Durian is a large fruit with a strong and pungent odor, but is extremely rich in nutrients, such as vitamin C, vitamin B, minerals, healthy fats, fiber, and several other beneficial plant compounds. Durian is commonly found in many countries in the Southeast Asian region, typically Vietnam. Eating durian may bring certain health benefits.
1. What is durian?
Durian is known as a tropical fruit, originating from Southeast Asia, famous for its nickname “king of fruits”. Although the flavor of durian is quite strong and pungent, it contains more nutrients than most other fruits.
Durian is usually large in size, has a hard outer shell and many sharp thorns covering the shell. There are many different varieties of durian, the most common is Durio zibethinus.
The fruit can be up to 30cm long and about 15cm wide, weighing from 1-3kg. The flesh of durian is light yellow or red. The taste of this fruit can bring different reactions in each person, from “unpleasant” to “addictive”.
Durian is widely used in many tropical regions around the world, especially in Southeast Asia such as Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
2. Nutritional value of durian
Durian is a very nutritious fruit, rich in vitamins, fiber and plant compounds that are beneficial to health. In 243 grams of durian will provide:
- Calories: 357
- Fiber: 9 grams
- Carbs: 66 grams
- Fat: 13 grams
- Protein: 4 grams
Durian contains more nutrients than most other fruits.
- Vitamin B6: 38% of the DV
- Vitamin C: 80% of the DV
- Thiamine: 61% of the DV
- Potassium: 30% of the DV
- Manganese: 39% of the DV
- Riboflavin: 29% of the DV
- Folate: 22% of the DV
- Niacin: 13% of the DV
- Copper: 25% of the DV
- Magnesium: 18% of the DV
Thanks to this nutritional profile, durian has become one of the most nutritious fruits in the world. In addition, it also contains beneficial plant compounds such as carotenoids, anthocyanins, polyphenols and flavonoids.
3. How is durian used?
In Southeast Asian cuisine, durian is often used in sweet and savory dishes. Both the flesh and seeds of durian are edible, but the seeds must be cooked before consumption.
The flavor of durian has been described as a blend of almond, garlic, cheese and caramel. Its smell is so strong that it is banned from some hotels and public transport systems in Southeast Asia.
Popular preparations of this fruit include:
- Soup
- Juice
Delicious and nutritious durian juice
- Boiled or roasted durian seeds
- Ice cream, candy or other desserts
- Side dishes
In addition, durian is also used in traditional medicine and has some medicinal properties.
4. Health benefits of durian
In traditional Malaysian medicine, people have used all parts of the durian tree, including the roots, bark, leaves and fruit to prepare remedies to treat many different diseases, such as jaundice or high fever.
Studies have shown that durian can bring some of the following health benefits:
Prevent heart disease: plant compounds in durian have the effect of reducing cholesterol levels, preventing arteriosclerosis.
Reduce the risk of cancer: durian contains many antioxidants. These substances have the ability to neutralize free radicals – the main cause of the formation and development of cancer cells in the body. Specifically, durian extract can prevent the spread of breast cancer.
Control blood sugar: the glycemic index (GI) in durian is lower than other tropical fruits. Therefore, consuming durian can help reduce blood sugar levels, thereby preventing the risk of diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
Anti-infective: the durian shell is a rich source of compounds with excellent anti-yeast and antibacterial properties.
Durian has many benefits for human health.
5. Some notes when eating durian
Scientists have shown that when using durian combined with drinking alcohol can cause some health problems. Because durian contains compounds similar to sulfur that can prevent alcohol from being completely metabolized, thereby increasing the alcohol concentration in the blood, causing conditions such as nausea, vomiting, or rapid heartbeat. To ensure health safety, you should avoid drinking alcohol and eating durian at the same time.
In addition, eating durian can also cause allergic reactions, stomach problems, diarrhea, or bloating. Durian seeds can cause difficulty breathing for some people.
If you are in the process of losing weight, you should limit eating durian, because it contains 13 grams of fat and 357 calories that can cause weight gain.
6. How to eat durian
The durian shell is quite hard and has many sharp thorns, so you should use gloves when peeling the shell to protect your skin from being damaged.
Use a knife and gently peel off the outer shell, then remove the durian flesh.
Durian can be eaten directly or processed with some other ingredients such as sticky rice.
Durian is also commonly used in processed foods, such as candy or ice cream. However, these products often do not provide many health benefits to the body.
