The Chinese fruit of lychee is for the most part little known to us. To try this curiosity happened either to those who went on holiday to China, or those who like to experiment with food and constantly trying something new. The appearance of this fetus is so unusual that it is even difficult to realize at once that it is edible. At first glance, it most resembles a bulky rubber ball of a pinkish or reddish color about three to four centimeters in diameter. And it's hard to imagine that under this dense shell is hidden the delicate creamy pulp with the smell of a rose and a completely unique delicate sweet and sour taste. In view of its exoticism, about the benefits and harms of litchi fruit, many people have a vague idea. And meanwhile, it makes sense to look at this fetus more closely.
Properties of lychee and its composition
Properties, that is, the benefits and harms of litchi fruit, are directly related to its composition. Most of all it contains water and dietary fiber. Another fruit contains a large number of carbohydrate compounds. But the main thing is that a lot of various active substances are present in the lychee pulp. For example, here you can find vitamins B, vitamins C, E, PP, rare vitamin K, choline, iron, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, selenium, as well as a valuable substance zeaxanthin, responsible for visual acuity, along with vitamin A. Thanks to this rich composition, lychee has a lot of useful properties. But they will manifest themselves in full only if the person used the fruit for food by all the rules.
How to eat lychee?
The rind of this fruit is inedible, so it is washed and removed with a knife. After that the fruit is extracted from the fruit - it is quite large and easily separates from the pulp. At the table, a Chinese fruit lychee is taken with a dessert spoon, because its consistency is the most delicious part of the jelly and taking it by hand, without the risk of getting dirty, will be difficult. You can eat fruit in fresh form, and canned, and dried. Very often they are made from something like mashed potatoes with juice. And in China, lychees are also preferred to dry entirely in the skin, and then used as a dried fruit. Lichi is perfectly combined with protein food, it is made from gravy, baking stuffs, ice cream, drinks, etc.
What is useful lychee?
Because of the large amount of carbohydrates, the fruit is difficult to attribute to dietary products. But its caloricity is not so great - only 66-70 kcal per hundred grams, so it may well include in your diet, even those who have a little excess weight, but it should be in reasonable quantities.
In the East, lychee is considered a powerful aphrodisiac, so there the fruit was even given the appropriate nickname "the fruit of love." It must be served at the wedding table, so that the marriage is successful. In the homeland of the fruit - in China - it is actively used in the recipes of traditional medicine. For example, for the treatment of heart diseases, getting rid of high cholesterol, atherosclerosis, etc.
Western nutrition experts also recognize the beneficial properties of lychee. Studies have shown that, like other plant foods, this fruit has a beneficial effect on the work of the intestine, it saturates the body with moisture, optimizes metabolic processes, and as a result helps to reduce weight.
But in addition to the benefits of litchi there is harm. First, like any exotic, it can cause allergies. Secondly, because of the high content of carbohydrates, it can cause heaviness and pain in the intestines, increased gas formation and exacerbation of gastritis and ulcers. Therefore, it should be eaten in reasonable quantities and not more than two or three times a week.