MEDICAL NOTES: GUYABANO - MIRACLE CURE FOR CANCER
That the guyabano has anti-cancer properties is one gross misinformation that has been circulating in the Internet for years now. More than two years ago, I was sent an email by a cancer-survivor friend of mine who attributes her survival from breast cancer to her regular intake of guyabano juice. About eight years earlier, she was diagnosed with stage I cancer of the breast for which she underwent surgery and chemotherapy. She started drinking guyabano juice after her chemotherapy and has since credited the fruit, rather than her doctors, for her apparent cure.
When I received her email, out of curiosity, I did a library and Internet search for guyabano. I was amazed with what I found out and wrote an article, which was later published in this column, about the alleged "miraculous properties" of guyabano. Nothing much has changed regarding this issue since, so most of what I am going to write herewith I have told readers before.
Guyabano is the Filipino term for the graviola tree (Annona reticulate). Its delectable fruitis also locally referred to as guyabano but is known as custard apple or sour sop in English.
Folklore attributes some medicinal properties to guyabano. Supposedly, its unripe fruit can relieve diarrhea, its leaves can eliminate worms when taken internally and heal wounds when applied topically, and a concoction of its roots can reduce fever.
