Would you believe me if I told you that there is a fruit which can improve your vision, treat infections and possibly even treat cancer? Want to know what it is? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, let me introduce you to soursop. This fruit is not well-known in many regions, but it has some amazing qualities which may make you love it. Its health benefits are extravagant and all-encompassing. If you want to learn more, keep reading!
What is Soursop?
Soursop is a fruit common to warm areas in tropical regions, such as South America, the Caribbean and Mexico, althuogh it is also cultivated in Malaysia, Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia. In theory, it may grow well in Florida and Africa. It is a flowering, broad-leaved, evergreen tree, visible from offshore if you visit South America. While it can be grown as a crop, it is also commonly grown as a garden fruit for individual consumption. Soursop is the only type of Annona.
Soursop fruit tastes sour like pineapple and strawberry, but its flesh is creamy like cocoa and banana. Its health benefits, which can be derived from the flower, seed, root, stem, leaf or fruit, have been proven to be true.
The soft fiber and pulp of fruit are used for candies, smoothies, desserts and beverages. Not only that, it is also used in wide array of medicines all over the world. Although the flavor of the fruit is already enough to make it popular, its rich content of vitamins such as vitamins B and C, and its various antioxidant compounds, makes it even more loved among health enthusiasts.
Nutritional Value of Soursop
Here are the nutritional facts of soursop:
- Fat: 3 grams. Yes, soursop has a small amount of fat, thus making it an effective addition to the diet.
- Carbohydrates: 84 grams. This is actually the main content of the fruit, which produces energy for day-to-day activities.
- Minerals: For every hundred grams of soursop, there are about 14 milligrams of phosphorus and 27 milligrams of calcium.
- Vitamin C: 6 milligrams. This essential vitamin is very important in preventing various diseases.
Soursop: What Does It Do for the Body?
This amazing fruit has a lot of phytonutrients, which are capable of fighting cells that cause diseases. Not only that, it can also get rid of various types of tumors. All of these phytonutrients have antioxidant properties, which enhance the overall health. Moreover, they help prevent and fight off cancer, enhance or improve eye health and treat a wide array of infections that may attack the body at anytime.
Health Benefits of Soursop
Here are the most amazing health benefits of soursop:
- Helps boost immunity: one study suggests that consumption of soursop may enhance immunity. This may be because of the bioactive compounds present in the fruit.
- Helps enhance gastrointestinal health: the antiulcer properties of soursop are amazing. Furthermore, the fruit itself suppresses oxidative damage and helps preserve the mucus in the gastric wall.
- Helps relieve stress: reports state that the fruit can be beneficial in extensively treating stress and some other issues, such as depression.
- Helps improve respiratory health: a Nigerian study suggests that the efficacy of the leaves of soursop is beneficial in treating respiratory conditions such as asthma.
- Helps boost liver and kidney health: according to a Malaysian study, soursop extract helps treat illnesses in the kidneys and liver.
- Helps with diabetes treatments: the anti-diabetic properties of soursop are what makes it beneficial for treating conditions like diabetes. Furthermore, the aqueous extract of the leaves helps prevent and inhibit the hepatic oxidative damage that is caused in diabetic patients.
- Helps treat infections: soursop (and particularly its leaves) helps treating infections caused by various parasites and bacteria.
- Helps get rid of cancer: although there are no direct studies about it yet for humans, some believe that soursop extracts are capable of killing various types of cancer, including liver and breast cancer.
Truly, soursop is an amazing fruit. So the next time you want to try something new, try soursop! It’s not just tasty, it’s full of amazing health benefits, too!
