The red and white pulp of pitaya has six health-care functions, namely, great nutrition, PK, blood enrichment and antioxidation.

Text: //Scott Yu Medical Review: Dr. Stephen Lai

Do you like pitaya? Because its pulp is white or red, some people don't like to eat red pulp, because it contains lycopene, which not only leaves red spots on teeth, but also turns urine or feces into purple. Although the color change feels scary, pitaya is actually rich in nutritional value. The following is to introduce the nutritional components and six health functions of pitaya.

List of nutritional components of pitaya

The nutritional components of pitaya are roughly as follows. No matter what kind of pulp it is, it is calculated according to the content of100g. You will find that the ingredients of the two are roughly the same, and the big difference is the lycopene contained in the red meat pitaya.

1. calories: 50 calories for red meat and 5 1 calories for white meat.

2. protein: red meat 1. 1 g (g), white meat 0.9g.

3. Fat: 0.2 g of red meat and 0.4 g of white meat.

4. Carbohydrate: red meat12.3g, white meat12.4g..

5. Fiber: red meat1.3g, white meat1.7g..

6. Iron: 0.8 mg of red meat and 0.4 mg of white meat.

7. Magnesium: 24 mg of red meat and 28 mg of white meat.

8. Vitamin C: 6.3 mg of red meat and 5.3 mg of white meat.

9. Vitamin E: 0.27 mg of red meat and 0.26 mg of white meat.

Benefits 1: antioxidation and prevention of chronic diseases.

Free radicals in human body are risk factors that may damage cells and cause chronic diseases, and the antioxidant effects of vitamin C, β carotene and lycopene contained in pitaya can neutralize free radicals and prevent chronic diseases. It is worth mentioning that although there are many nutritional supplements of antioxidants on the market, antioxidants obtained from natural foods have better effects.

Benefit 2: It helps to control blood sugar.

According to a PLOS study, pitaya is obviously helpful to control the fasting blood sugar of pre-diabetic patients, and the more pitaya patients eat, the better the effect of controlling blood sugar. In addition, it is found in animal experiments that pitaya can promote the growth of pancreatic cells and improve insulin. However, none of them can explain why patients with type 2 diabetes have not made the same significant improvement in blood sugar control, so more research is needed to prove this. ?

Benefit 3: Rich in fatty acids.

The dense black seeds in pitaya are rich in fatty acids, among which unsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids account for a high proportion. One of the omega -3 fatty acids we often hear is linolenic acid, which often appears in plants and helps to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular diseases.

Benefit 4: prebiotics are good for intestinal health.

Pitaya is rich in fiber, which reduces constipation. The oligosaccharides contained in pitaya are prebiotics and important nutrients to promote the growth of probiotics. We all know that there are not only good bacteria but also bad bacteria in the intestine, and probiotics such as lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria can help intestinal digestion and reduce the incidence of intestinal infection.

Benefit 5: Iron helps to replenish blood.

Pitaya is several fruits that can provide iron. Because iron not only plays a role in the process of transforming food into energy, but also is closely related to oxygen transport in human body, it is very important to intake enough iron for human health. According to the reference intake of dietary nutrients, adult men should consume 15 mg of iron every day, while women should consume at least 15mg of iron every day because of menstruation. In addition, if you are pregnant in the third trimester, the iron intake must reach at least 45 mg to meet the needs of the fetus and the mother.

Benefit 6: magnesium nutrition is very rich.

From the above nutrient composition table, it can be found that the magnesium content of pitaya is quite high, about 25mg in 100g, while the daily magnesium intake of adult men and women is about 380mg and 320mg respectively, so you can meet the magnesium requirement of 1/4 ~ 1/3 by eating one pitaya. In human body, it contains about 24 grams of magnesium. Although it feels small, it participates in many important chemical reactions, such as transforming food into energy, muscle contraction, bone growth and even DNA composition.

It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

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