The Top Benefits of Pitaya and Why It’s Important To Your Health!

The Top Benefits of Pitaya and Why It’s Important To Your Health!

• So with all that being said (my rambling sentiments setting the groundwork in the above), I do want to talk about pitaya, which is not a common food for most of us. It does actually fall into the category of being “exotic” to an extent.

• Probably the first thing you will notice about the pitaya (dragon fruit) is its distinctive look. 

• Coming in 3 color variations, yellow or pink with white flesh and red with red flesh, the typical dragon fruit is a truly curious looking thing. 

• It has fish-like, thick scales on the skin which signal its membership in the succulent family, and tender inner flesh which is peppered with a multitude of tiny black seed. So pretty!!! 

• The skin is not typically considered edible because it can be quite leathery and a bit bitter, but it is sometimes brewed as a tea to extract valuable nutrients such as Lycopene (shown to reduce the risk of prostate cancer), which gives it the vibrant red color. 

• Once you have sliced it, you can scoop out the flesh and enjoy the taste and texture of the fruit with the seeds. 

• Eating the seeds is part of the experience and should be enjoyed for the textural component they offer as well as the nutritional value of the polyunsaturated fatty acids they contain. 

• When I was in Korea for 3 weeks last year I ate pitaya daily in huge amounts, as it was part of the breakfast buffet of the Conrad, the hotel where I stayed. At first it tastes really mild, but if you combine it with other fruits (I like to blend it with strawberries) and as your diet really purifies, your tastes may detect more of the sensitive delicacies of pitaya’s subtle flavors. Now I have to say that I truly love it! 

• Not only is the humble pitaya an object of exotic beauty, but it truly packs a substantial beauty and nutritional punch (our favorite kind of punch, not Manny Pacquiao style!). A 100-gram (3.5 oz) serving of white-fleshed dragon fruit provides an estimated 21 milligrams of vitamin C, which is 34% of the recommended daily value.    

• While this doesn’t compare to oranges which provide more than twice this amount, it still offers more than triple the vitamin C found in an equal serving of carrots. 

• Why is this so important? Because when we infuse our diets with foods that are rich in vitamin C, like the dragon fruit, we are boosting our body’s natural ability to flush out heavy metals and other toxins, aiding in the rebuilding of cells, contributing to the natural beauty of the skin, and enhancing our ability to cope with stress. 

• This is only a small example of the way our bodies use the foods we eat. 

• The bounty of nutrition doesn’t simply stop with vitamin C. 

• Along with being a moderately good source of iron, the dragon fruit also contains essential B vitamins which our bodies use to perform a host of other duties, like helping to metabolize carbohydrates, lowering bad cholesterol levels, and nourishing the skin. Great for hair and nails also! 

• It also contains phosphorous which plays an important role in how the body uses carbohydrates and fats. 

• Phosphorous is a necessary nutrient which our bodies use to make protein for the growth, maintenance, and repair of cells and tissues. 

• It helps the body make ATP, a molecule the body uses to store energy, and phosphorus also works with the B vitamins, aiding in healthy kidney function, nerve signaling, muscle contraction, and healthy heartbeat.

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