The Graviola fruit...

I gotta tell ya, this was a new one to me. My friend Marie posted this on Facebook. It was something I never heard of and as I quickly starting researching it, IT PEAKED MY INTEREST. Therefore, I thought it's benefits were very interesting and I thought I should share them with everyone. You know, if it's been used by many different cultures for a long time, there has to be some merit to it.

The Graviola fruit, also known in Brazil as "Soursop", is used in many cultures. They range from Central America, to the Caribbean, to South America, and Mexico where it's origins start from. And yes, it does have various names too. So what does this, prickly apple looking, fruit taste like? It's a combination of strawberry and pineapple with a sour citrus flavor. Because of it's flavor, it is commonly used for juice, candy, sorbets, fruit bars, smoothies, and many ice cream flavors. Now that sounds great, but this is a Health and Wellness Blog. So, what are the medicinal benefits?

Well, here is where "the rubber hits the road" as the saying goes. The traditional medicinal benefits are: antiviral (to suppress or kill viruses), antiparasatic (to kill or inhibit parasitic growth), antirheumatic (to relieve or prevent rheumatism), astringent (to stop blood flow or other secretions), emetic (to induce vomiting), antileishmanial (to stop bites and parasitic disease transmission), cytotoxic (a cell killing agent), antinociceptive (to inhibit pain), anti-inflammatory (to reduce or suppress inflammation), and antihyperglyemic (to lower glucose levels). Now after soaking all those great benefits in, it is the CANCER KILLING ability that has the medical community interested. To be more clear, the Graviola fruit has the possibility to slow the growth and/or kill cancer cells while leaving normal cells alone. That is important because most cancer killing drugs kill both bad and good cells in your body. Therefore, if you can kill the cancer cells only and not damage other organs or become susceptible for infection, you then have a greater chance for a healthier recovery. In addition, initial studies are showing that cancer cells that have become drug resistant are being slowed down in growth and/or being killed off. Now, that is exciting news. But, please note that we are still far away from introducing this to human clinical studies.

RISK? As with anything: staying in the sun to long, fast foods, vitamin/minerals, and modern day medicine, there is a POTENTIAL HEALTH RISK. With long term ingestion of the Graviola fruit, some studies have noted that neural degeneration symptoms similar to Parkinson's Disease, are potentially possible.

Graviola Fruit Link
Graviola/Paw Paw Link
Graviola Info Video
Purchase Graviola Link