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Guanábana - One of Nature’s Miracle Fruits

by Francisco G. Gómez

I just got back from the beautiful island of Puerto Rico last week and I must say that the natural course of life presents many undesirable events that lead to a greater understanding of why those events ever happened at all. I was on the island because a loved one died after a long and debilitating illness. That illness could have been managed and perhaps even cured with organic approaches to eating and health, but I could never get that individual to see how wholesome and live foods were the solution to her health problems.

Guanábana
Guanábana leaves in the middle of the fruit

Doctors and the medical establishment have distorted the truths about health so much and for so long that sick people listen with an unbending ear, even when they know that they’re in the last stages of life. Gullible people will take that last shot of insulin or dose of chemo because it might prolong life one day longer and because traditional practices of medicine endorse it. Holistic and alternative approaches to disease seem alien and primitive to those that accept the medical establishment’s well orchestrated pharma commercials, and as we might surmise, they’re in league with the American Medical Association.

Anyway, these are truths that most knowledgeable and informed people have taken the time to study and evaluate. And, if unhealthy and healthy individuals alike would take the time to understand their bodies and the signs, signals and alerts that are given well before disease sets in, then they could easily control or even reverse their physical afflictions.

Enter the miracle fruit Guanábana (Annona Muricata), better known as Sour Sop in the English language. The latter is less than appealing to the ear but very powerful in its efficacy. In a study published in the Journal of Natural Products in 1996, compounds extracted from the Guanábana seed proved effective in fighting colon cancer because of its cytotoxicity to the affected cells. Adriamycin, a well know drug prescribed by doctors sympathetic to big pharma was found to be 10,000 times less potent than Guanábana. Breast, prostate, liver cancer and a few other types of cancers are also susceptible to the miracle fruit. What’s even more interesting is the fact that Guanábana when taken produces no negative side effects like most chemo prescribed drugs.

Guanábana Fruit
Guanábana Fruit

Just recently a health care worker that takes care of a neighbor of mine who is sick with Alzheimer’s disease came to my home because she heard that we love herbs, plants and trees that have curative properties. She explained to Angela and me that her mother was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer that has spread throughout her body. Angela had just gotten a batch of fresh Guanábana leaves that her nephew had brought back from the Caribbean. She gave them all to the care worker and explained the process of preparing the leaves to make a concoction that her mother could drink as an alternative to chemo therapy. In just one month of taking the Guanábana mixture, the mother’s cancer has gone to stage 3 and she is feeling much better without all the side effects she experienced with the chemo. I too brought back leaves from my recent trip to the island and have given her more so she can continue to help her mom.

In Cuba we learned to make delicious refreshing shakes from Guanábana. You can go to any Cuban restaurant, and if their menu is legit, Guanábana shake will be on it. In Puerto Rico their is a pleasure refreshment called “limber,” it is made in an ice cube tray from many different types of fruit and flavors, one of them being Guanábana. The milk is extracted from the fruit and prepared in a mixture with ice. Some people even say that just swallowing the seeds produces curative reactions in the human body.

The Universe generates an incredible force, strength, power…call it what you will, that maintains all living things and is responsible for the continued evolution of the same. Inquisitive people throughout the ages have called this force magic, essence of creation, chi, meditation, prayer and several other things. They have even anthropomorphized it in an innumerable amount of gods, spirits, demons and other unearthly entities. But, it seems that there is no real name to describe this force that does what it does in such a perfect way.

I remember my mother always told me to bless my food before eating it; she said it would go down better and nourish me, no matter what type of food it was. It appeared that she was right at the time, given all the crap I ate as a young man. Much later I learned that the blessing was in the way the food was grown, harvested and consumed. Don’t get me wrong, I still go to the diner every now and then and remember what mom told me to do; I better!

Nature provides all the healing substances we need to maintain good health and even reverse disease. The problem is that we have placed too much faith in modern medicine and have stepped away from age old remedies. The medicine woman/man has almost completely disappeared along with the wealth of knowledge and wisdom he/she possesses. Perhaps it’s time to be less trusting of the bill of goods we are sold, and look at how we can use organic foods that abound in Nature as a method of prevention and cure for disease.

Guanábana may not be for everyone, but it certainly can’t hurt for those individuals who have been unfortunate enough to contract such debilitating diseases like cancer, Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s. And, for those who find themselves in good health, it probably could complement the other positive things an individual is doing right to maintain homeostasis. After all is said and done, it’s worth a try!

UPDATE: WHERE TO FIND GUANÁBANA

After publishing this article, Raíces received a number of e-mails requesting information on how to obtain guanábana. Here in the tristate area it is rather difficult to find this miracle fruit, this is because guanábana naturally grows in the tropics. Guanábana is cultivated in places like Puerto Rico, Hawaii, South America and a number of other very warm locations around the world.

Soursop thrives in temperatures 70 to 90 degrees fahrenheit and becomes really distressed as temperatures descend below that. So as one can deduce, transportation from tropical countries to temperate or very cold areas of the globe take time, hence rapid decomposition of the fruit. Nevertheless, there are several locations that find a way to get the fruit to market in New York. It is also possible to buy guanábana online.

Below I have listed a number of places where you may be able to buy guanábana. I have also provided online sites that sell the fruit. I suggest that you call these markets first before you make the trip to New York. Along with these sources I have also included a website that gives you lots of information about the fruit. Good luck on your search.

POTENTIAL SOURCES

  • The Met Food in Jackson Heights 7610 37th Ave
    Jackson Heights, NY 11372 – (718) 424-1889

  • Liberato supermarket
    Washington Heights
    3900 Broadway, New York City, NY 10031
    (212) 927-8250

  • Food Bazaar
    Bedford Stuyvesant
    1102 Myrtle Ave
    Brooklyn, NY 11206
    Phone number (718) 919-0197

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