Dragon fruit is a tropical fruit, also known as Pitaya fruit or Hylocereus. Dragon fruit is mostly red, but there are also colors like pink, white and purple. It also has an unique appearance, with scales and flowers. All this makes dragon fruit extremely popular. But not only the look and the color of dragon fruit is special, also the nutritional benefits of dragon fruit is special. Did you know dragon fruit contains a lot of antioxidants for instance? But they have many more benefits! If you want to know more about
dragon fruit nutrients, read further!
Nutrients content of dragon fruit
Dragon fruit is an extraordinary source of nutrients. It is full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. To give you an idea of what dragon fruit contents, we have enumerated the general dragon fruit nutrients per serving of 6 ounce(=170 grams):
- Calories: 102 kcal
- Protein: 2 grams
- Fat: 0 grams
- Carbohydrates: 22 grams
- Sugars: 13 grams
- Fiber: 5 grams
- Vitamin C: 7% of the RDI
- Iron: 7% of the RDI
- Magnesium: 15% of the RDI
Dragon fruit nutritional information
Dragon fruit is a low-calorie food, it consists mostly of carbohydrates. In dragon fruit there are two carbohydrates, namely sugar and fibers. In the serving of 6 ounces there are 5 grams of fiber in it, this is already 20% of your daily intake of fiber, according to Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Besides that dragon fruit is low in calories, there are more nutritional benefits of dragon fruit. The second benefit of dragon fruit is that there is almost no fat in it. Only a little bit of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, but these ones are healthy for you.
Another great thing about the dragon fruit nutrients is the amounts of vitamins and minerals. It contains vitamin C, vitamin E, iron and magnesium. All these vitamins and minerals make sure your body functions normally and keeps you healthy.
Dragon fruit vitamin C
One important nutrient of the dragon fruit nutrients is vitamin C, it may improve your immune system. Vitamin C can also help your body take in and use the iron that is in the dragon fruit.
Dragon fruit vitamin E
Besides vitamin C dragon fruit also contains vitamin E. This is working as an antioxidant and may help protect your cells, blood vessels, organs, eyes and tissue.
Dragon fruit iron
Dragon fruit is also a great source of iron. This is helping in the process of the transport of oxygen via the blood to the cells. You can’t live without oxygen, because oxygen is needed for the combustion of nutrients in your tissues, releasing the energy which you use to live.
Dragon fruit magnesium
Dragon fruit also contains magnesium. Magnesium is a mineral that the body needs for a huge number of processes throughout the body, such as converting food into energy.
Colors and tastes of dragon fruit
The taste of course differs from the colors. For example, the yellow variety is the sweetest of all, and the pitaya with a white inside and a pink or red outside are judged as the most neutral. The dragon fruits with a red inside are more tend to be more sweeter than the ones with with flesh and a red / pink outside. As a result, the nutritional values also differ, of course. The pitaya with a red inside, for example, contains more oxidants because of the red color, while the most sweet pitaya (yellow outside) can contain more sugar and are considered as sweeter.
How to add pitaya to my current diet?
Dragon fruit can be eaten very easily in between meals as it requires little to no prep time. So very handy! Of course, dragon fruit is also used in salads, breakfast and or with dinner. You can easily give it your own twist, depending on the meal. Try out the different variants and colors to see which one suits you best. Because of the good dragon fruit nutrients, you can add pitaya to you diet every day.
How to store dragon fruit?
If you want to
store dragon fruit in the right way to keep the nutritional value good, you can do two things. The first one is to put it out of the refrigerator, if you want to eat it in the next few days. The second option is to put it in the refrigerator, if you want to eat it over a week. The last option is to put it in the freezer, this will keep the dragon fruit good for about 3-4 months.
