Hawaiian Beauty Diaries: Soursop

Soursop fruit has been in the media a lot lately because of recent studies that came out that stated that it can cure cancer. Various websites have reported that soursop has certain properties that can kill cancer cells 10,000 times more than chemotherapy and that it only kills the cancer cells, leaving the healthy cells unharmed.

Soursop trees can be found in Hawaii and if your lucky you'll have one in your back yard like I do. If not, you could probably take a drive and find one along the roadside or a neighbor's yard (but make sure you ask permission first or they'll be huhu with you!). It's a rather unattractive fruit with its porcupine-like skin and strange shapes. It can be found growing on the bark of the tree or hanging from a branch.

My Soursop Tree

Sour Sop is a fleshy white fruit on the inside with many black seeds. It's sweet and tangy and has a taste unlike anything else. You do not eat the spiky skin. Most people like to eat it when it's ripe (slightly soft to the touch and gushy), however, I like to eat it when it is still young and crunchy, which most people don't realize you can do. The young fruit can be sliced and looks similar to the lotus root and is crunchy like jicama. Ripe soursop also makes for a delicious juice, which one should drink immediately after for the full health benefits.

Young Soursop sliced in half and soursop leaves

Young Soursop Fruit whole and sliced (similar to jicama)

Soursop smoothie from Chinatown, Honolulu, HI

Mai Store in Chinatown, my favorite place for fresh fruit smoothies

Sour Sop has many health benefits. It can alleviate:

migraine headaches
diarrea
high blood pressure
insomnia
diabetes
inflammation
cancer
herpes simplex virus
stress/depression
gout
back pain
acne

I would say that Sour Sop is a miracle fruit that is good for overall health in general and not just what has been listed and reported. I know that within my own family it has worked wonders. For example, my elderly uncle on Kauai was in poor health; his arteries were clogged and he was scheduled last year to have surgery at Queen's Medical Center (QMC) to remove a kidney stone. He began drinking Soursop tea 2 to 3 times a day. The week of his scheduled surgery, he had xrays done at QMC, a normal formality before surgery. To his doctors amazement, his kidney stone had completely vanished and his arteries were clear and no longer blocked. Needless to say, his surgery was canceled and the Soursop tea had cured him!! I also have a friend who lives in San Jose, California, who's uncle had stage 4 throat cancer and was being fed through a tube because he couldn't swallow. He too started drinking the Soursop tea and now he can eat solid food on his own and is cancer free.

If someone you know is suffering from cancer or any kind of ailments it doesn't hurt to try eating Soursop fruit or drinking Sour Sop tea. Of course, they should always check with their doctor first to make sure it does not interact with any of their medications or medical treatment. Soursop should be eaten as preventive measures from all illnesses.

Soursop tea is very easy to make:

get a hand full of young or mature leaves (as long as they're not old leaves your okay)
leave them out to air dry for about 3 days (or you can use it immediately if needed)
place leaves in a pot of water and boil until it turns dark brown like tea
*you can also use pieces of bark to make the tea along with the leaves

Ratio: