This post will provide information on "What are the health benefits of rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum)?" as well as provide answers to questions like: When did rambutan originate? Who discovered rambutan? Is rambutan only in the Philippines? Why does rambutan have hair? How many rambutan can I eat a day? Is Rambutan good for kidney? What does rambutan do to the body? How poisonous are rambutan seeds? Is rambutan good for kidney disease?
Rambutan (taxonomic name: Nephelium lappaceum) is a medium-sized tropical tree in the family Sapindaceae. The name also refers to the edible fruit produced by this tree. The rambutan is native to Southeast Asia. It is closely related to several other edible tropical fruits including the lychee, longan, pulasan and mamoncillo. The center of genetic diversity for rambutans is the Malaysia, Indonesian region. They have been widely cultivated in southeast Asia areas, such as Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines. It has spread from there to parts of Asia, Africa, Oceania and Central America. Around the 13th to 15th centuries, Arab traders, who played a major role in Indian Ocean trade, introduced rambutans to Zanzibar and Pemba of East Africa. There are limited rambutan plantings in some parts of India. In the 19th century, the Dutch introduced rambutans from their colony in Southeast Asia to Suriname in South America. Subsequently, the plants spread to tropical Americas, planted in the coastal lowlands of Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Cuba. In 1912, rambutans were introduced to the Philippines from Indonesia. Further introductions were made in 1920 (from Indonesia) and 1930 (from Malaya), but until the 1950s its distribution was limited. There was an attempt to introduce rambutans to the Southeastern United States, with seeds imported from Java in 1906, but the species proved to be unsuccessful, except in Puerto Rico. The name "rambutan" is derived from the Malay language word rambut meaning 'hair', a reference to the numerous hairy protuberances of the fruits, together with the noun-building suffix -an. Similarly, in Vietnam, they are called chôm chôm (meaning 'messy hair').
- A cure for small ailments like dry lips and sprue mouth
- Improves the health of the eyes
- Prevention of anemia
- Reduces bad cholesterol
- Preventing cancer
- Cleaning kidneys
- Immunity booster
- Lowering blood pressure
- A cure for diarrhea
- Preventing constipation
- Skin Rejuvenation
Over ripened rambutans have high amounts of sugar and this sugar soon gets converted into alcoholic nature when inside the body. The alcoholic properties of the rambutan pulp inside the body can be dangerous for pregnant women and fetus.