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How green jackfruit flour can help with type 2 diabetes, and reduce cancer patients’ side effects from chemotherapy

  • Green jackfruit flour has a low glycaemic index, is high in fibre and cheap to produce
  • It has been shown to reduce blood glucose levels and reduce side effects of chemotherapy

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James Joseph with his green jackfruit 365 flour, which helps lower blood sugar in type 2 diabetics and reduces the side effects of chemotherapy. Photo: courtesy of James Joseph

For Susan Eapen, a diabetic since 2008, managing blood sugar levels was a constant challenge. She tried the low-carb, high-fat keto diet, but gave it up after having dizzy spells. She cut down on her carbohydrate intake – using almond flour instead of wheat flour – and supplemented meals with eggs and vegetables. But preparing a daily meal tailored for her own needs was not easy.

“I found it exhausting to put in extra effort to make something for me,” said the retired banker from Trivandrum, in India’s Kerala state. After sharing the family meal, though, she had high blood sugar, felt tired and had a constant need to urinate.

Eapen’s life changed in 2018 after reading a newspaper report on Jackfruit365, a start-up company producing flour made from green unripe jackfruit that is freeze dried and powdered. James Joseph, the man behind this enterprise, was changing the perception of the cumbersome jackfruit growing in every backyard in Kerala.

Neutral in taste and odour free, the jackfruit powder is easy to use in any cuisine. Joseph commissioned a clinical study in 2016 by Sydney University’s Glycemic Index Research Service (SUGiRS) – one of the world’s best for studies on glycaemic index, which measures how fast and how much a food raises blood glucose levels. Foods with higher index values raise blood sugar more rapidly than foods with lower glycaemic index values.

Green jackfruit flour is made from unripe jackfruit that is freeze dried and powdered. Photo: Getty Images
Green jackfruit flour is made from unripe jackfruit that is freeze dried and powdered. Photo: Getty Images

The study showed that 30g of green Jackfruit365, about a cup, has a lower glycaemic load (17) than one cup of cooked rice (29) or two wheat rotis, Indian flatbreads (27).

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