It wouldn’t be possible to survive in this world if not for fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are the most basic forms of food and are also the most beneficial for human health. If there’s any food eating only which we can survive whole life then it has to be fruit or vegetable. Fruits and vegetables have lots of advantages for which it’s rated highly.
Lychee is a type of fruit that is amazing to taste and is popular in various forms. From young ones to elders, everyone would love to have lychee such is the taste of it. Even though lychee is a popular fruit but we don’t have detailed information on lychee and its benefits. This article provides a lychee fruit description for you.
What does a Lychee look like?
Lychee is a fruit of the soapberry family. Lychee is particularly popular in the regions of Southeast Asia and China. Lychee looks almost like a large raspberry. The shape of the fruits is oval to round with strawberry-red husk about 1 inch in diameter. The brittle outer cover covers a translucent white flesh that covers one large seed.
The fruit is eaten removing the outer husk from the flesh. The leaves of the lychee tree are compound and have two to four pairs of leaflets 2-3 inches long. The leaves have an aroma as do the fruits. The fresh pulp has an aromatic and musky flavor. It’s eaten in a number of different ways and all of them are delicious.
How does a Lychee fruit taste?
Lychee is also spelled as Litchi or litchee. It’s very popular among South Asians. Although it looks like a raspberry it has a very different taste. The flavor and smell are unique. The lychee has a texture similar to a grapefruit. The taste is sweet and a bit acidic due to the citrus with a bit of rose water.
The rose watery aroma differentiates it from others. It has a combination of sweet and tart which pairs well with other tropical flavors. So, they’re eaten as a salad or used in other dishes. Mostly it’s eaten fresh but it’s also eaten canned or making jelly.
What are the nutrients involved in Lychee?
The main components of Lychee are water and carbs. Lychee has 82% water and 16.5% carbs. Apart from it, they’re rich in Vitamin C as well. Lychee contains some other important nutrients as well. The Lychee fruit calories are 66 which is relatively low.
The nutritional content of 100 gram serving of one fresh lychee has the following nutrients:
- Saturated fat: 0.1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
- Sodium: 1 mg
- Potassium: 171 mg
- Total Carbohydrate: 17 g
- Dietary fiber: 1.3 g
- Sugar: 15 g
- Protein: 0.8 g
- Vitamin C: 119% of Daily Value( DV)
- Calcium: 0% of DV
- Iron: 1% of DV
- Vitamin D: 0% of DV
- Vitamin B6: 5% of DV
- Cobalamin: 0% of DV
- Magnesium: 2% of DV
Important nutrients like Vitamin B6 and Magnesium are present which are hard to find but required for the regular functioning of the body.
What are the advantages of Lychee?
Like every fruit, Lychee has some advantages which you can enjoy. Different nutrients benefit different processes and parts of the body. Here we’ve tried to sum up all the advantages of Lychee.
- Reduce abdominal fat, fatigue, and inflammation
Oligonol is a Lychee fruit extract. Oligonol is a very effective supplement. It’s a patented mixture of antioxidants like proanthocyanins which is derived from lychee skin and developed in Japan.
The antioxidants are chemically altered so that they can increase the uptake from the gut. According to several studies, Oligonol is able to reduce abdominal fat, fatigue, and inflammation.
- Improve Liver health
The liver is one of the important organs of the body which performs many important functions to keep the body going. An example of its importance is, that it converts nutrients into substances that the body can use removing all toxins.
It has been found that antioxidants present in Lychee fruit are able to control liver disease.
- Rich in different antioxidants
Antioxidants are key to preventing various serious diseases. Lychees have higher levels of antioxidant polyphenols than most other fruits. The antioxidants present in Lychees are:
Epicatechin: It’s a type of flavonoid that may improve heart health and reduce the risk of cancer and diabetes.
Rutin: It’s another type of flavonoid that may help protect against chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
- Rich source of Vitamins and minerals
Lychees contain a decent amount of vitamins and minerals. Indeed it provides 119% of vitamin C of the daily requirement. The essential nutrients are:
Vitamin C: It’s the one which is present the most in Lychees. One lychee provides around 9% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for vitamin C.
Copper: Copper is an important nutrient and inadequate copper intake can have adverse effects on heart health. Lychees contain a decent amount of copper.
Potassium: Potassium is able to improve heart health through different processes. Lychees contain a good amount of Potassium which would be beneficial for heart health.
Out of the thousands of food items, it’s impossible to choose one for the betterment of health. Due to the increased intake of junk foods, the health condition is degrading gradually. It’s important for us to be aware of it and try to prevent it. The best way of preventing diseases is to eat fruits and vegetables and one of the best options is eating lychees regularly. The details and advantages of Lychee fruit have been mentioned in this article.
