is also good source of potassium which keeps our kidney hale and healthy, and curbs calcium loss through kidney.
Besides, jackfruit enhances our vision as it is ample with Vitamin A content. Being rich in beta carotene, it can also be transformed into Vitamin A which is good for eyes. The antioxidant property of the fruit also aids in curing any kind of eye-related damages that are caused due to free radicals.
6. Colon cancer is a BIG NO! Upticks immunity
Jackfruit helps in preventing colon cancer which arises as a result of damage in the colon in cellular level. In this condition, the cells get altered and divided rapidly thus forming a complete mass of cells that ultimately result in cancer.
The free radicals and anti-aging properties of Jackfruit help in curing cancer and prevents the same
You need to know that frequent intake of jackfruit helps in preventing piles.
Jackfruit is also known to contain rich amounts of vitamin C which is the best antioxidant. It helps in combating free radicals.
In jackfruit, there is 13.5mg of vitamin c per 100grams of fruit. Vitamin c is a better antioxidant than ethanol and methanol compounds. Jackfruit is primarily excellent for detoxification. It helps in detoxification of the body by eradicating free radicals and other bodily toxins which altogether increases the body’s immunity.
The Tamil language is often compared with the sweetness of Jackfruit saying the language is as sweet as the jack!
Interesting, isn’t it?
7. Energy flush and weight reduction
If you are feeling low and want to have an energy boost, go and grab your jackfruit! It’s probably one of the best options as it has extremely high levels of sucrose and fructose. This gives you an instant energy boost to the system and it also helps in enhancing your mood.
Whether or not you believe, jackfruit also aids in your weight loss journey. The whole fruit has very fewer calories and when eaten, reduces the hunger pangs so easily. This also keeps you fuller for longer and helps you in weight management as well. Hence, including jackfruit as an integral part of your meal is a smart way of weight loss.
8. Heart friendly and promotes digestion
Yet another benefit of jackfruit is that it helps in reducing cholesterol levels. Jackfruit is rich in soluble fiber and it is seen as one of the superior sources of quality fiber which helps in removing excess cholesterol from your body. It also keeps your heart healthy. This is in fact touted as the best alternative to oats.
Being high in potassium, the fruit is suggested for people with high BP levels which is a chronic condition that may lead to heart disease, stroke, or other cardiovascular troubles.
Jack fruit is very less acidic in nature so it can also be eaten as a whole meal. Studies have shown that having a serving of jackfruit as a meal is equal to the same amount of vegetables and fruits you have in a week. It also helps in extending longevity. Over and above, the benefits of jackfruit are also that it is an impressive source of dietary fiber as there are over 1.5 grams of fiber in every 100 grams of the serving which is going to help in people with constipation troubles. It also improves the process of excretion and boosts digestion.
A little titbit for you…
The fruit is originally called Chakka or Chakka Pazham in Kerala. The Jackfruit comes with tremendous health benefits which are in fact proven in the ancient literature as there are noteworthy mentioning even in the Tamil literature.
9. Knocks off diabetes
When it’s a fruit, it’s naturally going to help the diabetics. And yes, jackfruit is no exception. The benefits of jackfruit are that it is extremely diabetic-friendly. Yes, it is, in spite of the fruit being super-sweet in taste! The sugar from the fruit is originated from the group called SAG or slow absorbing sugar. Hence, it makes it safe for consumption even for the diabetic population.
Titbit for you
Jackfruit is the national fruit of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
10. Sleep better with the jack of fruits
Being rich in magnesium and iron, jackfruit helps in regulating your sleep patterns. It enhances the overall sleep quality and helps in curing insomnia. Jackfruit also protects your nervous system. The fruit is rich in thiamin and niacin which altogether helps in treating fatigue, stress and muscle weakness.
Wind up note
Benefits of jackfruit is much more beyond these. There are too many that are yet to be discovered. Jackfruit is indeed a blessing given by Mother Nature. Beyond just a fruit, it is a magical tree on the whole with holistic advantages with its leaves, seeds and much more that are of medicinal values and utility values altogether.