Camu Camu in Summary

What is Camu Camu?

Camu Camu is a small-growing plant found throughout the Amazon Rainforest of Peru. It grows mainly in swampy or flooded areas and its height reaches up to 3 m tall. This plant produces round, light orange-colored fruits, about the size of a cherry, which contain significant amounts of vitamin C.

The extraordinarily high vitamin C content, in the order of 2–3% of fresh weight, and a large number of other nutrients, are the most important properties of the Camu Camu fruit and make it a one-of-a-kind food.

What is Camu Camu good for?

The Camu Camu fruit has one of the highest recorded amounts of natural vitamin C, providing over 2,700 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams of fruit. It is rich in vitamins, minerals and complex amino acids that aid in the absorption of vitamin C. It is also an excellent source of potassium, providing more than 700 mg per kg of fruit.

Benefits:

• Boosts and strengthens the immune system
• Supports the body’s natural detoxification processes
• Promotes the generation of healthy levels of white blood cells
• Supports the upper respiratory organs
• Strengthens the nervous system
• Improves the circulatory system
• Aids in the collagen synthesis of the body
• Acts as a strong antioxidant
• Promotes hormone synthesis
• Supports iron absorption
• Promotes normal cell replication in the gastrointestinal tract

How does Camu Camu work?

The main benefit of Camu Camu is related to its extremely high vitamin C content. It has more vitamin C than acerola or any other known fruit on the market. While this is a good thing, by itself it would not make the plant as healthy as it is.

Any food supplement of synthetic or natural source may offer similar levels of vitamin C. The proven health benefits we associate with vitamin C are actually created by the intricate interaction of numerous supportive co-factors found only in whole food.

The difference is found within the unique composition of nutrients available within Camu Camu, and in the possibility of keeping all those nutrients together with a very high vitamin C content during production, if done right.

Such a whole-food product has very good bioavailability, which means that the nutrients can be easily absorbed by the body. It will further provide all the health benefits which the Camu Camu plant has to offer. This goes beyond the health effect of other sources of vitamin C.

The vitamin C provided through such a whole-food Camu Camu powder is a highly effective antioxidant. Even in small amounts, it can help protect molecules in the body, such as proteins, fats, carbohydrates, DNA and RNA, from damage by free radicals that can be caused by normal metabolic processes and exposure to environmental toxins.

Vitamin C is also known to be able to regenerate other antioxidants such as vitamin E.

What does Camu Camu contain?

A reason why this fruit is so highly concentrated in vitamin C is because it thrives in lush rainforest soil enriched by the floodwaters of the Amazon Basin. This fruit contains:

• On average, forty times more vitamin C than an orange
• Ten times as much iron
• Three times as much niacin
• Two times more riboflavin, vitamin B2
• Fifty percent more phosphorus
• Potassium
• Calcium
• Zinc
• Bitter substances
• Amino acids, including valine, leucine and serine
• Essential oils such as limonene and pinene

This list can easily be continued. No other fruit has a similarly dense nutrient profile. It is therefore important to highlight that not only the vitamin C content, but also the “whole fruit”, is important for its beneficial properties.

The production process should therefore not be focused on the vitamin C only, but first of all should be as careful as possible to keep whatever there is in Camu Camu.

Another measurable detail which can be observed is the very high ORAC value of Camu Camu, which means that it is also a very good source for antioxidants.

Is Camu Camu safe?

Yes, it is a fruit which has been consumed for a very long time and therefore has a very long safety history. Camu Camu by itself:

• Is a food
• Has no toxic actions
• Has no side effects
• Has no special risk for overdose and can be consumed as any food
• Is good for children, adults and elders

Other things to know

In the 1930s, Dr. Szent-Gyorgyi won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for identifying vitamin C and all its many health benefits. Although he successfully isolated the molecule ascorbic acid in his research, his studies clearly demonstrated the vastly superior benefits of consuming whole foods rich in vitamin C.

Even though he discovered ascorbic acid, he did not recommend its use in isolation. Camu Camu is considered one of the best natural sources of vitamin C.