Summer Fruit

With summer almost here I'm more in the mood than ever for fresh fruit. Here is a list of summer fruit with some healing qualities from Eat Drink Better:

Apricots: Great for lung conditions and asthma, used to help treat anemia due to their high copper and cobalt content.

Bananas: Help to lubricate the intestines, treat ulcers, detoxify the body, and manage sugar cravings; are rich in potassium (which helps hypertension).

Cherries: Slightly warming in nature; increase overall body energy, remedy arthritis and rheumatism, and are rich in iron, which improves the blood.

Grapefruits: Treat poor digestion, increase appetite during pregnancy, alleviate intestinal gas and reduce mucus conditions of the lungs.

Papayas: Tone the stomach, act as digestive aid, moisten the lungs and alleviate coughing; contain carpaine, an anti-tumor compound.

Raspberries: Benefit the liver and kidneys, cleanse blood of toxins, regulate menstrual cycles, treat anemia and can promote labor at childbirth.

I also love Mangos which are a good source of vitamins A and C, Potassium and beta carotene. They are also high in fiber and low in calories. I like combining them with fruit that isn't too sweet like strawberries. Strawberries are high in vitamin C and are also an excellent source of vitamin K and manganese, folic acid, potassium, riboflavin, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, copper, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids. One of my favorite fruits is the Cherimoya. I first tasted this wonderful fruit in Ecuador when our cab driver bought one off a street vendor and cut it for us in the cab. It was the most wonderful thing I had ever tasted. I've had a few since then but the taste has never been the same and they are pretty hard to find and also very expensive. I guess I need to go back to Ecuador.

I also love blackberries but the ones I buy in the store are never as good as the ones my friend used to pick for me on the side of the road when we were travelling in the northwest.