Acerola Cherry: Nutrition Content, Benefits, and Uses
It goes by the names Barbados cherry, West Indian myrtle, and wild crape myrtle, but it is more popularly known as the acerola cherry. It is a tiny fruit of about ½ to a 1-inch diameter of bright red cherries from the small shrub of the acerola trees.
Acerola cherries have a long history of being an ornamental plant, but its distinct flavor has also made it a popular culinary ingredient such as in baked goods, ice creams, and candies. However, its benefits and uses are more than that. The cultivation of acerola cherries quickly spread because of the news of its usefulness.
Acerola Cherry Nutrition Content
The acerola cherry is more than just a bright red cherry in your kitchen. It is loaded with nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. The acerola cherry is high in vitamin A (767 IU), vitamin C (1677.6 mg), and folate (14 ug).
It also contains a lot of calcium (12 mg), phosphorous (11mg), magnesium (18 mg), and potassium (146 mg). Another good thing about the acerola cherry is that it contains no cholesterol.
Acerola Cherry Benefits
Because of its large nutrition content, there are a lot of health benefits of acerola cherry. This includes:
- Regulate Diabetes
Acerola cherry is also known to have antioxidants that can help control your blood sugar levels.
- Anti-Aging Effects
The same antioxidants found in acerola cherry is also excellent for cleansing the body of any kind of toxins that might be in it. It helps maintain your eye health as well as increase the health of your skin. Acerola cherry also contains flavonoids which are essential in preventing other age-related conditions.
- Helps Boost Immunity
The acerola cherry is only second to the camucamu for having the highest content of vitamin C. Vitamin C is an essential component of collagen, which helps makes the repairing of cells faster as well as the tissue, organs, and the blood vessels from injury or illness.
- Prevents the Risk for Cancer
Its diverse antioxidant content like bioflavonoids and carotenoids help neutralize the free radicals within the body which can damage the cells. The antioxidants in acerola cherry are also found to help slow down the spread of cancer in most cases.
Acerola Cherry Uses
The acerola cherry is a kind of fruit that declines quickly, at least about 4 hours after it is picked. The fruit also ferments quickly and become unusable after 3 to 5 days. It can also fall apart when it is thawed after being frozen.
While acerola cherries have been used for a variety of culinary applications, it is commonly used to make jams and syrups. It is also ideal for juices. You can take advantage of the benefits of acerola cherries for your diet by taking supplements such as Organic & Kosher Freeze Dried PURE Acerola Cherry Capsules daily.
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to treat, diagnose, or cure any diseases.