A Complete Guide to Lychee Benefits

The lychee fruit, popularly known as litchi or lychee, is a tropical fruit native to China. They are primarily consumed fresh and occasionally added to ice creams or processed into juice, wine, sherbert, and jelly. They are renowned for their flavour, which is sweet and floral. They provide a good amount of healthy antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins. Lychees have pinkish-red, leathery skin that is inedible and scraped off before eating. White flesh encircles a dark seed in the middle. The rich nutritional profile is the reason for the array of lychee benefits.

Nutritional Profile of Lychee Fruit

Lychee fruit is mainly made of water and carbohydrates. The vitamins and minerals and the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties are the reasons for the various lychee benefits. The nutritional value of 100 grams of lychee is given below:

The water content in the lychee fruit is 82%. Besides this, the fruit is mainly composed of carbohydrates. The major content of carbohydrates comes from the sugar in the fruit. This fruit is relatively low in fibre.

It contains vitamins and minerals to a moderate level. Details of the minerals and the vitamins in the fruit are detailed below:

• The lychee fruit benefits in boosting heart health can be attributed to the copper and potassium content in the fruit. Low levels of copper and potassium can affect heart health. Consuming the fruit may help in the upkeep of heart health.

• Vitamin C is found in abundance in lychee fruit. It provides about 9% of recommended daily intake of vitamin C.

Lychee health benefits are also due to the various plant compounds with antioxidant properties present in the fruit. In comparison to other common fruits, lychee fruit contains better levels of polyphenols. The antioxidants in the fruit include the flavonoids epicatechin and rutin, which reduce the risk of heart diseases, cancer, and diabetes.

Also, the dietary supplement Oligonol is a patented combination of proanthocyanidins, antioxidants obtained from green tea and lychee skin. The antioxidants are chemically modified to improve the absorption from your gut. Oligonol may reduce belly fat, inflammation and fatigue when combined with regular exercise.

Lychee Benefits for Health

The combination of vitamins and minerals and other plant compounds along with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties in the lychee fruit make it beneficial to protect against several health issues.

1. Helps in Weight Loss

Lychee has very low-calorie content; 100 grams only has 66 calories. It is a great alternative for people wanting to lose weight because it is low in cholesterol and saturated fats and high in dietary fibre.

2. Boosts Digestion

Fibre and a sizable amount of water in lychees have a calming effect on the stomach. By ensuring easy passage of stool through the digestive system, the fibre controls bowel movements. Additionally, it improves your digestive health and gives your stool more bulk.

3. Improves the Immune System

Lychee is known to be a useful antioxidant due to its high Vitamin C content, which strengthens the body’s immune system.

4. Helps Prevent Tissue Damage

Flavanol, present in lychee in good quantities, is known to reduce inflammation and tissue damage brought on by inflammation.

5. Supports Bone Health

Essential nutrients like magnesium, phosphorus, iron, manganese, and copper are abundant in lychee. These minerals are well known for enhancing calcium absorption in the bones and enhancing bone health.

6. Manages Blood Pressure Levels

The balanced potassium and sodium levels in lychee aid in the relaxation of the blood vessels and the maintenance of healthy blood pressure.

7. Promotes Flawless Skin

Lychee is a fantastic source of vitamin C and has powerful acne-fighting properties. Applying litchi juice can aid in the fading of marks and imperfections, leaving your skin smooth and flawless.

8. Benefits Hair Growth

Copper and Vitamin C, which are both abundant in lychee, assist in stimulating a healthy blood flow to the hair follicles and hence encourage hair growth.

9. Reduces the Risk of Cancer

The many phytochemical compounds present in lychee, including flavonoids, polyphenols, vitamin C, and proanthocyanidins, aid in preventing the formation of free radicals and shield the body against a variety of illnesses and ailments and may also possess anti-cancer properties as well.

10. Boosts Liver Health

The liver serves a number of vital roles in your body. This includes detoxifying the body and turning nutrients into chemicals it can use. Lychee fruit may be able to help reduce liver illness, according to preliminary studies.

Side-Effects of Lychee Fruit

Lychees normally have no harmful effects on your health when consumed as part of a balanced diet.

While there are various Lychee benefits that you cannot doubt, there are some side effects observed as well in rare cases. Children in some parts of the country had brain inflammation after eating lychee fruit. According to research, a substance called hypoglycin A found in lychees can lower your blood sugar levels. Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, is the effect of this.

Malnutrition, however, might possibly have contributed to the high blood sugar problems in this study. Many of these kids skipped dinner in favour of eating lychees. The following morning, they developed symptoms including seizures and a temperature.

Some of the proteins in lychee may cause uncommon allergic responses like difficulty in breathing, swollen lips and itchiness. However, there isn’t much research in science about allergies to lychee fruit.

Ways to Include Lychee Fruit in Your Diet

Lychee is available as fresh fruit or in canned form. Exercise caution while buying canned lychee as lychees in the cans have added sugar. Read the label carefully to determine if they are in their own juice or contain sugar-sweetened syrup.

Fresh lychee fruit can be stored in the fridge for 5 to 10 days. Whole, with the peel still on, it can also be frozen. Lychee dried fruit can be kept at room temperature for up to a year.

Both fresh lychee fruit, as well as canned lychee fruit, can be used in the following ways:

• Making a cocktail using lychee juice (from a can of lychee fruit)
• Cooking it in a stir-fry with shrimp, chicken, or pork
• Combining chopped lychee with avocado, lime juice, cilantro, and onion to make a salsa
• Combining melon, pineapple, lychee fruit and any other choice of fruits to make a fruit salad.

Conclusion

Lychee is a tropical fruit that is native to South-East Asia, Taiwan, and China. The lychee benefits are remarkable. It supports cardiovascular health, blood pressure control, and immune system enhancement. Additionally, it helps with weight loss and acne removal. The fruit can be easily incorporated in the diet by adding it to create flavourful foods and beverages.