A study at Sydney University’s Glycemic Index Research Service confirmed that consumption of unripe jackfruit can help fight high blood sugar level.
The world may have recently opened its eyes to the wonders of this fruit, but ancestors in Kerala were aware of its medicinal qualities. They often quoted that Chakkapuzhukku—a dish made out of unripe jackfruit—with rice is good for diabetes.
The Kerala government had requested the institution to carry out the study based on reports on the positive effects of unripe jackfruit. The initiative was funded by the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation aimed at exploiting the market for freeze-dried unripe jackfruit.
“According to the study, some of the diabetes patients who used unripe jackfruit daily reversed their situation to pre-diabetes condition,” said James Joseph, an entrepreneur promoting the use of freeze-dried raw jackfruit, according to The Hindu.
As the fruit contains more water and fibres as well as less sugar content, the patients who used up to 30 grams of freeze-dried unripe jackfruit daily were able to eliminate wheat and rice from their daily diet (and as a result helped overcome weight gain problems).
According to the study, 30 grams of dehydrated unripe jackfruit could give one the same sated feeling, that a cup of cooked rice or two wheat chapatis would. The study also revealed that the glycemic load (glucose level) in unripe jackfruit is almost half when compared with that of rice or wheat—another reason why it helps reverse the diabetic condition.
