Benefits of eating Kumquats include gallstone depletion, encourages weight loss, helps the digestive system, aids in controlling your blood sugar, helps in glowing skin, has anti-aging and anti-inflammatory properties, supports hair growth, protects against scurvy, improves bone density, boosts metabolism, good for overall health and good for your vision.
Citrus fruits like oranges and lemons are favorites all over the world and have found their place in the world of fruits. But another fruit from the same family, which is relatively unknown, is the kumquat.
It is a fruit that is highly nutritious but lacks the popularity of its siblings. Kumquats are a low-calorie fruit that contains tons of beneficial nutrients such as antioxidants, vitamins, flavonoids, and metallic minerals.
Most people are unaware that the skin is also edible, which goes to waste in most households. Make sure you get most of the fruit by utilizing the peel as well.
The vast amounts of compounds in kumquat make it an ideal snack. It means you can munch all you want to rest assured that it’s not going to give you grief.
The nutritional content of Kumquats is given below:
A 100-g serving of kumquats (5-6 fruits) supplies [15+]:
- Calories: 71
- Water: 81 g
- Carbs: 15.9 g (9.4 g sugars and 6.5 g fiber)
- Proteins: 1.88 g
- Fats: 0.86 g
- Provitamin A: 290 IU (10% of recommended vitamin A daily intake)
- Vitamin C: 43.9 mg (73% of recommended daily intake)
- Calcium: 62 mg (6% of recommended daily intake)
- Magnesium: 20 mg (7% of recommended daily intake)
13 Amazing Health Benefits of Eating Kumquats
1. Gallstone Depletion
Gallstones are small stones consisting of gall deposits that can build up and are a nasty complication that can turn out to be painful. They can cause inflammation in the gallbladder and pancreas. Kumquat contains a rich source of limonene, which has proven to the depletion of gallstones in up to 75% of the cases.
2. Encourages Weight Loss
The high fiber content of kumquat makes it perfect if you’re trying to lose some extra pounds. The high fiber makes your stomach walls stretch. The stretching of the stomach walls, in turn, has an adverse effect on the production of leptin and ghrelin, which are the hunger hormones of your body.
With a reduced concentration of these hormones in your blood, your hunger can be curbed and therefore allow you to consume fewer calories throughout the day.
In a particular experiment, polysaccharides isolated from kumquat inhibited the pancreatic enzyme that aid in lipid digestion. It suggests that eating Kumquat might slow down the absorption of guts. Moreover, kumquat increases the enzyme PPRA, which has shown to increase fat burning.
3. Helps the Digestive System
Your Gastrointestinal tract is a miracle. It allows you to digest complex macromolecules such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. But it has its requirements. Your digestive tract can’t break down cellulose fibers; however, it requires them to function as well.
These fibers are vital to the process of peristalsis, which is the mechanism by which food moves through the digestive tract.
Kumquats are an excellent source of such fibers that can aid the digestive process. Not just this, but it can effectively clear out your colon and small intestine by doing so. It helps prevent stool-retention, constipation, and colitis.
4. Aids in Controlling your Blood Sugar
Citrus fruits have regularly recommended to people suffering from diabetes and obesity. Kumquat is no different. The high fiber content can help ward off cravings and limit the number of calories ingested.
It has a positive effect as it can help stabilize your insulin levels and protect you from the blood sugar spikes and dips that are so dangerous.
People at risk of developing type-2 diabetes are also advised to consume this fruit as it can inhibit the development of the disease by helping control insulin levels and combat insulin resistance in somatic cells.
5. Helps in Glowing Skin
Your skin is made up of tissues that contain a protein named Collagen. Collagen production is heavily dependent on the amount of vitamin C in one’s system.
Like most citrus fruits, Kumquats can provide a large proportion of RDA (Recommended daily intake) for vitamin C. It can give a boost to skin cell regeneration and gives your skin a cleaner, brighter look.
6. Anti-Aging Properties
Abundant in antioxidants is vital to reducing the amount of damage inflicted on our skin by stress and free radicals. Free radicals can have a devastating effect on your skin cells and can wreak havoc.
The free radical damage can result in the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines, and blemishes. All of these are preventable to some extent, with an adequate intake of antioxidants.
7. Anti-Inflammatory Properties
Bursting with flavonoids, specifically with DGPP, which is a derivative of phloretin. This compound is widely used in skincare products that specialize in control inflammation. Phloretin has shown to reduce inflammation in mice with asthma, arthritis, and colitis.
Some flavonoids, such as margaritine and isomargeritene are also present in kumquats. These compounds have been known to prevent inflammation in multiple cellular studies.
Another compound that is present in just trace amounts, poncirin, also has an anti-inflammatory effect and is known to lower the activation pathways in macrophages, which serve an important role in protecting your body from pathogenic attacks.
Therefore, the regular consumption of Kumquats can help in dealing with symptoms of chronic inflammatory issues.
8. Supports Hair Growth
Containing an adequate amount of Vitamin C, this unusual fruit can have a fantastic effect on your hair. It allows the betterment of your scalp and improves the overall structure of the hair follicle.
It reduces the probability of hair fall and improves the overall look of your hair. The consumption of Kumquats also has the added benefit of being a powerful deterrent to dandruff as it reduces the amount of sebum production and restricts the growth of fungi on the scalp, which is the primary reason that dandruff may be produced.
9. Protects Against Scurvy
Scurvy doesn’t just affect pirates. Scurvy is the term given to the condition caused by a lack of vitamin C in the diet. It can have a devastating effect on your skin, hair, and nails. It is because all these tissues need a constant supply of Collagen to regenerate correctly, which requires, you guessed it, Vitamin C.
If you don’t want your toenails falling off in the foreseeable future. I would highly recommend buying a few Kumquats. An advantage specific to kumquats is that the peel is edible as well, which gives a higher amount of vitamin C.
10. Improves Bone Density
Your skeletal system is your entire structure, and it’s made of bones. Your bones are made of living cells that reproduce and divide and require high amounts of calcium, (but that’s widely known), but what isn’t as well-known as it should be is that kumquats are an excellent source of calcium which can help strengthen your bones, increase your bone density. It will ensure that your bones are not brittle and may help prevent fractures.
11. Boosts Metabolism
Your metabolism is the rate at which your body burns energy. Every person has a BMR, which is the rate at which your body burns energy at rest. A bulk of the energy spent on metabolism is due to the digestion of macromolecules in your digestive system.
A large number of B-complexes can aid your body’s natural mechanism in digesting these complex molecules effectively get most out of what you eat.
12. Good for Overall Health
Kumquats are regarded as being loaded with Phyto-nutrients along with a bulk of vitamins, dietary cellulose fibers, and natural pigments, which are all essential to your body for proper function.
The peel of the kumquat is also eaten, which is an additional source of antioxidants, tannins, non-starch polysaccharides, and pectin along with many essential oils.
13. Good for Your Vision
Rich in compounds such as beta-carotene and Vitamin A. These compounds are also found in carrots and are closely linked to vision health.
Beta-carotene is an antioxidant that fights oxidative stress in the macular cells and effectively combats macular degeneration. All of this can result in a reduced risk of developing cataracts.
Bonus: Certain compounds in Kumquats have proven to inhibit certain types of cancers in isolated experiments.
Helpful Tips: If you want to get proper, authentic tasting Kumquats, we suggest buying during the winter month. It is peak time. Ensure that the fruits you buy are small and firm without any discoloration.
Refrain from purchasing any fruit that is bruised or damaged in any way. If you’re not a fan of eating the peel. You can always remove it, but it’s a slightly tricky process as it is very thin.
Even though Kumquats are perfect to be eating whole, they can be used in a wide variety of dishes and can spice up any ordinary plate including but limited to:
- Marmalades
- Pickled
- Salads
- Added to meat dishes due to its savory nature
Conclusion
Kumquats are more than just a new name. Just remember that kumquats have a small shelf life when compared to other fruits, so this one might have to sit in the fridge if you don’t feel like eating it right away. Look for these orb sized fruits in November to get the freshest produce.
Sources:
https://selfhacked.com/blog/kumquat-benefits/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/kumquat#eat
