Growing abundantly in various parts of Asia and the slopes of the Andes, the Custard Apple is a native of South America and the West Indies. Often known as Cherimoyas, these fruits are a powerhouse of Vitamin C. Round, lopsided, heart-shaped or irregular shaped; custard apples have a hard, rough and scalyexterior skin that’s green or brownish, with a whitish-yellow soft, creamy inside.
Benefits of Custard Apple as Antioxidants
The inside of the fruit is sweet to taste and creamy to touch. The fruit gathers its curious dessert-like name because of its sweet flesh that resembles custard and tastes like the sweet sugary dessert as well. But it isn’t just its taste that makes Custard apples such a popular fruit. These fruits are rich in Vitamin C, a powerful anti-oxidizing agent for the human body that helps to fight off free radicals. Custard apples also contain Vitamin A that is beneficial for good eyesight, healthy skin and hair. It also contains Niacin, Vitamin B6, Riboflavin and Thiamin, all cousins of the Vitamin family and helpful for the human body in various ways.
Health Benefits of Custard Apple
Below are some of the top Custard Apple Health Benefits –
- Custard apples are also rich in magnesium and potassium, both of which are beneficial for us. While potassium helps the body to fight against weakening muscles, magnesium helps to equalize the water balance in our body, thereby reducing acid levels from joints and reducing chances of arthritis and rheumatism. Magnesium also relaxes the heart muscles and protects the heart from various diseases. The fruit also contains dietary fibers that help in digestion and has a low fat content that helps to maintain optimum health. Unripe fruits can be dried ground into a powder and used to treat vomiting, dysentery and diarrhea and even treat lice problems. A pulp made from the skin of fruit will help you to treat most boils, ulcers, cuts and abscesses
- Custard apples work as great expectorants, stimulants, coolants and haematinic agents that are extremely useful for treating anemia.Being an expectorant means eating custard apple will clear your nasal tract and help to expel mucous and cough, which is really helpful for regular smokers. Because of its natural sugar content, custard apples are even eaten by people under a strict diet, often substituted for milk. The fruit pulp can also be blended with yoghurt and natural honey and drunk as a smoothie, especially if someone wants to gain weight. Not only that, even the bark of the custard apple tree is useful. Containing natural tannins and astringent, the bark is dried and ground used to make herbal medicines, which can cure tooth ailments, gum ache, etc. It is even said that the leaves of the Cherimoya plant can cure cancer
- Custard apples contain a good amount of copper. This helps the body to build more hemoglobin. This property is especially beneficial during pregnancy as pregnant woman need a minimum of 1000 mg copper in their daily diet. This prevents premature delivery of the baby and also prevents against risk of anemia during pregnancy. Not just that the seeds of the custard apple have great insecticide properties and can be dried, ground and used around the house to drive away various insects
