Maintaining Blood Sugar Levels With Guava Goodness

Introduction

Whether you are a diabetic or not, maintaining a normal blood sugar level is quite important for the long life of your heart. Uncontrolled blood sugar levels can lead to permanent destructive changes to your heart and vascular system that will eventually lead to chronic heart disease.¹

If you haven’t heard about guava before, then this article is for you. guava (Psidium guajava Linn.) is a tropical fruit from the family Myrtaceae that originally grows in tropical America but is also grown in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide. The edible part of the fruit is rounded, and has a peel and a pulp that contains seeds. Guava leaves are used in some products for their biochemical properties.² Guava is well known for its richness in calcium, potassium, sulfur, sodium, iron, boron, magnesium, manganese, and vitamins C and B. Moreover, it exhibits good antioxidant capacity for the free radicals that are generated in our bodies causing serious damage to the cells.³

Recent research suggested that guava fruit and its leaves have lowering effects on blood sugar levels which makes it an excellent choice for any person who is diabetic or anyone who needs to keep his blood sugar levels normal and craves a fruit without guilt.^{3, 4}

Nutritional facts about Guava

Guava has numerous nutritional benefits that make it a high-quality fruit. Most of the research focused at first on the medicinal effects of guava leaves while now both the fruit and its leaves are researched in many studies. For every 100 grams of guava fruit there are 68 calories which are considered low, 2.55 grams of protein, 14.3 grams of carbohydrates, 5.4 grams of fibres, 417 mg of potassium, 228 mg of vitamin C (which is nearly equal to three times the daily needs),18 grams of calcium, 0.26 mg of iron, and many other nutrients.⁵ Guava is also known for its antioxidative effect as it contains a good amount of vitamin C.⁶ The most important characteristic of guava is that it has a low glycemic index (12–24) which is a rating system for foods containing carbohydrates on how they affect the level of insulin. In other words, it shows the effect of any food on your blood glucose level when that food is eaten on its own.⁷

Guava consumption and blood sugar level

Various studies have shown that regular intake of fruits is associated with reduced risk of diabetic complications. Many of them approached the presumption that guava could have a lowering effect on blood sugar levels. These studies were first conducted on rats and as the results were promising. Recently, the human studies were done. All the recent research now believes that there is a link between eating guava and lowering blood sugar levels as it has the following features:^7,8,9 

• Low glycemic index⁷: that helps in lowering blood sugar levels when eaten 
• Lowers insulin sensitivity: by acting on a certain receptor in the human cells leading to improved insulin function in diabetes type 2 patients¹⁰
• Pectin: a soluble fibre that delays the intestinal absorption of glucose⁴ 
• Potassium: which is important for maintaining normal blood pressure levels thus having an indirect effect on blood sugar levels 
• Magnesium: Mg favours insulin-dependent uptake of glucose in peripheral tissues (i.e., muscles, fat & cardiac tissue) decreasing blood sugar level⁴
• Antihyperlipidemic effect: it was found that guava lowers both triglycerides and serum cholesterol which have a great effect on increasing blood sugar levels^4,8,9,11
• Anti-glycation effect: The Polyphenolic content of guava (Tannic acid and Gallic acid) has an anti-inflammatory reaction that helps decrease the inflammation that accompanies diabetes⁴

How to introduce guava in your diet

Both The National Health Institution (NHS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend that each person should have 5 portions of fruits and vegetables a day for significant health benefits and that these portions would protect against some diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, strokes and some cancers as it boosts immunity and avoids malnutrition.^12,13 Therefore, guava can be consumed as one of the five portions needed per day, either eaten as a whole with peel or without the peel, drinking its leaf tea or even eating it as a paste-like jam. Additionally, a Japanese study along with others concluded that guava leaf tea is safe to drink and effective in lowering blood sugar level,s especially in prediabetic and diabetic patients.¹¹ However, due to its significant sugar component, guava should be reasonably eaten in diabetic patients to avoid weight gain and thus poor glycemic control. It could be either taken as a snack between meals or a sweet treat after meals, enjoying its goodness and freshness. Of course as with any fruit, after removing the seeds, guava can be blended with some water or milk and transformed into a delicious juice that anyone can enjoy, but this would deprive you of the value of eating fibres that enhance both satiety and fullness that is needed for weight control as an instance.

Other health benefits of guava

The merit of Guava fruit is not only confined to lowering blood sugar levels but it also has many other health benefits, all in this marvellous fruit.

Due to its antioxidative effect, guava boosts immunity and can help in reducing inflammatory responses that are the main pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases such as gout and hypertension.¹⁴ Hypertensive patients can get the advantage that guava has antihypertensive effects as mentioned in some research because of its antihyperlipidemic and antioxidative effects. ⁹ Additionally because of its high potassium content, it aids in normalizing high blood pressure and improving the overall cardiac health. Last but not least, If you want a fruit that promotes digestion and helps in constipation, then it's guava for sure. It contains pectins, soluble fibres that loosen stool and are easily absorbed, not forgetting their effect on decreasing glucose absorption.

As for the guava leaves in particular, It has an antimicrobial effect that hinders harmful gastrointestinal bacteria and normalizes its flora, and in addition to its antihypertensive properties when drinking its extract as a tea. Some tests revealed that due to its antioxidative effect, guava leaves help in acne treatment when used in the long run.^15,16

Several recent studies suggest that guava leaves are a remedy for many women's health problems such as menstrual disorders, postpartum hemorrhage and uterine contractions.¹⁶

Precautions and considerations

Balance is the key to any aspect of life. Overall, guava fruit is safe when eaten in a balanced amount and no serious side effects were reported, while the leaves extract are doubtful in some cases. As with any sugar-containing fruit, guava should be reasonably eaten as it contains a considerable amount of carbohydrates that might increase blood sugar levels, especially in diabetic patients. There is no solid information that guava leaves hold some possible interactions when applied to the skin or may even cause eczema in some people.¹⁷ However, Diabetic patients who are on antidiabetic medications should precautiously take guava fruit as it lowers blood sugar levels along with their medications and consult their physicians first. Monitoring potassium levels in cardiac or renal patients who eat Guava is as helpful as it contains potassium. If anyone experiences diarrhea after eating it, it should be stopped too. It is always helpful to follow the advice of your physician. 

FAQ's

Is there any risk when eating Guava?

There are no confirmed side effects to Guava. It is recommended that you consult your physician before adding it to your diet just to be sure about the quantity.

Which is better: to eat the Guava as a whole or have it as a juice?

Either as a whole or as juice, there is no difference in having Guava in terms of the amount of nutrients taken. It only differs in the fibre content as it is known that any fruit when converted to juice loses its fibres.

Can I eat Guava to decrease my blood pressure while I am Diabetic?

Yes you can, in fact, you would benefit from it to help normalize both blood pressure and sugar levels due to its antihyperlipidemic effect but this is not an alternative to your drugs.

Is Guava safe in pregnancy/lactation?

There are not enough studies proving any adverse effects of Guava on Pregnancy or lactation. Consult your physician first.

Summary

Guava is a profitable addition to anyone's diet. Whether it is pink, red or white guava, whether as a whole or a juice, they all possess numerous health benefits that everybody would love to have. It has been used as a traditional remedy in many cultures, nowadays it is available in most markets for its sweetness and merits. It contains a good amount of nutrients such as vitamin C, Iron, potassium and pectin. In addition to that, it carries antihypertensive, and antilipidemic effects. Moreover, Guava exhibits some effects on lowering blood sugar levels and that was evident in many recent research. For using guava to decrease blood sugar levels, it's better to consult your physician to help you integrate it properly and effectively into your diet, and it should never substitute your medications if you are taking some.