L'acerola is a beautiful bright red fruit listed as the third best known natural source of vitamin C. It may happen to find a tray in some ethnic food market or to have it under sight on some website, so it is good to know its precious properties not to miss the opportunity. Let's find out better.
> 1. Description of the acerola
> 2. Calories, properties and nutritional values ​​of acerola
> 3. Ally of
> 4. Contraindications of acerola
> 5. Curiosities about acerola
Description of the acerola
Acerola is the vulgar name of Malpighia emarginata, a tropical shrub plant also known as manzanita, semeruco, Barbadian cherry.
It is native to Central America, probably from the Yucatan Peninsula, from where it then spread to the Antilles and the rest of Latin America before spreading to the other continents.
Its fruits have become sought after for the very high content of ascorbic acid. Despite being referred to as a tropical cherry, the taste does not resemble that of our cherry but has something unique: sweet and acid at the same time, reminiscent of hibiscus syrup with that aftertaste that only tropical fruits can have.
Calories, properties and nutritional values ​​of acerola
100 g of acerola contains 33 kcal.
The main reason for acerola's fame is the very high percentage of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) contained in its fruits. With his 1700 mg of ascorbic acid per 100 grams of fresh fruit, is the third fruit among those known with the highest content of vitamin C after the Australian gubinge and the Amazonian camocamo, so we are talking about a source between twenty and thirty times richer than an orange.
But its antioxidant potential is further optimized by the presence of numerous and precious polyphenols and carotenoids, which give it ownership protective and antidegenerative of the skin, sight (especially of the retina) and DNA, making it one of the best foods when it comes to cancer prevention.
The protein content is also excellent, which fluctuates around 5 grams per kilo, of vitamins such as A and those of group B, and of many minerals, among which manganese stands out above all, followed by magnesium and potassium.
Acerola, ally of
Eyes (retina), skin, liver, coronaries.
Strengthens the immune system and helps to prevent cancer and aging processes; helps in case of diarrhea, fever and cold. Ideal for children.
Acerola among the natural vitamin C supplements: discover the others!
Contraindications of acerola
The fruit of the acerola has no real contraindications but it is useful to point out that it is possible to guess the amount of vitamin C through the flavor: the fruit tends to be acidic and lose its acidity in favor of sweetness with maturation, but with acidity, much of the vitamin C also goes away.
Many of the acerola-based products, such as dehydrated fruits, frozen or powdered, lose a great part of their powers. More generally, when consuming foods with high acid content, it is good to rinse your mouth as soon as possible so as not to let the tooth enamel be affected.
Curiosities about acerola
- Once you discover his powers capable of preventing scurvy, navigators from all over the world began to bring the fruits with them and to plant the plant in all the countries capable of hosting it.
- In Russia there is a luxury specialty: vodka all'acerola!
- Why not try to plant it? It does not like temperatures close to freezing and strong winds, while it prefers a soil capable of drying quickly. Not for nothing it is also widespread in our parts in the form of bonsai, an art for which this tropical plant lends itself very well.
How to consume acerola
The ideal is to go to the countries where it grows e like it fresh, because at the right point of ripeness it is an unparalleled delicacy (pay attention to the three light stones contained in the center of the fruit).
From the fresh fruit they are also drawn juices, purees, ice creams and slushes nothing short of delicious. For the export trade, the fruit is generally processed by drying or freezing the pulp, nothing to do with the fresh fruit but always better than nothing.
Acerola, paw paw and pepino dulce among the unknown fruits
Other articles on acerola:
> Acerol rich in vitamin C against the flu
> Acerola juice: properties, uses and where to find it
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