Jackfruit Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Jackfruit originally comes from India but because the fruit is so novel (and big!) many Floridians now grow it. The fruit can weigh up to 70 pounds. While you can consume the jackfruit both ripe and unripe but fully grown, most people in the US tend to like the unripe version.

When you crack open one of the enormous fruits, you'll find pods called bulbs. The pods are fleshy coverings for the seeds inside. When the jackfruit is still green, many consider it a great substitute for meat since when cooked it has a texture similar to chicken. You can mix it with eggs, cream, onions and flour and fry it up as a patty.

The interior of the jackfruit contains light brown seeds with orange to light yellow flesh. Many find the flavor of the flesh similar to that of a banana. If you allow the fruit to ripen, the smell becomes stronger and earthy. However, the bulbs now have the smell of a mixture of pineapple and banana.

Early methods of preserving the seeds included boiling them with butter, coconut milk and sugary syrup as well as drying them. However, today many people simply freeze the bulbs.

Jackfruit Calories and Nutrition Facts

Jackfruit is high in vitamin C and Manganese while being low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. It contains thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, vitamins A and C, as well as folate, calcium magnesium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, copper, potassium, selenium and manganese. It also provides 11 percent of the required daily amount of fiber. One cup of sliced jackfruit contains 155 calories.

India Has a Day for It

In India, where the fruit originated and used widely, there's an annual National Jackfruit Fest. In honor of the fest, scientist gathered and prepared a paper to present on the health benefits of jackfruit. There were several experiments presented.

One experiment found the extracts of the jackfruit inhibited the growth of HIV. Other findings indicated that the jackfruit bulbs or seeds contained jacalin. These lectins have high immunological properties. Other extractions from jackfruit, three phenolic compounds, had anti-inflammatory actions, which make them useful for fighting heart disease and other diseases from inflammation such as arthritis. Finally, the scientists noted the nutrients contained in the jackfruit were anti-cancer, anti-ulcerative, anti-aging and anti-hypersensitivity.

Jackfruit has not only been a staple in the Indian and Thai cuisine. People have used it to help stomach problems and ulcer. In addition, it also had a place in Chinese medicine to aid in overcoming the effects of alcohol in the body.

Latex Warning

If you decide to benefit from the list of jackfruit nutrition and fix one for serving, beware of the oozing latex like syrup that comes from the fruit. While it's more prevalent in the unripe fruit, it also occurs in the ripe fruit. While this sticky substance won't hurt you, it does make clean up a bit of a hassle. Always oil your hands before cutting a jackfruit with a coconut oil or other thick oil. You can stop the fruit from bleeding latex by using a slice of lemon on the area.