Health
Losing weight healthily is all about having a well-balanced diet and exercise plan, experts say, and a fruit and vegetable-filled daily menu can provide energy needed for working out. With that said, we checked in with registered nutritionists and health experts to learn more about the benefits of one surprising fruit— dragon fruit— when it comes to weight loss. Read on for tips, suggestions and insight from Lisa Richards, registered nutritionist and creator of The Candida Diet.
How Dragon Fruit Promotes Weight Loss
Dragon fruit does not get much attention for its taste, versatility, and health benefits, Richards explains. Its bright-red and ‘exotic’ outside appearance, though beautiful, she notes, can be “intimidating to most novice fruit consumers.” Dragon fruit is great for gut health, she says, because the “fiber it contains acts as a prebiotic.” A prebiotic “feeds the good gut bacteria” which regulate digestion, as well as many “important processes in the body,” Richards continues, including inflammation and immune response.
“When the gut is healthy and balanced, the body is better able to fight off illness and viruses,” she points out. Adding dragon fruit to your fruit intake is a great way to “help keep the gut healthy,” promote smoother digestion, provide energy, and keep you fuller for longer— all helping with weight loss. “Dragon fruit is also unique in that it provides a rich source of plant-based iron,” she adds, noting that it is a great addition to a vegetarian or vegan diet as well. A serving of dragon fruit, she says, is “6 ounces, and this gives the consumer 1 gram of iron.”
When it comes to fruit and weight loss, Richards concludes that “the best foods to aid in fast and healthy weight loss are those that are large in size, high in nutrients, but low in calories.” This, she advises, is also known as volume eating, where the individual eats foods that “provide a significant amount of nutrients with few calories.”
These foods are often larger in size, she says, which take up more room in the stomach to enhance satiety. Some of these foods with low calorie density include fruit (around 2 servings max). “When your diet pattern is based on these types of foods,” she stresses, you are more able to eat “larger quantities because you are taking in fewer calories.”
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Author: Marissa Matozzo
Staff Writer
Marissa is a Brooklyn-based culture journalist and staff writer at SheFinds, covering edgy celebrity style, timeless beauty trends, lifestyle and entertainment news. Her coverage of indie music, NYC fashion, underground and pop culture is featured in PAPER Magazine, Paste Magazine, The Knockturnal, Bandsintown and more. You can reach her at [email protected]
