Dragon Fruit

Dragon Fruit is often considered a tropical “superfood” because of its wealth of benefits, and its somewhat “under the radar” quality that makes it less well known than many mainstream fruits and health foods. It is also known as “pitaya” if it comes from the very closely related Stenocereus genus, but the actual Dragon Fruit is the fruit of the cactus genus Hylocereus. It has its origins in Mexico, South America, and Central America, but New World settlers probably brought it to Southeast Asian nations like Cambodia, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines, where it remains an important part of the dietary fruit intake.

There are both sweet and sour pitayas, depending on the species, and the shape and size varies as well. In terms of the most common form of Dragon Fruit, it is slightly smaller than a cantaloupe, red, and covered in broad spiky growths. When you open it, the texture is like a kiwi, and the meat is filled with small black seeds which must be chewed if they are to be digested.The meat of the fruit can be strained into wine or other beverages, and the leaves of Dragon fruit can be steeped for a very healthy form of tea. The rough outer skin has little nutritional value and is rarely eaten. The health benefits are mainly attributed to the antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that the dragon fruit contains, and many of those healthy qualities are explained below.

When you open it, the texture is like a kiwi, and the meat is filled with small black seeds which must be chewed if they are to be digested.The meat of the fruit can be strained into wine or other beverages, and the leaves of dragon fruit can be steeped for a very healthy form of tea. The rough outer skin has little nutritional value and is rarely eaten.

The health benefits are mainly attributed to the antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that the dragon fruit contains, and many of those healthy qualities are explained below.