Tropical fruits such as guava, also known as amrood (अमरूद) in Hindi, are popular throughout the world for their juicy and amazing health benefits. This fruit, which is native to Central America and Mexico, has in recent years seen a sudden boom in demand. The guava fruit as well as the guava leaves are rich in biological components and a long list of health benefits of guava is what we will showcase in this article.
Now, let’s discuss the nutritional value of guavas (Scientific name – Psidium guajava). Phytochemicals such as carotenoids, polyphenols, gallocatechin, and leucocyanidin, are present in the skin and flesh of this tropical fruit. Red-orange guavas tend to have a large number of polyphenols and carotenoids in them.
Even the oil extracted from its seeds has a sufficient amount of vitamins, which makes it a great anti-oxidant-rich fruit that you can add to your diet. Other essential nutrients such as dietary fiber, lycopene, vitamin C, and a moderate level of folic acid, are also present in the fruit, which makes it a super healthy winter treat to enjoy.
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Benefits Of Guava
Densely packed with nutrients, guava is, without a doubt, a perfect addition if you want to improve your health and lifestyle. Let’s take a look at some of the health benefits that guava offers ranging from heart health, digestive system, and skin.
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1. Fruit Works As An Antioxidant
Loaded with vitamins and phytochemicals, guava has an impressive antioxidant quality that is linked with its consumption. Free radicals or free oxygen atoms are the free-roaming particles in the bloodstream that also tend to combine with healthy cells. This causes them to exert oxidative stress over the walls of the cell, thus damaging them.
On the other hand, having an antioxidant-rich diet aims at lowering the concentration of these free radicals and reducing the risk of free-radical damages, and reducing the risk of diseases like cancer.
2. Good For Digestion
The dietary fiber content of guava comes in handy when it comes to boosting digestion. Single guava can provide up to 12% (3 grams) of recommended dietary fiber. One of the main functions of fiber is to add to the bulk of your stool, which stimulates bowel movement and lowers the risk of indigestion.
On the other hand, since fiber is a macronutrient that is quite hard to digest, the stomach requires more effort in completing its work and hence increases the body’s metabolism.
3. Guava Aids In Weight Loss
The fiber-loaded nature of guava, apart from its benefits to your digestive system, can also prove to be a helping hand when it comes to effective weight loss. Since fiber takes a longer time to digest, a healthy amount of guava consumption can keep you filled for long, thus it can effectively prevent you from overeating.
Moreover, as it was mentioned that the stomach requires an extra amount of effort to adequately digest guava, the body’s metabolism increases, which also results in the effective burning of calories.
Also Read: GM Diet | How To Follow The General Motors Diet For Healthy Weight Loss
4. Guava Is Diabetes-Friendly | Can Help Manage Blood Sugar Levels
Guavas can help prevent the development of diabetes and help lower blood sugar levels. Though guava might be densely packed with nutrients, its low glycemic index is something that catches people by surprise. In addition to that, guava’s fibre rich nature allows it to slow down digestion, which further slows down the absorption of sugar by the blood and gives the pancreas enough time for the secretion of an adequate amount of insulin (a hormone the breaks down sugar molecules and converts them into energy). This helps in the prevention of the sudden spike in blood sugar levels.
Also Read: What To Eat To Manage Blood Sugar Levels And Keep Diabetes In Control
5. Guava Benefits in Lowering Blood Pressure
Guavas can also help to deal with high blood pressure. Almost all the food items that you consume have a certain amount of sodium. Though there might be a handful of benefits linked with the consumption of this mineral, its heavy and unregulated consumption can, however, result in some side-effects.
Too much sodium can cause the contraction of the inner blood vessel walls in your body, which could further increase your blood pressure. However, guava, a food item rich in vitamins and minerals such as phosphorus, counteracts the effects of high sodium levels in the blood. These minerals have a certain dilating effect on your blood vessels and help you maintain healthy blood pressure.
6. Helps You Deal With Stress
One of the essential minerals apart from potassium, which is present in guava, is magnesium. This special mineral is beneficial for relaxing your muscles and nerves, a property that makes it a great part of your post-workout meal. As guava can be quite helpful in relaxing your nerve tissues, it can, fortunately, aid you in dealing with stress and prevent sleeplessness.
The presence of vitamin B3 and B6 may help in promoting cognitive health.
7. Protects You From Viral Infection
It has been noticed that a low intake of vitamin C can lead to a higher risk of infections. Guavas or amrood are full of vitamin C, which is essential for strong immunity. This is by far the most superior benefit of guava that made it an important part of various medicinal traditions during ancient times.
The high vitamin C content of guava is quite beneficial for protection against various infectious diseases such as cough and cold. It aids in disinfecting the body part that has been attacked by the external pathogens and lowers the risk of contracting any form of viral infection.
8. Guavas Promote Skin Health
Hello, healthy skin! The presence of vitamins and the effective antioxidant property linked with guavas not only helps in the prevention of free radical-induced damage but can also help with the protection of your skin cells against those oxygen atoms and improve your skin’s health.
Guavas, which are loaded with vitamin C are also essential for increasing the water retention capacity of your skin cells, thus keeping them moisturized and healthy.
Dealing with early onset of wrinkles and an acne problem?
Guava leaves can help reduce the signs of aging and can help in the treatment of acne too. Guava leaves can be used to make a herbal tea concoction and use it like you would use green tea.
9. Guava Improves Your Oral Health
Guavas is a wonderful source of vitamins and minerals. The guava leaves are known for having powerful anti-inflammatory properties. The effective antibacterial properties make guava leaves perfect for skin and oral health. This further strengthens guava’s claim of being a great addition to your oral health as it helps in reducing plaque formation and also aids in disinfecting teeth.
Benefits of Guavas for Eyes –
Due to the presence of vitamin A, guavas can help improve eyesight, slow down the progression of cataracts and macular degeneration too.
A Few Popular Guava Fruit Varieties
Yes, guava itself has a lot of variants. There are over 150 variants of guava around the globe. Perhaps you can say that it’s just another one of its benefits, as it will never allow you to indulge in the same tasteful experience again and again! Here is a short-list that’ll tell you everything that you need to know about the various types of guavas.
1. Lemon Guava
Though its tree is much smaller than the others, this variant has a distinct taste that can be considered to be tangier rather than citrusy. The fruits consist of yellowish flesh with a mixture of both guava and lemon in its flavor.
2. Strawberry Guava
Strawberry Guavas (Psidium lucidum) are quite similar to the lemon guava variant, but it comes from a completely different tree. The name given to this fruit is due to its flavor that somewhat resembles the taste of strawberry. It has a sweet fruity taste that is enjoyed by everyone.
3. Red Malaysian
These bright red-colored fruits would bring a certain light into your garden. The red Malaysian guava fruit is a medium-sized variant that acts as a storehouse for vitamin A, C, and E. Thus, we can say that it has an exceptional antioxidant quality linked with it.
4. Pineapple Guava
Pineapple guavas (Feijoa sellowiana) have a sweet flavor and are perfect to add in salads, jams, jellies. They are much harder than the other varieties of guavas. They are usually light green in color.
Fruit Juice Versus Fruit – Which Is The Healthier Option?
Guava is rich in many nutrients and can help boost our immune system too. Since a guava tree can be quite beneficial for its shade, there can be some other benefits associated with the fruits that it has to offer. With its nutrient-packed nature, Guava fruit can be a great addition to turn your lifestyle into a healthy one.
FAQs Related To Guavas
What is the best time to eat guava?
Fruits are best consumed in the morning, on an empty stomach or as a mid-day snack. Fruits like bananas, apples and guavas also act as a perfect post-workout snack. As a common practice, most people eat fruits after a meal as a dessert after a heavy meal (mangoes and muskmelon especially) which is not recommended at all.
Can we drink water after eating guava?
Drinking water after eating fruits is never recommended as it can slow down the digestive system, cause disruption in production of stomach acid and cause imbalance in the pH levels. No water should be consumed at least 30-60 minutes before or after eating fruits as it can also lead to building of gases.
Can guavas leaves help in reducing cardiovascular risk?
Guava leaves are full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and can be beneficial for your heart health also. Studies suggest that guava leaf extract can help in reducing LDL levels (bad cholesterol) and increasing HDL levels (good cholesterol) in the body. The reduction in bad cholesterol levels means a heathy heart. The antioxidants found in guavas reduce the oxidative stress, which is important for the health of our heart and can lower the risk of heart failure too.
Can guavas help in relieving constipation?
Guava seeds, if eaten whole or chewed, can act as a laxative. A single guava contains about enough fibre to help initiate bowel movements and improve the condition of our digestive system.
Can I drink boiled guava leaves?
Yes. The benefits of guava leaves are many. Drinking a fresh herbal tea made with infusing guava leaves in hot boiling water may help prevent a lot of ailments. Some of them being – lowering of cholesterol levels, prevention of diabetes, reducing the risk of cancer, and treatment of cold and flu. Do not consume this in extreme quantities.
Can guavas and guava leaves reduce the risk of cancer?
Studies have shown that consumption of guavas and guava leaves (guava leaf extracts) can reduce the risk of cancer. Not only that, it can slow down the multiplication of cancer cells too.
What can I cook with Guavas or Amrood?
Guavas are mostly sweet and full of juice which are perfect for making jams, jellies, halwas, cheese or even a sweet-sour curry. Yes, a curry made with guavas with undertones of tamarind. Making a Goan inspired Guava cheese at home is simple and can be made within a couple of hours. Guavas can also be turned into delicious juices, smoothies and chutneys.
Disclaimer – This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information before making any dietary changes.
