What is the GUANÁBANA LEAF for?

Soursop, both the fruit and its leaf, is one of the so-called superfoods that is becoming popular because it is a great ally in the prevention of diseases, since among other nutrients it contains vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6 and vitamin C. Both the fruit and the leaves are full of properties and benefits for our health. Between the main properties of the soursop leaf we can highlight the following:

• Anti-inflammatory
• Painkiller
• Anticancer
• Relaxing
• Hypotensive
• Healing
• Diuretic
• Helps in the production of collagen and elastin

Thanks to these properties, the soursop or graviola leaves have numerous benefits for the body. Once the fruit is eaten, remember to keep the leaves as they will provide your body with great benefits. These are the main benefits of the soursop leaf:

• Improves the immune system by increasing defenses.
• Among its benefits and medicinal uses, the treatment of eczema stands out, since it relieves pain or itching that it can cause in the skin and reduces inflammation.
• It is a good natural digestive.
• Relieves muscle aches.
• It helps prevent diabetes and reduce hyperglycemia, when there are high levels of glucose or sugar in the blood.
• Improves rheumatism pain.
• It favors the absorption of iron so a frequent medicinal use is to take it in cases of iron deficiency anemia as a reinforcement of the treatment.
• It lowers the tension, reason why it is used for the cases of hypertension, as long as it is kept in mind if some medication is taken precisely for it and it is consulted with the doctor.

After learning this summary of the properties, benefits and medicinal uses of soursop leaf, you can learn more about What are the properties of soursop in this other post from unCOMO.

The fruit is eaten ripe, in smoothies or juices, for example, and the usual way to prepare soursop leaves for consumption is in tea or infusion, since in this way its properties are preserved to the maximum. Making soursop or graviola leaf tea It is very simple and you only need these ingredients and follow these instructions:

Ingredients

• 1 liter of water.
• 10 or 15 soursop leaves (better if they are fresh, but they can also be used dried)
• Juice of half a lemon.
• A tablespoon of honey.

Steps to prepare the soursop leaf

1. Bring a liter of water to boil and, when it reaches its boiling point, add all the soursop leaves.
2. Keep on low heat for 30 minutes.
3. When the water has reduced by half, strain the liquid into a mug and wait for it to warm or cool.
4. Add the juice of half a lemon and a tablespoon of honey. They are optional but many people add these ingredients to enhance the flavor. However, keep in mind that if, for example, you are a diabetic person, you will have to think carefully if you add honey or not to count the insulin dose.
5. Stir so that the lemon and honey are well integrated and your soursop leaf tea will be ready to drink.

In this other oneHOWTO article you can learn more details about How to make soursop tea.

Despite its many benefits and properties for the body, soursop leaves also have some contraindications. If you suffer from any of these diseases or are in one of these situations, you should not consume graviola leaves or, at least, you should consult your doctor before doing so. These are the main contraindications of soursop leaf:

• Pregnancy and breastfeeding: Soursop leaves should not be taken by pregnant or breastfeeding women because it can affect milk quality and all the possible effects on the fetus are not well understood.
• Hypotension: If you have low blood pressure, its consumption is totally discouraged since one of the side effects of soursop is to lower blood pressure.
• Hypertension with medication: If you suffer from high blood pressure, taking soursop should not be a problem since its contraindications include lowering blood pressure, not raising it. The problem is that it can intercede in the medications used to treat hypertension, so we recommend that you consult your doctor if you take medication to control your blood pressure.
• Parkinson’s: One of the components of soursop, the alkaloid anonamine can aggravate the symptoms of this disease.
• Diabetes: This fruit has effects on sugar levels and can cause drops in it, so if you are diabetic you should not consume it without controlling glucose levels well. We advise you to consult your doctor since, on occasions, it is recommended to regulate diabetes, it will depend on your situation and degree of disease.
• Other medications: As there are various medications with which these leaves can interfere, if you are taking any medication on a regular basis, we advise you to go to your doctor or specialist who will inform you and solve your doubts and can tell you if the consumption of soursop leaves is compatible with your medication.

This article is merely informative, at oneHOWTO we do not have the power to prescribe any medical treatment or make any type of diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any type of condition or discomfort.

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