Mango

The mango originated in Southeast Asia where it has been grown for over 4,000 years. Over the years mango groves have spread to many parts of the tropical and sub-tropical world, where the climate allows the mango to grow best. Mango trees are evergreens that will grow to 60 feet tall. The mango tree will fruit 4 to 6 years after planting. Mango trees require hot, dry periods to set and produce a good crop. Most of the mangos sold in the United States are imported from Mexico, Haiti, the Caribbean and South America. Today there are over 1,000 different varieties of mangos throughout the world.
Vitamin Content: Mango is rich in Vitamin C and Vitamin A. Vitamin C content is more in raw mango as compared to that in ripe mango. It also has traces of Vitamin E, Vitamin B and Vitamin K.

The dulcet, juicy insides of the mango pack a nutritional punch. Its characteristic orange color is a clue to its storehouse of beta carotene (Vitamin A). Ripe mangos hold the highest levels of beta carotene, while green mangos are higher in Vitamin C. These antioxidant carotenoids are known for their protective power against certain cancers. Mangos also supply ample potassium, making them ideal for hypertensive patients or anyone looking to replenish energy after physical activity.

Mangoes are high in antioxidants, low in carbohydrates (although they are about 15% sugar – but good sugar!) and like other yellow/orange fruit such as pumpkin and carrot, they are an excellent source of beta-carotene (Vitamin A). They also contain Vitamin E and selenium which help protect against heart disease and cancer. You can obtain 40% of your daily fibre intake from a mango.

We all know the importance of fiber in our diets. If you are eating your mango-a-day, irregularity is not a problem for you and so we’ll spare the gruesome details regarding constipation, piles and spastic colon. Research has shown that dietary fiber has a protective effect against degenerative diseases, especially with regards to the heart; may help prevent certain types of cancer, as well as lowering blood cholesterol levels.

The nutritional value of mango makes it good for weight gain, eye disorders, hair loss, heat stroke, prickly heat, diabetes, bacterial , sinusitis, piles, indigestion, constipation, morning sickness, diarrhea, dysentery, scurvy, spleen enlargement, liver disorders, menstrual disorders, leucorrhea, and vaginitis.

Mango, being high in calories and carbohydrates, is good for those who are trying to gain weight. The phenolic compound found in mangoes has been found to have powerful antioxidant and anticancer properties. Being high in iron, mango is said to be very good for pregnant women as well as for people suffering from anemia. Mango is believed to be effective in relieving clogged pores of the skin.

Mangoes are a good source of vitamins and minerals essential for the human body. It is an affordable and seasonal fruit. In India mangoes are grown widely in the southern belt. ‘Alphonso’ variety of mango which is exported world wide is cultivated in ‘Ratnagiri’ in the southern part of India. Mangoes can be eaten both raw and ripe. Raw mangoes have a sharp sour taste, while the ripe mangoes are juicy and sweet to eat. The fragrance of ripe mangoes tingles ones taste buds.

Lychee

Anyone who eats the lychee fruit immediately falls in love with it. But if the fact that lychee is so delicious doesn't not convince you to try it, maybe hearing some of the health benefits of lychee will make you give this tropical fruit a second look.

Two studies done conclude that the lychee fruit prevents the growth of cancer cells. Lychee contains flavonoids in its pulp which prove very effective against breast cancer in particular. The Zhejiang Gonshang University and the West China Hospital at Sichuan University in China conducted the studies. So this little fruit that resembles a strawberry can help to protect your body against cancer.

Another health benefit of the lychee fruit is that it is a great source of vitamin C, a vitamin that the body does not produce naturally. Vitamin C helps the body to fight heart disease and cancer, Vitamin C is good for our bones, skin and tissue, and therefore is a very important vitamin to our overall good health.

Through the high content Vitamin C content of the lychee fruit, the fruit benefits those suffering from colds, fevers and sore throats. Lychee also helps the body to digest food properly for the best nutrition and an added boost of health.

Lychee, the Chinese believe, also has the ability to relieve pain and shrink swollen glands. People in China treat these symptoms with the lychee fruit using ancient Chinese medicines and they attest to its powers even though there are currently no studies out there that give scientific weight to this argument.

Along with these health benefits lychee also contains phosphorous, calcium, magnesium and protein. Though the lychee fruit is native to Asia, the popularity and reputation of the fruit as a healthful fruit has contributed to the commercial growth of lychee trees in California and Florida. Lychee can be found in Asian supermarkets in cans or dried or they are found in jellies, jams, marmalades or sauces in Asian cuisine.

Papaya

Various fruits and vegetables are known to provide the body with many health benefits. Papaya is a fruit which is not thought of as a healthy fruit camparison to other obvious healthy fruits such as, blueberries, strawberries. However, papaya can provide the body with numerous health benefits.

Papaya Provides Vitamins and Nutrients

One of the main reasons that papayas are so healthy is because they provide the body with various vitamins and nutrients. Some of the different vitamins and nutrients which papayas are a good source of include Vitamin C, Vitamin B, potassium and fiber. Due to the high amount of vitamins and nutrients that papayas contain, your immune system will be boosted if you frequently eat papaya.

Papaya Helps with the Digestive Process

If you have digestive problems, you may want to consider eating papayas. The reason is because they contain an enzyme called papain, which is known to help with the digestive process. It can prevent you from becoming constipated and may also help end diarrhea. A little known fact about papain is that it has also been used as a way to treat stings from bees and jellyfish. If there is nothing besides papaya available in the house, it may provide you with relief.

Papaya Can Prevent or Relieve Nausea

If you often experience nausea, whether it is because you have morning sickness or you get sick when you are traveling, you may want to consider adding papaya to your diet. Papaya is known to prevent this type of nausea or provide you with relief once you already have it. To experience the best relief or prevention, consider drinking pineapple juice with your papaya, as both are known to be very effective.

Papaya Provides the Body With Lung Protection

The reason that papaya provides the body with lung protection is because it contains Vitamin A. When a person experiences lung cancer or other lung conditions, they often have a deficiency of Vitamin A. If you are worried about getting lung cancer due to secondhand smoke or working conditions, then you really may want to consider adding papaya to your daily diet.

These are just a few of the various health benefits that papaya can provide the body with. There are many people who believe that papaya will also help protect the heart from disease and the body from developing various forms of cancer. If you do not already eat papaya, it is one of the many fruits that you may want to consider adding to your regular diet.

Guava

Guava fruits can vary in shape from round, ovoid to the pear shape. They can be from 2 to 4 inches long. There are many varieties of guavas and they differ in flavour. The seeds are numerous but edible in the good varieties.

A guava tastes best when it is just ripe. The flesh is sweet, soft and creamy. The flesh is usually white but can be pink, yellow or red. The rind is edible. A ripe guava has a sweet, musky odour. The flavour is a like a cross between a strawberry and a lemon. In shape it resembles an apple or a pear and is sometimes referred to as the poor man's apple.

The guava is native to the the tropics. Its generic name is derived from the Greek word “psidion”, which is the name of the pomegranate.

The place of origin of the guava is unknown but it is believed to be somewhere in the region that extends from southern Mexico to Central America and the West Indies. Spanish and Portugese colonizers carried it to the East Indies. It is widely grown in Asia, Africa, Egypt and Mexico.

Guavas are low in cholesterol and Sodium, low on saturated fats, high in dietary fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Folate, Potassium, Copper and Manganese. Guavas also have a high level of lycopene (which helps prevent certain cancers) and are believed to reduce LDL or bad cholesterol.

One guava (medium size) has approximately 45 calories. It has a high concentration of Vitamin C in the skin. This reduces as fruit ripens and turns from green to yellow.

Guavas contain compounds that help to control blood pressure, lower cholesterol, battle diabetes and fight cancer.

It is commonly believed that eating an orange or other citrus fruits is more beneficial to health than eating any other kind of fruit. However, one guava has 165 milligrams (mg) of vitamin C, while one orange has a mere 69mg. The guava is also an excellent source of beta carotene, lycopene, potassium and soluble fiber.

Guavas are very rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants act against the "free radicals" which damage cells and can cause cancer, diabetes and coronary disease.

Guava also control blood pressure and cholesterol. This is probably because of the high potassium content found in guavas. Potassium a mineral that is essential for electrical reactions in the body, including your heart. It also keeps the heartbeat steady, and it assists the kidneys in removing waste.

The guava's cholesterol lowering effect may be due to its soluble fiber content. The soluble fiber forms a gel that binds cholesterol and carries it out of the body.

A guava leaf decoction is taken to relieve colds and bronchitis. The roots, bark, leaves and immature fruits, because of their astringency, are commonly used to halt gastroenteritis, diarrhea, dysentery and vomiting in cholera patients.

The guava was used in ancient Chinese medicine to treat diabetes for a very long time. Recent studies have now proven that it lowers blood sugar. It may be a natural way to help prevent diabetes.

Mangoesteen

Mangosteen, a type of fruit that comes from a tropical evergreen tree originating in southeast Asia, has recently been getting a lot of press for its health properties. It's even been called a superfood, for its antioxidant properties and other compounds it contains.

However, some of the things said about mangosteen seem too good to be true. Is it possible for a fruit to prevent cancer, heart disease, and slow aging?

Here's some information about mangosteen, and whether or not it really is an antioxidant superfood.

What's a Superfood, Anyway?

Superfoods, or superfruits, as the mangosteen is sometimes called, are a loosely defined category of foods having a number of characteristics.

Usually, to be called a superfood, a food has to have appealing characteristics, like a good taste, attractive fragrance, and good appearance.

It also has to be rich in nutrients, high in strong antioxidants, and have a high potential for lowering the risk of many diseases.

Does mangosteen meet these criteria? Surprisingly, the answer is both yes and no.

The Benefits Are In the Peel

The portion of the mangosteen fruit that's generally considered edible is a white, fleshy aril about the size of a tangerine. It may appear segmented, and is sweet but citrusy. Some have stated that there is a flavor reminiscent of peaches associated with mangosteen fruit. In addition to these properties, mangosteen fruit is actually quite low in nutrients.

The outer rind, or exocarp of the mangosteen is another story entirely. This peel is dark reddish purple when the fruit is ripe, and soft enough to easily cut with a knife. It can be pulled away from the fruit with no problems, but tends to stain fingers and fabric. It also contains many different beneficial compounds. Among these compounds are polyphenolic acids and phytonutrients, as well as other antioxidants and useful compounds. The exocarp of the mangosteen fruit also contains a number of substances that are less pleasant, as they are intended to discourage insects from eating the fruit. These include tannins, the substances that give tea and coffee their familiar bitter undertones. In the case of the mangosteen, these substance impart an astringent taste.

It's the whole mangosteen that might be called a superfood, not just the pale but delicious fruit. This poses a problem, however, since the outer rind of the fruit imparts a bitter or tart flavor to products made from whole processed mangosteen. In many cases, other fruit juices like blueberry or cranberry are added to mangosteen juice, or sugar is used to help ameliorate the bad taste that comes from processing the beneficial but untasty rind.

What Mangosteen Compounds Can Do

The xanthones and other antioxidants in mangosteen do provide a useful benefit. In the body, oxidation by peroxides and oxygen itself can create free radicals. These free radicals can then cause reactions that cause cellular damage. This kind of damage is associated with many human diseases, from stroke and neurological conditions to some types of cancer. Consuming antioxidants reduces the number of oxidation reactions, and helps to capture free radicals, reducing cellular damage.

Research on the most famous antioxidants and phytonutrients in mangosteen – xanthones – is still limited. Scientists are currently conducting studies to find out just how beneficial these chemicals are for us, and how they work. Chances are, their research will back up what's been believed for a long time. However, at the moment, there are few specific biological studies to provide evidence for the benefits of xanthones. The other antioxidants in mangosteen exocarp are, however, more easily documented.

In the end, mangosteen looks like it may well qualify as a superfood. Its appearance is attractive, and its taste so appealing that it's been known around the world for centuries, even before the plants were easily transported from their native countries. However, the fruit alone is merely delicious. It provides no real nutritive benefits. In combination with the mangosteen rind it becomes a much more beneficial food, with the downside that the flavor is somewhat compromised. The combination of mangosteen with other foods can help to remove this difficulty, making mangosteen both delicious and good for you.

Passion Fruits

The Passion fruits, has many amazing health benefits to all who eat this sweet and aromatic fruit. Passion fruit was a staple of Aztec society and once Spanish missionaries laid eyes on the blossoms of the passion fruit, they named it thus as they said that the blossoms resembled
the crown of thorns on Christ's head during the crucifixion.
Passion fruit has a very aromatic smell and can either be yellow or purple on the outside. The skin of the passion fruit is wrinkly and its pulp is a yellow, jelly-like substance with black seeds. Passion fruit can be found in market stands anywhere, so if you want to reap the rewards of the many health benefits of passion fruit, you may want to pick some up at your local supermarket.

Now, one of the many health benefits of passion fruit is that its seeds (one cup) contains almost 25 grams of fiber. Passion fruit seeds are a great source of fiber that the body needs to cleanse the colon, improve digestion, and help prevent heart attacks and strokes.

Passion fruit also benefits those who eat it by providing the body with high doses of Vitamin A and C. Vitamin A helps the body to remove free radicals that cause skin and tissue damage, and it helps to improve our vision. Meanwhile Vitamin C helps to repair tissue, helps prevent heart disease and cancer and helps our bones.

A 2008 study found that subjects who took passion fruit extracts and who suffer from asthma, got relief from symptoms of coughing and wheezing by 76 percent. The antioxidants found in passion fruit is believed to block histamine, reduce allergy and inflammation; passion fruit therefore has the health benefit of reducing the symptoms of asthma.

The antioxidant and falconoid found in passion fruit have also been found by some researchers at the University of Florida to inhibit the growth of cancer cells.

pomegranate

Antioxidants can protect us against the oxidative stress in our industrialized world, such as pollution, chemicals, viruses and bacteria, and consequently cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Pomegranate juice contains the highest antioxidant capacity compared to other juices, red wine, green tea, tomatoes, vitamin E and other headline makers.

POMEGRANATES FOR HEART DISEASE

Dr. Aviram and his scientific research group tested pomegranate juice on both humans and laboratory mice which were genetically predisposed to develop heart disease. They found that pomegranate juice decreased LDL ("bad cholesterol") and increased HDL ("good cholesterol") by 20% in humans. The oxidation of LDL, which is believed by many researchers to be a major cause of heart disease, was reduced by up to 90%.

This sounds very promising for those wishing to prevent atherosclerosis--But what about getting rid of the plaque build-up that already exists in the arteries which can cause a heart attack or stroke? Fortunately, pomegranate juice consumption significantly reduced the size of arterial plaque both in human subjects and mice. Nineteen patients from 65 to 75 years of age with severe carotid artery stenosis (70 to 90 percent occlusion) were given 50 ml of concentrated, pasteurized pomegranate juice daily. This concentrate was equivalent to 8.3 ounces of 100% pomegranate juice. After one year the mean carotid artery thickness was reduced 35%. During the same time period the mean artery thickness significantly increased in the placebo group. The arterial plaque in laboratory mice was reduced by as much as 44%.

In this research conducted over a three year period, Professor Aviram and his research group further showed that pomegranate juice could significantly lower the systolic blood pressure of hypertensive patients in just two weeks. Patients with preexisting cardiovascular disease showed great improvement in many important physiological measurements and pathological signs compared to the control group. The Aviram research group concluded that pomegranate juice can offer a wide protection against cardiovascular diseases which may be attributable to its antioxidative properties.

POMEGRANATE FOR CANCER

Recent scientific research is demonstrating that pomegranate may be helpful in the prevention and treatment of various types of cancer such as breast cancer, skin cancer, prostate cancer and lung cancer. Research using both mouse mammary organ culture and human breast cancer cells in vitro has demonstrated anticancer effects of pomegranate extracts. Dr. Hasan Mukhtar and colleagues from the University of Wisconsin have shown that a topically-applied pomegranate fruit extract can block skin tumor formation in mice. Another study demonstrated significant antitumor activity of pomegranate-derived materials against human prostate cancer. Yet another study shows the extracts of pomegranate can promote differentiation--the ability of cancer cells to revert to their normal counterparts.

Pomegranates are the richest source of a natural substance called ellagic acid. According to master herbalist and certified nutritionist Donald Yance in his book HERBAL MEDICINE, HEALING & CANCER, ellagic acid "inhibits cancer formation and is believed to inhibit cancer mutation by latching onto DNA-masking sensitive sites on the genetic material that might otherwise be occupied by harmful chemicals. Ellagic acid is particularly effective in the inhibition of lung cancer caused by tobacco."

Pomegranate also contains the anthocyanidins and proanthocyanidins (flavonoids), which are substances that have been shown in animal and test tube experiments to reduce tumor angiogenesis.

More Pomegranate Benefits

Pomegranate has been gaining popularity for menopausal symptoms due to the increased risk of breast cancer, heart disease and strokes from artificial hormone replacement therapy. Certain herbs contain estrogen-like substances that do not have the serious side effects of prescription medications. Pomegranate contains estrone, a natural estrogen which is also produced by the human body. According to one study using mice, pomegranate extract improved the menopausal symptoms of depression and bone loss.

Pomegranate has also shown to possess anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. The bark of the tree and root have been used in traditional medicine to eliminate tapeworms.