Health Benefits of Lychee

lychees-605401_1280 Lychee is a strange and wonderful fruit with a wealth of health benefits, including its ability to boost the immune system, prevent cancer, improve digestion, build strong bones, lower blood pressure, defend the body against viruses, improve circulation, aid in weight loss, protect the skin, and optimize metabolic activities.


Lychee is packed with health benefits, but they come from the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients in the fruit, including vitamin C, vitamin B6, niacin, riboflavin, folate, copper, potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, and manganese. Furthermore, lychee is a great source of dietary fiber, protein, and a good source of proanthocyanidins and polyphenolic compounds.


Digestion:  The significant amount of dietary fiber in lychee, as in most fruits and vegetables, helps add bulk to your stool and increases your digestive health. This helps bowel movements move through the digestive tract smoothly, and fiber also stimulates peristaltic motion of the smooth small intestine muscles, increasing the speed of food passing. It also stimulates gastric and digestive juices, so nutrient absorption is more efficient. This can reduce constipation and other gastrointestinal disorders.


Immune System: Perhaps the most significant nutrient in lychee is vitamin C, and this fruit has more than 100% of the daily requirement of ascorbid acid in a single serving. This means that your immune system gets a major boost, as vitamin C is a major antioxidant compound and is known to stimulate the activity of white blood cells, the main defensive line of your body’s immune system.


Cancer Prevention: The polyphenolic compounds and proanthocyanidins found in lychee are actually even more powerful than vitamin C in neutralizing free radicals and protecting the body from various diseases and afflictions. Free radicals are the harmful byproducts of cellular metabolism that can cause cancer, heart disease, cognitive disorders, and premature aging, among other undesirable conditions. Lychee is a rich source of these organic compounds, so can be consumed as an effective preventative measure of various cancers.


Antiviral Capacity: The proanthocyanidins in lychee have been studied extensively, and they have also demonstrated antiviral capabilities. Litchitannin A2, a compound found in lychee, has been closely connected to preventing the spread or outbreak of viruses, included herpes simplex virus and coxsackie virus.





About the author

Natan Gendelman has written 274 articles for Enabled Kids.


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