Nutmeg: A Global Spice with Powerful Health Benefits

Nutmeg, a well-known spice globally, is cherished not only for its culinary uses but also for its numerous health benefits. Derived from the fruit of the Myristica fragrans tree, nutmeg is unique as it is the only tropical fruit that provides two distinct spices: nutmeg and mace.

Historically, nutmeg has been valued for its medicinal properties. One of the most notable benefits is its effectiveness as an anti-diarrheal agent. Research has shown that nutmeg can reduce stool frequency, extend the interval between bowel movements, and improve intestinal tone by inhibiting contractions that are typically triggered by irritants. These properties make nutmeg a reliable remedy for gastrointestinal issues, a fact recognized by American herbalists who often recommend it for treating nausea, vomiting, indigestion, and diarrhea.

Nutmeg is also a rich source of essential nutrients, including vitamins A, C, and D, as well as important minerals like calcium, manganese, iron, copper, potassium, and magnesium. Additionally, it contains carotenoids and essential volatile oils, which contribute to its therapeutic effects.

In ancient Rome and Greece, nutmeg was used as a brain tonic due to its ability to stimulate the mind, alleviate fatigue, and reduce stress. Modern studies support these traditional uses, showing that nutmeg can indeed enhance cognitive function. Nutmeg oil, extracted from the seed, is known to relieve stomachaches by expelling excess gas from the intestines and can also stimulate appetite, making it a valuable digestive aid.

Recent research has also revealed nutmeg's aphrodisiac properties. Nutmeg extract can enhance sexual health by improving circulation, lowering cholesterol, and reducing blood pressure, contributing to overall well-being.

In summary, nutmeg is not just a flavorful spice but a potent natural remedy with a wide range of health benefits, from digestive support to cognitive enhancement and sexual health improvement.
Nutmeg: A Global Spice with Powerful Health Benefits

Health Benefits of Durians: A Nutrient-Rich Superfruit

Consuming durians can offer multiple health advantages due to their rich nutritional content:

Nutrient-Dense: Durians are loaded with essential vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin C, B vitamins, potassium, and magnesium. These nutrients contribute to overall well-being, supporting immune function, healthy skin, and strong bones.

High in Antioxidants: Durians are rich in antioxidants like anthocyanins, carotenoids, polyphenols, and flavonoids, which help protect the body from oxidative stress and may lower the risk of chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease.

Promotes Digestive Health: The high fiber content in durians aids digestion and helps prevent constipation. Fiber also supports a healthy gut microbiome, which is vital for digestive health.

Provides Energy: Durians offer a good balance of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, making them a natural source of sustained energy, ideal for a quick pick-me-up.

Supports Heart Health: Potassium in durians helps regulate blood pressure and promote cardiovascular health, while healthy fats can improve cholesterol levels, contributing to heart health.

Anti-inflammatory Effects: Durians contain anti-inflammatory compounds that can help reduce inflammation, potentially easing symptoms of inflammatory conditions.

Incorporating durians into your diet in moderation can be a tasty way to enjoy these health benefits.
Health Benefits of Durians: A Nutrient-Rich Superfruit

Mulberry Fruit: A Natural Remedy for Health and Vitality

Mulberry fruit, renowned for its numerous health benefits, has been a staple in traditional medicine for centuries. Its primary medicinal function is its ability to release heat from the body, a property highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine. This fruit is particularly effective in clearing heat from the lungs and liver, alleviating conditions such as sore red eyes, bleeding, and vomiting of blood. It also detoxifies the skin and lymphatic system, promoting overall health.

Mulberry fruit is beneficial for the digestive tract, stimulating digestion and nutrient assimilation in the small intestine. This makes it a useful remedy for various digestive ailments. Additionally, mulberry has the function of nourishing blood. Regular consumption of mulberry juice can significantly benefit individuals with anemia, pallor, dizziness, insomnia, and heart palpitations. This nutrient-dense fruit can enhance overall vitality and well-being.

When combined with other herbs, mulberry fruit can nourish blood, darken hair, and stimulate hair growth. This is particularly beneficial for those experiencing premature aging symptoms such as graying hair and impotence. By incorporating mulberry into their diet, individuals can potentially slow the aging process and maintain youthful vigor.

Rich in vitamins A and B, mulberry fruit effectively regulates fat and boosts metabolism, making it an excellent choice for weight control. Recent scientific studies have also highlighted the presence of biologically active compounds in mulberry leaves, which can suppress the progression of atherosclerosis—a condition characterized by the buildup of cholesterol-rich plaque in the arteries. This discovery underscores the cardiovascular benefits of mulberry.

Mulberry fruits are abundant in anthocyanins, plant pigments known for their powerful antioxidant properties. An ounce of ripe mulberry fruit contains nearly 60 mg of anthocyanins, which are being investigated for their potential health benefits. These include anti-neoplastic, radiation-protective, vasotonic, vaso-protective, anti-inflammatory, chemopreventive, and hepatoprotective properties. The high anthocyanin content also makes mulberry a promising natural food colorant, offering a healthier alternative to synthetic dyes.

In conclusion, mulberry fruit is a versatile and potent natural remedy with a wide range of health benefits. From releasing bodily heat and aiding digestion to nourishing blood and promoting cardiovascular health, this fruit is a valuable addition to any diet. Its rich nutritional profile and potential therapeutic properties make it a powerful ally in maintaining and enhancing health.
Mulberry Fruit: A Natural Remedy for Health and Vitality

Avocado: Also known as the alligator pear

Avocado is a dicotyledonous plant from the Ranales order and the Lauraceae family. It was classified as Persea gratissima by Gaertner, and Persea americana by Miller.

The avocado (Persea americana) is a tree national to Central America and Mexico and commercially valuable and are cultured in humid and Mediterranean climates throughout the world. Persea name has been came from ancient Greek name of an Egyptian tree with sweet fruits originated probably from Perseus.

The avocado originated in Central America and southern Mexico. Based on archaeological evidence found in Tehuacán, Puebla (Mexico), it is believed that it appeared approximately 12 000 years ago. It has been determined that the centre of origin of this fruit is the central part of Mexico, passing through Guatemala to Central America.

Avocado trees are moderately self-pollinating and frequently are propagated from end to end grafting to maintain a predictable quality and quantity of the fruit.

The fruit is called ‘Ahuacatl’ by the Aztecs and from there derived the term ‘avocado’, ‘aguacate’ (in Spanish), ‘avocat’ (in French) and ‘abacate’ (in Portuguese).

Avocado is also known as the alligator pear, due to its shape and the leather-like appearance of its thick skin. Avocado is an energetic fruit with high nutritional value and is considered a major tropical fruit, since it is rich in protein and contains fat-soluble vitamins lacking in other fruits, including Vitamins A and B, and median levels of vitamins D and E. The percentage of carbohydrates is not high compared with that of many other fruits, because the avocado contains almost no sugar.

Avocado is cultivated in all tropical and subtropical regions in the world for its delicious and highly nutritious fruit. The leaves are 6-30 cm in length and 3.5-19 cm in wide and narrow to broadly elliptical in shape. They are constantly pubescent and reddish when young. When they mature, becoming smooth, leathery and dark green. Its fruit is consumed as food.
Avocado: Also known as the alligator pear 

Bael fruit pulp

The pulp of bael fruit has numerous seed which are densely covered with fibrous hairs and are oblong and flat. The pulp had a bright yellow color. The color was to be brownish yellow, yellowish green and greenish yellow in different varieties of bael.

Bael pulp is commonly eaten fresh after removal of mucilaginous seed or made onto sherbet and beverages; however, it is also made into syrup and toffee. It also processed into value added products and having immense medicinal properties.

Beating the seeded pulp together with milk and sugar makes a popular drink called sherbet in India.

The pulp of the ripe fruit can also be taken with a spoon without the addition of milk or sugar. About 60 g of fruit will suffice for an adult. Ripe bael fruit is regarded as best of all laxatives.

The bael fruit pulp contains many functional and bioactive compounds such as carotenoids, phenolics, alkaloids, coumarins, flavonoids, terpenoid and other antioxidants which may protect us against chronic disease.

In addition, many researchers reported that it also contain many vitamins and minerals including Vitamin C, Vitamin A, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, calcium and phosphorus.
Bael fruit pulp

Fruit sources of vitamin

Fresh fruits and vegetables contribute about 91% of vitamin C, 48% of vitamin A, 27% of vitamin B6, 17% if thiamin and 15% of niacin to the U.S diet.

Medical research suggests that the antioxidant A, C and E protect against certain diseases.

Vitamin A: apricot, peach, cherry, orange, mango, papaya, persimmon, pineapple, cantaloupe, watermelon

Vitamin C: strawberry, orange, grapefruit, kiwifruit, pineapple, banana apple, cantaloupe

Niacin: peach, banana, orange, apricot

Riboflavin: banana, [peach, orange, apple, avocado

Thiamin: orange, banana, grapefruit, apple

Vitamins are nutrients required for specific functions in the body. Of the vitamins are not consumed in sufficient quantities, deficiencies diseases develop. The prevention of vitamin deficiency diseases, among others led to the establishment of dietary guidelines by various national governments by the FAO/WHO.

The guiltiness recommended eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day, including two or four servings of fruit (a fruit serving is equal to one piece of apple or a half cup of sliced fruit for example).
Fruit sources of vitamin

Food value of hairy fruit or rambutan

The rambutan is a rubbery red fruit about the size and shape of a golf ball. Short flexible, curved spines give the fruit its name, which means ‘hairy’ in Malay. Botanically, it is Nephelium lappaceum L. (syns. Euphoria nephelium DC.; Dimocarpus crinita Lour.).

Rambutan is indigenous to Malaysia and Indonesia and is distributed throughout the tropical regions of Southeast Asia.  Many years ago, Arab traders introduced it into Zanzibar and Pemba.

Then popular demand brought about systematic efforts to improve the crop and resulted in the establishment of many commercial plantations in the provinces of Batangas, Cavite, Davan, Iloilo, Laguna, Oriental Mindoro and Zamboanga.

Food Value Per 100 g of Edible Portion:
Calories: 64 kcal
Moisture-82.3 g
Protein-0.46 g
Total Carbohydrates-16.02 g
Reducing Sugars-2.9 g
Sucrose-5.8 g
Fiber-0.24g
Calcium-10.6 mg
Phosphorus-12.9 mg
Iron 1.9 mg
Ascorbic Acid-30 mg

Studies show that fresh fruits of some Philippines cultivars stated that the vitamin C content could be as high as 184 mg per 100 g of the edible portion.
Food value of hairy fruit or rambutan 

Fiber in papaya

Native to Central and South America, papaya is available year around and packed with fiber and other nutrients.

The flesh of papaya is soft and easy to digest and is packed with a good amount of dietary fiber. Statistically one medium papaya would contain approximately 5 grams of fiber.

The fiber in papaya converts a substance called homocysteine into harmless amino acids that the body can process, but without the breakdown, homocysteine can eventually damage blood vessels walls, causing strokes or heart attacks.

Other effects of dietary fiber consumption are reduction in blood cholesterol levels and decreased risk of developing cancer. Fiber travels though the body and binds itself to cancer-causing toxin in the colon.

The fiber in papaya flushes out the toxins in the colon and so one of the benefits of papaya is that it helps prevent colon cancer especially, due to antioxidants and its fiber content.
Fiber in papaya

Defining fruit juice

Fruit juices are common beverages prepared from fruit such as organism grapes, apples, or more exotic fruits like guavas or papayas.

Compared with numerous beverages available today, fruit juice remains a nutritious choice.

Most red or orange-colored juices are rich in beta carotene. Thus red or pink grapefruit juice has more beta carotene than white. The champion is carrot juice: and eight-ounce glass supplies six times the amount recommended by most experts.

Fresh fruit juices are excellent sources of vitamin C and potassium. Their caloric content is derived almost exclusively from simple sugars.

Freshly squeezed juice usually has the highest vitamin C content, followed by juice made from frozen concentrate. The vitamin C content may have been depleted in the processing of commercially available juices.

In term of processing, fruit juice from concentrate may be defined as the product obtained by replacing the water in the concentrated fruit juice that was extracted from the juice during concentration.

If appropriate, pulp and cells that were removed during the process of producing the fruit juice, may be added back. In the reconstitution process, the water used must possess appropriate characteristics, particularly from the chemical, microbiological and organoleptic viewpoints.
Defining fruit juice

Apple fruit

Apple is the most ubiquitous and well-adapted species of temperate fruit crops.

Apples are the fourth most important world fruit crop following all citrus types, grapes and bananas. Apples are a widely consumed, rich source of phytochemicals, including phenolic compounds, pigments, vitamin C among others.

Fresh apple juice may contain up to 100 ppm of vitamin C, but during processing into juice this is rapidly lost.

There are four major classes of polyphenols found in apple juice:
*Phenolics acids: chlorogenic acid
*Dihydrochalcones: phloridzin
*Catechins
*Procyanidins

The phytochemical composition of apples fruit vary greatly between different varieties and it changes during maturation, ripening, storage and processing.

The color development in red apples is due to the formation of red pigments, called anthocyanins that synthesize only where light shines directly on the fruits.

Apples can be eaten directly from the tree or stored for up to a year in controlled atmosphere. They can be processed into juice, sauce and slices and are a favorite ingredient in cakes, pies and pastries.

The juice can be consumed fresh or fermented into cider, wine or vinegar. Apple cider is considered around the world as the fermented juice of the apple, but in the United States apple cider refers to sweet cider, the simple juice of early season, tart apples.
Apple fruit

Fruit of strawberries

Probably the most popular small fruits for the home garden, strawberries are also among the hardest to grow organically.

The history of the strawberry dates back well over 2,000 years ago. In ancient Greek and Roman times the strawberry was a wild plant. The strawberry plants in cultivation today (Fragaria x ananassa) are members of the Rosaceae family, which includes other fruit species such as apples, pears, plums, apricots, cherries, peaches and various berry fruits.

Strawberries red color is due to the anthocyanins pigment pelargonidin 3-monoglucoside.

Strawberries provide vitamin C. But they are also packed with folate, potassium, antioxidants specifically, ellagic acid and anthocyanins and fiber.

Strawberry species promote heart health and lower cancer risk. They help to combat rheumatoid arthritis and memory loss.

Strawberries have long been thought to have certain medicinal properties. Since the time of ancient Rome and especially during the last 200 to 300 years, herbal medicine has attributed the wild strawberry plant with exceptional healing properties from clearing the complexion to curing cancer.

California now produces 80% or more of the US consumption of strawberries. Strawberries are the only fruit with seeds on the outside rather than insides of the fruit.
Fruit of strawberries 

Nutrients in raspberries

Packed with fiber and antioxidants, raspberries are among the healthiest and most nutritious fruits.

Raspberries have high amounts of vitamin C, riboflavin, folate, magnesium, manganese, niacin, potassium and copper. This makes them a complete fruit to offer overall, healthy prosperity. Manganese and vitamin C help to protect the body’s tissue and cells from oxygen-related damage.

High concentrations of vitamin A and vitamin C inside the body help repair damaged tissues as well as help lower blood cholesterol level.

Phenolics, such as quercetin and ellagic acid, which are found in raspberries, have been shown to have anticarcinogenic effects against colon, skin and breast cancers in mammals.

As natural food, the fruit can provide a necessary nutrient the body needs for normal development. Raspberries are rich in effective antioxidants as well phytonutrients. These elements proficiently reinforce body immune system and help the body to fight disease. Raspberries also are high in fiber and antioxidants, while delivering just 64 calories in a cup of serving.
Nutrients in raspberries