Behind the sweet and delicious taste, there are many benefits of red dragon fruit for health, including preventing cancer. Thanks to the content of antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals in it, this fruit whose skin resembles scales also has a myriad of other benefits.
Red dragon fruit is much liked because it has a sweet taste, high water content, and soft texture. This characteristic makes red dragon fruit often processed into various desserts, such as smoothies, juices or fruit ice.
Benefits of Dragon Fruit for Health
Quoted from the Pharmeasy and Healthline pages, some of the benefits of dragon fruit for health are as follows:
Dragon fruit contains several types of antioxidants, namely compounds that can protect cells from unstable molecules or called free radicals. Free radicals are the cause of various chronic diseases and aging.
Dragon fruit health benefits
- Rich in antioxidants Quoted from Healthline, free radicals are molecules that can cause damage to cells in the body, so they can cause serious illness. To counteract free radicals, you can consume dragon fruit which is rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants can neutralize free radicals, thereby preventing damage to cells in the body. Many consume foods that contain antioxidants can help prevent chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis and heart disease.
- Rich in fiber Dragon fruit is a food that has very good fiber content, so dragon fruit is good for digestive health. In addition, fiber can also play a role in protecting the body from heart disease, controlling type 2 diabetes, maintaining weight and preventing colon cancer.
- Healthy intestines The prebiotic content in dragon fruit can improve the balance of good bacteria in the intestine. Prebiotics are a type of fiber that can promote the growth of good bacteria in your gut. Consuming foods that contain prebiotics regularly can reduce the risk of gastrointestinal infections, diarrhea, relieve symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer.
- Boosts immunity Dragon fruit contains vitamin C and carotenoids which can boost the immune system and prevent infection by protecting white blood cells from damage. White blood cells play a role in the immune system because they can attack and destroy harmful substances that enter the body. However, white blood cells are weak against free radicals. Dragon fruit has powerful antioxidants, vitamin C and carotenoids which can neutralize free radicals, thereby protecting white blood cells from harm. Also read: Don't throw away dragon fruit skin, it can be processed into these 4 foods
- Contains iron Iron plays an important role in the process of distributing oxygen throughout the body, but it also has a role in breaking down food into energy. Dragon fruit is one of the few fruits that contain iron.
- Reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke Magnesium has an important role to break down food into energy, muscle contraction, bone formation and even manufacture of DNA. Several studies have shown that high magnesium intake can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.
- Prevent disease Reporting from Verywell Fit, the content of vitamin C in dragon fruit can improve wound healing.