Guava

Nutrition Information and Facts

Guava contains four times more
vitamin C than an orange.  When you eat
a guava, think of the amount of
anti-oxidant you're benefiting from it.

Guava is a tropical fruit and is seldom mentioned when we talk about nutrition.  It happens to be my sister's favorite fruit which got me to do some research about it.  I don't really fancy this fruit because its flesh is hard.  I tried juicing it once with my centrifugal juicer and it broke my juicer.  That's how hard this fruit is.  But when done properly, the juice is amazingly healthful.

Guava fruits may be round, ovoid or pear-shaped.  The better varieties are soft when ripe, some crunchy in texture with edible rind and seeds.  The varieties may come in white, pink, yellow and even red.  Its small seeds range between 100 and 500 per fruit.

Nutritional Benefits

Guava has an incredibly high content of vitamin C.  In fact, one guava fruit contains four times more vitamin C than an average-sized orange;  and ten times more vitamin A than a lemon!

Guava is an excellent source of fiber, almost 70 times more fiber than can be found in an orange!  Other key nutrients are vitamins B2 and E, calcium, copper, folate, iron, manganese, phosphorus and potassium.

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Health Benefits

The high content of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in guava makes it a powerhouse in combating free radicals and oxidation that are key enemies that cause many degenerative diseases.

Cancer:  The anti-oxidant virtue in guavas are believed to help reduce the risk of cancers of the stomach, esophagus, larynx, oral cavity and pancreas.

Cholesterol:  The vitamin C in guava makes absorption of vitamin E much more effective in reducing the oxidation of the LDL cholesterol and increasing the (good) HDL cholesterol.

Constipation:  The fiber in guavas promote digestion and ease bowel movements.

Diverticulitis:  The insoluble fiber is beneficial in preventing and treating diverticulities.

Heart disease:  Eating guava or drinking guava juice regularly helps keep heart disease at bay.

Vision:  The high content of vitamin A in guava plays an important role in maintaining the quality and health of eyesight, skin, teeth, bones and the mucus membranes.  

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Consumption Tips

If you don't like to chew hard fruits like me, choose guavas that are fully ripe so that it is softer and easier to chew.  It makes good healthy snacks if you cut into bite size and dip into prune powder.

You may need to eat many pounds of guava before you really see its healthful effects.  So, the best way to take advantage of all the wonders in guavas is to juice them and drink them regularly.

To juice guavas, choose the softer variety or use the riper ones.  Cut them into smaller pieces than you would normally cut other fruits and juice.  Most people juice the pink guavas as they are generally juicier and easy on the juicer.  Enjoy.

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