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How to grow litchi and benefits of it

Amazing Sun Shine April 29, 2021

 Step 1 - Buy a fresh litchi which is not damaged

Step 2 - Remove the seed from it and enjoy the fruit

Step 3 - Wash it and wipe it with a tissue

Step 4 -  Soak it in a fresh water

Step 6 - After roots came out plant it in the soil



Lychees 101: Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits

The lychee (Litchi chinensis) — also known as litchi or lichee — is a small tropical fruit from the soapberry family.

Other popular fruits in this family include rambutan and longan.

Lychees are grown in subtropical regions throughout the world and especially popular in their native China, as well as Southeast Asia.

Known for their sweet and flowery flavor, they’re typically eaten fresh and sometimes used in ice creams or processed into juice, wine, sherbert, and jelly.

They’re a good source of several vitamins, minerals, and healthy antioxidants.

Lychees have an inedible, pink-red, leathery skin, which is removed before consumption. The flesh is white and surrounds a dark seed in the center.

Lychees are mainly composed of water and carbs — which make up 82% and 16.5% of the fruit, respectively (1Trusted Source).

A 3.5-ounce (100-gram) serving of fresh lychees provides the following nutrients. The table below shows the main nutrients in fresh lychees (1Trusted Source):

  • Calories: 66
  • Protein: 0.8 grams
  • Carbs: 16.5 grams
  • Sugar: 15.2 grams
  • Fiber: 1.3 grams
  • Fat: 0.4 grams

Carbs and Fibers

Besides water, lychees are mainly composed of carbs.

A single lychee — either fresh or dried — contains 1.5–1.7 grams of carbs (1Trusted Source).

The majority of the carbs in lychees comes from sugars, which are responsible for their sweet taste. They’re relatively low in fiber.

Vitamins and Minerals

Lychees are a decent source of several vitamins and minerals, including:

  • Vitamin C: The most abundant vitamin in lychees. One lychee provides around 9% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for vitamin C (1Trusted Source).
  • Copper: Lychees are a decent source of copper. Inadequate copper intake may have adverse effects on heart health (2Trusted Source).
  • Potassium: An essential nutrient that may improve heart health when eaten in sufficient amounts (3Trusted Source).
SUMMARY

Lychees are primarily composed of water and carbs, most of which are sugars. Compared to many other fruits, they’re low in fiber. They’re also high in vitamin C and offer decent amounts of copper and potassium.

Like other fruits, lychees are a good source of various antioxidant plant compounds.

In fact, they have been reported to contain higher levels of antioxidant polyphenols than several other common fruits (4Trusted Source).

Antioxidants in lychees include:

Oligonol

Oligonol is a dietary supplement that is often mentioned in connection to lychees.

It’s a patented mixture of antioxidants (proanthocyanidins) derived from lychee skin and green tea, developed by the Amino Up Chemical Corporation in Japan.

The antioxidants are chemically altered to increase their uptake from your gut (8Trusted Source).

Several studies indicate that Oligonol may reduce abdominal fat, fatigue, and inflammation after exercise (9Trusted Source, 10, 11Trusted Source, 12Trusted Source).

However, as it’s not found naturally in lychee fruits, its health effects don’t apply to lychees.

SUMMARY

Like most fruits and vegetables, lychees are a good source of antioxidants and other healthy plant compounds. These include epicatechin and rutin. Fresh lychees don’t contain any Oligonol, as is often claimed.



The health effects of lychees have not been studied yet.

However, including a variety of fruits and vegetables in your diet may improve your health and reduce your risk of several chronic diseases (13Trusted Source, 14Trusted Source, 15Trusted Source).

Lychees contain several healthy minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants, such as potassium, copper, vitamin C, epicatechin, and rutin. These may help protect against heart disease, cancer, and diabetes (3Trusted Source, 6Trusted Source, 7Trusted Source, 16Trusted Source).

Animal studies also indicate that lychee extract may help fight liver cancer (17Trusted Source).

Still, further studies are needed to confirm the health benefits of lychees in humans.

SUMMARY

The health effects of lychees have not been studied directly. However, they contain several nutrients and antioxidants that are important for health.

When eaten in moderation as a part of a healthy diet, lychees do not have any known adverse health effects.

However, lychees have been associated with brain inflammation in South and Southeast Asia.

Whether lychees are responsible is not entirely clear, but scientists have hypothesized that the toxin hypoglycin A may be responsible. Further studies are needed (18Trusted Source, 19Trusted Source).

Additionally, lychees may cause an allergic reaction in rare cases (18Trusted Source).

SUMMARY

Though lychees have been associated with brain inflammation in parts of Asia, it’s uncertain that they’re the culprit. Eating lychees in moderation should be safe for most people.

Lychees are popular in Southeast Asia and China but less common in other countries.

They have a sweet and flowery flavor and are a good source of vitamin C and several beneficial antioxidants. This makes them an excellent addition to a healthy diet.




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Written by Atli Arnarson BSc, PhD — Updated on January 23, 2018

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Longan Fruit vs. Lychee: Health Benefits, Nutrition Information, and Uses

Overview

The debate about whether longan or lychee fruit tastes better is ongoing. It comes down to a matter of personal taste. But there’s another angle to add to the dispute over these fruits: Is one healthier than the other? Read on to find out.

The nutritional profiles of longan and lychee are similar. Both fruits are low in calories and carbs and have zero fat. One ounce of fresh longanTrusted Source has just 17 calories and 4 grams of carbs. One ounce of fresh lycheeTrusted Source has 18 calories and 5 grams of carbs.

Both dried longan and dried lychee are higher in calories and carbs than their fresh counterparts. One ounce of dried longanTrusted Source has 80 calories and 21 carbs. One ounce of dried lycheeTrusted Source has 78 calories and 20 carbs.




Both longan and lychee are a good source of vitamin C. An ounce of fresh longan provides almost 40 percent of the recommended daily value of vitamin C, while an ounce of fresh lychee provides 33 percent. Vitamin C is important for healthy bones, blood vessels, and skin.

Fresh longan or lychee aren’t high in most other essential vitamins and minerals. But lychee has a small amount of minerals, including:

  • magnesium
  • phosphorous
  • potassium
  • copper
  • manganese

Fresh lychee also provides some vitamins like niacin, vitamin B-6, and folate. Niacin may increase HDL (good) cholesterol levels in the body. Vitamin B-6 supports a healthy nervous system and helps your body metabolize carbs, proteins, and fats.

Lychee also contains folate. It’s important for pregnant women and women of childbearing age to get enough folate to prevent neural tube defects. However, excessive fruit intake can increase blood sugar, so people with gestational diabetes need to eat these fruits in moderation.

May help you lose weight

Lychee may help you lose body fat. According to a 2009 study, polyphenol-rich lychee extract significantly reduces body weight, abdominal circumference, and visceral fat compared to a placebo. Visceral fat is fat around your abdomen. It increases your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

There are no scientific studies on longan fruit and obesity. But its low calorie, fat, and carb counts make it a great substitution for sugar-laden processed foods in your diet that may lead to weight gain.

There’s a catch, though. Lychee and longan should be enjoyed in moderation. They’re small fruits, and if you’re not careful, it’s easy to eat a lot in one sitting and jack up your intake of carbs and sugar.

Good source of fiber

Both fresh and dried lychee and longan have fiber. Fiber helps bulk stools and normalize bowel movements. It also improves overall bowel health. It may also lower cholesterol, improve gut flora, and help control blood sugar in people with diabetes.

High in antioxidants

Longan and lychee are high in antioxidants. Antioxidants help battle free radicals in your body that damage cells and lead to disease. ResearchTrusted Source shows getting your antioxidants from fresh fruits and vegetables — not supplements — has the most health benefits.

Lychee are high in a type of antioxidant called polyphenols. These substances are used in traditional Chinese medicine to protect and strengthen the liver and pancreas.

A 2017 studyTrusted Source on mice looked at lychee and its effects on the liver. The study found that the polyphonic compounds in lychee extract increased cell recovery in damaged liver cells of mice and treated fatty liver and liver scarring better than milk thistle (silymarin). Milk thistle is a first-line antioxidant treatment for hepatitis symptoms.

There are many health claims for longan and lychee. Most are anecdotal and not backed by scientific studies. Anecdotal uses of longan fruit as a natural remedy include:

  • a general tonic to increase energy and boost the immune system
  • depression
  • reducing stress
  • decreasing fatigue
  • boosting memory
  • improving memory
  • snake bites as an anti-venom

Anecdotal uses of lychee as a natural remedy include:

  • lowering blood pressure
  • improving the immune system
  • reducing blood sugar
  • improving blood circulation
  • treating asthma

There are many claims about the health benefits of longan and lychee, especially in regions of the world that’ve consumed these fruits for generations. However, most of these claims lack scientific evidence to confirm or deny these benefits.

While the fruits are similar in size and nutritional values, lychee comes out slightly ahead for having more essential minerals. Both longan and lychee are a good source of antioxidants, which may help prevent disease.

Eaten in moderation, longan and lychee can be part of a healthy eating plan. People with diabetes can enjoy them in moderation if they consider the sugar and carb contents and check blood sugar levels when eating new fruits.


Summary

Possible Health Benefits

Lychees contain several healthy minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants, such as potassium, copper, vitamin C, epicatechin, and rutin. These may help protect against heart disease, cancer, and diabetes 



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