A custard apple, formally known as Annona reticulata, is a tropical fruit native to Central America and parts of South America. This peculiar fruit, closely related to the soursop, sugar apple, and several citrus fruits, grows on a shrub of the same name and is known as Cetaphil or bullock’s heart depending on where you are in the world. The fruit comprises many ovaries that form a single fruit larger than a sugar apple and has rough skin. It has a slightly heart-shaped shape and a range of cultivars, which means it can come in various hues, including maroon, green, brown, and yellow.
Sugar apples are high in vitamin C and riboflavin, which can help prevent macular degeneration, poor eyesight, and night blindness and retain excellent vision. Due to its high dietary fiber content, sweetsop aids in the digestion of food.
Sugar Apple Nutrition Facts
Sugar Apple’s Health Benefits
Custard apple is abundant in vitamin C and vitamin B6 and calcium, potassium, magnesium, and iron, to name a few nutrients. The fruit contains no fats or cholesterol, and carbohydrates account for most of its calories, 94 calories per 100 grams. Finally, this fruit has a variety of polyphenolic chemicals that have significant antioxidant potential, thus enhancing the nutritional value of this fruit in your diet.
Skin Care
Custard apple contains many polyphenolic antioxidants, making it an excellent choice for anyone looking to protect themselves from free radical damage. This can help to diminish the indications of aging, such as wrinkles and age spots, by enhancing skin suppleness and decreasing wrinkles and age spots.
Hair Care
You can improve the strength of your hair while also getting the benefits of vitamin C by eating this mineral-rich fruit regularly. Collagen is needed in every body region, and vitamin C is required for its development. Therefore this fruit can aid with hair loss and dandruff.
Anti-Cancer Potential
While further human studies are needed to understand the anti-cancer benefits of custard apples fully, animal studies have revealed that custard apple pulp can decrease prostate cancer cell multiplication. The effects of the pulp on laboratory mice were explored in a 2016 study published in Scientific Reports by Gagan Deep et al.. They found that custard apple (Graviola) pulp might be produced for chemoprevention in normal/high-risk individuals and intervention in prostate cancer patients.
Improves Vision
Custard apple contains only a small amount of beta-carotene, but frequent eating can improve vision with other minerals and antioxidants. This includes reducing your risk of macular degeneration and delaying the progression of cataracts as you grow older.
Treats Diabetes
Custard apple contains a high amount of dietary fiber, which can help slow down insulin production in your body in reaction to sugar consumption. This regulation is ideal for diabetic people who must keep track of their glucose and insulin levels.
Prevents Arthritis
Prevents Arthritis Studies have discovered that this unusual apple has anti-inflammatory characteristics, and it can help relieve arthritis pain while reducing inflammation in the stomach and cardiovascular system.
Boosts Immunity
Custard apple contains a significant amount of vitamin C, a robust immune system booster. Vitamin C can aid in forming white blood cells, which are the body’s first line of defense against infection.
Is Sugar Apple Good for Weight Loss?
Custard apple, also known as Cetaphil, is a high-fiber fruit. Sitaphal is the fruit to eat if you want to lose weight long-term. However, portion control is essential when eating it because the fruit is high in calories. Custard apples have few calories and no cholesterol, making them an excellent addition to a well-balanced weight-loss diet. It has a glycemic load of 10, making it a must-have for people with diabetes. Custard apples are high in calories, which might contribute to weight gain. They contain sufficient sugars to promote healthy weight gain but excessive consumption.
It should be avoided because excessive weight gain damages numerous body organs such as the liver and kidney. According to a review that examined data from five human trials, Apples are linked to weight loss. Apples are low in calories and fiber, which helps you feel satisfied. This may also make it easier for people to stick to a weight-loss regimen.
What if we Eat a Custard Apple Every Day?
Custard apple leaves include fiber and antioxidants, which aid in sugar management in the body. Custard apple contains antioxidants that fight free radicals and protect cells from harm. This slows down the aging process of the skin. It also has an anti-inflammatory effect, which aids in healing wounds. This unique fruit, which is high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, may help to boost immunity, reduce inflammation, and improve eye and heart health ( 3, 4 ). However, specific components of the cherimoya contain toxins that can harm your nervous system if taken in large quantities.
Custard apples are high in antioxidants like Vitamin C, which aid in the battle against free radicals in our bodies. It’s also abundant in potassium and magnesium, which help keep our hearts healthy and prevent heart disease. Not only that, but it also keeps our blood pressure in check. Custard apples are high in Vitamin A, which is good for your skin and hair.
Is Sugar Apple Good for Diabetes?
On the other hand, many people are concerned about eating fruit if they have diabetes, heart disease, or PCOD. Sitaphal, or custard apple, on the other hand, is recommended for people with diabetes since it has a low GI (glycemic index) and does not elevate blood sugar levels. Overall, apples appear to have a minor effect on insulin and blood sugar levels, making them a good fruit for people with diabetes to eat in moderation. Apples contain sugar; however, fructose makes up a large portion of that sugar. When taken in the form of whole fruit, fructose has relatively little effect on blood sugar levels.
In addition, the fiber in apples inhibits sugar digestion and absorption. In the West Indies, the ordinary custard apple (Annona reticulata), also known as a sugar apple or bullock’s-heart, is dark brown with depressions that give it a quilted look; the pulp is reddish yellow, sweetish, and very soft (hence the common name). Guanabana (soursop)
Is Custard Apple Good for Hair?
Custard apple’s vitamin C and antioxidant content regulate sebum production in the scalp, minimizing dry skin and dandruff. It also reduces scalp inflammation, which prevents hair loss. Don’t miss out on this unusual fruit, and include it in your regular diet to help you out. Custard apples help the scalp breathe and clear dead skin cells, limiting the formation of bacteria because it also helps to regulate sebum production. This is also a fantastic approach to encouraging the growth of new hair.
Lice and lice eggs can be removed from the hair using the custard apple seeds (Annona squamosa Linn., Annonaceae). The seeds must be harvested, soaked, and ground into a paste that may be applied to the scalp. Custard apples are high in antioxidants and Vitamin C, which benefit hair development. Custard apples can help you obtain more copper in your scalp, which can help you produce more melanin.
Is the Custard Apple Hot or Cold?
Custard apple is a very cooling fruit because it is moisture-rich and has moisturizing qualities and features. According to Ayurvedic scriptures, the Custard apple can help lower the body’s temperature. Therefore it’s suitable for people who have a lot of heat. Not!! Many people are unaware that fruits do not induce colds. The common cold is caused solely by viruses and cannot be obtained through the consumption of particular fruits. This will undoubtedly dispel the idea that custard apples cause colds.
If you have frequent digestive issues, you should avoid eating custard apples by accident. Sharif contains a lot of fiber. As a result, if it is ingested in excess, stomach pain, diarrhea, gas, and intestine constriction may arise. Drinking water just after eating fruit might cause health complications and block digestion.
Conclusion
The custard apple’s fruit is soft and mealy, and after removing the numerous black seeds, it’s best eaten with a spoon. The fruit’s consistency lends it the moniker “custard,” which has an acidic and sweet taste. For ages, this fruit has been popular in tropical portions of the world, but it is just now becoming popular in much of the Western world. The potential of custard apple to improve the appearance of the skin, promote hair health, strengthen the immune system, protect the brain, and benefit pregnancy, among other things, is one of its most important health benefits.
