Fruits - Mother Nature's Healthy Cure

FRUIT is food, drink, and medicine, neatly packed by nature in attractive, handy and easy-to-open containers. It has sustained man in good health since he first had wit enough to reach out and accept the precious gift.

Some fruits have been grown on this planet long before recorded history. Others have evolved and improved over the centuries, to such a degree that past generations would never recognize them in their present form, while few fruits are of fairly recent origin.

The medical properties of fruits have been the subject of interest among noted herbalists and physicians of old, who have recommended them for their dietary and remedial virtues with a certainty based on custom, observation and limited scientific knowledge.

What is known is that fruits are very rich storehouses of vitamins, minerals, organic acids and natural sugars, all vital to man's being. They provide energy and stimulate the appetite while aiding the digestion of, and supplementing, other foods in one of the most pleasant ways imaginable. At the same time, they purify the blood of its toxic substances, cleanse the tissues, and help the body to resist disease.

As such, fruits are a natural remedy for some, if not all, common ailments. Filipinos are lucky enough to have an abundant array of healthful tropical fruits which other people from other countries have to pay dearly for and usually eat canned, preserved or frozen.

Here are some fruits you should keep eating -- for your health's sake: Banana: This fruit is low in protein, free of fats but high in energy. A fully ripe banana has 20-25 percent sugar. It has a significant amount of B-vitamins, especially B1 and B6. B1 is a brain tonic whereas B6 relieves, in particular, uncomfortable symptoms of the pre-menstrual tension syndrome like irritability, headaches, tender breasts, and water retention.

If you are having trouble with stress, potassium-rich banana can help you. Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates the body's water balance. When you are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Cashew: Health experts and nutritionists considered cashew as "nature's vitamin pill." Its nuts has various health advantages as they are significant sources of iron (essential for red blood cell function and enzyme activity), magnesium (promotes energy release and bone growth), phosphorus (builds bones and teeth), zinc (essential to digestion and metabolism) and selenium (has important antioxidant properties, thus protecting the body from cancer).ÿ These nuts are also good sources of protein.

Research has also shown that chemicals in cashew nuts kill gram positive bacteria, a pervasive mouth affliction that causes tooth decay, acne, and tuberculosis. Eating cashew nuts at moderate levels, some say, can eliminate abscessed teeth, though this has not been proven yet by proper clinical trials.

Guyabano: Touted to be one of the healthiest fruits known to man. The flesh of the fruit consist of a white edible pulp that is high in carbohydrates (particularly fructose) and considerable amounts of Vitamin C, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, potassium and dietary fiber. It is low in cholesterol, saturated fat and sodium.

To reduce fever, a decoction of leaves can be taken internally. It has the same effect as when leaves are added to bathing water. In the Caribbean, it is believed that laying the leaves of the guyabano on a bed below a sleeping person with a fever will break the fever by the next morning.

The crushed fresh leaves are also applied on skin eruptions for faster healing. A poultice of young guyabano leaves is applied on the skin to alleviate rheumatism and other skin infections like eczema. Applied during the healing of wounds, this can result in less or no skin scars.

Lanzones: The seed and rind is rich in tannin and contain chemical substances that are medicinally and industrially useful. The fresh peeling yielded a volatile oil, a resin, and some reducing acids. The resin is believed to be nontoxic and protective to the stomach against alcohol.

The decoction of bark and leaves is used for dysentery. The powdered bark is used to treat scorpion stings. The bark resin can be used for swellings, and is considered as an anti-spasmodic. Tincture prepared from the dried rind used for diarrhea. The dried fruit skins when burned emit an aromatic smell which repels mosquitoes. It also makes a pleasant room inhalant.

Mango: Mango aficionados are no longer surprise to know that luscious fruit is an important source of beta carotene and vitamin A, which "influence the susceptibility of a host of infectious diseases and the course and outcome of such diseases," to quote the words of a 2002 review of medical studies by the National Institute of Nutrition in Hyderabad, India.

"Mangoes are a safe source of vitamin A and beta carotene," said Ennata Avena, a research specialist in the food analytical service laboratory of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute in the Philippines. As it ripens, the amount of beta carotene also increases.

When the fruit is still green, the amount of vitamin C found in mango is higher. Vitamin C, along with other vitamins found in fruits and vegetables, seems to protect people against cancers of the mouth, larynx, esophagus, stomach, colon, and breast.

One study has shown that taking an extra 60 milligrams of vitamin C each day can help lower heart disease. Vitamin C has also been found to protect against declining mental ability and stroke.

Mangosteen: This fruit juice receives some popularity in the Western countries because of its medical properties. Dr. James Duke, who worked for the United States Department of Agriculture for 35 years, mangosteen has over 138 beneficial properties including antioxidants and Xanthones, a unique biological compound that can kill cancer cells.

Extensive research on mangosteen juice has been conducted in countries worldwide over the past years and revealed the benefits gained from drinking mangosteen juice. Reportedly, mangosteen juice can combat Parkinson's disease, fungal and viral ailments, aging and Alzheimer's disease.

Papaya: Ripe papaya, mashed or strained, is a good supplementary food for infants, which like its mellow taste. It is easy to digest and can quickly relieve constipation. Two tablespoons of papaya can supply the daily vitamin C needs of infants, or of children below six years old.

A slice provides the adult with his daily vitamin C requirements. The ripe fruits are also a good source of pro-vitamin A.

Just a word of warning: Before following the recommended fruits cures here, be sure to talk with your physician first.