Boost your immunity with guavas this winter

Stay safe from common infections this winter with guavas.

It's winter and this time of the year is synonymous with colds and other illnesses. One of the best ways to keep common infections at bay is to boost your immunity. Your immunity is your defense mechanism that protects your body from numerous bacterial and viral infections. One of the most powerful tools to boost your immunity is to eat guavas a fruit abundantly found during the winters.

How does it help?

Guavas are packed with vitamin C and natural antioxidants. Amazingly, the vitamin C content of guvavas is much higher than the amount found in oranges. Vitamin C helps the white blood cells perform their function of responding quickly to infections, thus boosting one's immunity many fold. (Read: Natural remedies to boost your immune system)

Apart from that, guavas also contain a lot of fiber which has a protective role against high cholesterol and heart disease.

It also contains a lot of vitamin A, an essential compound required to maintain the health of one's mucus membranes. Mucus membranes are the first line of defense when it comes to fighting infections. It traps the organism and destroys it before it can enter the body.

The ripe fruit whose pulp has a pinkish tinge is packed with lycopene. Lycopene plays an important role in protecting the skin and beating damage due to excessive sun exposure. The skin being one's first line of defense against invading organisms makes this property of guvavas essential.

So the next time you feel a cold or viral fever coming on, eat a guavas.

How to eat it for best results

Eating the fruit in its natural state is the best way. If you find the process of eating a raw fruit tedious, try making a smoothie out of it. Take a cup of milk; add one medium size ripe guava to it. To add to the sweetness of the smoothie, include either figs or dates to the mix. Now blend all the ingredients together to make an amazing, health and immunity boosting drink.

This smoothie can be had early in the morning along with your breakfast or as a meal replacement.

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