Making sure that we get at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day is essential for maintaining our general health and wellbeing, but it’s easy to feel unenthusiastic about this when all you’re eating is the relatively humdrum likes of apples, pears and bananas.
Variety is the spice of life, as they say, and if you’ve been feeling a little lacklustre about your fruit bowl of late, what about mixing things up a bit with the addition of some big, bold and bright exotic fruits?
Here are a few of the most delicious and nutrient-dense exotic fruits to consider if you’re looking for something new and exciting to try. Which of these do you think you’ll taste test first?
Dragon fruit
Dragon fruit is native to southern Mexico and Central America, although these days it’s grown all over the world.
Also known as pitaya or strawberry pear, it contains lots of antioxidants such as betalains, hydroxycinnamates and flavonoids (which can help protect against high cholesterol, cancer and heart disease, as well as potentially improving brain health).
It also contains prebiotic fibre that can help drive the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut, which could possibly help improve metabolic health.
Mango
Did you know that mango is known as the king of fruits? This is not without good reason, as it is a brilliant source of vitamins A, K, C, E and B6, as well as potassium, fibre, folate and mangiferin.
This latter antioxidant is particularly powerful and studies show that it can help protect the body from diseases like type 2 diabetes, some cancers, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
Lychee
Lychee, though small, is incredibly nutritious and a wonderful source for everything from fibre and potassium to vitamin C and lots of antioxidants. Just one little lychee will cover around eight per cent of your daily vitamin C intake, which can help support heart health by improving risk factors like high blood pressure. One serving is about seven of the fruits.
Durian
You might be a little put off from trying durian because of its somewhat pungent smell but persevere with it and you’ll be rewarded with a serious health boost, as the fruit is particularly nutritious.
Just one cup (250g) of durian will give you 80% of your daily value of vitamin C, 39 per cent of manganese, 38 per cent of vitamin B6, 30 per cent of potassium, 18 per cent of magnesium and 22 per cent of folate… so it’s certainly worth having one in your fruit bowl at home.
As well as being rich in fibre, durian is also chock-full of other healthy plant compounds, including flavonoids, polyphenols, carotenoids and anthocyanins, many of which serve as powerful antioxidants.
Of course, these are only a couple of examples of delicious and nutritious exotic fruits you could try. There are countless others, so you’re sure to have a great time maximising your health and sampling lots of unusual food. Have fun!