Superfood Spotlight: Camu Camu Berry Powder
by Alexandra Mamalider on Apr 13, 2020
Many of us forget about the importance of certain vitamins and minerals until we’ve fallen ill or caught a cold. It’s only then that we scavenge our cupboards or head to the pharmacy to pick up some vitamin C and other cold treating supplements. We’re here to ask you this: Why wait for illness to happen? Why wait until we’ve already gotten sick? Why not incorporate immune boosting foods on a regular basis in order to prevent getting sick in the first place! If you agree but don’t know where to start - we recommend starting with some camu camu powder.
What is it?
Camu camu is a shrub found in areas of the Amazon Rainforest, specifically Peru and Brazil. This camu camu shrub produces berries resembling cherries, however despite looking similar to these sweet berries, camu camu berries are quite tart and sour in taste. This tart, sour taste is the result of the powerful concentration of phytochemicals, mineral and amino acids found in the fruit.
Name: Myrciaria dubia
AKA: Camu Camu, camucamu, cacari or camocamo
Organic Remedy: Superfruit, berry, anxiodant
Plant Family: Myrtaceae
Native To: The Amazon Rainforest in Peru and Brazil
Supplement Forms: Powder and capsule
Traditional Uses: Commonly ground into a powder and mixed with other food
How much vitamin C?
Each serving (1.5 tsp) of our camu camu powder contains approximately 240mg of whole food vitamin C. To put that in perspective, in Canada the recommended daily intake of vitamin C is 90mg. That means you’re getting 267% of the RDI of vitamin C in just 5g of our camu camu powder!
Not enough vitamin C can lead to:
- Weakened immune system
- Gingivitis
- Easy bruising
- Iron deficiency/ anemia
- Dry hair and skin
- Swollen joints
Vitamin C is essential for:
- Neutralizing free radicals and reducing the risk of inflammation and disease
- Synthesizing collagen, which can lead to stronger bones and joints and glowing skin
- Producing L-carnitine (an amino acid that helps turn fat into energy) and neurotransmitters
- Iron absorption
- A strengthened immune system
- Heart health
How to take camu camu:
Traditionally, camu camu berries were dried and ground into a powder before being mixed with other foods for consumption. Not much has changed! Our camu camu berry powder is perfect for boosting your smoothies, juices and water, as a topping on your oatmeal or yogurt and even added to energy balls and raw desserts. Although you could cook with it, we recommend not incorporating it over high heat in order to preserve as much of the nutrients as possible. Looking for some inspiration? Check out this camu-nade smoothie or these camu carrot cake bites!
Rather take it in one go?
Although our camu camu berry powder isn’t unpleasant to taste, some people find it easier to take vitamins and supplements in capsule form - enter our camu c caps! Basically, we’ve taken our camu camu berry powder and capsuled it! These are perfect for a boost of on-the-go vitamin C. No fillers, additives or preservatives. Check out our camu camu berry capsules here!
