The Evidence-Based Healing Properties of 13 Common Fruits

The Evidence-Based Healing Properties of 13 Common Fruits




Posted on: Wednesday, September 19th 2012 at 5:00 am

Written by: Sayer Ji, Founder




Crouching Produce Stand, Hidden Medicine Cabinet


Fruit is not only enjoyable to eat -- as it should be, considering the very word fruit stems from the Latin word frui,
meaning "to enjoy, use" -- but it also nourishes and protects the body
with powerful, built-in medicinal activity. Fruits are by design a
"perfect food," intended to entice animals to consume them in order to
help disseminate their seeds, for instance. This means that unlike grains, and other lectin- and anti-nutrient-rich organisms, e.g. wheat,
tomato, beans, we humans have chosen to make into our food, fruits are
less likely to come equipped with "invisible thorns," as they benefit as
much in being eaten as we do in eating them. Also, like our now
hard-wired biological dependence on obtaining vitamin C
from external sources (unlike most animals we can not produce it from
glucose), countless millennia of fruit consumption has left our genetic
infrastructure in need of continual resupply of many of the key vitamins
and phytocompounds they contain copious quantities of.


With this symbiotic relationship between fruit-bearing plant and
seed-disseminating animal in mind, the following healing fruit facts
won't seem so unbelievable...

Grapefruit – Infection: The seeds of this fruit, at a
dose of 5 to 6 every 8 hours for two weeks, have been shown effective
in eradicating urinary tract infections, including drug-resistant
strains.[i]

Pineapple – Cancer: The enzyme bromelain, extracted
from pineapple, has been shown to be more potent that the chemotoxic
agent 5-fluorouracil in killing cancer, in the animal model.[ii]

Watermelon – Hypertension: Watermelon contains amino acids, such as L-citrulline, which help the blood vessels dilate naturally, countermanding endothelial dysfunction and reducing blood pressure. [iii] [iv]

Cherry – Inflammation/Pain: Compounds within
cherries known as anthrocyanins have been shown to be as effective as
NSAID drugs in reducing pain and inflammation.[v] [vi]

Lemon – Kidney Stones: Lemonade therapy has been shown to be a reasonable alternative for patients with kidney stones.[vii]

Papaya – Skin Ulcers: Used in Jamaica as a
traditional medicine, new research indicates that topical application of
unripe papaya fruit on chronic skin ulcers generates a positive
response rate 72% of the time.[viii]

Pomegranate – Hormones: Pomegranate is the fruiting
ovary of the pomegranate plant, contains potent plant estrogens which do
not stimulate unregulated cell proliferation, and may function as an
ideal "back up" ovary for women's hormone health.[ix]

Kiwifruit – Cholesterol – When used with hawthorn,
kiwifruit extract was found to be superior to simvastatin (trade name
Zocor) in lowering cholesterol in mice fed a high cholesterol diet.[x]

Cranberries – Cranberry: The extract of this berry
has been shown as effective as the drug trimethoprim in the prevention
of recurrent urinary tract infections in older women, without increasing
the risk of antibiotic resistance/super-infection and/or fungal
infection.[xi]

Elderberry – Flu: If you are lucky enough to find
elderberry on your produce stand, you will find that it has been used as
a natural anti-respiratory infection remedy since ancient times. New
research confirms that it contains flavonoids which compare favorably
with the antiviral drug Tamiflu at binding to and preventing H1N1
infection. [xii]

Coconut – Gastric Ulcers: both the milk and the
water of the coconut have been shown to have anti-ulcerogenic properties
against NSAID drug-induced mucosal erosion.[xiii]

Plantain – Diarrhea: Plantain has been used to treat
diarrhea by traditional cultures as a folk medicine, but clinical
research now confirms its value in the dietary management of persistent
diarrhea in hospitalized children, in relation to diarrheal duration,
weight gain and costs.[xiv]

Strawberries – Heart Disease: Many red fruits and
berries have now been shown to be valuable for heart health, but
strawberry is beginning to emerge as uniquely beneficial to
cardiovascular health. Strawberry powder has been shown to improve the
lipid profile and oxidative stress markers, and markers of
atherosclerosis, in women with metabolic syndrome.[xv] [xvi]
Strawberry extract has also been shown to relax the lining of the blood
vessels, which may reduce high blood pressure and disburden the heart
muscle from over-exertion.[xvii] Even the strawberry leaf extract has been shown to increase coronary artery blood flow in a manner similar to hawthorn extract.

Source:-
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/13-common-fruits-uncommonly-potent-medicinal-properties