Durians Myth or Fact.

The durian is a popular fruit in Southeast Asia. (Photo courtesy of Coach Jon)

Several years ago I was on a basketball team touring Singapore and Malaysia playing for charity. Our coach was a 120-kg, 195-cm tall man from the USA. During the trip he celebrated his birthday. As a practical joke, us players left durians in his hotel room. The smell made him run out looking like he was being chased by a pack of wild dogs.

Clearly, durians are not everybody’s favorite fruit.

However, even the biggest fans of durians often wonder (sometimes guiltily): “How good are durians for my health?”

I was also interested in the answer to this question because many of our personal training and fitness bootcamp members ask the same question.

When it comes to questions like this, the best way to find out is to look for universities that have done the studies on the fruit. Most studies are conducted in universities in western countries. However we managed to find a research piece from an Asian source.

In the 2008 Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, there was a study called “Glycimic index of common Malaysian fruits” conducted at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia.

The fruits that were tested were durians, papayas, watermelons and pineapples.

For those of you who know about the Glycimic index, you probably know that lower is better because it means that there is less of a blood sugar response to the food. Lower and more controlled blood sugar means reduced aging, better health and less fat storage.

Out of all the fruits tested, durians tested lowest with a GI of 49. Pineapples came in highest at 82, papaya 58 and watermelon 55. Anything less than 55 is considered “low” GI by most nutritionists.

Why so low? Well I suspect it is because of the high fat content of durians compared to most other fruits. Higher fat means that the fruit takes longer to digest, and that means that the energy is released more slowly into your body.

What does all this mean to you?

Well it means that durians are probably not the reason you are putting on pounds. Although large quantities of durians can certainly make you get fatter, there are much more likely causes like too much refined carbohydrates, or too many drinks with calories (only drinks with zero calories should be considered).

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 615 kJ (147 kcal)
Carbohydrates 27.09 g
Dietary fiber 3.8 g
Fat 5.33 g
Protein 1.47 g
Water 65g
Vitamin C 19.7 mg
Potassium 436 mg


Letz look at blueberry:

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 239 kJ (57 kcal)
Carbohydrates 14.5 g
Dietary fiber 2.4 g
Fat 0.3 g
Protein 0.7 g
Vitamin A 54 IU
- lutein and zeaxanthin 80 μg
Thiamine (Vit. B1) 0.04 mg
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.04 mg
Niacin (Vit. B3) 0.42 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.1 mg
Vitamin B6 0.1 mg
Folate (Vit. B9) 6 μg
Vitamin C 10 mg
Vitamin E 0.6 mg
Calcium 6 mg
Iron 0.3 mg
Magnesium 6 mg
Phosphorus 12 mg
Potassium 77 mg
Zinc 0.2 mg
manganese 0.3 mg
Vitamin K 19mcg

Either way, I'm not touching any.