For those who live far away from Africa must thought this continent is unreachable and only consisting of plain desert and elephants. Well, if you are one of those people and then you thought wrong because Africa is so extensive and in some ways are gifted with both exotic animals and plants. So, you will be surprised about the list of African fruits and the health benefits because most of those fruits are only able to be found in Africa and not something you could find in the nearby grocery.
There are some intensive studies have been conducted since this fruit is loaded with important nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin K and some powerful antioxidants. When it comes to the health benefits of miracle fruit, the list could be endless and among those are anti-inflammatory properties and beneficial for diabetic patients.
There are a lot of health benefits of African mango but since the first time introduced to the world outside Africa continent, this fruit has become one of the most recommended fruits for weight loss. Due to its rich of minerals, African mango is highly recommended for mothers during pregnancy because it is rich of vitamin C that could help optimizing nutrient absorption and by those who have anemia issue because it is quite rich of iron.
Baobab fruit is so rich of vitamin C and excellent source of antioxidants. Some studies showed that antioxidants found in baobab fruit is six time more powerful than blueberry. A lot of people are consuming this fruit for the sake of the health benefits of baobab fruit especially those who have problem with this digestion since this fruit is so rich of dietary fiber.
Among the health benefits of Ackee fruit, this fruit is an excellent source of protein and as rich of dietary fiber, ackee fruit is also excellent solution to constipation and other digestive problems. However, ackee fruit contains sodium in quite high level, so those who already have problem with excessive sodium in their bloodstream should aware of this.
When it comes to the nutritional value, tamarind fruit contains some vitamins and minerals that are essential for body metabolism. So, there are plenty of health benefits of tamarind fruit you should know like this fruit has been used as anti-inflammatory remedy and quite good for blood circulation due to its mineral contents.
Passion fruit is excellent source of antioxidants like Beta-carotene, riboflavin, nicotnic acid and caretenoid. The name passion may come from the fact that this fruit is also rich of carbohydrate that makes this fruit an excellent energy booster. Aside from among health benefits of passion fruit, people love to eat it because this fruit promotes healthier skin.
Due to its inflammatory properties, the fruit of Xylopia aethiopica has been used to treat bronchitis in the form of decoction, rheumatism and toothaches. It is only one of the health benefits of xylopia aethiopica because more studies showed that the fruit of this tree is excellent solution to dysenteric condition and asthma.
As rich of fatty oil, shea butter derived from shea fruit has been used as natural skin moisturizer, skin sun block and treatment to dry skin. For skin face, shea butter is also effective to treat conditions like acnes, wrinkles caused by premature aging, eye bags even dark spot. Besides for skin, there are also a lot of health benefits of shea butter for hair that you should aware of.
If the list of health benefits of tangerine impresses you, it goes the same with African cherry orange. The locals call this fruit as omuboro and this fruit has been used as herbal medicine since ancient time. Due to its antioxidant properties African cherry orange is used to treat several skin conditions, manage diabetes and promote healthy cell regeneration.
Desert date is well known as fruit which is commonly mixed with porridge and highly recommended to be consumed by breastfeeding mothers because it could help improving lactation and could heal headache. Well, it means desert date is one of the fruit that should be on the list of African fruits and the health benefits due to its excellent nutritional value.
According to the locals, bitter kola has been used as medicines since ancient time to treat conditions like cough and fever. All of the parts of the plant could be used as medicine like leaves, bark, fruit and seed but the most important part is the fruit where the seed is found. Bitter kola is the source of some vitamins and minerals like vitamin A and C, calcium and potassium. The most well know health benefits of bitter kola fruit is this fruit could help increasing those who have problem with low libido to improve sexual performance.
So, it is just another variety of cucumber but with fruitier flavor similar to passion fruit. Though this fruit is native to Sub-Saharan Africa but now this fruit is widely cultivated in some regions of United States, Europe and New Zealand.
This cucumber is so rich of minerals especially magnesium and vitamin C but beside that, the most important thing about horned melon is its calories amount which could reach up to 44 kcal per 100 gram. There are some studies have been conducted to find out more information about horned melon and based on those studies, horned melon contains some amazing compounds that could help regulating stress hormone, so it is great to treat conditions like stress, anxiety even could help dealing with symptoms of depression.
As mentioned above, jackalberry tree is especially cultivated for its fruits because in regions like Africa where food crisis has become daily issue, tree like jackalberry is very precious. The fruit is just like common berry fruit size which is around 2 cm and turn from green to yellow when ripe. Its fruit has been cooked for its nutrition while sometimes the fruit is ground into flour or dried. The taste is quite unique with the combination of chalky texture and lemon-like flavor.
Surprisingly, there are some studies have been conducted to learn more about nutritional value of kei apple and the same studies showed that kei apple contains some powerful antioxidants including polyphenol and quite rich of amino acid. The locals are using kei apple as part of their traditional remedy to treat chest pain and due to its anti-inflammatory properties, kei apple is also effective to deal with condition like rheumatism and fever.
Marula has yellow skin while the white flesh inside is so rich of vitamin C. Some studies even stated that vitamin C contained in marula is eight times amount of vitamin C found in orange, so don’t expect this fruit would be sweet, instead the flavor is quite tart. As rich of vitamin C, marula is also excellent antioxidant source. The ascorbic acid content will help to making sure optimal absorption of certain nutrients, especially iron to help improve human body metabolism.
There myth that said, natal plum plant is poisonous but as it said, it is only myth. This opinion may refer to some other varieties of plant with similar appearance. It means when you are in the middle of Africa and found this kind of fruit; at least you should be careful and make sure the fruit is natal plum which is the edible one and not the poisonous one.
This fruit is rich of vitamin C and minerals like magnesium which make this fruit excellent source of antioxidant that could help improving your body metabolism. Surely you have know how much benefits of organic fruits and vegetables and carissa is one of those fruit considered as excellent source of some essential nutrients especially for African that should deal with food crisis.
Just like the health benefits of star apple, white star apple also has some amazing benefits for human health. The locals have been using white star apple as home remedy to treat conditions like toothache and sore throat. As it is so rich of dietary fiber, white star apple is also excellent solution to deal with constipation. The most important thing you should know about white star apple is, this fruit is super rich of vitamin C and the amount is even higher than vitamin C found in guava and orange. This fruit also among foods that lower cholesterol level you should consider to add to your daily diet to help managing your cholesterol.
From the list of African fruits and the health benefits above, could you mention how much fruits you have taste or at least you have seen? Actually, it is not a surprise if you haven’t taste a single fruit mentioned above and perhaps it is the first times you know that those fruits are actually exist. This world is very extensive and no matter how dry the climate in Africa is, that continent is also one of the richest places in this world.