Breadfruit Nutritional Benefits – How to Feel Your Best!
Fuel your body with the Rev’ULUtion!
Living your best life means eating good food for your body; breadfruit is a healthy choice to help meet this goal and satisfy new dietary guidelines from the USDA urging Americans to “Make Every Bite Count” with nutrient-dense foods. Breadfruit provides healing nutritional value while lowering sugar cravings with fiber and protein in every bite—helping you and your ʻohana live your healthiest lives.
1. Boost Vitamin A Production
Betacarotene is an antioxidant and provitamin required by the body to produce Vitamin A–an important vitamin for eye health as well as skin, heart, lungs, kidney and immune health. It’s well known that carrots are good for eyes due to their beta carotene, but did you know just half a cup of ‘ulu contains three times the beta carotene as one cup of carrots?
2. Charge Your Amino Acid Pool
Is breadfruit a protein or carbohydrate? The answer is both. ‘Ulu delivers energy-sustaining starches as well as protein-building amino acids, providing double the amount of protein per serving as potatoes. In terms of protein quality, all essential amino acids have been found in breadfruit–the Ma’afala variety has been shown to have greater than 568 mg amino acid content per gram of protein–a higher percentage of essential amino acids than in soybeans.
3. Enjoy Health Advantages of Fiber
Breadfruit is considered a fair-to-good source of dietary fiber, delivering five times the fiber found in brown rice and sixteen times the fiber found in white rice. A recent national survey from the USDA found that only about 5% of the US population is meeting fiber recommendations, with the rest of the population missing out on the associated lower cholesterol levels and reduced risk of developing heart disease.
4. Regulate Blood Sugar with Low-to-Moderate Glycemic Index
Breadfruit’s insoluble fiber contributes to the fruit’s low-to-moderate glycemic index rating. The high amylose fiber content in ulu supports blood sugar regulation and reduces one’s risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes while also helping to feel fuller for longer.
Breadfruit can help prepare you for anything life may throw your way by supplying your body the nutrients and vitamins it needs to flourish.
Want to learn more about what you can make with breadfruit? Check out our recipes page here.
Sources
Dr. Jodie Leslie Matsuo RD, “Nutritional Benefits of ‘Ulu,” HUC; Liu Y et. al (2015); Meenu M. & Xu B. (2019); Ragone (2014); Turi et. al (2015); Quagliani D. & Gunderson P., (2016)