"There are three benefits that can be obtained from consuming dragon fruit juice regularly. One of the benefits is helping the body fight chronic disease.”
Dragon fruit or pitahaya fruit is a tropical fruit that has a bright red skin and sweet, speckled flesh. In addition to its distinctive appearance, this fruit has many fans. Because dragon fruit is currently one of the healthiest foods you can consume.
This is related to the important nutrients contained in the fruit. Not only rich in nutrients, dragon fruit is also easy for you to consume. Well, there are several benefits if you eat dragon fruit directly, or make it a healthy drink like juice.
Benefits of Dragon Fruit Juice if Consumed Routinely
Dragon fruit is low in calories with various vitamins and minerals that are important for the body. In addition, dragon fruit also contains a large amount of dietary fiber.
The following is an overview of the main nutrients in a one-cup serving of dragon fruit weighing around 227 grams:
- Calories: 136 kcal.
- Protein: 3 grams.
- Fat: 0 grams.
- Carbs: 29 grams.
- Fiber: 7 grams.
- Iron: 8 percent of the recommended daily requirement.
- Magnesium: 18 percent of the recommended daily requirement.
- Vitamin C: 9 percent of the recommended daily requirement.
- Vitamin E: 4 percent of the recommended daily requirement.
Beyond the essential nutrients, dragon fruit also has beneficial antioxidants like polyphenols, carotenoids and betacyanins. So, here are the benefits of consuming dragon fruit juice regularly:
1. Helps fight chronic disease
Free radicals are unstable molecules that are prone to causing cell damage, so they are at risk of causing inflammation and disease. Well, one way to fight it is to eat antioxidant-rich foods like dragon fruit.
Antioxidants work by neutralizing free radicals. This can prevent cell damage and inflammation in the body. The study entitled The oxidative stress theory of disease: levels of evidence and epistemological aspects shows interesting results.
The study found that a diet high in antioxidants can help prevent a number of chronic diseases. Starting from diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, to cancer.
2. Improve the balance of bacteria
The next benefit of consuming dragon juice regularly is that it can improve digestive health. Well, the human gut is a "home" for about 100 trillion diverse microorganisms, including more than 400 species of bacteria.
Many experts think that the community of microorganisms in the gut has an impact on human health. This is because several studies have linked an imbalance of microorganisms in the gut to trigger conditions such as heart disease or asthma.
When talking about dragon fruit, this fruit contains prebiotics so it has the potential to improve the balance of good bacteria in the gut.
3. Strengthen the immune system
The ability of the immune system to fight infection is determined by a number of different factors. One such factor is the quality of one's diet. Well, vitamin C and carotenoids in dragon fruit can boost one's immune system.
In addition, both can also prevent infection by protecting white blood cells from damage. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with consuming dragon fruit juice regularly.
Those are some of the benefits of consuming dragon fruit juice which contains various important nutrients. If you still have questions about the benefits of dragon fruit or have medical complaints, contact your doctor immediately.