Passion fruit: useful properties and contraindications

Many have heard about the benefits of passion fruit, but not everyone knows what kind of fruit it is, how it looks and how it can be eaten. Its cost is quite high, but sometimes it’s worth pampering yourself with this “vitamin bomb”. The fruit does not tolerate transportation and quickly deteriorates, so you can meet it on the shelves of shops and supermarkets very rarely.

Passion fruit: description, composition and calorie content

Passion fruit (or otherwise, passionflower) is a long-standing tropical culture that bears the fruits of an oval-shaped eggplant or lemon color. The size of the fruit is from 6 to 12 cm. In their appearance, they resemble giant plums.

The birthplace of this evergreen creeper is Brazil. But in our time it is grown not only there, but also in Australia and in some countries of South America and Africa.

It is mainly grown for the sake of juice, the amount of which is about 40% of the total mass of pulp. It is often added to other drinks for a more pronounced flavor.

The surface of young fruits is most often shiny and silky. But it is better to buy specimens with roughness and dents - they have a sweeter taste, although they lose in appearance. Most varieties have a toxic peel that cannot be eaten. But there are also species with an edible shell, from which a variety of desserts are prepared.

Passion fruit - what does it taste like, what does it taste like?

The ripened fruit has a pleasant, sweet and sour taste and strong aroma. It's hard to say what the taste of this amazing fruit looks like. Some people say that it resembles kiwi, the second with ripe sea-buckthorn, and the third with plums and gooseberries.This unusual palette of tastes leaves no one indifferent. To understand this yourself, it is better to just get a ripe fruit with a wrinkled skin and independently conduct a tasty experiment.

Useful properties and contraindications of passion fruit

You can talk a lot about the benefits of passion fruit. The composition of this exotic fruit is in excess of macro- and microelements, vitamins and organic acids. The pulp has a lot of fiber, which is so necessary for the normal functioning of the digestive system.

Eating fruits has a beneficial effect on the human body. So, passion fruit helps:

• improve the work of the intestines and other organs of the digestive tract;
• remove excess uric acid;
• suppress the growth of cancer cells;
• raise reduced pressure;
• calm the nervous system;
• establish a dream;
• relieve inflammation;
• eliminate a viral infection;
• remove extra pounds;
• cleanse the body of toxins;
• lower blood cholesterol.

Nutritionists recommend introducing this fetus into the diet for people with diseases of the liver, urinary tract, heart and blood vessels. In addition, passion fruit has a powerful antimicrobial effect.

Knowing the usefulness of passion fruit, you can safely include it in your diet, especially since there are no special contraindications to the use of this product.

• Pregnant women and nursing mothers can eat this fruit only in small quantities, watching the reaction of the body.
• Kids also should not get carried away with exotic fruits, as their digestive tract does not cope well with such novelties in the diet.
• In case of individual intolerance to the product and the occurrence of allergic reactions, the use of this fruit should be abandoned.
• Particular care must be taken for people with diabetes. The fact is that during prolonged storage a large amount of sugar accumulates in the fetus, which, when consumed, can lead to a sharp increase in blood glucose levels.

What is useful passiflora in cosmetology?

The use of cosmetics with passion fruit in a short time improves skin tone and restores its former elasticity. Most often, it is recommended for the care of aging skin with impaired circulation. People with oily, acne-prone epidermis also note that his condition is noticeably improving.

Masks and scrubs that contain this fruit have a strong positive effect due to the presence of vitamin A.

This is immediately apparent:

• the skin takes on a healthy and attractive appearance;
• the general condition of the epidermis improves;
• small facial wrinkles are smoothed out and become less noticeable;
• the complexion is leveled;
• skin defects are smoothed out;
• the skin is cleansed of sebum and dead cells.

Passion fruit oil is widely used for the production of regenerating and moisturizing creams, gels and ointments.

The product is used not only for the manufacture of caring cosmetics, but also for medicines for skin peeling, itching, eczema and psoriasis.

This fruit is also used in the preparation of homemade hair masks. They moisturize well and nourish overdried curls with strength. It is very simple to prepare the mask: you need to take 1 fruit, 3 tbsp. l cream and 1 tbsp. l peach oil. The components are whipped in a blender and evenly applied to the hair. The head is wrapped with a film and a warm towel for ½ hour, and then the aromatic composition is washed off.

It is interesting:passion fruit

The use of passionflower in cooking and nutrition

The fruits can be eaten fresh, but you need to know how to eat passion fruit correctly. It is enough to carefully cut the fruit in a circle and quickly divide it into 2 halves in order to preserve the juice. Then take out with a spoon and eat aromatic pulp.

• Seeds are often used to decorate cakes and other desserts.
• The pulp is used as a filling for sweet cakes or an ingredient in fruit salads and cocktails.
• Chopped pulp is often added to sauces, mousses, yogurts, creams, ice creams and even cheesecakes.
• The high juice content in the fruit makes it an ideal way to quench your thirst and tone the body in hot weather.

In Australia, this fruit is sold not only fresh, but also in canned form, which is quite convenient, since the fruit is not stored for a long time.

The maximum storage time is 5-6 days (in the refrigerator).

It can be extended by freezing - the pulp must be put in a plate, mix with sugar and sent to the freezer. So it can be stored for 12 months without losing its properties.

Many exotic fruits undergo serious antibacterial treatment, otherwise they simply will not tolerate long transportation. Therefore, before eating, the fruits must be washed well and thoroughly cleaned.

You can take note of the recipe for a simple cottage cheese casserole. Ingredients:

• 275 g of fatty and nonfat cottage cheese;
• 0.5 tbsp. Sahara;
• 1 egg
• 3 fruits of passion fruit;
• 2 tbsp. l starch.

Curd should be mixed with sugar and egg. Squeeze the juice from the fruit and combine with starch. Bones can be set aside for decoration. Stir all the ingredients, put in a mold and bake for 30 minutes. If desired, the dessert can be decorated with seeds and butter cream.

Nutritionists often recommend this fruit to people who want to lose weight. It can be safely included in the diet, due to the minimum fat content. In addition, the fruit has a beneficial effect on metabolism, gives a boost of energy and vigor.

The properties of passion fruit made it quite popular even in official medicine. This applies to therapeutic diets for various diseases. With a cold, it is prescribed as an antipyretic, and with gastrointestinal diseases - as a laxative.

How to eat fruit, with or without seeds?

The fruit bones are edible, they are often eaten along with the pulp. But you need to remember that they are a powerful sleeping pill. Therefore, depending on the situation, you can have passion fruit with or without seeds. Do not eat fruit with seeds for those people whose profession requires attention and concentration.

In any case, in the absence of contraindications, even irregular consumption of this fruit will bring many benefits.