Amazing health benefits of eating physalis peruviana

Physalis Peruviana

The world is full of many issues, yes, it’s a flawed one from certain perspectives. We, humans, have made problems and these are now killing us. Earlier we had to deal with climate change, pollution, population crisis, poverty, hunger and crime. And now, we are having a face-off with the deadliest diseases. Yes, we agree that we are only the cause of these issues and only we can help save ourselves. When we look at it, the problem lies in our relationship with mother earth. We can make it or destroy it. While many are overlooking the importance of healthy plants, trees and fruits, some are finding new ways to cure our body using those magical natural miracles.

In this piece of writing, we are going to talk about one such fruit whose benefits are not just good, but extraordinary. We will describe why and how is it important to take it and how it safely provides health advantages. Let’s know about Physalis Peruviana.

What is physalis peruviana

Commonly names cap gooseberry, the fruit originates from the South American areas of the world. Its origin is also linked to Uchuva in Hawaii.  The fruit is cultivated successfully in England as well since the beginning of the 18^th century. It is a major supplier in the Cape of Good Hope region of South Africa since the start of the 19^th century. In the current decade, the fruit is cultivated and distributed across the temperate and tropical areas of the world.

The Cape gooseberry is related to the tomatillo family. It is also related to the Solanaceae family. The family constitutes of a large number of plants that can be ingested including eggplants, potatoes and tomatoes. The Peruviana is an annual plant in most temperate locations. It acts like a perennial in the tropic areas of the world. When grown as a perennial, it spreads as a branched shrub and might reach up to 5 ft in height. The heart-shaped leaves are a sight to behold.

The flowers of Physalis Peruviana are in the form of bell and drops. The color is yellow with brown or purple dots. However, it is when the flower falls, the real fruit grows. The beige husk forms a fully grown fruit in several days. The fruit is round and smooth from inside as well as outside. You can resemble it to a lemon but with an orange hue. It has a very tangy and tart grape or tomatoes like flavor. When fully ripe, notes of sweetness can also be found.

Uses in food

Many cuisines and culinarians of the world use cape gooseberry as a special ingredient. It is often treated as an exotic fruit exported from different parts of the world. Some of the most common usages in food include sauces based on fruit flavors, pies, creams, jams, fresh salads, puddings, ice creams, and chutneys. Many people love to feast on the smoothie of the berry and its showy husk is also used as a decorative garnish for plenty of desserts. Many chefs have improved the essence of its taste through the means of hot air drying. This has led to an increase in the dietary fiber content of the fruit. physalis peruviana also helps enhance the texture and appearance of the fruit.

Nutritional value

You might be surprised to know that cape gooseberry is a bit low in nutritional value when compared to other fruits in the category. It has 222 kilojoules of energy. However, it is rich in vitamins. The fruit is supposed to have mild levels of Vitamin C, niacin and thiamin. When you extract oil from such berries, the main ingredients are fatty acids such as oleic acid and linoleic acid. The oil also contains fatty acids, campesterol and beta-sitosterol. Other ingredients include beta-carotene and Vitamin K.

While many of us think that cape gooseberry is just a normal fruit, physalis peruviana  has some amazing health benefits. It’s time to explore all of them now.

Increase in immunity

When you eat gooseberry, you are taking in lots of vitamin C. The days of a pandemic have told every human being on earth that vitamin C is used to enhance immunity. Hence, the fruit will act as a neutral immunity booster. A single cup of physalis can have more than half of the total Vitamin C that your body needs daily. Vitamin C has also acted as a great antioxidant. It helps protect us against free radical damage which causes an increase in the health of our skin. While vitamin C increases our immunity, it also plays a major role in the formation of collagen in our body. This also leads to quicker healing as fibrinogen is released quickly causing the blood to clot sooner. Vitamin C also helps our body in iron absorption. It is also responsible for the production of other antioxidants, Vitamin E being the most important one.

Helps in strengthening our bone

We all know that our bones are formed of ligaments. Also, the bone marrow is the birthplace of new cells, the building blocks of our body. When you eat cape gooseberry, you are having a good amount of calcium. Calcium is essential in our body for the health of our bones, ligaments, muscles and joints. It also plays a major role in maintaining bone mass. Additionally, there are many more functions that are being regulated by cape gooseberry. These include regulating the rhythm of the heart, regularly producing hormone, muscle contraction and elasticity maintenance and support for healthy blood vessels. Muscle movement and joint movement are also increased and stabilized using calcium in physalis.

Helps fight cancer

If someone is dealing with cancer, his body needs to be very strong. Since cancer in its self is a dangerous problem, fighting it means that you need to be strong within. Cape gooseberry helps in this. The berry consists of various steroids. Oen of the most popular ones is withanolides. This can help fight various inflammatory conditions, especially cancer. Scientists are studying new ways to fight cancer using Withanolides. They are devising a method to target specific cancer cells and kill them. Besides this, steroids are also useful in certain other diseases related to inflammation. These are very much helpful in arthritis and lupus that occur due to the inflammation of our muscles.

Increase in digestive health

Cape gooseberries consist of high levels of antioxidants. But what we don’t know is that they also contain a good amount of pectin. As a result, the berries help us indigestion. The presence of pectin is also a strong reason why these fruits are used widely in jams and jellies. Besides, pectin is one of the best sources of fiber in our diet.

When you digest more fiber, you are allowing your stomach to do less work in digesting things. More fiber helps in better absorption of food and also aids smooth egestion of food particles through the intestinal tract of our body. physalis peruviana  aids in movement through our digestive tract and also helps prevent the occurrence of acid reflux and constipation. The fiber also aids in water absorption in our stool. This makes the food softer and is easier to pass through our digestive system.

Blood pressure control

One might wonder how can a fruit help prevent high blood pressure. But to our amazement, this is indeed true. The fruit is said to be a good controller of hypertension in humans. This happens as it consists of phytochemicals. The important ones are polyphenols and carotenoids. Physalis also contains potassium which is a good blood pressure regulator. The bio-chemical compounds and their combination is so good that the fruit also helps in controlling the oru body’s cholesterol levels.

Lung cancer prevention

Physalis contains a suitable amount of polyphenols and carotenoids. These are good protective agents against lung cancer. The evidence shows that the fruit helps reduce the risk of lung cancer in humans. Various researches have also shown such facts. What makes it work is the anti-hepatoma properties of the fruit which can cure lung cancer. During ancient times, physalis was an important fruit to treat diseases such as leukemia and cancer. physalis peruviana is still very observant and essential in certain parts of the world.

Helps in improving vision

Scientists are doing various experiments to know more and better uses of golden berry. Since many people underestimate their importance, it’s important to show evidence of strong researches. One recent study led the scientists to a discovery. It shows that the berry can help improve visions in humans.

Golden gooseberry consists of lutein and beta-carotene. It also has various other important carotenoids our body needs. When we consume a diet that has carotenoids, we have a lower risk of vision loss. Cape gooseberry also helps reduce the risks of macular degeneration which is an age factor in humans. The leading cause of blindness is also related to macular degeneration. Hence, the berries help us by improving our vision.

Cape gooseberry also contains lutein in adequate amounts. This carotenoid helps prevent certain types of eye diseases in humans. Many people suffer from eye vision loss if they are diabetic. The carotenoids in cape gooseberry like zeaxanthin and lycopene help protect the vision in such cases.

Helps improve cognitive skills

Now from normal benefits to some interesting ones. What if we tell you that golden berries can help increase our cognitive skills? Yes, it might be a bit tough to realize. When you eat physalis, you can avoid the occurrence of dementia. Many studies also show how berries can help reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer’s in humans. Yes. This is true and the facts tell it all.

But what constituents of the fruit help in this? Let us help you stop wondering anymore. The credit here goes to vitamin C. And because it’s abundant in the berries, the reason is evident here. The vitamin C content of the fruit helps delay the amyloid plaque formation in the cognitive pathways of our body. Furthermore, the vitamin C content helps maintain a healthy cognition of our body. It helps us increase and develop our focus and memory. It also aids in hand-eye coordination during sports or any physical events.

Concluding

So there you have it, some of the unknown and some of the prime fundamental benefits of having Cap gooseberry regularly. While not all are aware of this amazing fruit, many of us have seen it and still ignore its importance. The fruit is a type of tomatoes only, but with a more sweet and tangy taste. It is easy to digest and intaking it is a sinecure. In most parts of the world, the fruit is available during its season. It’s in the market for few months but one can get it from supermarkets and grocery stores.

The best part of having cape gooseberry is that it’s a cheap fruit. With so many benefits, it has a price tag that is not at all expensive. Hence, we advise everyone to have it for various health benefits. It is useful for people suffering from hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol problems, joint or bone issues, muscle pain and cancer patients. Even if you are healthy, taking physalis will ensure that your body immunity stays active all the time. It also helps avoid various common conditions such as flu and cold.

Cape gooseberry can also be grown at home through seeds. The plant is a shrub type and if you have space, you can easily reap its benefits once the season arrives. After all, there is nothing better than having your own fresh farm cape gooseberries.

Precaution

The citrus content of the fruit is very high. Hence, it is never advised that cape gooseberries be taken in a high amount at a time. This thing matters especially in children in pregnant women. Some medical associations also warn that golden berries can be sometimes poisonous. But this happens only if you eat them unripe. Hence, it’s better to take them when they are ripened totally. If you eat them unripe, you may eat solanine that can cause diarrhea. If taken with precaution, the berry is a golden fruit and a miracle of God that needs more attention and consideration.

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