Strengthening Bones And Joints With Langsat

Introduction

Our bones and joints play various important roles in our body. Bones provide our organ systems with support and protection, as well as being the primary site of blood cell development. Moreover, our bones help us store essential minerals and fats that our body can use when needed. Our joints (where two bones meet) play a crucial role in making our skeleton flexible, stabilising our bone structures, and allowing us to move freely. Together, our bones and joints hold our body and facilitate movement. Due to these important roles, keeping our bones and joints healthy is incredibly important. If we do not keep our bones and joints healthy, it can lead to joint pain and weakened bones (known as osteoporosis), resulting in fractures. This can cause significant pain, hindering our everyday movements, affecting our ability to perform basic tasks, and lowering our quality of life. 

Alongside regular exercise and drinking lots of water, an important non-pharmaceutical way we can maintain our bones’ and joints’ health is through a healthy diet.¹ The langsat fruit, which is a sweet oval-shaped berry that originates from Southeast Asia, can serve as an important addition to our healthy diet to help us strengthen our bones and joints. This article will detail how the nutritional composition of the langsat fruit aids us in keeping our bones and joints healthy. 

Nutritional composition of the langsat fruit

The langsat fruit, grown on langsat trees in the tropical and humid climates of Southeast Asia, can be compared to a potato for its outer appearance. Inside, these fruits have a white-translucent flesh, as well as inedible seeds. In terms of its taste, the langsat fruit has a combination of both sweet and sour flavours, resembling the flavours of grapes. 

Langsat has a widely varied nutritional profile, which provides us with an array of health benefits.² 

The essential vitamin content of langsats include:²

• Vitamin A
• B-complex vitamins – examples including riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), and folate (B9) 
• Vitamin C

The essential mineral content of langsats include:²

• Calcium
• Potassium
• Iron
• Phosphorus

Langsats also contain phytochemical compounds, which are chemical substances that plants naturally produce that help fight any infections that could hinder the growth of both the plant and its fruit. These compounds stay in the fruit after it has been collected from its plant for consumption, and they can be very beneficial for your health, particularly for bones and joints. Examples of phytochemical compounds found in langsats include polyphenols such as flavonoids.² 

Langsat's impact on bone and joint health

Vitamins and minerals

The langsat’s essential vitamins and minerals all help play a role in strengthening our bones and joints and keeping them healthy:

Antioxidant properties of langsats

A lot of the nutrients in the langsat are known to be antioxidants. These substances are in charge of protecting our body from reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are compounds naturally produced in our body either during various bodily reactions or via environmental exposure to cigarette smoke, radiation, and pollution.¹⁴ Balanced levels of ROS play crucial roles in various cellular processes in our body. However, elevated ROS levels can cause DNA damage in our cells, resulting in such cells not being able to function properly and die. This process is known as oxidative stress, and this can severely impair the formation of strong and healthy bones, as well as play a role in the development of joint disorders.^15,16 

The antioxidant nutrients in the langsat interact with excess ROS, preventing oxidative stress and helping to keep our bones and joints healthy and strong. Specific examples of antioxidants found in langsats include its phytochemical compounds, potassium, copper, phosphorus, and its vitamins, particularly vitamin C.^4,2

Prevention of osteoporosis

The nutrients in the langsat also help in the prevention of osteoporosis, the condition which leads to weaker bones and joints. Specific examples include:

• Research has shown that consuming potassium every day can significantly decrease our risk of developing osteoporosis.¹⁷ 
• Deficiencies in iron can induce bone resorption (the breakdown of bone tissue), which can increase the risk of osteoporosis.¹⁸ 
• Folate is known to reduce our chances of developing osteoporosis.⁷ 
• Not consuming enough vitamin C can affect the amount of collagen found in our bones, resulting in weaker bones and increasing the risk of suffering from osteoporosis.⁵ 

Incorporating langsat into a healthy diet

Alongside regular exercise and ample hydration, adding langsat as one of your 5-a-day fruit and vegetable portions of your balanced diet will help strengthen your bones and joints.

The langsat fruit is mainly eaten fresh, but can also be consumed as/in:

• Juices
• Jellies 
• Syrups
• Candies 
• Jams
• Sorbets
• Fruit salads –complementing tropical fruits include lychee, rambutan and cherries
• Cooked alongside other fruits and vegetables 

Considerations and precautions

The langsat fruit mustn't be the only variety of fruit you eat as part of your 5-a-day routine. if some people consume too much of this fruit, like any other food, it can lead to an allergic reaction. Allergy-related symptoms include itching, swelling, and in rare, worst-case scenarios even severe difficulties in breathing. 

A further consideration when consuming the langsat fruit is that it is quite high in calories, hence overconsumption of the fruit can sometimes lead to weight gain. 

A final precaution when it comes to the langsat fruit is that it is also high in natural sugars, therefore, eating too much of the langsat fruit can spike your blood sugar levels. This is particularly dangerous for diabetics, whose blood sugar levels are already high. It is advised to avoid eating them if you have diabetes, as the fruit’s sugar content could interfere with any medication you may be on to lower your blood sugar. 

Hence, to avoid overconsumption and the consequential negative side effects, it is important to make sure that the langsat fruit is not your only variety of fruit eaten, instead, eating a variety of fruits and vegetables is much more beneficial for you.

Summary

Our bones and joints are crucial to us, as they support our organs and facilitate flexible movement. Without strong and healthy bones and joints, our ability to perform basic everyday tasks could be hindered, causing us pain. Besides regular exercise and water intake, a non-pharmaceutical approach to maintain our bones’ and joints’ health is via the addition of langsat to our diet. 

By consuming this Southeast Asian fruit as one of our 5-a-day portions of vegetables and fruits, its vitamins and minerals can help keep our bones and joints strong. They do so via various mechanisms examples of which include aiding the proper development of our bone cells, having antioxidant properties which combat oxidative stress, and preventing our risk of osteoporosis and fractures. Therefore, eating langsat in moderation is an excellent way to strengthen our bones and joints.