Guava,guaba, in Surinam-dutch:goejave

This time about  a fruit beloved by many and for some reasons “hated” by others, even the smell of it: the guava,guaba, in Surinam-dutch:goejave
The leaves of guava are an excellent remedy for diarrhea and dysentery [loose stools with mucus and blood, often caused by special bacteria or parasites:[ in case of dysentery consult your doctor as well], it also has antispasmodic, on top of the antimicrobial activities .
Many bacterial species [and parasites] are known to cause diarrhea, including Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli. By the way, also mango has been shown to be quite effective for giardia lamblia
[ girdia lamblia is a parasite which many people "pick up" when traveling-specially- to India ] and which can cause long-lasting diarrhea, abdominal bloating and weight loss]]

Research suggests that alcoholic extracts [so called tinctures have a greater antimicrobial activity than a water extract [so called tea].
If you make a tea then boil the leaves ,it is not enough to throw hot water on the crushed leaves],you have to boil the water and the leaves on a low fire for some 15 minutes or so [keep it covered]
the tea is quite save even in high doses and even in pregnancy [but consult your doctor about this in the last case]

The guava fruit itself is full of good things: high in potassium [good for high blood pressure and for the heart in general],high in vitamin C, high in soluble fiber [which helps to lower pathological high lipids],a good source of caretenoids [good for the eyes, for the prostate, and against various cancers ].
Recently the way guava shows it anti-tumor effect has been substantiated scientifically [.for those who are dealing with this issues: by depressing Tr cells and subsequently shifting to Th 1 cells] .
The guava is also a fine fruit to be used by diabetics and can moderately lower the blood sugar.[mango and kiwi's are also excellent for diabetics ]

Herpes zoster can be treated by a mixture of finely crushed guava leaves, red pepper [pilpel charif adom] and kaolin ["white clay"] [ask how to prepare before using this]

This method I have been using for many years and borrowed it from a publication by the World health organization ,who described the use of this mixture as it is/was used in Africa.

Now a days there is a commercial formula on the market [ zostrix], widely underused in my opinion by doctors, and which contains red pepper [pilpel charif adom].
Much cheaper to prepare it yourself at home!
It would be a wise idea if the formula would include in some form the guava leaves as well.