In the heart of the Amazon rainforest, a small village nestled. There, lived a kind and peaceful couple, but they had no children. The kind spirit took pity on their misfortune, and they had a son – a cheerful, smiling child who was always ready to help and never refused anyone. The whole village loved him. But the evil spirit envied the love that surrounded him, turned into a poisonous snake, and mortally stung him. The grief was universal. The kind spirit came to the rescue again. He planted the left eye of the universal favorite in the forest, and gave the right one to his parents, telling him to bury it under the hut, near the dwelling. An unusual plant grew from it. Its fruits resembled wide-open black eyes of the deceased, and the beneficial properties reminded of his kind soul.
That’s how the amazing guarana plant appeared on their lands, as the beautiful legend of the South American tribes Maués, Tupis, and Guarani says. Not everything in it is fiction — something is quite real. Indeed, the fruits are so similar to human eyes that it is scary to look at them. And thanks to its beneficial properties, the plant is invariably included in the TOP-10 superfoods. However, official medicine is in no hurry to classify it as a medicinal plant. Why?
What is it
Guarana is an evergreen vine that wraps around trees, or a shrub. It can rise to a height of 10 m. The main area of its cultivation is the Amazonian lowland in South America.
Description
It is distinguished by dark branches, oblong large leaves with jagged edges, and large reddish-white flowers that grow with whole bundles (inflorescences). From the third year, it begins to bear fruit: the fruits are about the size of hazelnuts, covered with a thin skin of bright yellow or grayish-green color with a blood-red top. When ripe, the fruit bursts, revealing a seed inside (black or dark purple) the size of a large grape, which resembles an eye. Fruiting occurs in the winter months. from the age of 5, one bush gives up to 3 kg of harvest.
The fruits can compete with coffee beans. After all, they contain twice as much caffeine. This is how the plant protects itself from pathogens, since at such a high concentration this substance becomes toxic.
Seed processing
The fruits are harvested and soaked to separate the seeds from the pulp (otherwise it begins to ferment and quickly becomes moldy). The seeds are washed, dried, and fried to remove the skin. The final stage is grinding into a fine powder. It is the powder that serves as the extract added to food products and biologically active food supplements. Local peoples dilute it with water or milk — the resulting drink resembles coffee or cocoa in taste and properties.
Production
The first mention of guarana dates back to the 16th century, the plant was mentioned in the chronicles of Spanish authors. The first to use the fruits for commercial purposes was the Brazilian physician Luis Pereira Barreto. In 1906, he launched the production of carbonated water based on it, and then the famous champagne brand — “Guarana Champagne Antarctica”.
In the middle of the 20th century, the fruits began to be actively used in the food industry. They are used to produce not only energy drinks, but also tea, chocolate, spreads, sweets, lollipops, and chewing gum. In Brazil, it is generally difficult to find a product that does not contain guarana extract, from breakfast cereals to toothpaste. In South America, it serves as the main source of caffeine.
Today, guarana is promoted primarily as a natural fat burner for weight loss and in sports nutrition, with a psychostimulating and tonic effect. However, the degree of its effectiveness is questioned by many, including official medicine.
Origin of the name. It came from Portuguese: “guarana” is translated from the Maués language (the people of the Amazon) as “fruit — like the human eye”.
Composition
The value of guarana lies in its seeds, which contain a large amount of caffeine. Some sources refer to it as guaranine. Its properties are identical to caffeine extracted from coffee beans. But here its content is twice as high: 20 mg per 100 g of natural raw materials.
However, caffeine is not the only valuable component in the plant. The seeds also contain other beneficial biologically active substances:
- xanthine alkaloids (including theobromine and theophylline, which are natural heart stimulants);
- polyphenols (flavonoid antioxidants — catechin and epicatechin);
- amides (derivatives of oxygen-containing acids);
- saponins;
- vitamins A, E, and almost the entire group B (of which thiamine, niacin, and riboflavin prevail);
- many minerals: zinc, magnesium, manganese, potassium, iron, sodium, phosphorus, calcium, copper;
- tannins.
It is a plant protein product with zero calories. Contains no carbohydrates. Fat content is minimal.
Interesting fact. Some South American tribes valued the beneficial properties of guarana so much that they used it as a means of payment.
Benefit
Many dietary supplements are produced from guarana seeds. They are most often promoted as energy drinks (in sports nutrition) and fat burners (in dietetics). In addition to these main properties, they credit it with a number of other health benefits.
For health
The seeds of guarana have long been used by South American tribes to treat various diseases. Today, some studies partially confirm its beneficial properties for health. However, there are still not enough experiments and tests to officially recognize the plant as a medicinal plant and use it in pharmacology.
It is believed that guarana seed extract has the following therapeutic effects on the body:
- relieves various pain syndromes, from headaches to toothaches;
- reduces fever, alleviating the condition during fever;
- eliminates spasms;
- strengthens the immune system, reducing the risk of bacterial infections;
- relieves fatigue, increases performance;
- helps with arthritis, reducing inflammation in the joints;
- improves digestion, relieves diarrhea;
- cures hangovers;
- reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases: atherosclerosis, ischemia, heart attack;
- normalizes well-being with dysentery and neuralgia.
Improved cognitive abilities are another property that manufacturers, consumers, and even scientists have noted. With regular intake of the extract, memory improves, concentration increases, and learning is optimized (the results are quite noticeable).
The calming properties are often mentioned: it is said to relieve stress, improve sleep, and strengthen the heart muscle. Although this is a rather controversial point. After all, the main effect of guarana is psychostimulating. This means that it, on the contrary, activates the mental activity of the body, relieves fatigue, drowsiness, and lethargy, increases efficiency and muscle tone, speeds up reactions, and sharpens hearing and vision.
For weight loss
Most often, guarana is offered for weight loss — as part of fat-burning and appetite suppressant dietary supplements. Theoretically, the extract from its seeds should indeed contribute to weight loss, since it:
- has a tonic effect, promotes physical activity, which allows you to burn excess calories;
- improves digestion, increasing the absorption of healthy nutrients and preventing the deposition of fats;
- has a lipolytic effect (due to caffeine);
- speeds up metabolism;
- reduces appetite, saving you from hunger during a diet;
- prevents the appearance of cellulite;
- relieves swelling, removing excess fluid from the body (has a mild diuretic effect);
- relieves emotional stress, preventing compulsive overeating;
- normalizes liver function, accelerating the body’s detoxification process and elimination of toxins and other harmful substances.
