When I used to eat all those candies, packets of noodles, chips, cold drinks and all those junk foods, my parents, teachers and mentor used to talk about this proverb,’’If money is lost nothing is lost, if degree is lost something is lost and if health is lost everything is lost”. My cranium was not so matured enough to think about these all. Honestly I had never taken those words so seriously, my taste ever used to seek those canned soft drinks, processed fast foods, junk noodles, chips and so on. And I had never given my priority to fruits since I didn’t liked much of them. Later on as the time passed back to some years I had severe burn on my belly and as per the doctor I had mild gastritis which could be recoverable if I take consideration on my diet. Then I realized what matters the most, then I realized about my health. And as per the various data today children are much more prone to the disease infection. Since from the birth they have carried some of the deformities in their body either lack micro nutrient, macro nutrients, anti oxidents and some other essential elements in the body. The children of urban areas seems to be much more affected one as since from the birth they have been feed with chemical manufactured products. For the maintainence of health fruit has a vital role. Here today I am going to describe some of the under exploited fruit on and of Nepal along with its nutritional and health benefits.

1. THE ‘MYTHICAL FRUIT’ that keeps you young (DRAGON FRUIT):

Botanically it is named as Hylocereus undatus native to to southern Mexico and southern America but now is grown all over the world. Talking about the health benefits, Dragon fruits contain good levels of fibre, minerals, vitamins (vitamin C), and cancer fighting antioxidants. Regular consumption of Dragon fruit helps in fighting against cough and asthma. It helps for healing wounds and cuts quickly as it contains high amount of vitamin C. This vitamin C plays an important role to enhance immune system and also to stimulate the activity of other antioxidant in the body. Dragon fruit contains appreciable amounts of several nutrients.It’s also a decent source of iron,magnesium and fiber. Here are the nutrition fact for a serving of 3.5 ounces,or 100 grams I.e Calories:60 grams, Protein:1.2 grams, Fat:0 Crabs:13 grams, Fiber:3 grams, Vitamin C:3% of the RDI, Iron:4% of the RDI, Magnesium:10% of the RDI.

2. China Gooseberry, china miracle, Kiwi Fruit:

       Botanically it is named as Actinidia deliciosa, native to china. Health benefit of kiwi is multi dimensional, Anti oxidant properties, Helps in preventing cancer, cardiovascular disorders, reduce depression due to presence of Inositol, Checks obesity, maintain sugar level, reduce the level of cholesterol, prevents from vision destroying diseases, muscles degeneration, bone calcification, Asthma, other respiratory diseases, treat scurvy, and DNA mutation, Make jams, jellies, pies, cakes, culinary decorations, produce high quality wine. Most importantly it is recommended in diet for pregnant women due to the high content of folate in this fruit which helps in the formation of cells, maintain proper body growth and development of baby inside womb.

3. Wood Apple:

According to the National Institute of Nutrition’s book, “Nutritive Value of Indian Foods,” wood apples contain the following values per 100g: 64.2g Moisture ,7.1g Protein, 3.7g Fat,1.9g Minerals, 5g Fiber, 18.1g Carbohydrates, 61IU Carotene,3mg Vitamin C, .04mg Thiamin, .17mg Riboflavin, .8mg Niacin, 130mg Calcium, 110mg Phosphorous, .48g Iron, 41mg Magnesium, .21mg Chromium, .18mg Manganese, .10mg Zinc.

4. Avocado:

      Botanically it is Persea americana native to central Mexico. The health benefits of avocado is so significant and cant be underrated. Rich in Vitamin B and Vitamin K, with good content of Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Potassium. Avocado also contain Phytosterols and Carotenoids, such as Lutein and Zeaxanthin. Rich source of antioxidant,  Helps to prevent cancer ,heart disease & blood sugar imbalance, Improves the health & appearance of skin.

5. Date Palm:

 It is especially culivated for sweet fruit which is one of the major Source of food in desert area. Medical uses: unripe fruit as natural fertility food eating date during pregnancy (strenght the uterine muscle), roots of date palm is used to treat a toothache and Gum from the date trunk is widely used to treat diarrhea. It is one of the natural stimulant of the weight. Also have a wide range of the laxative effects.

Hence there are many fruits which has a very great nutritional and health benefits. Prevention is better than cure, Health is our greatest wealth, and I would like to make humble request to everyone minimize the use of junk foods as it not only maintains our health but also reduce the consumption of plastics as all the junk foods are wrapped in a plastics with Nitrogen as a preservatives. So stay healthy and eco friendly.

P.S: All the reference has been taken from internet, book, literature paper