Salak is a fruit native to Indonesia and now grown in multiple countries in Southeast Asia. Another name for it is Snakefruit, this is because of the skin. If you are new to this fruit it can be getting used to a new taste, just don’t give up too fast. Salak contains potassium, iron, calcium, phosphorus, dietary fiber, tannin, Vitamin C, Vitamin B and small amounts of fat and protein. Let’s see per 100 grams (3.5oz)
- Energy 1,539 kJ (368kcal)
- Fat 0.4 gr (3.6 kcal)
- Protein 0.8 gr
- Dietary Fiber 0.3 gr
- Vitamin C 8.4 mg
- Vitamin B2 0.8mg
- Calcium 38 mg
- Phosphorus 18mg
Reasons to eat Salak
Eating (fresh) fruit is healthy. Salak, in particular, has its benefits because of its vitamins, antioxidants, fibers, tannin, beta-carotene, pectin, potassium and I wonder if I forgot some of the contents. But let’s go over the list.
Losing weight
Losing weight is easier when you include Salak in your diet. This is because of the dietary fiber which gives the feeling that you had enough food quicker.
Healthy for the brains
Like some food, this is also great for brains. It improves delivering oxygen to the brains for better performance. However, just eating this fruit is not enough to become smarter as some might say. You would need to do more than just eating.
healthy for eyes
Beta-carotene is responsible for the healthy eye(sight). Like some carrots, pumpkin also salak contributes to the health of your eyes.
Lowering blood pressure
Potassium helps lowering blood pressure, putting less stress on your heart and blood vessels.
Bali Belly / Diarrhea
Having loose watery stool and frequent visits to the toilet is a bummer. Especially on a vacation in Asia. Eating some salak can help with returning to normal stool.
Downsides of Salak
You can’t eat a lot or you will become constipated. It has great benefits as a tasty and healthy snack. But moderate the intake to prevent constipation.
My experience eating Salak Pondoh
I bought some Salak Pondoh. It has been a while since I last enjoyed the fruit. I did not bother doing any research on its benefits and it’s downside back then. For me, it was just fruit. Lately, when paying more attention to healthy snacks I looked into the benefits of this fruit. I was amazed that Salak had many benefits, some even would mention it’s anti-carcinogenic.
I did not want to become constipated so I only took 7 pieces of snake fruit. Peeling it off was easy. I just pinched the top a bit and started peeling.
After peeling everything this came out of one piece. It looks like garlic clove, the texture was a bit dry, not very moist. 1 Big piece and 2 smaller ones.
The big piece contained a seed. The seed of Salak is not edible. The taste has a small hint of citric and felt refreshing. The texture was crunchy. Very crunchy! After sinking my teeth into the first I peeled and ate them all within several minutes. The smaller ones did not contain the seed.
Seven pieces went fine, no constipation and it feels great to add this in my diet. If you have access to Salak I would recommend trying it. If you like it add it to your grocery list and enjoy a healthy tasty snack.
