You are certainly no stranger to soursop fruit. In addition to delicious to eat, it turns out that there are many benefits of soursop fruit for health. The benefits of fruit with a sweet and sour taste are undoubtedly inseparable from the nutritional content.
Soursop fruit lives and grows in tropical climates. Fruit named Latin Annona muricata is straightforward to find in Indonesia and commonly used as a meal. Soursop fruit is often consumed directly or used as a juice, pudding, or iced fruit mixture.
Not only the flesh of the fruit, other parts of the soursop plant, such as stems, roots, and leaves of soursop, are also quite often used as folk remedies.
Nutritional Content of Soursop Fruit
A portion of soursop fruit (about 200 grams) contained about 110-130 calories. Besides, soursop fruit also has a number of the following nutrients:
- Carbohydrates
- Protein
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin B
- Potassium
- Magnesium
- Calcium
Besides the various nutrients above, soursop fruit also contains other nutrients, such as iron, folate, zinc, and antioxidants.
Benefits of Soursop Fruit for Health
Thanks to its nutritional content, soursop fruit is believed to have many health benefits. Here are some benefits of soursop fruit that you need to know:
- Increase endurance
The content of vitamin C and antioxidants in soursop fruit acts as an antioxidant that helps ward off free radicals in the body and reduces the risk of developing chronic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension.
Besides, soursop fruit's nutritional content is also known to maintain the body's endurance to stay strong against infectious diseases.
- Relieves inflammation
Soursop fruit extract is known to have an excellent anti-inflammatory effect of curing inflammation and diseases that arise from inflammation, such as uric acid, hypertension, and arthritis.
However, studies so far have not concluded with certainty how effective soursop fruit as a treatment. Therefore, more research is still needed to ascertain the benefits of soursop fruit on this one.
- Smooth digestion
The high content of fiber and water in soursop fruit is good to keep the gastrointestinal tract active. Regular consumption of fruits, including soursop fruit, is also suitable for overcoming and preventing constipation.
- Fight infections
Research in the laboratory shows that soursop fruit extract can kill bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Plus its nutritional content that can strengthen the body's endurance, soursop fruit is believed to help the body's recovery after infection.
- Prevents the growth of cancer cells
Soursop fruit contained antioxidants and various other chemicals that have anticancer properties. Some studies in the laboratory show that fruit extracts and soursop leaves can inhibit the growth of multiple cancer cells, such as breast, prostate, colon, liver, kidney, and mouth cancers.
Various studies have shown multiple benefits of soursop fruit for health. However, keep in mind, the benefits of soursop are only known based on the results of studies from several small-scale studies.
Soursop fruit may be consumed as part of a healthy diet because it has a high nutritional content. However, suppose you want to use supplements or herbal treatments containing fruit extracts, leaves, or other parts of the soursop plant. In that case, you should consult a doctor first regarding its safety and effectiveness.