Camu camu: Ingredient #57

Do you know what's in those Pops? The daily whole food multi we take?

73 Ingredients.

No, nothing synthetic, No artificial colors or anything else fake or toxic. Just 73 things to boost your health.

Here's #57:

Camu camu. A small purple-red fruit from a small tree that grows in the Amazon rain forest. This nutritious fruit has extremely high amounts of Vitamin C (2.4–3.0 grams per 100 grams of fruit), as well as significant amounts of potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and B vitamins.

Vitamin C is not only the most important antioxidant obtained from food, it is also a potent anti-inflammatory agent that can protect against numerous chronic diseases. Moreover, camu camu exerts more powerful healing effects than synthetic supplements with equivalent vitamin C content. One reason for this effect is that camu camu contains numerous other antioxidant and anti-inflammatory substances such as carotenoids and anthocyanines that appear to amplify its healing effects. In addition, the high levels of potassium found in camu camu increase vitamin C absorption.

Adequate amounts of vitamin C are essential for healthy connective tissue, which includes skin, blood vessels, bones ligaments, and tendons. People with low levels of vitamin C suffer from poor wound healing and in extreme cases, scurvy. Chronically low levels of vitamin C can contribute to the development of cancer and cardiovascular disease. By removing free radicals, vitamin C can cancel out the cell-damaging effects of free radicals, providing protection from heart disease, cancers, and numerous other age-related diseases like macular degeneration and cataracts.

The extremely high nutritional content of camu camu means that it has many other health-promoting properties. Antidepressive, antiviral (herpes, HIV), and memory enhancement are among its biological effects. This fruit has been long used by people in traditional Amazonian societies, and it beginning to be cultivated on a large scale so that its health benefits can be enjoyed by all.

References

Zapata SM, Dufour JM. Camu-camu Myrciaria dubia (HBK) McVaugh: Chemical composition of fruit. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. Volume 61 Issue 3, Pages 349 – 351.

Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. [Online Database] 08 May 2009.

Inoue T, Komoda H, Uchida T, Node K. Tropical fruit camu-camu (Myrciaria dubia) has anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties. J Cardiol. 2008 Oct;52(2):127-32. Epub 2008 Jul 29

Justi KC, Visentainer JV, Evelázio de Souza N, et al. Nutritional composition and vitamin C stability in stored camu-camu (Myrciaria dubia) pulp. Arch Latinoam Nutr. 2000 Dec;50(4):405-8.

Li Y, Schellhorn HE. New developments and novel therapeutic perspectives for vitamin C. J Nutr. 2007 Oct;137(10):2171-84.

Did you get your Camu Camu today?