Chayote

Chayote

The fruit does not need to be peeled and can be eaten raw in salads. The flesh has a fairly bland taste, and a texture described as a cross between a potato and a cucumber. Although generally discarded, the seed has a nutty flavour.

The tuberous part of the root is starchy and is both eaten by humans and used as cattle fodder. The leaves and fruit have diuretic, cardiovascular and anti-inflammatory properties, and a tea made from the leaves has been used in the treatment of arteriosclerosis and hypertension, and to dissolve kidney stones.

The word for chayote is Spanish, borrowed from the Nahuatl word chayotli. Chayote was one of the many foods introduced to Europe by early explorers, who brought back a wide assortment of botanical samples. The age of conquest also spread the plant south from Mexico, ultimately causing it to be integrated into the cuisine of many other Latin American nations.

Chayote is native to Central America where it is a very important ingredient to the diet. Other warm regions around the globe have been successful in cultivating it as well. Main growing regions are Costa Rica and Veracruz, Mexico. Costa Rican chayotes are predominantly exported to the European Union whereas Veracruz is the main exporter of chayotes to the United States.

Although most people are familiar only with the fruit, the root, stem, seeds, and leaves are all edible.

Chayote Nutrition Facts: Calories, Carbs, and Health Benefits

Chayote is 94.24% water, contains 4.51% carbohydrates, 0.13% fat, and 0.82% protein. If you consume one chayote it will provide you with 9.155 grams of carbohydrates. That translates to 7.04 percent of the 130 grams of carbohydrates people should include in their daily diet. That same in an amount measuring 100 grams (3.5 Oz), chayote provides 80 kilojoules (19 kilocalories) of energy and is a rich source of Vitamin B9 (folate, DFE) (23.25% of the Daily Value). This means that if you add chayote in your diet it will help your body to lower the possibility of birth defects in the baby (so pregnant women or women who are planning, usually take folic acid), increase brain health, create more red blood cells and will be effective against preeclampsia probabilities in pregnant womenheart strokesage-related hearing loss. At the same time it contains a moderate amount of Copper (13.67% DV) and Manganese (10.5% DV).