Surprising Health Benefits of Purple Dragon Fruit

Purple dragon fruit, also known as Pitaya, is a fruit that came originally from South America. The skin of this fruit looks like dragon scales and that is the reason why it is known as Dragon fruit. Purple dragon fruit, or Hylocereus polyrhizus, is one of the red dragon fruit varieties. There are a lot of health benefits of this fruit. Read below to know about some of the surprising health benefits of purple dragon fruit.

The pigment content level of Betalain is too high in purple dragon fruit, that gives the purple color to the fruit. The nutritional facts of this fruit (pitaya) are really very much interesting. The nutrients found in the purple dragon fruit is extraordinary and can meet several nutritional needs of our body. Let us take a look on the nutrients present in the fruit.

100 grams of purple dragon fruit or pitaya contain 87 grams of water, 1.1 grams of protein, 0.4 grams of Fat, 11 grams of Carbohydrate, 0.04 mg of fiber, 0.04 grams of Thiamine or Vitamin B1, 0.05 mg of Riboflavin or Vitamin B2, 0.16 mg of Niacin or Vitamin B3, 20.5 mg of Ascorbic acid or Vitamin C, 8.5 mg of Calcium, and 0.16 mg of Iron.

One of the most surprising health benefits of purple dragon fruit or pitaya is, its usefulness as an antioxidant in which the content of antioxidants will help in fighting the occurrence of free radicals in the body. Free radicals can cause cancer and cell aging. So, by consuming purple dragon fruit, one can help his or her body to avoid several diseases.

Generally people with Anemia suffer from a disease known as Thalassemia. Thalassemia can be cured by consuming purple dragon fruit, because the fruit can increase the levels of hemoglobin in the blood.

Purple dragon fruit is a wonderful source of Vitamin B and Vitamin C. Thus, it has tremendous health benefits because of it. By consuming purple dragon fruit or pitaya, one can meet the requirements of Vitamin C needed by the body. This would be beneficial in avoiding several diseases. In addition to this, the body also requires vitamin B, which is known to help in lowering cholesterol levels and help the body metabolism develop well. Being rich in vitamin B, purple dragon fruit can also be a good way to fulfill the requirement of body’s Vitamin B needs.

Being loaded with potassium, the purple dragon fruit also helps in avoiding several diseases like kidney stone. So, in order to avoid kidney stone disease, you need to consume the fruit in fair quantity.

Purple dragon fruit is really beneficial for the pregnant women. The folate contained in the fruit is highly essential when consumed during pregnancy. The folate content present in the fruit helps in the formation of DNA in the fetus.

The antioxidants present in purple dragon fruit, helps greatly in reducing the blood pressure. More over, the antioxidant content can also be used in maintaining the elasticity of blood vessels.

Purple dragon fruit is also useful in reducing the bad cholesterol levels present in the body. By consuming the fruit on a regular basis, one can prevent self from cholesterol disease and several other diseases caused by high cholesterol levels.

One of the most surprising health benefits of purple dragon fruit is it is useful in detoxifying the body from various toxins. The content contained in purple dragon fruit like, Vitamin C antioxidants will aid in detoxifying the body.

One of the best things to consume, if you are trying for losing weight, is purple dragon fruit. Consuming the juice of this fruit will help you in losing your weight in a natural way. In order to lose weight quickly, consume purple dragon fruit and also go for deligent exercise regularly.

Purple dragon fruit has also the content that keeps you away from free radicals. This is the reason why consuming the fruit can help you protect the immune system of your body. Consuming this will help you avoid several unwanted diseases.

Purple dragon fruit or pitaya is also known to be good for digestive health. The amount of fiber present in it benefits the food processing in the stomach, expedite food through the intestine, stimulate peristaltic movement and also facilitate defecation. So, by eating this fruit regularly, you can have reduced risk of constipation, upset stomach and dangerous diseases like colorectal cancer.

Purple dragon fruits, just like carrots are beneficial for maintaining eye health. This is because of the presence of high beta carotene. So, for those individuals who are allergic to carrots and want to maintain proper eye health, you can consume the purple dragon fruit as a fair solution.

How wonderful it is to know that purple dragon fruit is also greatly beneficial for maintaining bone health!

There could be nothing as surprising as the heart health benefits of purple dragon fruit. The reason behind this is that this exotic fruit does not contain the bad cholesterol substance. In fact, by reducing your intake of bad cholesterol in to the body, the chances of formation of plaques in the artery and blood vessel channels are diminished. Purple dragon fruit contains the good cholesterol in it.

The purple dragon fruit is known to be very much beneficial in treating several skin conditions like sunburns, acne, etc. So, the skin health benefits of the fruit are really amazing. Let us take a look on some of them.

It Fights Signs Of Aging: Wrinkles, fine lines, sagging skin and dullness of the skin are all signs that appear when your skin starts aging. It is an embarassing phase in real when you start trying out a lot of cosmetic brands so as to soothe the skin from aging. Well! How about trying a natural face pack from purple dragon fruit for your skin? Aging is caused by cellular damage that is done by the free radicals loitering in your body. Purple dragon fruit comprises of antioxidants in it which helps fight the free radicals and thus slows down the process of aging. Thus, this makes your skin look smoother and younger.

You need half dragon fruit and one tablespoon of yogurt to prepare the face pack for your skin. Simply scoop out the pulp of the dragon fruit and prepare a smooth paste out of it. Then add the yogurt to this paste and apply this as a face pack and keep it for 20 minutes before rinsing it off with lukewarm water. Using the face pack once in a week for about a month or two, can help you get tighter and fuller skin, devoid of wrinkles and lines.

Soothes Sunburn Skin: A face pack made of purple dragon fruit can also help in soothing the redness and inflammation caused due to sunburn skin. It is rich in Vitamin C, and a combination of Vitamin E and Vitamin C has been known to protect your skin against Ultraviolet rays and thus soothes sunburns. In order to prepare the face mask for protecting skin against sunburn, you will require half of the fruit and one capsule of Vitamin E. All you need is scoop out the pulp of the purple dragon fruit and mash it well to make a puree. Then puncture the Vitamin E capsule and add it to the mashed dragon fruit and apply this to the sunburned area of your skin. Keep it for about 30 minutes and then rinse it off. You can use this every alternate days until you see effective results.

It Fights Acne: One more skin health benefit of purple dragon fruit is that it fights acne. The presence of Vitamin C in the fruit makes it an amazing fruit for your pimples and acne. Take ¼ th of the purple dragon fruit and scrape out the pulp from it and mash it to form a smooth paste. Then, by using a cotton ball, apply the paste on the affected area and then rinse it off after 15-20 minutes. Repeating this process, at least twice in a day could be really great in fighting acne.

Promotes Skin Health: Attaining a healthy and glowing skin could be pretty easy if you are adding purple dragon fruit to your diet that can really do good to your skin. Drinking one glass of the fruit juice could be a great way to start your mornings. It will not only make you healthy, but also will help release all the toxins from the body, thus leaving a glowing skin. This is because of the presence of antioxidant contents and Vitamin C in the fruit that helps in saving you from dull and sagging skin and getting you a bright skin.

Provides Essential Moisture To Dry Skin: Purple dragon fruit or Pitaya is also known to be rich in water content and this is thus essential in providing hydration to your skin, especially if you have dry skin. So, note it to include the purple dragon fruit in your diet, especially during winters and keep away from drin

There are some wonderful hair health benefits of the purple dragon fruit too. Let us take a look on some of them.

It Treats Colored Hair: With growing fashion and trends, most people color their hair. Well! Hair color comes with hell lot of care. The chemicals that lend your hair color, also leave them dry and dull. Using dragon fruit on your hair can resolve the damage done to the hair because of hair color. Simply scoop out the flesh of the purple dragon fruit and make a smooth paste out of it, which is to be applied on your scalp and your hair and kept for 15 to 20 minutes before washing it off with a mild shampoo. Repeating this process, once in a week for few months can get you desired results.

Promotes Healthy Hair: Purple dragon fruit can bring in health and great shine to your lifeless or dull hair. Drink the juice of the fruit regularly. You can also apply some of the pulp from the fruit to your scalp and hair, just like a hair mask. You can see a drastic change in the texture of your hair in few months when you use it quite often. Now, why does this work? This is because it contains abundant antioxidants and enzymes in it that make your hair healthier and smoother.