Chayote is a mild-flavored squash packed with fiber, folate, and antioxidants, and it offers a surprisingly wide range of health benefits for such an unassuming vegetable. A single cup of raw chayote contains just 25 calories while being 95% water, making it one of the most nutrient-dense, low-calorie foods you can add to your plate. Its benefits range from blood sugar support and blood pressure reduction to liver protection and weight management.
Nutritional Profile at a Glance
One whole chayote squash (about 203 grams) delivers 47% of your daily value of folate, along with meaningful amounts of fiber and vitamin C. The fruit, skin, seed, young leaves, shoots, and even the tuberous roots are all edible, though most people stick to the flesh. The peel is rich in carotenoids and phenolic acids, so leaving the skin on when cooking gives you a nutritional boost.
Chayote’s bioactive compounds include flavonoids, carotenoids, phenolic acids, and phytosterols. The shoots and leaves are particularly high in antioxidants, including compounds like myricetin and catechin, while the peel contains concentrated carotenoids and tocopherols (a form of vitamin E).
Blood Sugar Support
Chayote contains phenolic compounds that inhibit an enzyme involved in carbohydrate digestion, which slows the rate at which sugar enters your bloodstream after a meal. The fruit’s pectin, a type of soluble fiber, appears to go further. In animal studies, chayote pectin increased the secretion of GLP-1, a hormone that helps regulate insulin, while also improving how the liver stores and processes glucose. Mice treated with chayote pectin showed reduced insulin resistance and better blood sugar control overall.
The mechanism works through the gut-liver connection. Chayote pectin feeds beneficial gut bacteria, which produce short-chain fatty acids. These fatty acids signal the liver to store more glycogen and reduce the production of excess glucose. For anyone managing blood sugar, chayote’s combination of low calories, high fiber, and these bioactive compounds makes it a smart addition to meals.
Blood Pressure Reduction
Chayote’s high potassium content helps your body flush out excess sodium and maintain electrolyte balance, both critical for healthy blood pressure. In dietary intervention studies, people who ate chayote regularly saw their systolic blood pressure drop by about 15 mmHg (a 9.4% reduction) and diastolic pressure fall by roughly 10 mmHg (10.5%). Those are meaningful numbers, comparable to the effect of some lifestyle interventions commonly recommended for mild hypertension.
Liver and Cholesterol Protection
Research published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that chayote shoot extracts reduced body weight, fat tissue, and liver fat in rats fed a high-fat diet. The results were striking: cholesterol levels dropped from 661 mg/dL in the high-fat group to 471 mg/dL in rats given the higher dose of chayote extract. Triglycerides fell from 623 mg/dL to 429 mg/dL.
The extract worked by activating an enzyme called AMPK, which acts as a metabolic master switch. When AMPK is turned on, the liver slows down fat production and speeds up fat breakdown. Two specific compounds in chayote shoots, caffeic acid and hesperetin, were identified as the active ingredients driving this effect. Both reduced fat accumulation in liver cells when tested independently. While these are animal and cell studies, the consistency of the findings is notable.
Antioxidant Activity
Every part of the chayote plant carries antioxidant compounds, but some parts are richer than others. The shoots have the highest antioxidant activity, loaded with phenolics, flavonoids, and vitamin C. The leaves are dense in carotenoids. Even the peel, which most people discard, contains 26 identified bioactive compounds, with phenolic acids making up 71% and flavanols accounting for 21%.
These antioxidants neutralize free radicals, unstable molecules that damage cells and contribute to chronic inflammation. The polysaccharides in chayote also have anti-inflammatory effects on their own, helping regulate immune cell activity. Together, these properties may help protect against the kind of low-grade, chronic inflammation linked to heart disease, metabolic syndrome, and aging.
Folate for Pregnancy
Chayote is one of the richest vegetable sources of folate, providing roughly 31.5% to 47% of the daily value in a single squash (the range depends on size and preparation). Folate is essential during early pregnancy for the proper development of the fetal brain and spinal cord. Inadequate folate intake is the primary risk factor for neural tube defects. For anyone who is pregnant or planning to become pregnant, chayote is an easy, whole-food way to boost folate intake alongside a prenatal vitamin.
Weight Management
At 25 calories per cup and 95% water, chayote is what nutritionists call a high-volume food. You can eat a large portion without consuming many calories, which makes it useful for anyone trying to lose or maintain weight. The fiber content adds to this effect by slowing digestion and keeping you feeling full longer. Replacing higher-calorie starches like rice or potatoes with chayote in a stir-fry or soup is a practical way to cut calories without shrinking your portion size.
How to Use the Whole Plant
The mature green fruit is the part you’ll find in most grocery stores, but nearly every part of the chayote plant is edible and nutritious. Immature fruits are tender enough to eat raw in salads. Young leaves and shoots can be sautéed like spinach or added to soups, and they carry the highest concentration of antioxidants of any part of the plant. The tuberous root is starchy and can be prepared like a potato.
The flat seed inside the fruit is edible too, with a soft, nutty flavor when cooked. Many people simply slice the chayote in half and cook it seed and all. The skin is thin enough to eat on younger chayotes, though older ones may have tougher skin that’s better peeled. The peel has diuretic properties and has traditionally been used to support kidney health.
Chayote’s mild, slightly sweet flavor makes it versatile. It absorbs seasonings and sauces well, works raw or cooked, and holds its texture in stews, curries, and gratins. You can also spiralize it as a low-calorie noodle substitute or stuff the halves and bake them.