by Jessica Welch

Created on: May 15, 2008   Last Updated: June 16, 2008

The Passion of Fruit

It's egg-shaped but purple. Its pulpy texture is interrupted by hard seeds. A passion fruit may not be your first craving upon entering your local grocery store, but if you are eager to try a new tropical fruit that comes with major health benefits, pick one up the next time you visit your produce section.

The passion fruit got its lusty name not by extreme and passionate effects upon eating, but by Jesuit missionaries that traveled to the South Americas to convert Indians who were thought to be swayed by signs in nature. If you ever look at a passion fruit plant, you'll see that it sprouts ten petals, which the Jesuits said signified Jesus' ten devout disciples. It also has a spiky, thorn-like inner ring (the crown of thorns) and five stamens for His wounds upon the cross. If the religious indications aren't enough to have you chomp the passion, then perhaps the health benefits will tempt you into salvation.

Passion fruit comes equipped with a leathery skin that is rich in antioxidants and flavonoids that have proved to reduce most symptoms of asthma. In a study conducted by Watson et al. for Nutrition Research, 42 patients took either a passion fruit extraction or a placebo and their asthma was tracked by doctors for 4 weeks. Wheezing was reduced by a whopping 75 percent and coughing by 28. The doctors also concluded that there were no adverse symptoms present after taking the natural supplement.

Passion fruit is one for a busy world. The fruit also contains Harman, a phytochemical capable of lowering blood pressure and reducing anxiety. Passion fruit juice could be a light and natural sleep enhancement supplement that you could add to tea or drink alone.

Passion fruit juice has also been studied at the University of Florida for components that may actually kill cancer cells. Carotenoids and polyphenols present in passion fruit were shown to decrease the growth of certain types of cancer cells compared to their normal growth rate.

At only 90 calories per fruit and with enough potassium to stand up to a banana, passion fruit is sure to be an adventure for the taste buds. Many recipes exist on-line and can be found by simply googling "passion fruit recipes." I've heard it makes a delicious jam!

Jessica Welch

Sources:

Authors: Rowe CA, Nantz MP, Deniera C, Green K, Talcott ST, Percival SS
Research Institute: Food Science and Human Nutrition Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.

Serre, M. Passion Fruit, All About Fruits on The Worldwide Gourmet. The Worldwide Gourmet. Accessed on May 15, 2008 at http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/?action=ingredien t_show&id=480&lg=en.

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