IT IS somewhat difficult to comprehend how a fruit as amazing as the soursop can be overlooked by so many persons seeking a cure from dangerous debilitating diseases  like cancer or heart diseases , when incontrovertible medical evidence exists regarding the fruit’s  track record as a medical panacea for a variety of illnesses.

Described as a ‘veritable cancer killer,’ a Bangkok website has also alluded to this delicious fruit  as  “having certain properties that kill cancer cells 10,000 times more efficiently than chemotherapy, and “killing only cancer cells, while leaving the healthy cells unharmed.”  The website also said that in cases where soursop has been employed in the fight against cancer, the patient does not suffer the side effects that accompany chemotherapy.
Soursop is also good for ailments of the heart. It contains high percentages of carbohydrates, especially fructose; with large amounts of fibre and  vitamins  B1, and B2, phosphorous, calcium, potassium and Vitamin C – an antioxidant that is good for boosting the immune system and slowing down the aging process.  Because of its effects on the immune system, the soursop is highly recommended for use by persons with HIV, whose immune systems would have been seriously compromised.
Soursop is very popular in the Caribbean and in Central America among other sub-tropical countries. Almost every family in Guyana has at least one person who has been exposed to the fruit; but were the fruit yet to be served on a platter amongst colourful and sugary tasting fruits like pine apples, mangoes, bananas or oranges, it  would very likely not be first choice for most persons, and this can hardly be disputed.
Throughout the years, it was as though not many people in Guyana knew of the value of the fruit, and so fruit vendors were invariably forced to return home with the bulk of this precious commodity. It sold very slowly, and children were particularly not fond of it.
But increasingly today, the vast majority of Guyanese people are gradually beginning to understand the nutritional value and medicinal properties of the soursop, and are beginning to seek it out. This is so to the extent that the price of soursop now ranges between $1,000 and $2500.,  and there are scores of success stories about persons with some ailment or other having benefitted from its use.
As recently attested to by local herbalist Dr. Edward Peters on one of his call-in programmes,  “Every single part of the soursop has value and can be used to advantage – the fruit, the leaves, the bark, the root, the seeds…”  By this token, it is hoped that Guyanese would now revolutionize their approach to the soursop, and regard and embrace it for all its worth.
THE FRUIT:  When ripe, the soursop makes a delicious cup of fruit, to which some people would add milk, sugar or essence.  It is also used for making ice cream and fruit-flavoured milk shake.  However, because it is rich in Vitamin C, soursop has a natural sour flavour, and can be used independently.
THE LEAVES:  When dried, the leaves can be used as a  tea, and are good for controlling high blood pressure, migraine headache, stress; nerve ailment, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, back pain, diarrhoea, cough, and insomnia.
This brief illustration epitomizes the way Guyanese, until recently, viewed the soursop:
A few years ago, a woman who hailed from ‘the countryside’ had died.  For five nights straight, wake was being held in her city home, during which time several relatives and friends moved back and forth, in and out of the home. At least 50 immediate family members had access to the kitchen and dining room.
Throughout that time, a single fat, juicy soursop, brought to the home by a relative from the countryside on the first day, remained in the refrigerator untouched, even though the young lady had made it clear it was to be used up by those interested.
In the meantime, as is the norm at wakes, goodies in the refrigerator would quickly ‘go’, and not least the huge block of cheddar cheese.  It seemed cheese found its way in every conceivable dish, and what a relish it was considered.  But the poor soursop stood still unused. Nobody looked at it.  At the end of the five days, as relatives packed and were heading for their respective homes, it seemed to me like everybody was turning their back on the poor soursop.
Not wishing to make the giver feel bad, I decided to wash   the fruit, cut it up and place it on a platter, then announce that those who wished could partake of it. To my amazement, hardly anyone showed any interest.  Then one child decided she would have some, but not without milk, a teaspoonful of sugar, essence and cinnamon powder were added.  The second child did not ask for such garnishings, but bit a piece, then asked why it tasted like cottonwool.
Finally, an adult volunteered, “Leh me help you get rid of this thing, cause like you not making headway.” She took a piece.   Another chided, “You can try with dat thing there. At home [in the countryside] we don’t really eat it. We share it out to the neighbours and people who pass by.”
It was then that I realized how poorly we, as parents, have been doing in terms of sensitizing and educating our children and other family members on the nutritional value and wonder-working medicinal properties of herbs and fruits we sometimes tend to take for granted.
At the end of five days of literally witnessing a soursop languish in cold storage, I could not help reflecting on a nursery song I sang as a child in school:   “The cheese stands alone. The cheese stands alone.  Hey! Ho! Meh lady ho; the cheese stands alone. “
But in this case, it was not the cheese standing alone.  Of course the slab of Cheddar Cheese had been used up in little time.  What would be more applicable in this case would have been to sing: “The soursop stands alone; the soursop stands alone…”