"Food For Life Caribbean Jackfruit super fruits feeding orphans in Haiti"

Contact us

Super Fruits!

Food For Life

UCT Children's Agricultural Curriculum

UCT Projects

Caribbean Disaster Relief

home>>food for life >>super fruits>>jackfruit

Super Fruits - Jackfruit

Jackfruit is recognized for its unique shape, size, and fruity flavor. The fruit is deliciously sweet in taste similar to bananas. It is also rich in energy, dietary fiber, minerals, and vitamins and free from saturated fats or cholesterol, making it one of the healthy treats to relish!

Jackfruit is a huge tree that grows to as high as 30 meters, larger than mango, breadfruit etc. It is believed to be indigenous to the Southwestern rain forests of India.

Pictures sourced from wikipedia.org

Today, it is widely cultivated in the tropical regions. In a season, each tree bears as many as 250 large fruits, supposed to be the largest tree-borne fruits in the world. These massive unripe fruits are green, they turn light brown and spread a strong sweet, fruity smell once ripe.

Jackfruit outer surface is covered with blunt thorn-like projections, which become soft as the fruit ripe. Its interior consists of eye-catching orange-yellow color edible bulbs. Each bulb consists of sweet flesh (sheath) that encloses a smooth, oval, light-brown seed. There may be as many as 50 to 500 edible bulbs embedded in a single fruit interspersed in-between thin bands of fibers.

Nutrition content:

Jackfruit is a good source of vitamin-C, provides 23% of RDA. It is one of the rare fruits that is rich in B-complex group of vitamins. Further, fresh fruit is a good source of potassium, magnesium, manganese, and iron. Jackfruit seeds contain a good amount of protein.

Jackfruit Preparation:

Jackfruit seeds are very rich in digestible starch, protein and minerals. They can be used in a variety of recipes although they are generally eaten either by roasting as a snack or added to stews (curries) in place of lentils.

Here are some serving tips:
• Jackfruit bulbs can be enjoyed without any additions.

• Jackfruit slices mixed with grated coconut, honey and banana slices makes a delicious dessert.

• The fruit is also used in jam, jelly and chutney preparations.

• Jackfruit seeds are a good source of protein and minerals; used like lentils and pulses in curry.

• Unripe green fruit is used like vegetable.

Information sourced from www.nutrition-and-you.com

Health benefits of Jackfruit:

1. Revitalizes the body: 100 g of edible Jackfruit bulbs provide 95 calories. The fruit when eaten replenishes energy and revitalizes the body instantly.. Although Jackfruit is energy rich fruit but it contains no saturated fats or cholesterol making it one of healthy fruit to savor!

2. Laxative: Jackfruit is rich in dietary fiber, which makes it a good bulk laxative. It should not be eaten in quantity if pregnant.

3.Improves vision: Fresh fruit has small but significant amounts of Vitamin-A, and other compounds that together play vital roles in antioxidant and vision functions.

4. Builds resistance to infections: Jackfruit is a good source vitamin C which helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents.

5. Controls heart rate and blood pressure: Jackfruit is a good source of potassium an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

6. Strengthen Immune System: Jackfruit is an excellent source of vitamin C, a powerful nutrient which helps protect against viral and bacterial infections.

7. Protect against Cancer: Jackfruit also has anti-cancer and anti-aging properties. These may help eliminate cancer-causing cells from the body and slow the degeneration of cells that can lead to aging.

8. Aids in healthy digestion: Jackfruit is also known to contain anti-ulcer properties which help cure ulcers and digestive disorders. In addition, the present of high fiber in the jackfruit prevents constipation.

9. Strengthen the Bone: Jackfruit is rich in magnesium, a nutrient which important in the absorption of calcium and work with calcium to help strengthen the bone and prevent bone related disorders.

10. Prevent Anemia: Jackfruit also contains iron which helps to prevent anemia and also helps in proper blood circulation in our body.

11. Maintain a Healthy Thyroid: Copper plays an important role in the thyroid metabolism Jackfruit is loaded with this important micro-mineral

Information sourced from www.ehealthzine.com

Health benefits of Jackfruit Leaves:

• To treat fever: The leaves of Jackfruit tree are useful for curing fever, make a tea from dried Jackfruit leaves, drink three times a day.

• To heal ulcers: The ash of Jackfruit leaves is burnt and used either alone or mixed with coconut oil.

• To heal boils: Jackfruit leaves have been used for years in order to treat skin problems including boils. Crush the leaves and apply the paste to the boil, wrap with a bandage.

• To disinfecting wounds: Jackfruit leaves have been treating and disinfecting wounds since ancient times in the east. It doesn’t only speed up the healing of the wound, but also helps make sure that it does not get infected.

• Prevent Aging: Antioxidants contained in Jackfruit leaves have benefits that prevents premature aging.

• High Calcium: Jackfruit leaf tea is excellent for promoting healthy bones and strong teeth.

• Anti-Cancer: One of the great benefits of Jackfruit leaves is they have anti-cancer properties.

Medical disclaimer:

This information is intended solely for the general information of the reader. The contents is not intended to offer personal medical advice, diagnose health problems or for treatment purposes. It is not a substitute for medical care provided by a licensed and qualified health professional. Please consult your health care provider for any advice on medications.

CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW TO LEARN MORE...