Benefits of Dragonfruit

If you watch Dr. Oz you know that he's always giving out great tips on good nutritional habits. One of the sources he recommended that was low in sugar and high in omega 3's is Dragonfruit or also known as Pitaya. Go figure that a few weeks later I was contacted by Pitaya Plus who manufacture pitaya in drink form asking if I wanted to sample it. A low calorie, healthy cleansing drink is high in nutrients and recommended for diabetics.

This would generally have been one that I would have said no to only because there's no distribution in Canada but when I thought twice I knew that so many of our readers are American and could benefit from the product. It also doesn't hurt that I travel to California for two months in the winter and can get it there. AND for those who have interest, you can order it on their online store. For our readers in the U.S., if you've had some experience with Dragonfruit, I'd love to hear about it.

For those like me who really didn't know much about Dragonfruit, here's our own charming Chef Richardo giving just a brief demo.





I shared the samples with my doctor who validated the claims made by the product manufacturers. That was good enough for me.

Nutritional Facts:
• Particularly red-skinned pitayas are a good source of Vitamin C.
• Pitayas are rich in fiber and minerals, notably phosphorus and calcium. Red pitayas seem to be richer in the former, yellow ones in the latter.
• The seeds are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, and in particular Red Pitayas contain very little saturated fat.
• Pitahayas also contain significant quantities of phytoalbumin antioxidants, which prevent the formation of cancer-causing free radicals.
• In Taiwan, diabetics use the fruit as a food substitute for rice and as a source of dietary fiber.
• Pitaya supposedly increases excretion of heavy metal toxins and lowers cholesterol and blood pressure. Eaten regularly, it is credited with alleviating chronic respiratory tract ailments.

Links
Diabetic Diet
Benefits of Dragon Fruit