Star Fruit: A Healthy and Tasty Addition to Your Platter
Star fruit, with its rich, tasty, sweet, and sour flavor will make a delicious lunch or breakfast. There are many delicious fruits and vegetables to add variety to your diet, but this one will add profuse nutrition along with a delicious twist on your platter.
What is a Star Fruit?
Star fruit or Carambola, also known as ‘five fingers’, is a sweet and sour fruit. Star fruit is generally yellow or green and comes in two main types: a smaller, sour variety, and a larger, sweeter one.
It is usually eaten raw and is found mainly in tropical countries. The fruit has distinctive ridges running down its sides. When cut in cross-sections, it takes the shape of a star, giving it the name of star fruit. The entire fruit is edible, and maybe cooked or made into pickles, relishes, preserves, garnish, jams and juices.
The inner flesh of the fruit has a mild, sweet, and sour flavor that makes it popular in many dishes, mainly jellies, and pickles.
Nutritional Benefits of Star Fruit:
Loaded With Vitamins and Minerals:
The fruit is densely packed with high amounts of fiber and vitamin C.
The nutrient content of a single, medium-sized (91-gram) star fruit is as follows: (1)
- Vitamin C: 52% of the RDI
- Magnesium: 2% of the RDI
- Fiber: 3 grams
- Protein: 1 gram
- Vitamin B5: 4% of the RDI
- Folate: 3% of the RDI
- Copper: 6% of the RDI
- Potassium: 3% of the RDI
This shows that star fruit is highly nutritious because it gets 28 calories and 6 grams of carbs in a single fruit, thus the fruit shows a low-calorie content.
Good Source of Fiber:
Star fruit has a high content of fiber that helps to boost metabolism in your body. The fiber in the fruit also helps increase circulation and absorption in your body, thus helping to build better immunity and promote growth.
Promotes Weight Loss:
If you are planning to reduce your calorie intake and loss weight, the star fruit is good enough for lowering carbohydrate levels and regulating sugar levels. Each serving of star fruit has a low-calorie content that is highly recommended for weight loss. Moreover, ripe star fruit has a fresh, juicy, and delicious tangy taste that you will enjoy having without worrying about putting on weight.
Contains Anticancer Extracts:
Recent studies reveal that star fruit is highly effective in fighting cancer. Star fruit extracts contain anti-carcinogenic properties that prevent the development and growth of cancer cells in your body. It also helps to check the possibilities and risks of developing cancer. Moreover, apart from fighting cancer, the high levels of Vitamin C present in star fruit, prevent other infections by increasing the production of white blood cells (WBC) and supporting the immune system.
Has Anti- Inflammatory Properties:
Star fruit is rich in antioxidants that fight against symptoms of psoriasis and dermatitis and therefore provide protection against inflammation in your body.
Heart Friendly Fruit:
Star fruit is highly effective for people with heart problems or having high blood pressure. The fruit is notably rich in nutrients like sodium and potassium that act as electrolytes in your body and thus reduce the chances of cardiac diseases by lowering blood pressure and high heart rates. It has been also found that Star fruit extracts are useful to reduce chances of stroke or heart attack.
Treats Digestive System:
The high levels of Vitamins, minerals, water, roughage, and antioxidants in star fruit regulate easy bowel movement through your body’s gastrointestinal tract and thus promote regularity. It is also helpful to treat digestive problems like bloating, stomach upset, indigestion, constipation, and diarrhea.
Healthy Plant Components in Star Fruit:
Star fruit contains healthy plant compounds and powerful antioxidants like quercetin, gallic acid, and epicatechin. These compounds are rich in health benefits and can also prevent serious diseases.
People with fatty liver or with risk of developing cholesterol and other cardiac disorders must include star fruit in their diet because it significantly reduces the chances of developing such diseases (2Trusted Source). Star fruit is also effective for curing cancer and reducing the growth of cancer cells (3Trusted Source).
Moreover, some evidence from animal studies suggests that the sugars in star fruit may reduce inflammation (4Trusted Source).
How to Eat Star Fruit?
Here is a simple way to prepare and eat star fruit:
- Make sure it is ripe — a ripe star fruit should be primarily yellow with only hints of green.
- Rinse the fruit underwater.
- Cut off the ends.
- Slice it.
- Remove the seeds and enjoy.
You can add this fruit to your diet in many ways, including:
- Slice and eat it raw.
- Juice it and drink it as a beverage
- Make chutney, jam, or jelly.
- Add it to salads or other fresh dishes.
- Turn it into pies or puddings.
- Add it to Asian- or Indian-style stews and curries.
- Cook it with seafood or shellfish dishes.
- Use it as a garnish.
Star fruit is Not for Everyone: The Safety and Side effects
There are some adverse effects of star fruit in certain groups of people, mainly due to the high amount of oxalate present in it.
Therefore, people with kidney disorders, like kidney stones, CKD (chronic kidney disease), or people undergoing dialysis should avoid star fruit and its juice — or consult with a doctor before trying it.
For people with kidney problems, eating star fruit regularly may lead to kidney damage as well as star fruit toxicity, which may cause neurological problems — such as confusion, seizures, and even death (5Trusted Source).
People taking prescription drugs should also have it cautiously or take the advice of a registered medical practitioner. Similarly, to grapefruit, star fruit can alter how a drug is broken down and used by your body.
The Bottom Line
Star fruit is a sweet and sour fruit that is highly rich in nutrients and has extraordinary health benefits, but people with kidney problems and medications should avoid eating star fruit frequently. For most people, though, star fruit is a healthy and tasty addition to the diet.
