Are you a fruitarian? Well I am! Exploring new tastes in fruits makes me happy. I love eating them raw, in salads and baking as well. I happened to taste a rambutan and its seeds excited me more. Churning melon seeds is a favorite thing for me. It confused me if I could eat the rambutan seeds or not.
Eating rambutan seeds is not an open recommendation especially when raw. This is due to the Saponins (toxic chemicals) they contain. However, the quantity to which you eat the rambutan seeds matters a lot. You can eat them up to 2500mg/kg.
Don’t be sad. The story doesn’t end here simply. You can eat them if you follow the instructions. You can even have the benefits from them without harming your health. Let me explore more about the rambutan and the seeds it contains to let you know how good it can do for you.
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What is a rambutan?
Fact file:
- Origin: Southeast Asian tropical fruit
- Botanical Name: Nephelium Lappaceum
- First Cultivation: Malaysia
- Name derivation: Malay word Rambut means hair
- Size: Golf-ball sized
- Species of plant: Rambutan
- Material: Soft hairy skin with greenish red hairs all over
- Related: It looks like lychee
Description:
The fruit is soft from the outside and you can easily cut it open through a knife. A little cut on the skin and you can peel it all.
The inner fruit is transparent and juicy. The seeds can be reached by eating the fruit and spitting out the seed or cutting the fruit into pieces and plucking the seeds out.
While eating the fruit, you would find a hard coating on the seed. In that case, just nibble the flesh and spit out the seed with the skin around it to avoid a bitter taste. The fruit has a taste similar to that of the lychee.
Rambutan Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits:
Rambutan Nutrition Facts:
So far, the value of nutrition is considered; the rambutan is a rich one. The fruit contains vitamins A, B and C. It is a rich source of potassium.
You will find calcium, folate and choline in it. The special element is Vitamin B5 which is not produced by our body, so the rambutan serves your purpose. If you take one medium-sized fruit, it contains 7 calories.
The other elements, which are less than one gram in the fruit, are fats, carbohydrates, fiber and protein.
Carbohydrates are less than 2 grams. You can buy fresh rambutans on amazon Melissa’s Fresh Rambutans (2 lb).
Or, if you want them in tin packing, there is an option of Peace Brand Fancy Rambutan in Heavy Syrup 565g (1 Count).
Health Benefits of rambutan:
The following points would make you gather information about the health benefits of eating rambutan in your routine.
- Potassium in the fruit helps you to maintain kidneys and heart function well.
- In women, the conception rate increases by having at least 400 grams of folate in the diet. The mineral helps in DNA duplication.
- Vitamin C fights the waste products in your body that damage the cells. Rambutan with vitamin C helps to protect cells and decreases the risk of cancer in the body.
- The same vitamin strengthens the body’s immune system to fight diseases.
- Rambutan contains dietary fiber in a soluble and insoluble form. It helps the digestive system by preventing constipation, and the insoluble fiber works in the intestine to digest complex foods through good bacteria.
Note: You may eat 5-6 pieces a day. More Consumption would lead to a rise in blood sugar levels which is harmful to human health.
Can you eat rambutan seeds? Let’s Explore The Facts
Yes, you can but if you want to eat them without falling sick, prepare them. What does it mean?
It means they are roasted and taste more like roasted almonds, a bit bitter, though. The raw seeds are not a tasty bite.
Even more, a slightly increased quantity would harm your motor coordination due to the level of toxicity. The toxic chemicals include saponins.
Roasting the seeds would help you find treasures in the seeds. Let us streamline the things you can get from the rambutan seeds.
They have oleic acid and arachidonic acid. Oleic acid is fat that reduces blood pressure and balances the level of cholesterol.
The arachidonic acid increases protein synthesis to work as a supplement for bodybuilders. The muscles improve in size.
Like the flesh, the seeds also contain the nutrition that can be listed to see how they can make them important for health.
They include fat, nitrogen, ash, protein, iron, calcium, manganese, magnesium, potassium, zinc and phosphorus.
Here the seeds have more potassium (84.1mg) which helps the heart function properly.
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Know The Different Types of Rambutan recipes:
The rambutan recipes include drinks, salads, curry and desserts.
Rambutan Mojito:
It has lime, sugar, mint and rum, and rambutan syrup made separately.
Rambutan Smoothie:
This recipe includes rambutan flesh, pineapple flesh, coconut milk and coconut water. The fruit chunks are blended and added with coconut milk and coconut water.
Rambutan Curry:
The recipe is more complex. The curry has lime leaves, lemongrass, pineapples, chicken and rambutan slices. You make it in many steps cooking each compound for a calculated time.
Rambutan and mango crumbles:
The dessert has ice cream along with flour and butter crumbles and, of course, slices of rambutan, which are set in glasses as a dessert.
Rambutan Salad:
Mango, pomegranate, blueberries and pineapple make a perfect group of tastes to prepare a rambutan salad.
Here you can find the basic types where you can use rambutan as a balanced ingredient in the combination. But you can even explore more.
Is the rambutan safe during pregnancy?
Yes, the fruit is perfectly safe during pregnancy. This is because of the nutritional value of the fruit. The problems of pregnancy rambutan caters are listed below:
Nausea:
The sour and sweet taste of rambutan gets the pregnant woman out of nausea, vomiting and dizziness.
Illness and Constipation:
Vitamin C fights common illnesses during pregnancy. The fiber in the fruit helps in digestion.
Dropping levels of Hemoglobin and Loss of Calcium:
The iron in rambutan fights dizziness and improves the levels of hemoglobin.
The fetal weight is maintained when the bones and muscles of the mother are stronger. The calcium in the fruit retains it.
Point to notice:
The overripe fruit can be dangerous in this condition because of the increased level of sugar content and alcohol in the fruit.
Is rambutan good for weight loss?
Yes, rambutan is good for weight loss due to the nature of the fruit. The fruit has a lower density of energy. It means it has fewer calories.
Plus, the more significant amount of fiber and water makes you feel fuller when you eat it, thus resulting in weight loss without heavy intake.
The fiber in the fruit makes a gel-like substance with water in your gut to slow down digestion, reducing overeating and giving a feeling of fullness.
More water in the fruit hydrates you more and your appetite is decreased. These factors take you towards weight loss.
Is rambutan good for diabetes?
Yes, rambutan is good for those who have diabetes. The study shows that the people who are sensitive to insulin have lower insulin resistance which helps them fight against the disease.
People with higher resistance to insulin suffer from excessive fat in the body.
The lesser amount of calories in the food would cause low resistance to insulin. Rambutan offers lower calories, hence becoming a supporting agent against diabetes.
Point to ponder: The overripe rambutan has excessive sugar, which is not good for a diabetic person. The overripe fruit can increase the level of blood sugar in the body.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is rambutan good for sperm?
Yes, the presence of vitamin C in rambutan helps in the healthy production of sperm. This solves the problem of infertility in men.
Is rambutan lychee?
No, it is not lychee, but it is more related to lychee in looks and taste than any other fruit.
Can rambutan seeds kill you?
The seeds cannot kill you. But a large intake may lead to sleepiness and even coma. The intake is dangerous only if taken raw or roasted.
What does the fruit taste like?
The fruit has a taste like that of a grape and a fresh date. Like the fresh date, its flesh closer to the seed is bitter than the outer part.
How long can rambutans be stored?
Rambutans can be stored for up to 2 weeks in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.
Concluding Thoughts
So, summing it up, the fruit seeds can become a treasure if taken in the right amount and prepared. The mismanagement of the fruit and seed would lead to a reverse situation.
I suggest you read more about the rambutan seed before eating it and take advantage of it to the fullest. Also, don’t forget to talk with your dietician if you have any complexity. Stay healthy.
