What changes will happen to your body if you eat one dragon fruit every day? Will your bowel movements become smoother? Will your urine turn red?

In recent years, the demand for dragon fruit in my country has continued to grow and develop rapidly. Dragon fruit is a kind of tropical fruit. It not only tastes good, but also looks beautiful and is very convenient to eat. You only need to cut it and scoop it with a spoon to enjoy the delicious taste.

What effects will eating one dragon fruit every day have on your body? Let's find out today.

01

What are the nutritional values ​​of dragon fruit?

Pitaya belongs to the cactus family. Because the peel looks a bit like dragon scales, it is called "pitaya". It is also called red dragon fruit, fairy honey fruit, and auspicious fruit.

Speaking of the nutritional value of dragon fruit, it is really quite good.

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1. Dietary fiber

The average dietary fiber content of red pitaya and white pitaya is 2.77 g/100g and 3.14 g/100g respectively, which is higher than the apples, tangerines, oranges, peaches, etc. that we often eat. In particular, the small black seeds in pitaya are the main contributors to dietary fiber.
Intake of dietary fiber can enhance satiety, promote gastrointestinal motility, and prevent constipation, which is very beneficial to intestinal health. Friends who want to prevent constipation can eat more dragon fruit.

2. Mineral Magnesium

The magnesium content of pitaya is also quite good among fruits, at 30 mg/100 g, which is nearly 8 times the magnesium content of apples. Eating one pitaya (about 400 g) can ingest 120 mg of magnesium, which can meet 36% of the daily magnesium requirement of the general population.

3. Flavonoids

The peel and flesh of pitaya contain flavonoids, with contents of 8.33 mg/100g and 7.21 mg/100g respectively. The total flavonoid content of common vegetables is only about 2-14 mg/100g, and that of common fruits is only 3-36 mg/100g. The flavonoid content of pitaya is quite good.
Although these substances are not essential nutrients, they have special physiological activities, including anti-oxidation, anti-inflammatory, and immune regulation, which are beneficial for preventing chronic diseases and maintaining our health. Moreover, the human body cannot synthesize them directly and needs to obtain them through fruits and vegetables.

4. Anthocyanins and Betacyanins

Excluding the peel of pitaya, anthocyanins and betacyanin are mainly found in the flesh of red dragon fruit, with betacyanin being the dominant component, and its content is several times that of anthocyanins.

5. Sugar

Dragon fruit contains sugars such as glucose, fructose, and oligosaccharides. The sugar content of red-fleshed pitaya is higher than that of white-fleshed pitaya, so it tastes sweeter.

In addition, pitaya also contains a small amount of vitamin C, B vitamins, vitamin E, minerals potassium, calcium, iron and other nutrients.

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02

What are the benefits of eating dragon fruit regularly?

1. Prevent constipation

Dragon fruit is regarded as a "laxative" by everyone. The reason why it has earned such a reputation is mainly due to its rich dietary fiber and oligosaccharide content.

The recommended dietary fiber intake for ordinary adults in my country is 25 to 30 g/day. If you eat 200 g of white-fleshed pitaya every day, you can intake about 6 g of dietary fiber, which accounts for 24% of the minimum recommended daily intake of dietary fiber. This is more effective than eating 200 g of bananas.

The oligosaccharides in pitaya are a type of water-soluble dietary fiber. They absorb water in the intestines, promote gastrointestinal motility, and promote the proliferation of beneficial intestinal bacteria, which helps prevent constipation.

2. Control blood pressure

The magnesium content in pitaya is richer than most fruits, which is very helpful for stabilizing blood pressure. Epidemiological surveys have shown that magnesium intake is negatively correlated with high blood pressure, and magnesium supplementation can reduce vascular tension and vascular tone.

3. Antioxidant

Anthocyanins, betacyanins, flavonoids, vitamin E and other ingredients in pitaya have antioxidant effects, which can scavenge free radicals, reduce inflammation and enhance immunity.

4. Unsaturated fatty acids

There are many small black seeds in pitaya, which are very nutritious. The dietary fiber content of red pitaya seeds and white pitaya seeds is as high as 13% and 10% respectively. It is also rich in unsaturated fatty acids, up to 75.23%, of which the content of monounsaturated fatty acids is 31.39%, including linoleic acid and oleic acid.

Linoleic acid is an essential fatty acid for the human body; oleic acid can protect the cardiovascular system, reduce the amount of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (commonly known as bad cholesterol) in the blood, and prevent cardiovascular diseases.

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03

After eating red dragon fruit, will urine and feces turn red?

Friends who often eat dragon fruit will find that if they eat too much red-heart dragon fruit at one time, they will have red urine or red feces. If they are not mentally prepared and go to the toilet, they may be scared and think they have blood in their stool!
This is mainly due to the influence of betacyanin in pitaya. After all, it is also a very safe natural colorant with good coloring power.
When a large amount of betalain is taken in at one time and the body cannot absorb it, the excess will be excreted with urine and feces, dyeing the urine and feces red. This is a normal phenomenon. Don't worry, the color will return to normal after the body has excreted it .

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04

Attention, diabetics should eat less!

Dragon fruit doesn’t taste very sweet, especially the white-hearted dragon fruit! People are used to judging the sugar content of fruits by taste, which is wrong.

Although pitaya doesn’t taste very sweet, its sugar content is not low . Glucose is the soluble sugar with the highest content in pitaya, accounting for nearly 70% of the total soluble sugar, followed by fructose, and the lowest is sucrose.

The reason why it doesn't taste sweet is that among the three types of sugars, fructose is the sweetest, followed by sucrose, and grapes are the sweetest among the three.

Image source: Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents

The most important thing is that compared with fructose and sucrose, glucose enters the blood faster, has a greater impact on blood sugar, and has the highest glycemic index.

Image source: Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents

Even though dragon fruit doesn’t taste very sweet, people who need to control their blood sugar should still eat less . If you really like to eat it, don’t eat more than 100 grams a day. It is also recommended to eat a few nuts to help stabilize blood sugar.

In addition, those who are losing weight should also be careful not to overdo it.

100 grams of dragon fruit (about 1/3 bowl), Image source: provided by the author

Finally, I would like to remind you that dragon fruit is indeed a very nutritious food, but everyone should also pay attention to a balanced diet and a diversified diet.

References:

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[8] Sun Peiguang, Cheng Zhihao, Sun Changjun, Wu Qiong, Guo Suxia, Guo Gang, Li Hongli. Analysis of nutritional quality of 16 pitaya germplasm resources[J]. Molecular Plant Breeding, 2022, 20(19): 6585-6592. DOI: 10.13271/j.mpb.020.006585.

[9] Ma Feiyue, Shuai Xixiang, Zhang Ming, Du Liqing, Li Ya, Tang Xinming. Research progress on postharvest storage and preservation of pitaya[J]. Preservation and Processing, 2021, 21(11): 136-143

[10] Pan Xujie. Study on storage quality deterioration and flavor of pitaya[D]. Zhejiang Ocean University, 2021.DOI:10.27747/d.cnki.gzjhy.2021.000129.

Author: Xue Qingxin, one of the first nutrition instructors of the National Health Commission, and a registered nutritionist in China

Reviewer: Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center

Planning editor: Lin Yiyi

Editor in charge: Lin Lin