Lanzones is a sweet edible fruit that contains a variety of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that are beneficial to the body’s health.
Lanzones is also known as Langsat and comes from the family of mahogany plant. This plant can be usually found in tropical climate countries and is most notably available in the Philippines. The plant grows up to 30 meters and bears a yellow sweet edible fruit that looks like a small potato.
Lanzones fruit has a sweet, sour, and delicious taste. It’s usually eaten raw and contains bitter seeds. Aside from being one of the most popular fruits in many Asian countries, it also boasts a high nutritional value.
We’ll be looking in more detail at the health benefits of lanzones fruit in this video, so stay tuned to learn more!
Health benefits of lanzones fruits
1. Promotes eye health
Lanzones contain a substantial amount of Vitamin A, which is effective in maintaining good eye health. Because vitamin A helps protect the surface of the eye, it is considered essential for good vision.
Additionally, vitamin A, at least when consumed in combination with other antioxidant vitamins, also appears to play a role in decreasing the risk of vision loss from an age-related eye disease known as macular degeneration.
2. Prevents premature aging
Being high in antioxidants, lanzones help to ward off early signs of aging. Antioxidants are molecules that reduce the likelihood of ageing by diminishing or maintaining the level of oxidants and preventing free radical activity.
Therefore, to many people, “antioxidants” and “anti-aging” go hand-in-hand. Many commercial cosmetics contain antioxidants to ward of visible signs of aging, but you can easily get the same antioxidant intake for a fraction of the price from adding lanzones to your daily diet.
3. Protects the skin
Lanzones fruits are a good source of vitamin A, which is made up of retinal, retinol, and retinoic acid, all of which are important to cell production and growth. Vitamin A also stimulates fibroblasts—the cells responsible for developing tissue that keeps skin firm and healthy—in the deep layers of your skin.
By promoting cell production, vitamin A helps strengthen the skin’s barrier against the natural environment, protecting your complexion from harmful irritants that attempt to attack the surface.
4. For dental health
Lanzones has a high phosphorus content. Most of us know that calcium plays a role in making the jawbones healthy and strong to hold the teeth in place, but this calcium needs phosphorus to maximise its teeth strengthening benefits.
For this reason, enjoying Lanzones fruit in your diet may play a role in strengthening and whitening your teeth, while also minimizing the chances of a toothache.
5. Encourages healthy digestion
100 grams of lanzones contains roughly about 2.3 grams of dietary fibre, which enables us to meet up to 11 percent of our daily fibre intake recommendations. There are two types of fibre that our bodies need: soluble fibre, which dissolves in water to form a gel-like material, and insoluble fibre, which promotes the movement of material through your digestive system and increases stool bulk, so it can be of benefit to people who struggle with constipation or irregular stools.
Lanzones are a good source of insoluble fibre, and are one of the best foods that can be eaten to regulate bowel movements.
6. May assist with type 2 diabetes
Lanzones fruit is considered to be a healthy snack for people with diabetes. What makes lanzones especially healthful for diabetics is their fibre content. Fibre helps keep the stomach full, thereby reducing appetite and helping diabetics reduce food intake. Lanzones also contain an antioxidant called polyphenol, which aids in improving glucose levels by slowing down the absorption of sugar.
However, as of yet, there is no evidence to suggest that lanzones have a direct effect on treating or curing diabetes. Speak to your doctor if you have type 2 diabetes and you’re planning to introduce lanzones to your diet.
7. Manages cholesterol
Lanzones are a rich source of Niacin, otherwise known as vitamin B3, which, similar to its fibre content, has long been used to increase high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol — the "good" cholesterol that helps remove low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the "bad" cholesterol from your bloodstream.
Increased cholesterol levels lead to a higher risk of heart attacks and strokes, so eating natural cholesterol-managing foods like lanzones is essential for heart health.
8. Assists in weight loss
Lanzones can also have a positive impact on your weight, as it’s rich in nutrients while being low in calories and fat. Moreover, being a fibre-rich food, lanzones make you fuller for longer, because fibre swells in your stomach when it absorbs liquid. This means that, if you enjoy lanzones as part of your breakfast or lunch, you’ll be able to cut down on your sporadic snacking throughout the day, because you’ll be filled up with the right nutrients that your body needs.
9. May relieve migraine attacks
Studies have revealed the positive impact of riboflavin, otherwise known as vitamin B2, in minimizing and combating a migraine attack. In one study, just over half of the participants who took 400 mg per day of vitamin B2 for 3 months experienced at least a 50 percent reduction in their migraine frequency.
For this reason, lanzones fruit, which contains a considerable amount of vitamin B2, can be included in the list of foods that you should add to your diet to reduce the risk of a migraine attack.
10. Can be used as a mosquito repellent
It’s said that lanzones peels can be used as natural mosquito repellents, so if you live in a country that sees these pesky insects entering your home during dusk, you know what to do. Drying and burning the rind produces a smell that repels mosquitoes. This is a great way to naturally ward off mosquitos without the need for chemical use.
11. Treats diarrhea
Dried lanzones rinds contain a non-toxic resin that has been proven to effectively treat diarrhea. The peel of lanzones also contains oleoresin, which helps in curing diarrhea and its symptoms.
Additionally, the bark of the lanzones tree can be made into astringent and has been proven to exhibit anti-spasmodic properties. These benefits combined make lanzones an all-around effective treatment for diarrhea.
12. May prevent some cancers
Lanzones is rich in natural antioxidants, substances that have been found to protect cells from the damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals. Free radical damage can eventually lead to cancer, as well as signs of ageing and damage to cells on the skin and body.
13. Encourages healthy nervous system
As we know by now, lanzones are a fantastic source of B vitamins and an especially good source of riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2. A 3 half-ounce serving of lanzones has approximately 124 micrograms of riboflavin or 8 to 11 percent of the recommended daily intake for riboflavin for adult men and women.
B vitamins help with the processing of carbohydrates into usable energy and help keep your nervous system functioning properly. Deficiencies in B vitamins have a distinctly negative impact on the nervous system, so making sure to get enough dietary B vitamins from the likes of lanzones is a big help to your body.
Lanzones side effects
At the moment, there’s not much that we know about the side effects of lanzones – even their health benefits are only now being discovered. If you’re planning to eat lanzones and you have diabetes, it’s best that you consult your doctor before doing so. Equally, you should speak to your doctor if you’re planning to include lanzones in your diet if you’re pregnant.
Like with many fruits, it’s thought that over-consumption of lanzones might affect your health adversely as it’s one of the fruits known to cause gas and bloating. If you experience any uncomfortable digestive symptoms after eating lanzones, the best thing to do is to cut back on your daily intake, or if it’s a real problem for you, don’t include the fruit in your diet at all.
How to eat lanzones
If you’re not from an Asian region, it’s unlikely that you know much about lanzones – including how to eat them! Because of their sweet flavour, lanzones are often used in drinks, desserts, fruit salads, jams, and jellies. You can include lanzones in cakes, trifles, and puddings just as you would with another fruit, like strawberries.
Slices of lanzones fruit are added to soups and curries for a fruity kick, so it really is quite versatile in the kitchen. Lanzones is also a popular choice for making popsicles along with other fruits like banana, pomegranate, and strawberry. You can find plenty of lanzones recipes online, so if you’ve never tried the fruit before, it’s time to get creative!
If you just want to eat lanzones fruit on its own, you just need to peel the skin off with your fingers, then break the segments apart. Take one segment, and be sure to take out the green seed, if there’s one present, and eat. The seeds aren’t bad for you, but many people don’t like them because of their bitterness.
When you peel the fruit, it will excrete white latex, which makes it pretty sticky to eat! It’s a good idea to use a paper towel while removing the skin, and after you’ve eaten, give your fingertips a good wash to get rid of the stickiness. You can also dip the lanzones into boiling water to get rid of the sticky or gummy feeling.
The lanzones taste is very similar to that of a grapefruit, though slightly less bitter, and not overflowing with juice. The lanzones fruit itself is very refreshing, and not heavy at all, making it an enjoyable summer snack.
Conclusion
Now that you’re keen to try lanzones for yourself, you probably want to know where exactly you can buy them from. You may be able to find the fruits in some fruit and farmers markets in the UK and the US, but with the lanzones plant being native to Asian countries, don’t be surprised if it’s hard to come by.
At the moment, it’s possible to buy lanzones online – just make sure you can trust the seller and they’re legitimate. Lanzones are most enjoyable when they’re ripe, so factor that in if delivery may take a long time.
There are a number of websites in the US that sell exotic fruit boxes that contain lanzones, which may be the easiest way to get your hands on the fruit – along with a variety of other unique exotic fruits that you may not have tried before!