Currently, persimmons are beginning to reach the shelves of most grocery stores and Asian markets.  The Latin word for persimmons means “food of the gods.” Persimmons are powerhouse foods offering 55% percent of daily-recommended Vitamin A in one fruit.  The fruit is also a good source of Vitamin C, manganese, fiber and B-Vitamins! (1)

Persimmons are nutritional powerhouses that are known as “food for the gods.”

This one little fruit also contains phytonutrients, flavonoids, antioxidants, gallocatechins, and betulinic acid that act as a tumor inhibitor.   This powerhouse fruit has been used around the world in studies to demonstrate natural healing for many different ailments. (1)

A 2011 study reports that fisetin found in persimmons induces cell death in breast cancer cells.  Fisetin has also been named in other studies as a contributor to cell death in prostate and colon cancer. (1,2)

Persimmons are more effective than apples at reducing heart disease risk.

A 2001 study reports that eating one persimmon a day is more effective than an apple a day for reducing the risk of heart disease.  The study reported that persimmons contain twice as much dietary fiber as apples, more pheonlics than apples, higher levels of sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, and manganese.  Eating one medium sized persimmon a day is enough to help fight atherosclerosis. (3)

A study from Japan reports that persimmons helped alleviate diabetes.  Researchers discovered that persimmon peel extract improved insulin resistance in rats when the extract was supplemented with their diet for a 12-week period. (4)

A 2008 study reports that eating persimmons prevents hardening of the arteries.  Another article published in Advances in Horticulture Science reports that persimmons help slow down absorption and metabolism of alcohol, thereby preventing hangovers. (5)

Traditional Chinese Medicine reports that persimmons help lubricate the lungs, treat bronchitis, ease coughs, battles constipation, diarrhea, dysentery, hemorrhoids, and ulcers. (4)

It appears that this fruit may be one to add to your one a day raw foods when they are in season!

Sources for this article include:

(1) foodfacts.mercola.com
(2) foodforbreastcancer.com
(3) www.sciencedaily.com
(4) www. Natural News
(5) healthyeating.sfgate.com

Image Source: https://flic.kr/p/5HanJG

Article originally published on RawFoodWorld.com republished with permission.