Guava is a tropical fruit rich in high-profile nutrients. With its unique flavor, taste, and health-promoting qualities, the fruit easily fits in the new functional foods category, often called “super-fruits.”It is an inexpensive fruit but highly rich in nutrients. The most common type of Guava is the Apple Guava which is grown in many tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. Guava is a culinary dream and is used in form of sauces, juices, candies, snacks and deserts.
Guavas are a very common type of fruit but are often neglected because of their hardness & presence of seeds. But it is what I call as super food! It contains goodness that will make you definitely want to eat this fruit but we are not talking about having sugar rich guava jams or jellies.
For getting these super benefits of guava, you need to grab a fresh one and bite on it.Guava is one of the richest sources of Vitamin C which is about 3 times more than our daily requirement. Because of its high nutritional value it is considered one of the healthiest fruits.
It is a somewhat round or pear-shaped seasonal fruit, and is light green, yellow, or maroon in color on the outside when it is ripe. Guava also has white or maroon flesh and lots of small hard seeds enveloped in very soft, sweet pulp. It is eaten raw (ripe or semi-ripe) or in the form of jams and jellies.
Guava has a higher concentration of lycopene an antioxidant that fights prostate cancer than any other plant food, including tomatoes and watermelon. In addition, 1 cup of the stuff provides 688 milligrams (mg) of potassium, which is 63 percent more than you’ll find in a medium banana. And guava may be the ultimate high-fiber food: There’s almost 9 grams (g) of fiber in every cup.
Health Benefits of Guava:
Eyesight: Guavas are not as rich in vitamin-A as carrots, they still are still a very good source of the nutrient which is well known as a booster for vision health. It can help slow down the appearance of cataracts, macular degeneration, and general health of the eyes. It can not only prevent degradation of eyesight, but even an improvement in eyesight once it has begun to degrade.
Anti-ageing Properties: Guava is a rich source of vitamins A, B, C and potassium which are good antioxidants and detoxifiers. They fight free radicals, thus keeping your skin glowing and free from premature signs of ageing like wrinkles and fine lines. Besides, lycopene protects the healthy cells from toxins that accumulate in the body due to metabolism and environmental pollution. These toxins also cause pre mature ageing by damaging the DNA in charge of growth and development.
Vitamin C: Guava-fruit is an excellent source of antioxidant vitamin-C. 100 g fresh fruit provides 228 mg of this vitamin, more than three times the DRI (daily-recommended intake). The flesh just underneath its outer thick rind contains exceptionally higher levels of vitamin C than its inner creamy pulp.
Blood Pressure & Blood Production: The Potassium and Vitamin C have important role to play in our overall cardiac health. Potassium is a key element in maintaining the rhythm and function of all the muscles in our body including heart. The beat of heart which lets the blood flow in and out of heart is actually muscle contraction. The balance of this rhythm is maintained by potassium which is plentiful in Guava.
Improves Complexion: Pink guava helps in beautifying your skin, thus enabling it to regain its radiance and freshness. To improve your complexion, you can prepare a simple guava scrub at home. For this purpose, mash some guava flesh with an egg yolk and apply it on your face. Rinse off after 20 minutes with warm water. When used once or twice a week, this scrub will remove dead cells from your skin and lighten your complexion. It will also remove impurities, thus providing your skin a fresh and invigorated feeling.
Blackheads and Skin Itchiness: In case of blackheads, you can blend the leaves of the guava fruit with little water and apply it as a scrub on your nose to remove blackheads. Guava leaves can also rid you of skin itchiness as they contain allergy blocking compounds.
Cough & cold: Juice of raw and immature guavas or a decoction of guava-leaves is 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 highest quantities of vitamin-C and iron among fruits, and both are proven to be preventive against colds and viral infections. In some areas of India, roasted ripe guava is used as a remedy against extreme cases of cough, cold, and congestion.
Hair Loss: Guava is a powerhouse of nutrients including Vitamin A, vitamin C, folic acid, potassium, copper, manganese, fibre, flavonoids and other phytochemicals. Thus, it is beneficial for healthy hair growth and maintenance.Being extremely rich in vitamin C, guava is one of those fruits that promote healthy hair growth. It also helps in combating hair loss problems.
Digestion: A high fiber diet in guava is maintaining healthy digestive system and maintaining good bowel movement. The astringents in guava clean the stomach and intestine lining discouraging bacterial and microbial growth. This wards off stomach infections and symptoms of dysentery and Gastroenteritis. Additionally anti-oxidants like vitamin C and Vitamin A also flush the impurities out of the body maintaining a good digestive health.
Pregnant women: Guavas contain folic acid, or vitamin B-9, which is recommended for pregnant women since it can help in developing the baby’s nervous system and protect the newborn from neurological disorders.
Thyroid : Guavas are a good source for copper, which is an important part of regulating thyroid metabolism by helping to control hormone production and absorption. The thyroid gland is one of the most important glands in the body for regulating hormones and organ system function.