Description
Guyabano is a fruit that comes from the Graviola tree. Guyabano can be found in Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela. Guyabano or Soursop is also native to sub-Saharan African countries. Guyabano or Soursop is adaptable to tropical climates and is currently cultivated for its fruit in most Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Known as a sedative, a nerve tonic, and used to maintain proper intestinal health, soursop is just one medicinal tool stemming from the graviola tree. Throughout history, each part of the graviola tree, such as the bark, leaves, roots, fruit, and seeds have been used for medicinal purposes. The seeds have been used to treat nausea and vomiting, while herbal medicine practitioners recommend using the fruit and leaves to relieve stomach distress, pain, cough, asthma, and fever. Soursop is known for being rich in vitamin C and B vitamins thiamin, riboflavin and niacin, but here is a fuller list of what the fruit has to offer.
Vitamin C | Iron | Riboflavin | Phosphorus | Thiamine | Calcium | Carbohydrates | Niacin | Fiber
1. Cancer prevention
Guyabano has the ability to protect against cancer and reduce side effects of chemotherapy. One study published in the Journal of Natural Products found that one chemical in Graviola was 10,000 times more potent than a chemotherapy drug called Adriamycin. The Catholic University of South Korea reports that guyabano is not only a threat to cancer cells, but also leaves healthy cells alone. This is not the case with chemo, which target all the cells – much like antibiotics indiscriminately destroying all gut bacteria, good and bad.
2. Pain reliever
Soursop leaves are an effective herbal remedy for treating back pain without any negative effect. You can boil 20 pieces of soursop leaves in 5 cups of water until only 3 cups of water are left. Drink 1 cup of this concoction once in a day for relief. Guyabano alleviates pain stemming from arthritis, joint and back problems, and rheumatism. Rheumatic diseases are commonly observed in elderly people, causing great pain. Soursop leaves are a natural treatment for arthritis pain. For this purpose, mash the soursop leaves until they become smooth and apply on the areas of the body affected by pain due to arthritis and eczema, regularly twice a day.
3. UTI cure
Guyabano is known for its vitamin C content (77% daily value per cup). Vitamin C can help to decrease the amount of harmful bacteria that may be present in the urinary tract.
4. Migraine and headache relief
Guyabano contains riboflavin, which could help with headaches.
5. Iron boost
Soursop (guyabano) is rich in iron, which could help with iron-deficiency anemia. Vitamic C is needed to help your body absorb iron, which guyabano is high in.
6. Constipation relief
Being rich in fiber, guyabano is one of the many foods to choose if you suffer from constipation. Fiber also can aid in losing weight and lowers the risk of colon problems. Eat the fruit, or drink the juice—both are good for your digestion. As a bonus, if you crush the seeds, they’re known to treat nausea and vomiting, keeping your stomach steady.
7. Bone health
Guyabano contains copper, a mineral promoting the absorption of bone-benefiting calcium. Because guyabano is full of calcium—not to mention the fact that it has copper, which helps absorb calcium—you will strengthen your bones and help prevent osteoporosis. This also has the added bonus of helping speed up the healing process should you ever find yourself in an accident where you broke a bone. Strong bones are necessary to help reduce back pain, and increasing your calcium intake will prevent future loss of bone density.
8. Prevents leg cramps
Like banana, potassium in the fruit could fight against muscle weakness and help prevent leg cramps.
9. Energy booster
Along with vitamin C, guyabano is known to be rich in B vitamins as well, which are known to help increase energy levels, not to mention thiamine, which is necessary in processing glucose and transforming it for our body’s use as energy.
