The Health Benefits of Chocho

The Andean lupine, also known chocho is a tropical fruit that is a native of Mexico and Central America. There are quite a few varieties; however they all have pear or slightly oval shape.

It carries a thin green skin fused with its flesh. To some Spanish speaking country the word chocho means the vagina.

The seeds of the Andean lupine are high in protein, healthy fats and minerals. Andean lupine protein is similar to soy protein.

It also has about the same amount of fats as soy, but Andean lupine oil has more oleic acid (the monounsaturated fatty acid found in nuts, olive oil, and avocado) and less linoleic acid (the omega-6 fatty acids found in vegetable oils). It also contains beneficial omega-3 fatty acids.

Chocho Vegetable

Chocho adds a bit of fiber to your diet. A one-half cup serving of chocho contains 2 g of dietary fiber. The fiber in your diet comes from the parts of plant-based foods that aren’t digested.

Soluble fiber from beans and oats appears to lower cholesterol levels, as well as help keep blood glucose levels stable.

Insoluble fiber, from whole grains and many vegetables such as chocho, adds bulk to the stool, which keeps waste material moving through your digestive tract to prevent constipation. The Institute of Medicine recommends that women consume 25 grams of fiber a day and men consume 38 grams.

There is also the Jamaican chocho fruit which is chocho planted whole lying on its side. The Jamaican chocho seed sends out its Jamaican chocho roots and stem from the bottom of the Jamaican chocho fruit.

The vines are trained to an overhead support so the Jamaican chocho fruit hangs and can be readily picked from below.

The Jamaican chocho is used mainly for human consumption. The Jamaican chocho fruit stems and young Jamaican chocho leaves as well as the tuber portions of the Jamaican chocho roots are eaten as a Jamaican vegetable, both alone and plain boiled, and as an ingredient of numerous stews.

It helps iodine in keeping the thyroid healthy by providing copper, a mineral linked in thyroid metabolism, especially in hormone production and absorption.

Vitamin C is known as one of the powerful antioxidants, substances that may protect cells from damage caused by free radicals. Studies suggest that antioxidants may slow or possibly prevent cancer development.