During pregnancy, it is very recommended to watch your diet. For this reason, there are so many articles about what kind of foods you should consume during pregnancy. One of the health foods best consumed during this period is fruits. Do not blindly consume any kind of fruits either, because some fruits are actually harmful to pregnant women.
Longan fruit is one of beneficial fruits for pregnancy. Longan fruit or “buah lengkeng” in Bahasa, contains high nutritional contents. In Asia, this fruit is quite common, and can be found easily in the local store. This fruit has sweet and succulent flavor, and one of most consumed fruit in Asia, in particular health benefits of amaranth oil.
Due to its high nutritive values, longan fruit is easily one of recommended fruits for pregnancy. It is said to reduce the risk of blood loss during labor. Other than that, longan fruit also gives many benefits for pregnancy. This writing contains information of benefits of longan fruit, its nutritional value, how to use, and recommendation intake. Discover it below.
Nutrition Facts of Longan Fruit
Well, before we get to know its benefits, it’s important to take a look a longan fruit nutritional value first. Here we provide a list of nutrients found in 100g serving size of longan fruit (according to USDA Database) :
- 251 kJ energy
- 15.14 carbohydrates
- Sugars
- 1.1 g dietary fiber
- 0.1 g fat
- 1.31 g protein
- 0.034 g threonine
- 0.026 g isoleucine
- 0.054 g leucine
- 0.046 g lysine
- 0.013 g methionine
- 0.030 g phenylalanine
- 0.025 g tyrosine
- 0.058 g valine
- 0.035 g arginine
- 0.012 g histidine
- 0.157 g alanine
- 0.126 g aspartic acid
- 0.209 g glutamic acid
- 0.042 g glycine
- 0.042 g proline
- 0.048 g serine
- 0.031 mg thiamine (B1)
- 0.14 mg riboflavin (B2)
- 0.3 mg niacin (B3)
- 84 mg vitamin C
- 1 mg calcium
- 0.13 mg iron
- 10 mg magnesium
- 0.052 mg manganese
- 21 mg phosphorus
- 266 mg potassium
- 0 mg sodium
- 0.05 mg zinc
How to Make Longan Juice
Here’s simple recipe you can make with longan fruit. Steps :
- Prepare 5 longan fruits, 1 cup of coconut milk, and a banana.
- Separate the shell and seeds from fleshy part of longan fruits.
- Crush the fruits with a blender.
- Now that it has become smooth, add banana and coconut milk. And turn on the blender once more.
- After a few minutes, longan juice is now ready to be served.
Now, let’s see the benefits of longan fruit for pregnancy :
1. As a rich source of vitamin during pregnancy
The first benefits of longan fruit for pregnancy. During pregnancy, it is recommended to consume a lot of vitamin from natural sources to support the development of fetus and health of the mother. One of good vitamin sources is longan fruit.
According to scientists, longan fruit contains high amount of vitamin C which can be used to improve immune system of pregnant women. Good immune system will help prevent various diseases during pregnancy. It is better consumed with other high-vitamin fruits. So, the layer of protection for both mother and the baby will be increased health benefits of salal.
2. Longan fruits can be used to cure pinworm infection
Another excellent benefits of longan fruit for pregnancy. It is proven that longan fruit, apparently, can cure pinworm infection (or also known as ascariasis, helminthiasis, and enterobiasis in medic language). This is due to tartic acid in longan fruit chemical composition. Many experts also suggest to prefer use herbal medicines for pinworm infection during pregnancy.
It is because consumption of chemical drugs may have side effects on the baby. Thus, longan fruit is easily the safest remedy of pinworm infection for pregnant women. It is also recommended to see tips in health benefits of alasa fruit.
3. Longan fruit can be used to treat urinary retention and urinary tract obstruction during pregnancy
Because the stomach is getting bigger, pregnant may not only have problem in bowel movement, but also difficulty in urinating. This condition is also called urinary retention in medical language. Urinary retention may cause discomfort and even pain on pregnant women.
Fortunately, there are many herbal medicines for this disease. One of them is longan fruit, and another one in health benefits of primrose oil. Based on various researches, longan fruit can help treat urinary retention and its symptom, urinary tract obstruction, in pregnant women. One of interesting way to consume longan fruit is to incorporate it to your diet as part of dessert menu.
4. Longan fruit is excellent for digestion during pregnancy
Other benefits of longan fruit for pregnancy you that should not overlooked. In early period of pregnancy, pregnant women may occasionally experience vomiting (also called “morning sickness” by many folks).
Other symptoms that may occur during pregnancy are diarrhea, difficulty of passing stool (constipation), or even bloating. Longan fruit, with its high nutritive value and fibre composition, can help treat these symptoms during pregnancy. Vegetable proteins and fats in longan fruit can help stimulate the process of metabolism in the body.
5. Longan fruit can be used to stimulate appetite of pregnant women
During pregnancy, the mother may experience the decrease of appetite. As a result, pregnant women will have low stamina and lose the determination to do any activities. It is proven that, consuming longan fruit during pregnancy will help regain stamina and stimulate appetite, thanks to its glucose and sucrose contents.
Moreover, consuming longan fruit may help cure the difficulty of sleeping (insomnia), and reduce the anxiety during pregnancy. It is also hinted in health benefits of macadamia nut oil about these longan fruit benefits.
6. Longan fruit as an excellent source of calcium for the mother and the baby
Do you know that longan fruit also contains various mineral substances including calcium? Indeed, in 2013, a study shows that longan fruit may reduce the risk of osteoporosis in adult women. This is due to longan fruit containing some of essential minerals such as calcium, potassium, and iron. These minerals will help maintain bones health for the mother and the forming of bones structure for the baby.
7. Longan fruit helps improve metabolism during pregnancy
A good metabolism will result in healthy baby and a safe childbirth. Longan fruit can help achieve this.
Recommendation Intake of Longan Fruit
It is recommended for pregnant women to consume at least five longan fruit to get the best benefits.