Type 2 Diabetes can be Controlled by Unripen Green Jackfruit Flour

Diabetes can be controlled by adding green jackfruit flour to your daily diet as per an ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) study published in the journal Nature and recognized by the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

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What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a metabolic disease that is characterized by high blood glucose (blood sugar). Type 2 diabetes occurs when your body doesn’t sufficiently produce/utilize a hormone made by the pancreas called insulin (which allows glucose from food to get into your body cells for energy). The glycated haemoglobin (A1C – measures average blood sugar level for the past two to three months) test is a commonly preferred method to diagnose type 2 diabetes. The average result is the following:

• Below 5.7% – Normal.
• 5.7% to 6.4% – Prediabetes.
• 6.5% or higher – Diabetes.

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Growing Prevalence

Affecting almost 77 million people already, diabetes is attaining epidemic proportions across India. India is ranked as the second-largest diabetic population in the world. As the trend advances, it is estimated that every one in six Indians are diabetic.

With an immersive burden of the disease, not everyone would opt for managing their diabetes with medicines. Some rather prefer home remedies for a quality life. Among such alternative trials, the American Diabetes Association has endorsed jackfruit flour as one solution.

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Benefits of Jackfruit

Jackfruit (or kathal; scientific name: Artocarpus heterophyllus) is largely grown in Asia, Africa, and South America. It is the largest tropical tree fruit weighing up to 40 pounds or more. It is characterized by its thick, bumpy rind and stringy fibrous flesh that can be consumed either raw (or ripened) or even cooked in various palatable ways.

Apart from serving as a treat to taste buds, the big fruit is also loaded with several nutrients like Vitamin A, C, riboflavin, potassium, magnesium, copper, manganese, antioxidants, and proteins. It is widely accepted for its gut health regulation and immune-boosting capacity.

To further enhance its benefits, the extracted jackfruit flour is found to reduce and control blood sugar levels as well.

Jackfruit Flour and Diabetes: The Study

The jackfruit flour is made using the green unripe portion of the fruit and has no strong aroma or taste. The company named Jackfruit 365 conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study on 40 participants with Type 2 diabetes between May 2019 and February 2020.

“We gave 30 grams of jackfruit powder mixed with food to patients, for a period of three months and it was found to have lowered fasting blood sugar, post-prandial blood glucose, a significant reduction in HbA1c level was observed. Weight loss was also observed in patients,” says Dr. Gopal Rao, assistant professor for general medicine at Government Medical College, Srikakulam, who carried out the research.

Such drastic improvement in mean blood glucose was also apparent just in 7 days of administration of jackfruit flour meal. The control group however revealed no significant change in their sugar levels.

Get your Blood Sugars Controlled

The study infers that this significant drop in sugar levels was owed to the medium glycemic index (GI) of the fruit. This helps in breaking the glucose slowly in the body and avoids further spikes in blood sugar.

Since jackfruit is also low in carbs, rich in fiber and protein, along with packed antioxidants like carotenoids and flavanones, it renders protection to the body from inflammation, heart diseases, and other chronic conditions too.

How to Consume?

The ‘Jackfruit365’ flour has just hit the jackpot of good news to all the diabetics out there. One can try out various dishes with flour or even eat a teaspoon of it thrice a day as per the study website.

However, the study also affirms that it might NOT serve as a substitute for any blood sugar medication and it is mandatory to consult your medical practitioner before using it.

“This is a scientific advancement in diabetes from India for India and these results could inspire further research on traditional Indian diet. I hope that the findings of this research translate into better use of medical nutrition therapy in Type 2 diabetes care in India,” says Unnikirshinan, who is an Endocrinologist and CEO of Chellaram Diabetes Institute in Pune who alongside carried out the study.

Try your Own Health Recipes

Some healthy yet simple recipes one can try with the green jackfruit flour in your meals are:
Jackfruit Roti

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup jackfruit flour
• ⅔ cup wheat flour
• Water
• Salt

Method

• Add all the ingredients (jackfruit flour, wheat flour, and salt) to a bowl and mix well.
• Now keep adding some water little by little to the mixed flours for a well-kneaded smooth dough ball.
• You are ready to now roll and puff out those rotis on tawa from smaller dough balls.
• Serve with sabzi or gravy to enjoy the savor.

Jackfruit Dosa/Idli

Ingredients

• Jackfruit flour
• Urad dal 1 cup
• Parboiled idli rice 3 cups
• Salt to taste

Method

• Grind 2-3 hours pre-soaked urad dal and rice (1:3) mixture till you get a smooth batter consistency.
• Now add ⅓ rd cup of jackfruit flour to ⅔ cup of the mixture and ferment the thick batter overnight.
• Now you are ready to sprinkle some oil over the dosa pan or even serve them hot from the steamer as idlis.
• Enjoy your loaded nutrition of Jackfruit with sambar or fresh chutneys.

Reference:

1. What Is Jackfruit — and Is it Healthy? - (https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-is-jackfruit-and-is-it-healthy/)

Source-Medindia