The major guava growing areas are Shariqpur, Kasur, Lahore, Sheikhupora, Sangla Hills, Gujranwala in the Punjab; Kohat, Haripur and Bannu in the North West Frontier Province and Larkana and Hyderabad in Sindh.

The major edible varieties are Safeda, Allahabad, Karela, seedless, and red fleshed. It is eaten raw or in forms of jams and jellies. Guava is a storehouse of nutrients. The health benefits of guava fruit include treatment of diarrhoea, dysentery, constipation, cough, cold, skincare, high blood pressure, weight loss and scurvy etc.

Guava is very rich in astringents which bind up loose bowels in diarrhoea. These astringents are alkaline in nature and have disinfectant and anti-bacterial properties, thus helping in cure of dysentery. Further, other nutrients in guava, such as vitamin C, carotenoids and potassium strengthens and tones up the digestive system and disinfect it. Guava is also beneficial in gastroenteritis.

Guava is one of the richest sources of dietary fibre. Its seeds, if ingested whole or chewed, serve as excellent laxatives. Every way to total health goes through proper digestion and more importantly, proper excretion. Guava ensures both of these.

Juice of raw and immature guavas or decoction of guava-leaves is very helpful in giving relief in cough and cold by loosening cough, reducing mucus, disinfecting the respiratory tract, throat and lungs and inhibiting microbial activity due to its astringent properties.

Guava is the richest in vitamin C and iron which prevent against cold and viral infections. Roasted ripe guava is also used as a remedy against extreme cases of cough and cold and congestion in some countries.

Guavas can help improve skin texture and avoid skin problems more than the best of beauty creams or skin toner gels can do. This is chiefly due to the abundance of astringents in its fruits and in leaves. You can benefit from it either by eating the fruits or by washing skin with the decoction of its immature fruits and leaves. It will tone up and tighten the loosened skin.

In addition to the astringents, guava is very rich in vitamins A, B, C and potassium which are good anti-oxidants and detoxifiers and keeps skin glowing and free from aging, wrinkles and other disorders.

Guava helps reduce cholesterol in blood and prevents it from thickening, thereby maintaining fluidity of blood and reducing blood pressure. Studies have shown that food stuffs which lack fibre add to blood pressure, due to quick conversion to sugar. Guava, being very rich in fibre and hypoglycemic in nature, helps reduce blood pressure.

Guava is very helpful for those who want to lose weight without compromising with their intake of proteins, vitamins and fibre. Guava, being very high in roughage and very rich in vitamins, proteins and minerals, but with no cholesterol and less digestible carbohydrates, is very filling and satisfies appetite very easily.

Just have a medium-sized guava in the lunch and you will not feel hungry till night. But ironically, it helps gaining weight in lean and thin people. This is probably due to its richness in nutrients, which keeps metabolism right helping proper absorption of nutrients.

Guava can outdo many other fruits, including orange and other citrus fruits, when it comes to concentration of vitamin C, whose deficiency causes scurvy and which is the only remedy to it. It contains five times the vitamin C in oranges.

Guava also helps control diabetes, protects prostrate, its lypocene reduces the risk of cancer, the juice of leaves cures toothache, swollen gums and oral ulcers, heals wounds when applied externally, convulsions, epilepsy, bacterial infections and so on and so forth.