Guava- 15 Amazing Health Benefits

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The health benefits of guava include its ability to help in weight loss, improve skin, and treat diarrhea, cough, cold, constipation, high blood pressure, dysentery, and scurvy.

What Is Guava?

Many of you may have tasted this mouth-watering treat or have at least seen or heard about it. Guava’s believed to have originated from Mexico or Central America. Guava is now very popular in Asian countries and is also increasingly available in the western world, particularly after its health benefits have been revealed.

This seasonal fruit, scientifically known as Psidium Guajava, is round or pear-shaped and is light green, yellow in color on the outside when it ripens. Guava also has white or maroon flesh, depending on its type, and lots of small hard seeds inside its soft, sweet pulp. Guava is mostly eaten raw (ripe or semi-ripe) or consumed as juice and jams and jellies too. What makes guava special is that increasing the shelf life of the fruit does not require excessive use of chemicals or pesticides. It is one of the least chemically treated and sprayed fruits.

Guava Nutrition Facts

This popular fruit is a powerhouse of nutrients. Guava is a good sourceof energy, dietary fiber, and vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin C, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, thiamine, and riboflavin. It also contains essential minerals like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, and potassium.

Health Benefits of Guava

Promotes Weight Loss

Guava is very helpful for those who want to lose weight without compromising their intake of proteins, vitamins, and fiber. Guava makes a filling snack that satisfies the appetite very easily. Raw guava also has far less sugar as compared to apples, oranges, grapes, and other fruit. Add a medium-sized guava to your lunch and you will not feel hungry anymore, until the evening. Ironically, it can also help lean and skinny people to gain weight. This is probably due to its wealth of nutrients, which regulates the metabolism and promotes proper absorption of nutrients.

Controls Diabetes

The intake of guava can also help those patients who suffer from diabetes. High level of dietary fiber in guava helps lower blood glucose levels in the body. Studies have shown that consuming guava can help prevent the appearance of type-2 diabetes.

Improves Eyesight

Guavas are an extremely good source of vitamin A, which is well known as a booster for vision health. Guava can help slow down the appearance of cataracts, macular degeneration and improve the overall health of the eyes. It helps protect the cells in your eyes and can also prevent deterioration of eyesight.

Prevents Cancer

One of the most important benefits of adding guava to your diet is its ability to inhibit the growth and metastasis of cancerous cells. There have been numerous studies done in recent years on Guava's effects primarily on prostate cancer, breast cancer, and oral cancers. Guava leaf oil acts as an antiproliferative substance and has actually proven to be more effective than some leading modern medicines in reducing cancerous growths. Guavas are also rich in lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that can reduce prostate cancer risk. The same antioxidant has also shown its efficacy in inhibiting the growth of breast cancer cells, though more tests are to be done to support this finding.

Antioxidants

The naturally high content of vitamin C in guavas, which are four times higher than the content found in oranges (the traditional vitamin C powerhouse), helps huge boost the immune system. Antioxidants are the major lines of defense against the proliferation of free radicals in the body, which are one of the main causes of serious conditions like cancers and heart diseases. Therefore, adding guava to your diet helps you stay healthy.

Treats Scurvy

Guava can outdo many other fruits, including orange and other citrus fruits, in terms of its concentration of vitamin C. A deficiency of vitamin C can cause scurvy and the only known remedy for this dangerous disease is proper intake of vitamin C. In fact, guavas contain 4X more vitamin C than oranges, which are often heralded as the absolute best source of that beneficial vitamin.

Eliminates Diarrhea & Dysentery

Guava has astringent properties that help treat a number of digestive disorder like diarrhea and dysentery. Either you chew guava leaves or eat a raw guava, the astringent qualities of guava add substance to loose bowels and reduce symptoms of diarrhea. These astringents are alkaline in nature and have disinfectant and anti-bacterial properties, thus helping to cure dysentery by inhibiting microbial growth and removing extra mucus from the intestines. Furthermore, other nutrients in guava such as vitamin C, carotenoids and potassium, strengthen the digestive system while simultaneously disinfecting it. Guava is also beneficial in treating gastroenteritis for the same reasons stated above.

Improves Thyroid Health

Guavas are a good source of copper, which is important for regulating metabolism by helping to control hormone production and absorption. The thyroid hormones play a significant role in energy regulation and metabolism in the body. So guava can help maintain your health in many ways.

Relieves Constipation

Guava is one of the richest sources of dietary fiber among fruits. Its seeds, if the ingested whole or chewed, serve as excellent laxatives. These two properties of guava help the formation of healthy bowel movements, aid in retaining water in the body and thoroughly cleaning your intestines. It is said that constipation alone can lead to 72 different types of ailments, so any help for constipation is beneficial. Your overall health undeniably is affected by proper digestion, and more importantly, proper excretion. Frequent consumption of guava can ensure both.

Improves Brain Health

Other tremendous benefits of guavas are the presence of vitamin B3 and vitamin B6. Vitamin B3 (also known as niacin) can increase blood flow and stimulates cognitive function. Vitamin B6 is a great nutrient for brain and nerve function. As eating guava can help relaxing the nerves and enhance concentration.

Treats Cough & Cold

Juice of raw and immature guavas or a decoction of its leaves are very helpful in relieving coughs and colds by reducing mucus, disinfecting the respiratory tract, throat, and lungs, and inhibiting microbial activity with its astringent properties. Guava has one of the richest sources of vitamin C and iron among fruits and both effectively prevent colds and viral infections. In some areas of India, roasted ripe guava is used as a remedy against extreme cases of a cough, cold, and congestion. Ripe guava should be avoided by people who are suffering from a cough and cold, as it can exacerbate the problem. Also, avoid drinking water immediately after eating guava as it can lead to a sore throat.

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Skin Care

Guavas can improve the texture of your skin and help you to avoid skin problems better than the beauty creams and skin toner gels. This is chiefly due to the abundance of astringents available in the fruit (more astringent is present in immature guavas) and in its leaves. Your skin can benefit from either eating the fruits (this helps tighten your muscles apart from your skin) or by rinsing your skin with a decoction of its immature fruit and leaves. It will tone up and tighten the area of loosened skin where it is applied. Guava’s rich antioxidants and detoxifying properties help keep your skin glowing and free from signs of premature aging, wrinkles, and other dermal disorders.

Regulates Blood Pressure

Guava helps reduce cholesterol in the blood and prevents it from thickening, thereby maintaining the fluidity of blood and reducing blood pressure. Studies have shown that the food that lacks fiber (such as refined flour) adds to blood pressure. Guava, being very rich in fiber and hypoglycemic in nature, helps reduce blood pressure.

Reduces Oxidative Stress

Guava juice is rich in vitamin C and a number of other important phytonutrients that can help eliminate free radicals and slow down oxidative stress in the body. Guava juice, made from the guava fruit, is a very popular beverage in tropical and subtropical regions. Furthermore, guava juice can help blood sugar fluctuate from too high to too low, thus lowering your risk of developing diabetes.

Dental Care

Apart from guava fruit, the leaves also have many benefits. The juice of guava leaves has been known to cure toothaches, swollen gums & oral ulcers, and the juice speeds up the healing process of wounds when applied topically. Finally, it reduces the frequency of convulsions, epilepsy and bacterial infections.

When consuming guava for medicinal purposes, you must perform your due diligence, and be cautious while adding any new medicinal form of guava to your diet. It is better to stick to eating guava in its natural form as a raw fruit.

Other uses of Guava

Guava leaves are used in the preparation of herbal medicines to treat several diseases like diarrhea, diabetes, infections, and obesity. Taking guava seeds also helps treat common problems like constipation and other gastrointestinal issues. It works as laxatives as it contains a lot of dietary fiber. It can help to bulk up your stool and will pass through your system without any problem.

Guava FAQs

How to eat a Guava?

Pick a fresh, ripe guava that doesn’t have any blemishes.
Wash the fruit
Cut the guava into small pieces. If you want you can scoop the seeds out using a teaspoon.
Enjoy the fruit by seasoning it with salt, pepper, lemon or vinegar.
There are plenty of other ways to eat a guava, ranging from juicing the fruit and drinking it as a beverage, slicing it and putting it on top of ice cream to jams and jellies, or including it in your next veggie or fruit smoothie. Adding sliced guava-cubes to your salad can make a healthy breakfast.

Can you eat guava seeds?

Yes, you can eat guava seeds without any negative effects. In fact, people intentionally eat the seeds because they help with gastrointestinal issues, such as constipation, because there is a lot of dietary fiber in these seeds. They can help to bulk up your stool and will pass through your system without any problem.

What is guava good for?

Guava helps to protect the immune system, regulate blood pressure and lower risk of diabetes. It further helps to strengthen the digestive system. Due to the unique and high concentrations of minerals and vitamins, guava can also help increase energy, relax the nerves and decrease the number of stress hormones in the body.

How many calories are present in guava?

One of the best things about guava is the low level of calories – only 38 calories in your average fruit. Given the impressive amount of minerals, vitamins, and phytonutrients that are found in guava, it’s low-calorie count is what so many people love about this fruit. It can provide energy and the nutrients needed to get through the day, without increasing calories.

What to do with guava?

Guava should be halved and then the fibrous center and the seeds can be removed. The seeds can be saved and used later for a stomach cleanser. The fruit can then be used as a topping or eaten raw, made into candies or jellies, or blended in a fruit/vegetable smoothie. Alternatively, guava can be juiced, making a delicious and healthy beverage.

Where does guava come from?

Guava comes from the guava tree, a species native to Central America and Mexico. These fruiting trees actually come in many different species, but all of them do best in tropical or subtropical regions. Since guava has been found to not only be delicious, but also highly beneficial to human health, these fruits have been exported all over the world, but guava cultivation and consumption is still centered in the tropics.

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