You’ve Probably Never Heard of Breadfruit, But It May Be Time to Add It to Your Shopping List
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There are plenty of good reasons why we should load up our shopping carts with fruits and vegetables. Namely, they deliver an array of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants necessary to support our training efforts.
These days, the diversity of fruits and veggies available from local ethnic markets and even titanic supermarkets has ballooned. Believe it or not, there was a time when bananas were considered exotic. So perhaps you have come across or even heard of breadfruit, a curious item that looks a bit like a prehistoric dinosaur egg with an intriguing name.
Recent research suggests that this fruit might just be a nutritional goldmine and worth adding to your dietary repertoire. So is it time to expand your horizons and give breadfruit a taste? Here’s the lowdown on what breadfruit is, if it is indeed the MVP of the produce aisle, and if you should be using it to power your rides.
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What Is Breadfruit?
In the same botanical family as the mulberry and jackfruit, this prickly oval fruit can grow to a lofty size of a basketball and weighs close to a 10-pound dumbbell. It is very popular throughout a range of tropical regions including Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands and the Caribbean, and it’s thought to have been brought to Hawaii by the ancient voyaging Polynesians.
However, because of its not-so-appealing name and an outer skin adorned in bumps and spikes, breadfruit has long suffered from an image problem. When cooked, though, many say it’s starchy flesh tastes similar to—you guessed it!—freshly-baked bread. (The sourdough crowd may beg to differ.) In reality, the creamy white flesh of starch-rich breadfruit typically tastes more similar to a potato, though riper varieties will appear sweeter to your palate because the starch starts to convert to sugar.
Is Breadfruit Nutritious?
There are good reasons why breadfruit has remained a daily staple food for millions across the Polynesian islands, Latin America, and the Caribbean—it has a diverse nutritional profile and is fairly versatile in the kitchen. In fact, a recent study hailing from the University of British Columbia determined that breadfruit, at least in the form of flour, has all the nutrition necessary to be a major player in a healthy, nutritionally-balanced diet.
A 1-cup serving of breadfruit contains the following:
227 calories
2 g protein
0.5 g fat
0 g saturated fat
60 g carbs
11 g fiber
37 mg calcium
1 mg iron
1080 mg potassium
Most notably, breadfruit is a stand-out source of dietary fiber and smashes items like potatoes (3 grams in a cup) and whole wheat pasta (6 grams per cooked cup) in this nutrition category. That makes it an especially useful food for the vast majority of Americans who don’t reach their daily fiber quota—women should aim for 25 grams of fiber per day, while men should target 38 grams.
A large review conducted by British researchers determined that greater intakes of dietary fiber are associated with a big drop in the risk for heart disease—better control over blood sugar and cholesterol numbers are likely two big reasons for the heart-healthy benefit. Plus, fiber fills you up, so you’re less likely to overeat throughout the day.
Owing to its fiber abundance, the use of breadfruit flour in items like pastas and cereals could be a way for food manufacturers to lower the glycemic index of their products which can be beneficial for those who are at risk or have diabetes.
Cyclists may notice that breadfruit is carb-heavy—a 1-cup serving of carrots in comparison has 12 grams of carbs. That means it can be useful for cyclists who wish to carb-load in the days leading up to a big ride, or who need to replenish spent carbohydrate stores following a hard effort. A study published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine reported that endurance athletes who consumed more than seven grams of carbs per kilogram of body weight (that’s enough to be considered carb-loading) the day before a marathon posted significantly faster times and maintained speed better than those who ate fewer carbs. So certainly the carbs in breadfruit can be useful in giving active bodies enough of this energizing macronutrient.
But because of its lofty fiber numbers, it may not be a good idea to zero in only on breadfruit or the flour made from it for fear of suffering a GI pushback. This is especially true in the hours leading up to a race. For a happier gut, it’s best to load up on carbs from both sources that are higher as well as lower in fiber and be sure to spread your fiber intake throughout the day.
A 1-cup serving of breadfruit has about 24 grams of sugar, but this level will vary depending on ripeness. While that number may sound alarming—after all aren’t we always being told to cut back on our sugar intake?—there is a lack of evidence to suggest that the naturally-occurring sugars in fruits and vegetables, like breadfruit, come with any of the health detriments associated with the sugar added to foods. That’s mainly because the sugar in fruits and veggies is bundled with fiber (which helps subdue any spike in blood sugar) as well as vital vitamins and minerals.
A study published in the aptly named Amino Acid found that breadfruit is a source of high-quality protein since it contains all the essential amino acids, including leucine, isoleucine and valine—the three branched-chain amino acids that are especially important in repairing and building lean body mass in response to training. The protein in breadfruit has also been shown to be easier to digest than wheat protein. Breadfruit pasta, anyone? Now, with this said, you’d have to eat a ton of the stuff to get all the protein you need. Yes, the quality of protein is high but breadfruit should still be considered protein-light in comparison to legumes, meat, and dairy.
Another nutritional highlight is the high amounts of potassium, with each cup offering up about 30 percent of the daily requirement for this electrolyte. You know calcium is good for your bones, but potassium lends a helping hand as well. In a British study, researchers found that a high intake of potassium significantly reduces bone breakdown. Helping muscles contract properly and maintaining proper fluid balance are other potassium functions that should interest cyclists. Yet, diet surveys show that nearly nobody is eating enough potassium, meaning sneaking in some breadfruit can help make up for the shortfall.
The nutritional resume of breadfruit also includes good amounts of vitamin C, B vitamins, and magnesium. So, yes, this tropical import can indeed be considered a nutritious addition to your diet.
How Do You Eat Breadfruit?
Outside of Hawaii, finding breadfruit in the United States can be more miss than hit, but if your town or city has a Caribbean grocer, you’ll likely find some kicking around there. In the kitchen, it’s typically used more like a vegetable than a fruit—ripe ones are sweeter and can be eaten raw, while less mature ones with a potato-like texture are cooked. For the latter, slice, core, and peel the breadfruit and then boil, steam, or roast like you would a spud. It can be mashed, made into veggie French fries or chips, and used in soups, stews, and curries.
As the fruit ripens, starches convert to sugars and the fruit softens to a custard-like consistency. This sweet flesh can be spooned up raw, dolloped on top of oatmeal, added to muffin batter, or blended into puddings and smoothies.
But if you want to include breadfruit in your diet more often as a source of quality carbs, it might be easiest to do so as a flour, which is made by grinding up dried breadfruit flesh into a gluten-free alternative to regular flour. The coarse meal can be used in baked goods, pancakes, or as a substitute for breadcrumbs in recipes like meatloaf. Since the flour is gluten-free, just keep in mind that it will not rise or have the elasticity of wheat flour, so don’t use it as a 1-to-1 substitute. But if a recipe calls for gluten-free flour, like brown rice, you can try using the breadfruit option.
The Bottom Line:
Like other vegetables and fruits, breadfruit is a nutritional winner and can help active people meet their carbohydrate, fiber, vitamin, and mineral needs. It’s also fun to try out new foods occasionally. But since it’s not found in many produce or baking aisles don’t fret if you go without breadfruit as long as you’re eating plenty of other nutritious whole foods.
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