Super-Healthy Baobab Fruit
Never heard of super-healthy baobab fruit? Neither had I until a couple of years ago but now I eat it on a daily basis.
Baobab trees grows in Africa, Madagascar, Australia and Arabia. The trees produce hard pods and inside each pod is a powdery white fruit – the fruit dries naturally on the branch - which is full of healthy nutrients.
It is not like any other fruit – you buy it in powdered form. I have only found it in health food stores.
Baobab fruit is rich in vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, vitamin A, B6 and antioxidants. It is also high in fibre and acts as a prebiotic.
To make a comparison with other types of food, baobab fruit has roughly six times the vitamin C of oranges, two times the calcium of milk, ten times the fibre of apples, five times the magnesium of avocados and four times the potassium of bananas.
All of these nutrients are really important for our bodies.
- Vitamin C is necessary for a strong immune system, for collagen and bone formation, for energy production and as an antioxidant.
- Calcium is needed to provide the rigid structure of the skeleton. Calcium also works together with magnesium to enable nerves and muscles to “fire. The ability to use calcium depends not only on its intake but also on its absorption. The calcium balance of the body is improved by adequate vitamin D intake and weight-bearing exercise.
- Magnesium works with calcium in maintaining both bone density and nerve and muscle impulses. It is also essential for many enzymes in the body. Lack of magnesium causes muscles to go into spasm.
- Fibre is needed for a healthy diet. Baobab contains both soluble and insoluble fibre. Soluble fibre helps to slow down the absorption of carbohydrates and helps to keep blood sugar levels balanced. Insoluble fibre absorbs water and helps the food we eat to pass along our digestive tract more easily – somewhat like a chimney sweeper of your intestines.
- Prebiotics are un-digestible plant fibres and are really important for your health as they feed the good bacteria that you have in your gut. You can increase the amount of good bacteria in your gut by eating fermented food like yogurt and fermented cabbage (sauerkraut) and by taking probiotic supplement.
I eat this super-healthy baobab fruit powder together with yogurt.
I add two heaped teaspoons of baobab powder, 1/2 teaspoon real cinnamon (see cinnamon spice), 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric, some chopped banana and one tablespoon of chopped walnuts to half a cup of natural Greek-style yogurt.
It is both a tasty and healthy way to start my day.
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