Durian Nutrition Facts, Calories and Health Benefits
Many consider the durian the king of fruits. It has a thick thorn covered husk, a large size often 12 inches long and six inches in diameter and may weigh between two to seven pounds. However, it also has one more distinction. It smells.
Some may consider it a pleasant odor and describe it as almondy while others say it smells a bit like old gym socks, turpentine or even rotting onions. Most hotels won't allow the fruit served in their restaurants or even brought onto the premises because of its odor. You can't take it onto many types of public transportation for the same reason.
Even though Western civilization has known about the durian for 600 years, its native home is Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei on the island of Borneo. It became more popular after Alfred Russel Wallace, a British naturalist in the 19th century, described it as "a rich custard highly flavoured with almonds."
Get the ABC's: Durian Calories and Nutrition Facts
Durian is not a low calorie fruit since one cup of chopped durian contains 357 calories, with 108 of them from fat content. However, it is a very nutritious fruit. It contains calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin A, C, B6, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate, pantothenic acid, potassium, sodium, zinc, copper and manganese.
One cup of durian can provide 80 percent of your required daily amount of vitamin C. It also can offer up to 38 percent of the necessary amount of vitamin B6, 61 percent of your daily thiamin needs and 39 percent of your daily manganese amount. In addition, it's also a very good source of dietary fiber.
A Vitamin Pill in a Prickly Shell
Those who had a problem with the smell often taste the durian fruit because of that description and the durian nutrition facts. The fruit has high levels of tryptophan, an amino acid necessary for the production of melatonin and serotonin. These neurotransmitters play an important role in the body's sleep cycles and also act as natural antidepressants, play a role in the treatment of epilepsy and may potentially prevent Alzheimer's disease.
Because it contains flesh that's easy to digest and simple sugars, it can help rejuvenate the body immediately. The high fat content free from cholesterol and is a good source of multiple vitamins and minerals make it the perfect food to supplement for those suffering from malnutrition, starvation, and cancer treatment and advanced aging with weight loss.
Important Durian Health Benefits
While the ample nutritional quality should be enough to convince you to include durian in your diet, despite the odor, there are studies that show it has other benefits besides the vitamin content.
One study compared the effects of adding durian to the diet of male rats. The scientists added a five percent inclusion of durian plus one percent cholesterol to those with no addition to their diet. It also compared simply supplementing the basic diet with one percent cholesterol or one with five percent snake fruit or mangosteen and one percent cholesterol added.
Durian proved the most beneficial.
It significantly hindered the rise in plasma lipids. It also protected the antioxidant activity often lost. This proved that durian nutrition facts were not the only reason to eat the fruit. It could prove helpful in controlling cholesterol and diabetes.
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