Delicious guava is a tropical fruit that is native to parts of South America, Central America, and Mexico. Today, this fruit is cultivated in many parts of the world where it is enjoyed for its sweet taste that some have liked to a cross between pears and strawberries. Guavas are often eaten raw, but this fruit is also made into juice, jams, jellies, and even sauces. Taste aside, the sweet guava is associated with a wide array of health benefits. Rich in nutrients, guava can deliver some nutritional benefits that are associated with disease-fighting power. Get to know this fruit so you can include it as part of your weekly diet.
Enhance Your Vision
Guavas are high in vitamin A, so it makes an excellent food to protect vision health. Some people say it goes further than protection and may even have the power to improve vision. If you eat a diet rich in guava, you may be able to keep the development of macular degeneration and cataracts at bay. The fact is, vitamin A is essential for vision health. While other foods like beef liver, cod liver oil, and caviar are rich in vitamin A, they aren’t necessarily as readily available or as sweet and delicious as guava. Snack on this fruit a couple of times a week to enjoy its vision health protections.
Cancer Prevention
According to the latest research, there is significant evidence that guava and prevent some types of cancers from metastasizing. With its power to prevent cancer growth, many researchers are planning to study this fruit even further as some scientists suspect it might even be more powerful than some drugs that are on the market to treat cancer. While many more tests must be conducted to understand this fruit’s cancer-fighting properties, the medical community is hopeful that this fruit can make a difference when it comes to cancer prevention and possibly even new treatments. Also, guava’s rich antioxidant composition plays a considerable role in its disease-fighting potential.
Diabetes Control
If you’re concerned about developing diabetes or are a diabetic, you should add more guava to your diet. According to some studies, it may be able to stave off the development of diabetes. Additionally, guava is rich in dietary fiber, so it can prevent blood glucose spikes. A healthy diet is important for the effective management of Type 2 diabetes, so if you’re suffering from this condition, you’ll want to add foods like guava to your weekly diet. Because it offers so many other health benefits too, it is definitely a food you should keep handy. Enjoy fresh guava slices in the morning or as a mid-day snack to enhance your healthy diet.
Heart Healthy
Another great reason to eat more guava is to enjoy its heart-healthy benefits. This fruit has the power to help reduce bad LDL cholesterol in the blood. High levels of LDL cholesterol are viewed as a serious risk for heart disease. Additionally, guava is known to help reduce blood pressure, which is also associated with heart disease. Rich in dietary fiber, guava even promotes healthy triglyceride levels. Rich in antioxidants that that also have properties that can protect the health of your heart, guava is a delicious fruit you don’t want to ignore when crafting your heart-healthy diet.
Cough Relief
In many countries like India, guava is viewed as a potent relief from colds and coughs. Guava can reduce mucous like an expectorant. It also has antimicrobial properties, so it can help prevent the cold from worsening as it literally helps to disinfect the respiratory tract. If you’re suffering from a cold and cough, drink some juice from the guava to experience some relief. Rich in vitamin C, guava is also a food that could buck up your immunity during cold and flu season. If someone in your household begins exhibiting those telltale cold symptoms, grab some guava juice; it could help you fight off the virus or possibly shorten its duration.
Weight Management
Guavas can be a useful part of your weight-loss diet. Guavas have many nutrients associated with the metabolism regulation. It can also promote healthy digestion by enhancing nutrient absorption in the digestive tract. Guava has less natural sugars than many other fruits such as oranges and apples, but its rich fiber content means you aren’t likely to experience hunger for a while after snacking on this fruit. If you’re trying to avoid unhealthy between-meal snacking, guavas are an excellent solution that can help keep you from reaching from those crackers or chips.
Good for Your Skin
Guavas are a well-known beauty booster with its ability to enhance the look of your skin. Loose skin is a problem for many as we age. The nutrients promote skin tightening so that skin appears more youthful. By rejuvenating skin’s natural elasticity, it can also help keep wrinkles at bay. Also, this fruit has natural astringent properties that can help guard against acne and blemishes. Guava may not precisely be the fountain of use for your skin, but it does have anti-aging potential that may be able to keep it looking more youthful than otherwise.
Brain Booster
Rich in B complex vitamins, guava is a great food choice if you want to enhance brain function. Vitamin B3 can stimulate blood flow to the brain, which in turn, can promote optimal cognitive function. People have reported feeling an improved mental focus or clarity. If you have a big project coming up at work or school, ramp up your intake of in the days before to see how its brain-boosting properties can help you. A dish of sliced guava with your breakfast can give you the mental energy need to start your work or school day optimally.
Dental Health
Many folk practitioners have long prescribed its juice to treat dental problems like swollen gums, oral ulcers and infections, and even toothaches. It also has anti-plaque properties, so eating it regularly could help prevent dental problems from occurring in the first place. Researchers suggest that it’s this fruit’s antibacterial properties that make it practical for combatting oral infections. People in many countries chew its leaves to enhance oral health too. Making mouthwash with guava leaves is also popular in countries where guava is grown. Not only does the mouthwash enhance dental health; it helps keep breath clean and ultra-fresh.
Antioxidant Protection
Delicious guava is rich in antioxidants. By neutralizing disease-causing free radicals, guava’s antioxidant properties help keep cells stable. Free radicals have the power to damage healthy cells and even cause them to mutate. The antioxidants often stop free radicals in their tracks before they can do damage. There is no way to guard against the development of free radicals. These molecules occur as a result of cellular function and as a result of environmental influences like pollution and cigarette smoke. The key to combatting their impact is to eat a diet that is rich in antioxidants, and that could include eating plenty of this delicious fruit.