Whether you want a rocking summer body or just want to shake off some pandemic pounds, most of us are trying to find new ways to live a healthier life. And a healthier life most definitely starts in the kitchen!

Chayote is actually one of the healthiest things you can eat. Despite this, though, many don’t understand what happens to your body when you eat chayote every day.

So what can chayote do for your body and your health? Keep reading to discover the answer!

What is chayote?

 

The name “chayote” may not immediately ring a bell for you. Before we can get into what chayote does to your body, we need to answer a simple question: what, exactly, is chayote?

Chayote is a type of squash. It originally came from Latin America and Mexico and is now a staple health food all around the world.

Technically, chayote is a fruit. But you almost always prepare and cook it as if it was a vegetable instead.

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Chayote nutrition

 

It’s easy to be skeptical when you hear that some kind of food is healthy for you. So, what exactly makes chayote a healthy food?

Here is the nutrition information for one chayote squash (203 grams) and how much of your Reference Daily Intake (RDI) it provides.

• Calories: 39
• Carbs: 9 grams
• Protein: 2 grams
• Fat: 0 grams
• Fiber: 4 grams — 14% of the RDI
• Vitamin C: 26% of the RDI
• Vitamin B9 (folate): 47% of the RDI
• Vitamin K: 10% of the RDI
• Vitamin B6: 8% of the RDI
• Manganese: 19% of the RDI
• Copper: 12% of the RDI
• Zinc: 10% of the RDI
• Potassium: 7% of the RDI
• Magnesium: 6% of the RDI

In other words, chayote squash is full of nutrients and antioxidants, all while being high in fiber and low in calories. Eating it every day will provide plenty of great health benefits, and all while helping you feel full and satisfied.

What kind of health benefits? Let’s find out!

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Chayote helps fight stress

As we touched on above, many things make chayote healthy for you. And one of the main reasons is that this food is so rich in very strong antioxidants.

Why is that important? Antioxidants do a good job of helping your body fight off inflammation, reduce stress levels, and even protect your body from cellular damage.

In other words, eating chayote every day is a great way to help fight off stress. Eating your way to stress relief? Sign us up today!

Chayote promotes better digestive health

 

We often debate what it means for a food to be healthy and nutritious. The simplest way, though, is to measure the amount of nutrients that the food has to offer. And chayote has quite a bit!

For example, a serving of chayote will give you about 14% of your recommended daily fiber intake. And it has many different vitamins, including Vitamin C, Vitamin B9, Vitamin B6, and Vitamin K. 

Because it is high in nutrients and low in things like calories and sodium, chayote is a great way to eat nutritious meals while also promoting better digestive health.

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Chayote helps control blood sugar levels

 

As we get older, it’s increasingly important to keep an eye on blood sugar. But this is difficult because so many foods and drinks can have very unexpected effects on blood sugar levels.

Once again, this is another area where chayote really shines. That’s because it offers an interesting combination (being low in carbs and high in soluble fiber) that helps to keep your blood sugar low. 

As an added bonus, some research has shown that chayote also increases your insulin sensitivity in a positive way. Consuming chayote each day helps your body fight against insulin resistance and can help keep you from developing diabetes.

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Chayote promotes a healthy heart

 

If our bodies are like cars, then our hearts are like engines. And if we want to keep our bodies running that much longer, we need the kind of diet that helps keep our “engine” in very good shape.

When you eat chayote, it helps to relax your blood vessels and keeps your blood pressure low and your blood flow steady. It also helps to lower your cholesterol levels and reduce your overall risk of heart disease.

If you want a healthier heart, you can get it one bite at a time with chayote!

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Chayote may help prevent cancer

 

A large part of what makes cancer scary is how easily it sneaks up on certain people. In some cases, people don’t realize they have cancer until it is too late to do much about it.

The best thing we can usually do is to focus on feeds that help prevent cancer. Fortunately, chayote is one such food!

Because eating chayote adds additional fruit to your diet, it helps to reduce the risk of certain types of cancer. And some of the compounds inside this food also help to slow the spread of cancer cells in your body.

Unlike some of the other positive effects of eating chayote, we don’t yet have enough scientific confirmation that this food directly fights cancer. But there is some positive research on this front on top of many other direct health benefits.

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Chayote helps promote a healthy pregnancy

 

We don’t often think of the impact food can have on a woman’s pregnancy. But did you know that chayote can help make your pregnancy much, much easier?

It all comes down to the high folate content in chayote. Babies need a lot of folate, and pregnant women need to get enough folate to avoid premature birth and ensure the health of their baby’s brain and spinal cord.

Considering that a serving of chayote gives you 40% of your recommended daily intake of folate, you can see how this food can help lead to a smoother pregnancy.

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Chayote helps aid weight loss

There are many foods that claim to help you lose weight. But with chayote, you get a food that does this in a very straightforward way!

Basically, chayote is high in fiber and low in calories. The extra fiber content helps your body to feel fuller for a longer amount of time. And consuming fewer calories for your meals helps to shrink your waistline.

If you want to lose weight, it’s important to develop an exercise regimen. But you also need a healthy diet, and chayote should play a central role in such a diet.

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Chayote helps fight aging

 

At first, the idea of food fighting off aging sounds crazy. After all, there is nothing you can eat or drink that is going to keep the years from passing by.

But as far as your body is concerned, the main effect of aging is that different parts of your body no longer function as they once did. Thanks to damage that comes from free radicals, we all get slower and have a harder time doing certain things.

However, consuming food rich in antioxidants can protect you from those free radicals for a longer time. So, while your body will still age, you won’t feel the effects of aging as much as your friends and colleagues.

And chayote has plenty of Vitamin C that helps your body produce collagen. This is what keeps someone’s skin looking younger. That means eating chayote each day can help you look and feel far younger than you actually are!

Source: life360.tips