Category: Fruit

The Health Benefits of Mamey

Mamey is a sweet, creamy fruit that grows in Florida, Texas, California, Hawaii, Mexico, and South America. It is exceptionally rich in fiber, antioxidants, and beta carotene and is high in vitamins C, A, & B and minerals such as copper, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron.

Mamey contains antiseptic properties and is often recommended to help calm the nervous system, soothe an upset stomach, and alleviate headaches.

Mamey has been found to reduce the risk of colon cancer, improve immune function, and help to protect against heart disease and osteoporosis. It is also excellent for helping to alleviate hypertension and the symptoms of cardiovascular disease. Mamey is a great food for eye and skin health and can help to prevent age related macular degeneration, cataracts, and skin cancer. It is a wonderful food to help rebuild and nourish the body after a long illness as it is easy to digest and rich with healing properties.

Mamey fruit can range from a softball size to a football size and are ripe when soft all the way around. They have a rough brown exterior but a deep orangey red flesh that is decadently sweet and satisfying. Mamey fruit is completely fat-free, cholesterol-free, and sodium free and makes an excellent addition to smoothies, puddings, pies, fruit salads, and ice creams. It is often said that mamey tastes just like pumpkin pie in terms of its flavor and texture.

When in season, mamey can be found in the tropical fruit section of most supermarkets, as well as in speciality caribbean and mexican food stores.

They can also be found online and through mail order or at farmer’s markets in southern Florida, Texas, California , & Hawaii. Mamey is a fruit treasure with wonderful health properties that should not be missed.

 

The Health Benefits of Guava

Guava is a sub tropical sweet fruit that has several healing properties. Guava is exceptionally high in vitamins C, A, E, & K and minerals such as potassium, copper, and manganese. In fact, guavas have 5 times the amount of vitamin C than oranges! It is also packed with antioxidants that are known to boost the immune system and help to prevent colon, skin, lung, breast, and prostate cancer.

Guava is a rich source of lycopene and has nearly twice the amount than tomatoes. Lycopene is known to be an essential nutrient in helping to prevent prostate cancer, osteoporosis, macular degeneration, cardiovascular disease, skin damage, and chronic illnesses. Guavas are also known to be particularly beneficial for constipation, diabetes, high blood pressure, gastroenteritis, and weight loss. Guava is a perfect anti-aging food as they help to keep skin smooth, glowing, and wrinkle-free.

They also provide a good source of energy and nourishment to keep the body strong and active. Guavas are ripe when soft and they have a sweet, creamy texture that is excellent when eaten fresh, juiced, or blended into smoothies. Bottled guava juice can be readily found in supermarkets and health food stores and is a good substitute when the fresh fruit is out of season or hard to find.

Guava leaves also provide several medicinal benefits and can be crushed or chewed for gum or tooth infections or pain as well as used for reducing mucus in the lungs and disinfecting the respiratory tract. Guava can be found in fresh, juice, nectar, dried, and frozen form at your local supermarket and speciality food stores.

The Health Benefits of Grapes

Grapes have been called the “queen of fruits” due to being one of the most nutritious and medicinal foods available since ancient times. Grapes are a rich source of vitamins A, C, and b-complex, and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, copper, boron, manganese, iron, selenium and potassium.

Grapes contain high amounts of powerful antioxidants known as bioflavonoids, resveratrol, and anthocyanins. These phytochemicals are anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-microbial, anti-aging, and anti-cancerous and provide protection against anemia, degenerative nerve diseases, heart disease, viral and fungal infections, Alzheimer’s, autoimmune disorders, and all forms of cancer.

Grapes can also help provide relief from asthma, migraines, constipation, gastritis, chronic acidosis, indigestion, kidney disorders, fatigue, and vision problems. Grapes have the ability to help prevent blood clots due to their ability to increase nitric oxide levels in the blood and therefore provide excellent protection for the heart and cardiovascular system. Grapes also amazingly enough fight tooth decay and can stop viruses in their tracts.

Grapes can benefit blood sugar by providing better insulin regulation and overall blood sugar balance. The black variety of grapes are by far the most nutritious and if you can find them with seeds, even better! Grape seeds provide phenomenal healing benefits and are less expensive than the commonly sold grape seed extract supplements.

You can chew the seeds up or place the seeded grapes in a high speed blender or a juicer. It will make a sweet, delicious, and powerful antioxidant drink that is easily digested and assimilated. In fact, fresh raw grape juice has been called the “nectar of the gods” due to its high concentration of health promoting properties. And since the skins contain most of the antioxidants and nutrition, you will want to choose Organic whenever possible.

 

The Health Benefits of Gotu Kola

Gotu kola is a medicinal herb that has tremendous healing properties that are known to benefit a wide variety of ailments. Gotu kola is rich in vitamins A, C, & B-complex as well as minerals such as silicon, selenium, calcium, magnesium, and iron.

Gotu kola is one of the premier herbs for neurological disorders including dementia, bell’s palsy, epilepsy, parkinson’s disease, bipolar disorder, tremors, guillain-barre syndrome, tourette syndrome, and narcolepsy. It also functions as a brain tonic and energy booster and has been shown to significantly improve cognitive skills while reducing brain fog and forgetfulness. Gotu kola is an adaptogenic herb which makes it excellent for strengthening the adrenal glands and preventing stress related illnesses such as headaches, exhaustion, insomnia, and indigestion.

Gotu kola functions well as a blood cleanser and is known to help improve the circulatory, digestive, and lymphatic systems. It is also known to relieve high blood pressure and is particularly beneficial for hepatitis, urinary tract infections, heart disease, venereal diseases, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Gotu kola contains triterpenoid compounds that can help to strengthen the walls of blood vessels, veins, and capillaries which significantly improves blood flow and circulation. These abilities make it an effective remedy for varicose veins, leg cramps, ulcers, retinopathy, hemorrhoids, and chronic tingling of the arms & legs.

Topically, gotu kola has shown to be effective for skin ailments such as psoriasis, acne, eczema, bed sores, wounds, cellulite, postoperative scars, and even leprosy. Gotu kola can be found in tea, tincture, extract, capsule, and cream form online or at your local health food store.