What is feijoa? Useful properties and contraindications of feijoa fruit

Feijoa for the Slavic man is exotic, and the inhabitants of the tropics familiar fruit, often eaten. A fruit tree grows in a subtropical climate; it is used not only for food, but also for medicinal purposes. If you know the beneficial properties and contraindications of feijoa, then you can enrich the body with valuable substances. The people of South America, New Zealand, Brazil know this, and they often consume fruits in their diet.

Today, there are more places where feijoa grows. The tree was cultivated in the southern regions of Russia (Krasnodar Territory), Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Australia. Therefore, these healing berries have become more accessible and closer.

What is feijoa? Fruit or berry?

Feijoa fruit is an oblong-shaped berry with a smooth, dense peel of a green tint. Soft juicy pulp reminds a combination of several fruits: strawberries, kiwi, pineapple. The fruit is edible entirely with the peel, but not everyone likes its taste. Its color can be used to determine its maturity: if the flesh is white, the fruit has not ripened; if it is brown, it is overripe. Perfectly ripe fruit has a transparent core.

The chemical composition of feijoa fruits

• Trace elements and macronutrients necessary to maintain immunity and the normal course of all chemical processes in the human body. Feijoa is especially saturated with elements of iodine necessary to maintain the functions of the thyroid gland, as well as iron involved in the transfer of oxygen, magnesium, potassium, calcium, zinc, phosphorus.
• B vitamins that support the functioning of the nervous system.
• Vitamins C and A, strengthening the walls of blood vessels.
• Amino acids (arginic, tyrosine, aspartic, glutamic) involved in the formation of proteins in the human body.
• Essential oils and tannins.

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Useful properties for women and men

For women, the fruit is especially useful during pregnancy, when the body of the expectant mother needs a large amount of iron, folic acid, calcium, magnesium. All trace elements are contained in feijoa. In addition, for the development of a healthy fetus, a sufficient amount of iodine is needed, which favorably affects the thyroid gland and the formation of the child’s nervous system. With a deficiency in the body of a pregnant woman and a newborn baby, congenital hypothyroidism (decreased thyroid function) may develop. A complication of this disease is dementia. At the same time, the fruit belongs to low-calorie and does not add excess weight to the expectant mother.

For men, feijoa is useful for prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate gland). Due to the healing properties, feijoa fruits can prevent inflammation of the prostate, therefore, they are used to prevent male problems. At the same time, erectile function in men also improves.

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The healing properties of feijoa

• Replenishes the deficiencies of iodine in the human body, which is especially necessary for diseases of the thyroid gland, to maintain its function.
• Improves the functioning of the nervous system.
• Normalizes sleep.
• Strengthens the immune system. Thanks to the vitamins and microelements that are part of the fruit, the fruit stimulates the formation of immune cells - white blood cells.
• Struggling with anemia. Due to the large amount of iron feijoa is effective for iron deficiency anemia, strengthens the immune system.
• Lowers blood cholesterol, so the fruit is useful for people suffering from atherosclerosis.
• Improves the digestive tract: the content of an increased amount of plant fiber helps to increase peristalsis and cleanse the intestines.
• Natural antiseptic. The bark of the tree, leaves and peel of the fruit have a disinfecting effect. A decoction of them is used for inflammatory diseases of the mucous membranes - periodontal disease, cuts, inflammation of the kidneys.

How to choose a mature feijoa?

The fruit's maturity depends on the degree of ripeness of the fruit. The more ripe feijoa, the more nutrient components it contains. For transportation, they collect non-ripened fruits, therefore, when buying, you should pay attention to such nuances:

1. Hard fruit set aside not a few days. This will enable him to mature and become softer. The most useful feijoa with jelly-like flesh.
2. Overripe fruits are not worth buying. It is difficult to control the onset of fermentation processes, and purchased feijoa will be unusable.
3. The peel of the fetus should not have visible damage. They indicate that the beneficial qualities of the fruit are reduced. The cause may be mechanical damage during transport. It is better to postpone the fruit even with small dents so as not to doubt its freshness.
4. Large fruit is always preferable. It contains more sugars and vitamins. But, this is not the main criterion. Depending on the variety, feijoa have a different fruit size.
5. If you need to get ripe fruit, then easily press on it. It should be soft, and the peel should not be completely smooth. Cut feijoa and examine the pulp. Unripe fruit has a white color of pulp, overripe - brown. Unripe fruit can be put on ripening, overripe - not suitable for use.
6. The fruit should not have a stalk. It indicates that the feijoa was cut from the branch without waiting for the harvest date.
7. The aroma of mature feijoa resembles the smell of pineapple. It judges the maturity of the fruit.

Season of sales in Russia. Prices

The ripening of feijoa fruits is the end of October and the beginning of November. Fruits are imported to Russia from Azerbaijan, Abkhazia, they are grown in Sochi and the Krasnodar Territory. The price of fruits is not high - it fluctuates around 50-100 rubles per kilogram. Therefore, you can and should allow yourself to eat at least a few feijoa fruits per day during the cold season.

Calorie Feijoa

100 grams of fruit contains a small amount of calories - 50-55. This fruit belongs to the diet. Most of all in its composition are carbohydrates, namely sucrose. The fruit is quickly digested and absorbed.

How to store?

Preserving feijoa for a long time, we provide a supply of vitamins for the body. Store healthy fruit in many ways.

The most famous options are storage:

• in fresh form;
• in the form of jam (with and without heat treatment).

Which way to choose, you need to decide depending on the desired shelf life. On average, feijoa fruits remain fresh for 10 days after harvest. If you take into account the period of transportation, packaging, preparation for sale, it is better to use a mature feijoa immediately or keep it in the refrigerator for several days. Unripe fruit lies until spring with proper observance of storage parameters - temperature conditions and good ventilation. It is enough to place it in the compartment of the refrigerator, designed to store fruit.

How to eat feijoa? Recipes

This fruit can be consumed both raw and heat-treated. Raw feijoa fruits have a specific taste resembling pineapple, kiwi and strawberries at the same time. Only tasty flesh, the skin is dense and not very pleasant to taste. But it is in the skin that contains most of the beneficial substances. Therefore, in order not to lose them, they prepare jam or jam from the fruits along with the peel.

Raw Feijoa Jam Recipe

Many housewives prefer jam - a reliable way to enjoy the taste of feijoa for a long time. Minimal loss of vitamin value of the fruit provides a "live" feijoa jam. Prepare it according to the classic recipe for berries. Sugar and fruits are taken in a 1: 1 ratio and ground into one mass. The amount of sugar can be increased - this will extend the shelf life of the jam, but will deprive it of the specific feijoa taste.

The cooking steps are simple:

1. Fruits are washed, tails and stalks are removed.
2. Grind in a convenient way - in a blender, meat grinder.
3. Spread the mass in an enameled bowl and pour it with sugar.
4. Stir until sugar crystals dissolve.
5. Lay out the sweetness in pre-prepared glass containers. Lids and jars are thoroughly washed with soda solution, rinsed and poured with boiling water.
6. Store jam in the refrigerator for no more than 2.5 - 3 months.

There is a recipe in which sugar is replaced with honey. It is a natural preservative that is not recommended for heat treatment. Therefore, for "live" jam it can also be used.

If the composition (with sugar) is heat treated, the shelf life is increased to 1 year. In this case, 1 glass of water is added to the components listed above, which is poured into an enameled container and brought to a boil. Then sugar is added in parts and dissolved. Fruit puree is transferred to syrup and mixed with a wooden spoon. Boil the mixture for 10 minutes, regularly removing the foam. Jam containers are thoroughly washed and sterilized. They lay out the finished jam in jars, roll it up and send it to a cool place for storage. Jam is used throughout the year.

Many housewives love to add a twist to the classic composition.For feijoa jam, it will be lemon juice, cranberries, pears, peeled orange pulp or ginger root.

Feijoa Jam

To prepare, take 600 grams of raw feijoa fruits, wash them, remove dry tails, cut the fruit in half. Grind in a blender, add 0.5 kilograms of sugar, juice and zest of one lemon, 3 tablespoons of grated ginger. After that, add half a liter of drinking water, put it in aluminum utensils and cook to a thick jam. Ready feijoa jam is transferred to sterilized jars, rolled up with lids.

Medical use of feijoa. What is the treatment and how?

The main areas of application of feijoa fruits in medicine are endocrinology (treatment of diseases of the thyroid and pancreas), cardiology (treatment of hypertension and purification of blood from cholesterol) and immunology (treatment of reduced immunity and vitamin deficiency).

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Thyroid Treatment with Feijoa

Use raw feijoa jam or mashed potatoes. You need to take a tablespoon 30 minutes before eating 2-3 times a day. The course of treatment is at least a month. It should be remembered that only ripened fruits are used for medicinal purposes.

An infusion of dried feijoa fruits is also used. To do this, pour 3 tablespoons of fruit with two glasses of boiling water, insist overnight. The next day, drink in 3 divided doses. So continue every day for a month.

Feijoa diabetes

Diabetes mellitus is a pancreatic disease in which there is a violation of glucose uptake by cells. In this case, the blood sugar level is elevated. Violation of the diet and the use of foods containing a large amount of sugar, aggravates the course of the disease, leads to an even greater increase in blood glucose. Therefore, feijoa is not used to treat diabetes, given the sugar content in its composition, but it is permissible to consume in minimal quantities.

What else

Feijoa is also used in the treatment of the cardiovascular system. It cleanses the blood of cholesterol, stimulates the formation of blood cells, prevents the formation of blood clots pure juice from the fruits of feijoa. A tablespoon of juice is mixed with 50 grams of water and taken once a day.

To strengthen the walls of blood vessels, you can use jam with oranges. For cooking, take a kilogram of feijoa fruits, 2 kilograms of sugar and the juice of two oranges. Cook jam and take 1 tablespoon 2 times a day. The combination of a large amount of vitamin C in an orange and a complex of trace elements and vitamins in feijoa strengthens blood vessels.

Feijoa in cosmetology

The fetus has an anti-inflammatory effect, so it is used to combat acne. Anti-aging, softening and nourishing properties help aging and aging skin to maintain a healthy look. The simplest recipe is to apply chopped fruit pulp on the skin of the face and leave for a few minutes.

Before using any mask, you need to conduct a skin test: place a small amount on the inner surface of the forearm and wait 10-15 minutes. If there is no reaction, you can safely apply a mask to your face.

There are several feijoa face masks:

• Due to the large amount of essential oils and antioxidants, the fruit is used to strengthen the skin and hair. Beauticians recommend using the following face mask every 3 days. Prepare a chamomile broth (1 teaspoon of grass in a glass of boiling water), cool, add a tablespoon of oatmeal and two tablespoons of feijoa pulp. The mixture should be infused until the flakes swell. After that, add a teaspoon of almond oil and can be applied to cleansed skin.
• The pulp from several feijoa fruits is crushed in a blender to a homogeneous mass. To it are added 2 tablespoons of fat cottage cheese, one yolk of a chicken egg and a tablespoon of olive oil. Before applying, cleanse the skin of cosmetics and sebum.Apply the mask to the face, rinse with warm water after 20 minutes.

Growing feijoa at home

Growing feijoa at home is possible and is becoming more common in Russia. This tree is loved not only for healthy fruits, but also for beautiful flowers. Grow a plant in two ways.

1. Growing from seeds. For harvesting, ripened fruits are taken (it is important - not overripe!), Pulp is extracted from them along with seeds. The pulp is washed in a weak solution of manganese, the separated seeds are dried and sown in the soil. At first, you can use small pots, and then transplant the sprouted seedlings into larger containers.
2. Growing from cuttings. Take cuttings 8-10 cm long, leave one pair of upper leaves on them. Deepen them by 2/3 of the length at an angle to the soil. The soil is shed with a warm, weak solution of manganese. To maintain moisture in the soil (feijoa loves this), you can cover it with polyethylene. Lighting should be intense, but the light falling diffused. Rooting cuttings occurs after 1.5-2 months. After that, they can be planted in the ground.

Contraindications

Overuse of any of the products can cause irreparable harm. Therefore, one must always be careful about the properties of food products. Feijoa fruits are no exception. The benefits and harms of the fruit should be considered in the presence of certain diseases in humans.

• Hyperthyroidism This is a thyroid disease in which hormones are elevated. Due to the high iodine content in feijoa fruits, they cannot be consumed with hyperthyroidism.
• Allergic reactions. People who are prone to allergies should use feijoa with caution. Due to the large amount of essential oils, the fruit can cause allergies.
• Diabetes. Feijoa contains a lot of carbohydrates, which can affect the blood sugar level of a diabetes patient.

It should be remembered that any healthy fruit can be dangerous. For example, an overdose of feijoa can lead to anxiety, an increase in body temperature, increased heart rate, or, conversely, inhibition of the condition, weakness and lethargy. Therefore, before using the fruit for medicinal purposes, you must always consult a doctor.