Big Apple is a common nickname for New York City which was popularized by John J. Fitz Gerald in the 1920s but it has nothing to do with the actual apple fruit and apple is not even originated from America continental but from Central Asia. Anyway, there are more fruits in the list of common American fruits and health benefits are way more interesting to discuss. Furthermore, some of those fruits are actually quite rare and exotic.
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Avocado
Have you ever wondered about the origin of tasty fruit like Avocado? Well, avocado is originated from Mexico. When talking about the health benefits of Avocado, this fruit is well known for its healthy fats content, calories and proteins. One serving size of avocado could fulfill your daily intake of certain vitamins and minerals. For children, avocado is more than just delicious fruit but also excellent source of energy booster especially those who have problems with eating habit.
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Chocolate
Chocolate is one of the super fruit with is packed with certain medical properties. Most people know about the health benefits of dark chocolate as excellent source of antioxidants which is great for cell regenerations and skin health. The benefits of chocolate could be traced back to the time of Aztecs and the Maya cultures of South America. However, you have be careful in consuming chocolate, only dark or unsweetened that has more benefits.
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Corn
When it comes to corn field, the first thing that crosses your mind is horror stories about alien or serial killer. Well, it is typical American horror movies and for your information, corn is also originated from America regions, especially South America, like Mexico. When it comes to the health benefits of corn, it is excellent source of antioxidants, certain vitamins and minerals while some countries are depending on corn as their staple foods due to its high carbohydrate and fiber content.
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Papaya
It is true that papaya is one of the fruits commonly found in tropical countries but who could guess that this fruit is actually originated from America. The most well-known benefits of papaya are as natural solution to constipation because this fruit contains certain enzyme called papain that is great for digestion. Furthermore, papaya is excellent source of vitamin C and fiber, so this fruit is also excellent for maintaining ideal weight. Moreover about this fruit is, papaya available all year around and could be found in any countries.
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Pineapple
Who doesn’t love the combination of sweet and sour flavor of pineapple in a glass of juice? Pineapple is well known as summer drink but less people know about its origin. Pineapple is originated from the tropical regions of America and then introduced to Europe around 1300s and then to Asia in 16th century. Since then, the benefits of pineapple were well known worldwide as fruit that is great to lowering the cholesterol level and body detoxifier. Some studies also stated about the possibility of pineapple as natural blood vessel cleanser to reduce the accumulation of plaque caused by LDL.
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Tomato
Tomato is one among the ingredients mostly used by Italian in their signature dish from pasta up to pizza that makes people thought tomato is from Europe. Based on history, the Mayans are the first people who cook tomato but then brought by Spanish explorer to Europe. The tomato health benefits are including as anti-cancer, potent antioxidants, anti-inflammation and excellent source of beta-carotene to help preventing the worst effect from macular degeneration in old ages.
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Pepino Melon
When it comes to the rarest fruit from South America, pepino melon is the winner. Though right now this fruit is starting to be cultivated in some parts of the worlds but originally, this fruit is easy to find in Colombia and Peru fruit market only. Pepino is the Spanish word for cucumber but this fruit is closer to eggplant and tomato. This fruit is packed with excellent amount of potassium and the benefits of potassium are to regulate the sodium content to help regulating high blood pressure.
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Physalis
Another gem from South America is physalis, a wild fruit packed with a lot of medical properties. Some studies have stated the possibility of vitamin B complex found in phyaslis to be used in DNA cells treatment, though further studies about the health benefits of phyaslis are still strongly required to support the claims. Some species of physalis are also found in Asia regions and those plants are growing vigorously in the wild.
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Jaboticaba
The other name of jaboticaba is Brazilian grapetree due to the appearance of the fruit which is similar to grape. Just like the name, this fruit is originated from Brazil, Latin America. Due to its high content of fiber, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals, jaboticaba is among the list of healthy fruits for weight loss because it is excellent source of energy but will not cause weight gain. Don’t be fooled by the strange of look of the tree because this fruit is actually very sweet just like grapes and other types of berries.
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Cupuacu
When you are looking for the most exotic and rare fruit with even more exotic flavor, cupuacu is the one because in one fruit you could taste fruits like chocolate, pineapple, banana and pear. This fruit is native to Amazon and has been well known to be fruit with a lot of vitamin C benefits, fiber and vitamin B complex. Among the local, cupuacu fruit is also well known as healthy breakfast because it is packed with quite high amount of carbohydrate for instant energy booster in the morning.
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Hala Tree Fruit
Hala tree fruit is one of the exotic fruit you could only find when you were in Hawaii. Health benefits of hala fruit are such as blood cleanser treat diuretic and help digestion problem because this fruit is rich of fiber and at same time is also high in calories so hala tree fruit is excellent choice for natural energy booster. It is almost impossible to find hala tree fruit outside from Hawaii, so if somehow you have a chance to visit this island, don’t miss the chance to taste this rare fruit.
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Grapes
You must be surprised to find out that some of grapes varieties are actually native to America such as fox grapes from Eastern US and muscadine grape from the Southeast. Grapes are packed with super antioxidants and great for brain. Furthermore, there are more benefits of grapes during pregnancy as well as for children during development period. Grapes are type of fruit that is delicious to be eaten raw but also delicious to be mix with salad or baked.
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Cranberries
From the list of dry fruits benefits, cranberries are among the highly recommended fruits. This type of barriers was originated from Cape Cod and has been commercially cultivating since 1820s. Cranberries were packed with antioxidants and phytonutrients that could help fighting macular degeneration to prevent blindness in old ages. This fruit could be easily found in fresh form but the sour taste of this fruit makes these berries less popular than the other berries.
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Persimmons
There are a lot of varieties of persimmons but Diospyros viriginiana is one of the varieties of persimmons well known as American persimmons are native to North America. Persimmons could be consumed raw when it is ripen but also could be made into beer or baked as pudding. Health benefits of persimmon are including foods that lower cholesterol level and prevent hypertension. So, if you have access to this fruit, don’t hesitate to add it to your daily diet to enjoy all the amazing benefits of this fruit.
From the list above you must be surprised that some varieties of grapes are actually originated from America or Avocado is originated from Mexico. Fruits like papaya, pineapple and tomato are well known to be tropical fruits but they are actually originated from America. The list of common American fruits and health benefits above may surprise a lot of people because some are very common while others are very rare.