Worldwide, many people revere soursop as a wonder herb and for every good reason. It has many potential health benefits, including cancer management, cough & parasitic infection healing, and inflammation reduction.
Soursop, otherwise called Graviola, is the fruit that grows from the Annona muricata tree, native to South and Central Africa. With only a few calories, soursop supplies the body with vitamin C and fiber, besides other dietary requirements. The plant’s other parts like leaves, stems, and bark have multiple uses, just like the fruit. In most parts of the world, the fruit has been used to prepare dietary supplements, primarily due to its rich nutritional profile. Keep reading to learn about soursop’s nutritional information and how the fruit may be beneficial to you.
Soursop: nutritional information
Health experts and nutritionists break down the nutritional compositional of any food to establish how beneficial it is to health. Soursop, the green prickly fruit with pineapple-like or strawberry-like, is nutritionally rich, containing a few calories and vitamin C and other major dietary components. On average, a 100g (3.5 ounces) soursop serving has the following nutrients in the given proportions;
- Calories: 66
- Carbs: 16.8 grams
- Fiber: 3.3 grams
- Protein: 1 gram
- Vitamin C: 34% of the RDI
- Magnesium: 5% of the RDI
- Potassium: 8% of the RDI
- Vitamin B6: 5% of the RDI
A 100g serving of soursop fruit has vitamin B6, C, magnesium, and potassium. The fruit also has iron, helping in blood flow and hemoglobin formation, while its fiber content means that it’s good for preventing constipation and regulating digestion and food absorption.
Health benefits of soursop fruit
Soursop fruit has many potential benefits, thanks to the rich nutritional profile it has. Almost all its parts like the stems, leaves, and fruits are potentially beneficial, owing the plant the following acclaims;
i. The fruit is rich in antioxidants
Soursop is rich in antioxidants, and most of its health benefits are related to these. For instance, tangeretin, luteolin, and quercetin are antioxidant compounds found in the fruit, and studies are ongoing to determine how they can benefit human health. However, some studies claim that they can help neutralize free radicals, preventing cell damage. Free radicals are dangerous compounds originating from the environment, pollution, and partly metabolism, and accumulate to create oxidative stress, which damages cells. Meanwhile, other studies are confident that the fruit’s antioxidant properties make it great at fighting inflammation, reducing the risk of most chronic and lifestyle conditions, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. More studies are needed despite the promising findings since most of the existing studies were done in tests and mostly involved animals.
ii. It may help control blood sugar levels
Constantly fluctuating blood sugar levels are a risk factor for diabetes type 2, which ultimately surfaces. However, studies have shown that taking soursop fruit could reduce one’s risking of suffering from diabetes type 2, especially because the fruit can help control blood sugar levels. In one animal study, rats were given foods with a high glycemic index followed by soursop, and when their blood sugar levels were tested, they were stable. In fact, the fruit helps regulate glucose, and the animals did not gain excess weight eating the high glycemic index foods.
iii. It may help prevent cancer progression
Cancer is claiming many live worldwide each year, making it a big global threat. Thankfully, recent research links soursop fruit to cancer prevention, primarily due to the fruit’s antioxidant properties. In one test-tube study, the fruit helped kill breast cancer cells, reduce the size of tumors, and reduce the rate of progression of the disease. In addition, when the fruit’s effect on leukemia was tested, it reduced the growth of cancerous cells and boosted the immune function among the sufferers. Although these findings sound promising, they were established from experiments conducted in test-tube, and concentrated soursop extract was used. Therefore, before recommending the fruit for cancer control, there is a need for further research to establish how a normal serving of the fruit would affect cancer progression.
iv. It could help control blood pressure
High blood pressure is a medical concern, and experts agree that it is one of the top risk factors for heart disease. In fact, when the blood pressure remains high for longer, one risks suffering from stroke, hypertension, and diabetes. Studies associate soursop fruit with reduced blood pressure levels. For example, in 2012, a test-tube study involving rodents concluded that giving them soursop extract could help lower blood pressure, although heart disease risk was not significantly affected.
v. It may kill bacteria and protect against bacterial infections
Many diseases, including oral ones like tooth decay and gingivitis, result from bacterial growth. Thankfully, modern studies have shown that soursop fruit may have strong antibacterial properties and may even protect against common bacterial diseases. The fruit’s extract was added to test tubes with different bacterial concentrations in one study, and several were killed. In fact, the fruit extract could even kill Staphylococcus and Vibrio cholerae bacteria. However, it’s noteworthy that these studies were done in the lab and used abnormally high soursop concentrations. It’s not clear whether the same result would be obtained with the fruit when the normal serving is taken; hence, further research is needed.
vi. It may protect against ulcers
When the esophageal, stomach or digestive lining is infected and develops painful sores, ulcers set in. studies have shown that taking soursop could help protect the digestive tract from ulcers. From the studies, especially with rodents, the fruit demonstrated powerful antiulcer properties. Like other studies, these, too, call for in-depth examination to state precisely how the fruit relates with the mucoid lining and prevents it against ulcers.
Conclusion
Soursop fruit is a fruit from an evergreen Annomamucrinatatree native to Central and South America. The fruit is big and thorny and is divided into two to scoop the inner juicy and fleshy part. It has a rich nutritional profile, comprising vitamin B6 and C, iron, magnesium, potassium, and calcium. Its potential benefits include the powerful antibacterial and antioxidant properties, reduced inflammation, and controlled blood pressure and sugar levels.
In today's world, people's eating and exercise patterns have changed, and it is often lifestyle that is the cause of many diet-related illnesses. I believe that each of us is unique – what works for one does not help another. What is more, it can even be harmful. I am interested in food psychology, which studies a person's relationship with their body and food, explains our choices and desires for specific products, the difficulty of maintaining optimal body weight, as well as the influence of various internal and external factors on appetite. I'm also an avid vintage car collector, and currently, I'm working on my 1993 W124 Mercedes. You may have stumbled upon articles I have been featured in, for example, in Cosmopolitan, Elle, Grazia, Women's Health, The Guardian, and others.
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