What is Guarana?
Guarana, also known as Paullinia cupana, is like a climbing plant mostly common in Brazil. The seeds from its fruit are what it’s best known for and have large leaf and flower clusters around it. The seeds of this plant are the size of a coffee bean. They are also used as a dietary supplement or as a herb.
The concentration of caffeine in a Guarana seed is similar to that of a coffee bean. This is why they are used as a component in energy drinks. Its color ranges from brown to red, and the black seed has white arils around them, making it look similar to an eyeball when cutting open. Native Brazilians have used this seed for extensive health benefits.
What are the benefits of Guarana?
There are many health benefits that a guarana plant holds in it. The guarana extract is utilized by processing its seed into guarana powder to avail its therapeutic properties. The following are the top health benefits of this Native Brazilian plant.
What makes Guarana productive with benefits or it’s caffeine is antioxidant components. These have many benefits and advantages for the human body, both internal and external. Because of this, specifical guarana seed or any other guarana form has multiple benefits, and people have been using it for over centuries.
1. Rich in Antioxidants
A guarana plant is loaded with compounds rich in antioxidants that are caffeine, tannins, theobromine, catechins, and saponins. The antioxidant properties of Guarana are similar to green tea.
Why antioxidants are important because they neutralize free radicals in our body that are harmful molecules. In case these molecules link to our cells, they can cause deadly diseases, namely heart attacks and cancer.
2. Promotes weight loss
Weight loss is probably on the bucket list of a lot of you. Obesity, in the case, goes out of hand and can cause many diseases that are harmful to your health and should be prevented.
The caffeine concentration in Guarana boosts your body’s metabolism, which in turn allows your body to lose calories. Not only this, it even aids the production of fat cells and promotes the growth of cells that slow it down.
As a result, it reduces the growth of obesity in your body, allowing you to lose weight without having to put in a lot of effort.
3. Treats Constipation and Diarrhea
Guarana has been used for centuries to operate and improve the body’s digestive system. The fact that it is rich in antioxidants, specifically tannins is what helps it to treat and relieve chronic diarrhea.
Tannins waterproof the walls of the digestive lining, restricting the limit of water secreted into the bowels.
The caffeine in Guarana acts as a natural laxative that stimulates peristalsis activating the contractions and relieving constipation by pushing food contents into your rectum.
4. Improves skin appearance
The antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of Guarana have allowed it to be popular in the cosmetic industry. They are used as a significant component of many of our everyday products, namely soaps, lotion, anti-aging creams, and hair products.
On its own, it aids the blood flow to your skin through the caffeine. Guarana also prevents skin damage, cheek sagging, wrinkles, and tightens the skin.
5. Helps with Heart Diseases
This extraordinary plant also boosts your heart health and reduces the risk of heart disease. Production of blood clots is prevented as the antioxidants aid the blood flow. It also prevents the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, which builds up plaque in your arteries.
6. Improves focus making you learn better
As mentioned earlier, Guarana is a popular ingredient in energy drinks. It helps maintain focus and improve one’s mental health. The adenosine in your body helps your brain to relax. Caffeine fights adenosine, reducing its effect, and making your body active and energetic.
Not only this, but it also improves your ability to learn better and remember. People who consume appropriate doses of Guarana tend to focus, learn, and remember better as it can also be said to be a brain-boosting compound.
7. Acts as a Pain Relief
Its caffeine content provides this property of Guarana. As it binds the adenosine receptors, caffeine acts as a pain reliever and reduces the pain sensation. You may say Guarana being an ingredient in many pain-relieving medications because it enhances the effect of these medications.
How to properly use guarana extract?
Now that we all have talked about all the significant benefits of guarana extract, it is also essential to know what is the best way to use Guarana to avail of all of this benefit. Guarana is commonly available in its guarana extract form or its guarana extract powder form.
Many companies make products that contain Guarana, in a form best suitable to its need. For instance, to boost energy, it is found in supplements in powder firms. BulkSupplements is a perfect example of this. This supplement has 22% caffeine in it and 200 mg of guarana extract.
Companies prepare these products with the perfect ratio required for it because Over or low dose can probably not work as efficiently as needed. This is why you should always prefer reading the concentration of Guarana the product contains to meet your needs or may consult a doctor.
As BulkSupplements, companies must always come up with warnings printed on products and the required dose, so you don’t suffer through any side effects.
You can also buy guarana seed powder on its own. But again, you must take a suitable dose to start your day or in the middle of it. Also, note that Guarana on its own is very bitter and foul-tasting, so you might not want to shove a spoon full of it in your mouth on its own. This is why you must always buy Guarana in the form of powder, medication, cream or any other way required as per recommendation.