Few people know about the facts of rambutan and its health benefits. In fact, tropical fruit which is rich in antioxidants, minerals and vitamins is needed by the body in carrying out its functions. Don’t let you be afraid of the skin full of fur, because behind the fur is the soft, sweet and delicious flesh of the fruit to be enjoyed anytime. This tropical fruit is a healthy snack for the family but should still be consumed in moderation, especially if we are elderly.
What is the nutritional value in rambutan? We will discuss this now, from these various nutrients we can understand what are the health benefits of rambutan fruit for health. This is the essence of this article, would like to invite everyone to love this antioxidant-rich tropical fruit.
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Rambutan Nutrition Facts
The following is information on the nutritional value of rambutan as provided by the USDA. This is the nutritional value for every one cup of rambutan or 150 grams of canned rambutan, packed with dried syrup. If you measure the nutrition of fresh fruit from trees, it is certainly healthier and has fewer calories and sugar.
- Calories as much as 123 cal,
- 0.3 g fat,
- 31.3 grams of carbohydrates
- 16.5 g of sodium,
- 1.4 grams of fiber,
- 1 gram of protein, and
- Sugar is not specified.
1. Carbs
Carbohydrates are one of the minerals in rambutan, just like most other fruits. One cup of canned rambutan contains 31 grams of carbohydrates. 1.4 of the 31 grams comes from the fiber in the rambutan. While the sugar in rambutan is not yet on the USDA list, it has not been mentioned. However, that does not mean that there is no sugar, rambutan is a fruit that contains a lot of natural sugar and most of it is said to be from these carbohydrates.
Canned rambutan is also packed with high syrup compare to fresh fruit. When the rambutan is still green, the natural sugar content may still be low, but when it is red or yellow or ripe, the sugar content in rambutan increases by up to 20%.
Fat
Rambutan is not a fruit that is rich in fat so it should be feared. This fruit contains only a small amount of sugar. One cup of canned rambutan contains less than 1/2 gram of fat.
Protein
Protein is not a mineral that is high in rambutan. However, this tropical fruit still contains this mineral. In a cup of rambutan, it is said to contain only 1 gram of protein.
Other Vitamins and Minerals
Rambutan is not only rich in carbohydrates, natural sugars and low in calories, but it is a fruit that is rich in various minerals, including minerals such as vitamin C, magnesium, calcium, and potassium, vitamin A and folate.
If we look at the nutritional profile, rambutan fruit certainly has many health benefits. So, what are the benefits? let’s see the following review.
Health Benefits of Rambutan
The health benefits of rambutan fruit cannot be separated from the rich nutrition of this fruit. Even mentioned, rambutan also contains several polyphenols that are good for health. Below we have collected some of the benefits of rambutan to improve human health, hopefully this is useful!
1. Lowers Diabetes Risk
Rambutan fruit has a delicious sweet taste and most people believe this fruit is bad for diabetes storytellers. In fact, rambutan has benefits for people with diabetes or for everyone to prevent diabetes. The sweet taste of rambutan is due to natural ingredients that are good for health. However, you should still avoid canned rambutan which is packed with added sweeteners such as syrup. Rambutan is good for consumption is a natural fruit and still fresh from the tree. however, diabetics should not consume this fruit too much because it is feared that it is not good for their health. Just consume it in moderation.
Rambutan fruit is a healthy fruit and is good for everyone’s health if you consume two or three fruits a day.
2. Lowering the risk of cancer
Rambutan fruit is rich in various antioxidants. Among them are anthocyanins, phenolic compounds, and methanolic compounds.
Although there has not been research on the effects of these antioxidants on health in detail, it is known that all types of antioxidants, whether from vegetables or from fruit, all have a positive effect in preventing cancer.
The greatest antioxidants are obtained from fresh rambutan fruit that has not been packaged in cans or has not been processed as other beverages.
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3. Benefits of rambutan for bones
As we age, bone loss is something that will happen and cannot be avoided. However, by consuming certain foods we can slow down bone loss and maintain its durability longer. Among the fruits that are good for bones is rambutan, this is thanks to the presence of potassium.
Rambutan plays a role in reducing the excretion of calcium in the urine, so it is good for helping supply calcium to the bones so that the benefits of rambutan are actually strengthening bones.
4. Rambutan can reduce the risk of kidney stones
Consuming foods derived from fruits, including rambutan, can help with bone retention and is also useful for preventing kidney stones. The most common kidney stones are the result of calcium deposits in the kidneys.
Consuming potassium-rich foods such as rambutan is good for calcium absorption in the kidneys so that kidney stones do not occur. This theory is the result of observations from studies that say that consuming foods high in potassium leads to a lower risk of kidney stones.
5. Benefits of rambutan for the heart
Rambutan fruit is one of the many fruits that are good for heart health. It has a great nutritional profile and has great potential for heart good. Rambutan is a fruit that is rich in potassium, and fiber. Where potassium is good for high blood pressure and fiber is good for minimizing the content of bad cholesterol.
Also, the folate and B vitamins in rambutan have a good effect on preventing inflammation (homocysteine), so diligently consuming rambutan in medium amounts can reduce the risk of stroke by up to 25%.
This tropical fruit with fur covered skin is rich in vitamin C. Here it functions as an antioxidant that is useful for fighting free radicals. Free radicals in harmful substances or toxins that damage the arteries slowly.
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That is the greatness of eating rambutan for health. However, those of you with certain health conditions such as diabetes should limit this fruit because natural sugar can also increase your blood sugar content.
Allergies
Allergies are very rare in people who consume rambutan. However, it has been reported that a 22-year-old sailor stopped in Thailand and consumed rambutan, shortly after which he developed itching, itchy eyes and swelling of the throat.
This case was only reported in 1998. The symptoms that appear in sailors are like the common food allergy symptoms. Then this patient was diagnosed with rambutan and local environmental allergens using a skin prick test.
If you are among those who are often allergic to many foods, then do not recommend consuming rambutan. Or you can consume it slowly, try with a small size first to see how your body reacts.
Adverse Effects of Rambutan
Those who have irritable bowel syndrome, natural sugars from fruit, such as those from rambutan can cause the disease to recur.
Short chain carbohydrates include fermentable oligosaccharides, monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polyols. Rambutan and some other fruits contain FODMAPs and this can be a problem for those who are sensitive. If after eating rambutan, you feel indigestion, then immediately see a nutritionist or gastroenterologist to help you get out of this problem.
Rambutan is a sweet fruit with a myriad of important benefits. There is a misunderstanding with rambutan, where some people think rambutan seeds are poisonous. Even though rambutan seeds are not toxic and they are actually beneficial with nutrition and are safe to eat after cooking or roasting.
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Varieties of Rambutan
There are many variants of Rambutan, about 22 varieties and all of them are only available in Indonesia. Among the varieties are Cikoneng, Rapiah, Binjai and Sinyonya’s variety.
Rambutan fruit has a green color when young, turns yellow and then red when fully ripe.
