With the changing lifestyle and unhealthy life choices, people are in a grave need to adapt to healthy food habits to keep diseases at bay. Balance in life is disturbed if a person is not able to follow a wholesome diet, which can probably help him/her beat the day-to-day challenges and diseases.
Black Sapote is very a healthy choice. Some of the Black Sapote benefits include strengthening your immune system, maintaining kidney health, managing weight loss, and slowing down the aging process. It can be an integral part of your daily diet and help you maintain high energy and good immunity at the same time.
Black Sapote first originated in Mexico. It is also called as the chocolate pudding fruit, because of its excellent taste, texture, and color; which resembles a chocolate pudding. It is rich in vitamin C, and the increased awareness about this food has made many countries cultivate it in vast quantities.
Black Sapote: An Overview
Black Sapote or Diospyros nigra is a soft tomato-like fruit. It grows up to 2 to 5 inches wide. The unripe fruit is bright green with smooth, shiny skin, and a four-lobed structure. On ripening, the skin turns olive green and later brownish-green in color. It has a muddy brown or black color pulp that tastes like chocolate pudding. It has a sweet, mild flavor with a soft jelly-like texture.
[Read: Benefits of Monk Fruits]
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Did You Know
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Nutrition
This fruit has numerous health benefits, because of its nutrient content. It aids weight loss and has a positive influence on the immune system. Here you can go through the list of nutrients Black Sapote renders you with (Nutritional value of 1 pc 150gr).
| Calories | 111Cal |
| Total Fat | 0.15gr |
| Cholesterol | 0mg |
| Carbohydrates | 28.35gr |
| Dietary Fibers | 4.65gr |
| Protein | 2.25gr |
Minerals
| Calcium | 19.5mg |
| Iron | 0.3mg |
| Magnesium | 25.5mg |
| Phosphorus | 42mg |
| Potassium | 330mg |
| Zinc | 0.3mg |
Vitamins
| Vitamin A | 1.5mg |
| Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) | 0.08mg |
| Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6) | 0.09mg |
| Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) | 27mg |
The fruit is loaded with vitamin C and carbohydrates(1) that are essential to boost your immunity and energy levels. The minerals are necessary to maintain a healthy metabolism, and the dietary fibers work wonders for a healthy bowel movement.
Health Benefits of Black Sapote
1. Rich Source of Vitamin C
Black Sapote health benefits are countless; the most important one being its high vitamin C content. Ascorbic acid is essential for maintaining a healthy body.
It takes care of all the needs of the skin health, helps fight diseases, builds the immune system, and fights against all the free radicals that damage the cells. It also fights against arthritis, heart disease, and even cancer.
100 gm of Black Sapote provides almost 25% of the daily recommended vitamin C intake.
2. Instant Energy
The healthy calorie, carbohydrate, and sugar content in Black Sapote is very high. Hence it provides instant energy to the body. Sugars from fruits are a must for a healthy and energetic body.
They help in carrying out daily activities and preventing exhaustion. Black Sapote allows you to keep your energy levels high throughout the day.
3. Improves Digestion & Prevents Constipation
The Black Sapote fruit is very rich in dietary fibers and helps in digestion. It enables fast digestion and absorption of all the important nutrients. Dietary fibers help in the breakdown of the food and its overall digestion.
Since Black Sapote benefits dietary health, it prevents constipation(2). It helps reduce acid build up in the stomach, by acting as a laxative.
[Also Read: Cure Constipation with Natural Remedies]
4. Weight Loss
Black Sapote is an excellent source of catechins and carotenoids. These components are required to release the fat from the storage cells and convert them into energy. This release of fat causes a delay in hunger and utilizes the fat stored in the body as an excellent energy source.
Carbohydrates are complex and require a longer time to break down and release energy; on the contrary, fats are an instant source of energy. This utilization of fat sources inside the body helps in weight loss.
[Also Read: Fruits for Weight Loss]
5. Enhances Cardiovascular Health
The Black Sapote benefits don’t end here; it has zero cholesterol content. Hence it is best for your heart. It also improves your heart health and increases blood circulation in the arteries. This, in turn, reduces the possibility of having a heart attack or stroke.
It lowers the LDL (low-density lipoproteins) cholesterol, which is bad for health and increases the HDL (high-density lipoproteins) Cholesterol(3).
6. Slows Down Aging
Since consuming Black Sapote increases blood circulation, it eventually reflects on the skin health and helps in replenishing the dead skin cells with new ones. The anti-oxidants in the fruit work as anti-aging agents. They relieve the stress on the body and mind; this reflects on the quality of your skin.
[Read: Benefits of Tangeriness]
How to use?
Black Sapote is a very pliable fruit; its flavors work well in various combinations. Here are some of the ways in which you can eat the fruit.
- It can be served as a dessert with a dash of lemon or orange and some milk to go with.
- The pulp of the fruits forms an excellent base for many pies and pastries and can be supplemented in place of chocolate.
- You can make Black Sapote ice creams.
- The pulp of Black Sapote can be beaten, mashed, passed through a colander. Then mixed with brandy or orange juice and served with or without whipped cream.
Precautions
Black Sapote has a bag full of goodness, but every person’s body might not react in a positive way to this fruit. We should keep in mind that like every other fruit Black Sapote also has its downside. The side effects of the fruit should be kept in mind and considered before its consumption.
Interference with medicine
Consuming Black Sapote alongside medications might prove to be harmful to some people. Therefore, if you are taking any drug, avoid the consumption of Black Sapote.
Increases sugar level
The fruit has high carbohydrate and sugar content. There is a possibility that the fruit might increase the blood sugar level. People with diabetes should avoid the consumption of Black Sapote.
Allergies
You can be allergic to Black Sapote. The use of the fruit can cause rashes, nausea, and itchiness in some with a history of allergy.
Eat it or drink it as a mocktail, Black Sapote is undoubtedly a fruit that needs your attention and can be added to your shopping bag the next time you go crockery shopping.
It is a healthy alternative for people who love chocolate as it tastes like chocolate pudding. Eating Black Sapote has numerous benefits, making it easier for you to take care of your overall health.
It will keep to boosted with energy and release your tension while keeping you calm. So, go ahead and add this fantastic tropical fruit to your daily meal and live a healthy life.
FAQ’s
1. Can you eat black sapote skin?
Yes, the black sapote skin could be eaten, or even added into smoothies and milkshakes. As the fruit ripens, it makes it difficult for the skin to be separated from the fruit, hence, it is easier to eat it with the skin.
2. Are sapote seeds poisonous?
There isn’t much information that is available, as they are contradictions amongst the scientific community about the seeds of this fruit, hence it is recommended that you don’t use the seeds.
