Acerola a Berry with a Healing Punch

Healing power :

Strengthen the immune system

Speed wound healing

Prevent heart disease

Protect against cancer

Never heard of acerola? That's no surprise, this small, red, cherry like fruit, which is native to the West Indies and now grown primarily in Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands, is harder to find in the United States than a can of beef stew in a vegetarian's pantry.

That's unfortunate, because acerola happens to be the richest natural source of vitamin C in the world. This means that this fruit can benefit the body in a variety of ways, from fortifying the immune system to helping prevent age related conditions like heart disease and cancer.

"In Puerto Rico and even the warmer states such as Florida, people grow acerola in their backyards," says Arturo Cedeno-Maldonado, Ph.D., professor of plant physiology at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez. One variety of acerola is quite sweet and can be eaten like grapes. Another variety is lip-smashingly tart but higher in vitamin C. It's often made into jams, jellies, and juices.

A WEALTH OF C

Many of us step up our consumption of orange juice or grapefruit halves at the first sign of the sniffles It makes sense because vitamin C, found in a bun-dance in citrus fruits, has been shown to help relieve cold symptoms.

Similarly, people in the Caribbean or West Indies might pop a few fresh acerola berries to heal off illness. A single Acerola berry provides 80 milligrams of vitamin C, 133 percent of Daily Value. To put this in perspective, an entire orange has about 70 milligrams. Even Guava, one of the richest natural sources of vitamin C, can’t compete. One acerola berry contains almost 10 times more vitamin C than a similar amount of guava.

The benefits of vitamin C go beyond relieving cold symptoms. It also helps the body make collagen, a tough, fibrous protein that helps build connective tissue, skin, bones, and teeth and that plays a role in wound healing. Vitamin C also helps protect the body from free radicals thought to contribute to the development of cancer, heart disease, and many other conditions.

Getting the most

Enjoy the sweet taste. Even thought the tart varieties of acerola contain more vitamin C than their sweeter kin, it hardly matters. “The sweet fruit also contains a huge amount of vitamin C.” says Dr. Cedeno-Maldonado.

Buy it processed. Specialty markets in Puerto Rico carry acerola jams, jellies, and juices. Although they contain somewhat less vitamin C than the fresh berries, they’re still very good sources. “These products have been found to retain from 60 to 80 percent of their original vitamin C, “says Dr. Cedeno-Maldonado.

Treat the berries gently. Dried and crushed acerola berries can be used to make tea. Unfortunately, boiling or steeping the berries in hot water can reduce the amount of vitamin C by about half. So to get the most vitamin C per cup, you may want to add extra berries.

Bonus :

IN THE KITCHEN

Since acerola isn't commercially available in this country, most cooks aren't sure how to use it. But if you're lucky enough to have some growing in your backyard, here are a few tips for getting it ready.

- You can use fresh acerola just as you would other types of berries, in jellies, jams, pies, or other fruit desserts. If  you happen to buy the tart variety, however, be prepared to use a lot of sugar to krrp your mouth from puckering.

- You can crush dried acerola with a rolling pin, then add it in small amount to pies, preserves, or fruit butters. it will keep for months when stored in a tightly covered glass jar, as long as you periodically check for and discard berries that are moldy.

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