Small tropical fruit with rough, pink-red skin and sweet, translucent white flesh around a central seed. One cup provides 136% DV vitamin C (highest of any tropical fruit per cup), 9% DV copper, 6% DV potassium, and significant oligonol — a unique low-molecular-weight polyphenol found primarily in lychee with documented anti-obesity, anti-fatigue, and antiviral properties.
Fresh lychee at Asian, Latin, and Caribbean markets in season. Canned lychee at Asian grocery stores year-round. Increasingly at mainstream stores. Affordable.
Vitamin C at 136% DV per cup makes lychee the highest vitamin C tropical fruit — exceeding mango (60% DV), papaya (100% DV), and guava (228% DV per cup, the all-time leader). The oligonol is the most pharmacologically unique compound in lychee. It is a condensed polyphenol (low-molecular-weight procyanidin) that bioavailability studies show is absorbed 10-17x more effectively than high-molecular-weight polyphenols in red wine or grape seed extract. Two human RCTs have demonstrated oligonol supplementation (40mg/day): significant reduction in abdominal fat, significant reduction in subjective fatigue after exercise, and antiviral activity (reduction of influenza virus replication in in vitro models). The specific antifatigue effect is relevant for the APEX community managing the chronic fatigue that accompanies systemic racism weathering, HPA axis dysfunction, and chronic inflammation.
Fresh: squeeze to pop the skin, push out the white flesh, remove the seed. Eat fresh as a snack. Peel in salads and fruit dishes. Canned lychee: widely available, shelf-stable — rinse to remove syrup. Dried lychee: concentrated snack. Frozen: increasingly available for smoothies.
Free, no account needed to ask.