Star fruit, a sour fruit, is rich in nutrients and low in calories. But for some people it can act as a poison, so caution is needed. This report looks at both the benefits and the harms of star fruit.

Its high levels of sodium and potassium act as electrolytes in the body and can help keep blood pressure under control. The fruit also helps ensure a normal heartbeat and proper blood flow, and the calcium in it can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Because star fruit is so rich in nutrients, it is easy to assume it will do the body good. But that is not true for everyone, especially people with kidney disease. Researchers say a toxin in the fruit called caramboxin can worsen kidney disease to a dangerous level. A healthy kidney can flush this toxin out of the body, but a diseased kidney is less able to do so.

In kidney patients caramboxin builds up in the body and eventually reaches the brain. If the toxin builds up in the central nervous system, symptoms can include hiccups, muscle numbness, seizures, mental confusion and prolonged unconsciousness (coma), followed by death. If caramboxin poisoning is suspected, treatment must be sought as quickly as possible, or the risk of death rises.

A research paper from the Department of Medicine at Ponta Grossa State University in Brazil says kidney patients can suffer poisoning on an empty stomach even without eating much star fruit. Poisoning can be worse if plenty of water is not drunk before eating the fruit. The more the kidneys have failed, the greater the risk of consequences from poisoning. The researchers could not say for certain, however, what level of caramboxin in the body causes poisoning.

Whatever the type of kidney disease, it is best to avoid star fruit as a precaution. For those with neurological problems as well as kidney disease, it is safest not to touch the fruit.

Many may wonder: "I don't have kidney problems, so can I eat as much star fruit as I like?" According to experts, you may not know whether your kidneys have a problem, so caution is needed.

Don't eat star fruit freely on the assumption that you have no kidney disease; a check-up is needed to be sure. Even with healthy kidneys there is no need to eat much of this fruit, as its oxalate can damage the kidneys, and caramboxin can also cause neurological reactions.

If you want to eat star fruit, consider three tips: do not eat it on an empty stomach, do not eat a lot of it, and drink enough water.

Citing Risingbd.

Source: Amader Shomoy. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.