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1. JACKFRUIT

Jackfruit nutrition facts

Jackfruit is one of its own kind of tropical fruits, recognized for its unique shape, size, and fruity flavor of its bulbs that can be appreciated from a distance. The fruit is deliciously sweet in 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 treats 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 jackfruit

• 100 g of edible jackfruit bulbs provide 95 calories. The fruit is made of soft, easily digestible flesh (bulbs) made up of simple sugars like fructose and sucrose that when eaten replenishes energy and revitalizes the body instantly.
• 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.
• Fresh fruit has small but significant amounts ofvitamin-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 mucusa and skin. Consumption of natural fruits rich in vitamin-A, and carotenes has been found to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.
• 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.
• 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.
• Further, 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.

2. MANGO

Mango fruit nutrition facts

“The king of the fruits,” mango fruit is one of the most popular, nutritionally rich fruits with unique flavor, fragrance, taste, and heath promoting qualities, making it numero-uno among new functional foods, often labeled as “super fruits.”

Mango is one of the delicious seasonal fruits grown in the tropics. The tree is believed to be originating in the sub-Himalayan plains of Indian subcontinent. Botanically, this exotic fruit belongs within the family of Anacardiaceae, a family that also includes numerous species of tropical-fruiting trees in the flowering plants such as cashew,pistachio,…etc.

Scientific name: Mangifera Indica.

Health benefits of Mangos

• Mango fruit is rich in pre-biotic dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, andpoly-phenolic flavonoid antioxidant compounds.
• According to new research study, mango fruit has been found to protect against colon, breast, leukemia and prostate cancers. Several trial studies suggest thatpolyphenolic anti-oxidant compounds in mango are known to offer protection against breast and colon cancers.
• Mango fruit is an excellent source of Vitamin-A and flavonoids like beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, and beta-cryptoxanthin. 100 g of fresh fruit provides 765 IU or 25% of recommended daily levels of vitamin-A. Together; these compounds have been known to have antioxidant properties and are essential for vision. Vitamin A is also required for maintaining healthy mucos and skin. Consumption of natural fruits rich in carotenes is known to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.
• Fresh mango is a good source of potassium. 100 g fruit provides 156 mg of potassium while just 2 mg of sodium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure.
• It is also a very good source of vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine), vitamin-C and vitamin-E. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful oxygen-free radicals. Vitamin B-6 or pyridoxine is required for GABA hormone production within the brain. It also controls homocystiene levels within the blood, which may otherwise be harmful to blood vessels resulting in coronary artery disease (CAD), and stroke.
• Further, it composes moderate amounts of copper. Copper is a co-factor for many vital enzymes, including cytochrome c-oxidase and superoxide dismutase (other minerals function as co-factors for this enzyme are manganese and zinc). Copper is also required for the production of red blood cells.
• Additionally,mango peel is also rich in phytonutrients, such as the pigment antioxidants like carotenoids and polyphenols.

3. PAPAYA

Papaya fruit nutrition facts

Papaya fruit s another gift of Mexicans to this world. This exotic fruit, is packed with numerous health benefiting nutrients. It is one of the favorites of fruit lovers for its nutritional, digestive, and medicinal properties. It probably thought to have originated in the Central Americas.

Papaya plant is grown extensively all over the tropical regions under cultivated farms for its fruits as well as for latex, papain, an enzyme that found wide applications in the food industry.

Botanically, the plant belongs to Caricaceae family of flowering plants, in the genus; Carica.

Scientific name: Carica papaya.

Papaya fruit health benefits

• The papaya fruit is very low in calories (just 43 calories/100 g) and contains no cholesterol; however, it is a rich source of phyto-nutrients, minerals, and vitamins.
• Papayas contain soft, easily digestible flesh with a good amount of soluble dietary fiber that helps to have normal bowel movements; thereby reducing constipation problems.
• Fresh, ripe papaya is one of the fruits with the highest vitamin-C content (provides 60.9 mg or about 101% of DRI, more than that of inoranges, or lemons). Research studies have shown that vitamin C has many important functions like free radicals scavenging, immune booster, and anti-inflammatory actions.
• It is also an excellent source ofVitamin-A (provides 950 IU/100 g) and flavonoids like carotene, lutein, zea-xanthin and cryptoxanthin. Vitamin A is required for maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin and is essential for healthy vision. These compounds are known to have antioxidant properties; help act as protective scavengers against oxygen-derived free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that play a role in aging and various disease processes. Consumption of natural fruits rich in carotenes has known to protect the body from lung and oral cavity cancers.
• Papaya fruit is also rich in many essential B-complex vitamins such as Folic acid, pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), riboflavin, and thiamin (vitamin B-1). These vitamins are essential in the sense that body requires them from external sources to replenish and play a vital role in metabolism.
• Fresh ripe papaya also contains a good amount of potassium (257 mg per 100 g) and calcium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids and helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure countering effects of sodium.
• Papaya seeds have been proven natural remedy for many ailments in the traditional medicines. The seeds can be found application as anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitic, and analgesic, and used to treat stomachache, and ringworm infections.