Food families

Tropical Fruits

Tropical fruits in the Longevity Biome atlas — mango, mangosteen, durian, rambutan, dragon fruit, longan and dozens more, with how to pick, eat, and grow each.

41 videos

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Wax Apple: The Crisp Pink Bell You Eat Whole
Wax Apple: The Crisp Pink Bell You Eat WholeWax Apple / Rose Apple
Don't Toss Mandarin Peel — Thai Cooks Dry It
Don't Toss Mandarin Peel — Thai Cooks Dry ItStudied for blood lipids
Sweet Tamarind Lowered Cholesterol in Animals
Sweet Tamarind Lowered Cholesterol in AnimalsStudied for cholesterol
Namwa Banana: Green for Cooking, Ripe for Cake
Namwa Banana: Green for Cooking, Ripe for CakeStudied for the stomach lining
Breadfruit: The Tree Fruit Thais Cook Like a Potato
Breadfruit: The Tree Fruit Thais Cook Like a PotatoThe starchy tree fruit Thai cooks fry into chips and candy in coconut syrup
Burmese Grape (Mafai): The Sweet-Sour Trunk Fruit
Burmese Grape (Mafai): The Sweet-Sour Trunk FruitThe sweet-sour Thai fruit that clusters straight off the trunk
Calamansi: The Thai Citrus Too Sour to Bite
Calamansi: The Thai Citrus Too Sour to BiteCalamansi
Cempedak: The Jackfruit Cousin Thai Cooks Deep-Fry
Cempedak: The Jackfruit Cousin Thai Cooks Deep-FryThe custardy jackfruit cousin southern Thai cooks batter and fry
Coconut: The Aromatic Kind With a Pandan Scent
Coconut: The Aromatic Kind With a Pandan ScentMCTs & cognitive longevity
Sugar Apple Flesh Is Edible; Its Seeds Are Toxic
Sugar Apple Flesh Is Edible; Its Seeds Are ToxicSugar Apple / Custard Apple
Dragon Fruit Grows on a Night-Blooming Cactus
Dragon Fruit Grows on a Night-Blooming CactusStudied for gut bacteria
Durian Seeds: Boil or Roast Them Before Eating
Durian Seeds: Boil or Roast Them Before EatingA source of antioxidants
Guava Was Linked to Lower Cholesterol Over 12 Weeks
Guava Was Linked to Lower Cholesterol Over 12 WeeksStudied for cholesterol
Indian Gooseberry (Amla) Was Linked to Lower LDL
Indian Gooseberry (Amla) Was Linked to Lower LDLStudied for cholesterol
Jackfruit Fiber Fed Gut Bacteria in Lab Tests
Jackfruit Fiber Fed Gut Bacteria in Lab TestsA source of gut-feeding fiber
Jujube Seed Calmed Mice — Only Mice, So Far
Jujube Seed Calmed Mice — Only Mice, So FarThai Milk Jujube
Langsat Seed Limonoids Fought Malaria Parasites, in the Lab
Langsat Seed Limonoids Fought Malaria Parasites, in the LabLongkong / Langsat
Longan Improved Memory Scores in Mice
Longan Improved Memory Scores in MiceLongan
Lychee Polyphenols Were Linked to Less Liver Fat
Lychee Polyphenols Were Linked to Less Liver FatLychee
Madan: The Thai Fruit Too Sour to Eat Raw
Madan: The Thai Fruit Too Sour to Eat RawThe green fruit too sour to eat raw, used to sour Thai soups
Mango: A Sweet Cousin of Poison Ivy
Mango: A Sweet Cousin of Poison IvyA source of antioxidants
Mangosteen's Real Benefit Is in the Rind You Throw Away
Mangosteen's Real Benefit Is in the Rind You Throw AwayMangosteen
A Maprang Seed Compound Slowed Bacteria in the Lab
A Maprang Seed Compound Slowed Bacteria in the LabMarian Plum / Maprang
Papaya Carries Its Own Meat-Tenderizing Enzyme
Papaya Carries Its Own Meat-Tenderizing EnzymeA source of papain enzyme
Rambutan: Eat the Flesh, Skip the Raw Seed
Rambutan: Eat the Flesh, Skip the Raw SeedRambutan
Pineapple's Bromelain Was Given to People With Pain
Pineapple's Bromelain Was Given to People With PainA source of bromelain
Pomelo Peel Packs the Citrus Flavonoids
Pomelo Peel Packs the Citrus FlavonoidsA source of citrus flavonoids
Mulberry Leaf Softened a Post-Meal Sugar Spike
Mulberry Leaf Softened a Post-Meal Sugar SpikeMay steady blood sugar
Pomegranate Juice Was Linked to Lower Blood Pressure
Pomegranate Juice Was Linked to Lower Blood PressureJuice claim: lowered blood pressure
Sugar Palm: The Jelly Seeds Behind Palm Sugar
Sugar Palm: The Jelly Seeds Behind Palm SugarSugar Palm (Palmyra)
Otaheite Gooseberry Leaf Slowed a Carb Enzyme
Otaheite Gooseberry Leaf Slowed a Carb EnzymeOtaheite Gooseberry (Phyllanthus acidus)
Lime's Citrate May Lower Kidney-Stone Risk
Lime's Citrate May Lower Kidney-Stone RiskMay lower stone recurrence
Sapodilla: The Fruit That Gave Us Chewing Gum
Sapodilla: The Fruit That Gave Us Chewing GumSapodilla
Santol: Sour Thai Fruit Pounded With Chili
Santol: Sour Thai Fruit Pounded With ChiliSantol / Cotton Fruit
Salak: Snake-Skin Fruit With Sweet-Tart Cloves
Salak: Snake-Skin Fruit With Sweet-Tart ClovesSalak / Snake Fruit
Star Fruit & Kidney Disease: A Real Danger
Star Fruit & Kidney Disease: A Real DangerStar Fruit / Carambola
Passion Fruit Peel Studied for Insulin
Passion Fruit Peel Studied for InsulinStudied for insulin
Sugarcane: Chew the Sweet Stalk, Spit the Fiber
Sugarcane: Chew the Sweet Stalk, Spit the FiberChewing Sugarcane
Thai Hog Plum: The Sour Fruit In Som Tam
Thai Hog Plum: The Sour Fruit In Som TamThe sour green fruit Thai cooks pound into som tam
Java Plum: The Fruit That Stains Your Tongue Purple
Java Plum: The Fruit That Stains Your Tongue PurpleThe tongue-staining purple fruit of a giant Thai tree
Soursop: Spiny Green Skin, Custardy White Flesh
Soursop: Spiny Green Skin, Custardy White FleshThe spiny green fruit with soft, custardy white flesh