Photography by LeRoc
Camu camu is a shrub found in Peruvian, Brazilian, Venezuelan, and Colombian rainforests. The fruit and leaves of the plant are used in traditional Chinese medicine as a remedy for many ailments. Moreover, many people in Western countries choose to consume camu camu powder, which still has all of the same health benefits.
Camu camu can be used to treat a wide variety of health issues, including the common cold, chronic fatigue syndrome, and eye issues to name a few. Furthermore, camu camu has a very favorable nutritional profile and may be able to boost the body’s immune system and potentially help to improve the symptoms of other disorders such as asthma, headaches, and osteoarthritis. Some consumers even choose to buy camu camu because it is a natural energy booster. Studies about the health benefits of camu camu are somewhat convincing, although more research is needed to back certain claims.
Why Does Camu Camu Improve Your Health?
Before we dive into some of the confirmed and purported health benefits of camu camu, it is worthwhile to take a look at why camu camu is considered to be a nutritional gem by many people. Camu Camu can improve your health in many ways.
Vitamin C
Camu camu is an excellent source of Vitamin C and is superior to many other types of fruits. It is easily possible to get the recommended amount of daily Vitamin C by consuming camu camu. In fact, camu camu has more than 30 times as much Vitamin C as an orange. This is one of the top reasons why people who consume nutraceutical products choose camu camu over other options.
Antioxidants
Camu camu, like many other types of nutraceutical products, is also abundant in antioxidants. This is one of the main reasons why studies claim that camu camu may be able to help people with multiple types of common health issues that occur due to oxidative stress.
Other Minerals and Nutrients
Camu camu is also abundant in other minerals such as potassium, calcium, zinc, magnesium, manganese, and copper. Camu camu also contains protein and beta carotene. This makes camu camu unique relative to other nutraceutical products that also have Vitamin C and antioxidants.
There are many potential health benefits of camu camu due to the abundance of vitamins and minerals that it contains. Camu camu provides some of the same health benefits as other types of nutraceutical products that are abundant in antioxidants and vitamins. Below are some of the claimed health benefits, along with initial studies.
Weight Loss
Many types of nutraceutical products, such as green tea or garcinia cambogia, can potentially help people to lose weight. Studies investigating the impact of camu camu on weight loss found that the fruit has an abundance of positive attributes. It can help you keep a healthy balance of intestinal flora, essential for a healthy metabolism. Aside from helping you lose weight, including camu camu in your diet will help reduce your chance of developing chronic illnesses associated with being obese. In fact, studies have shown that camu camu may be able to help prevent obesity. Camu camu is a low-calorie, nutritious type of food that can improve your overall health and help with your weight loss goals. We recommend providing camu camu with other types of nutraceutical products, such as green tea or garcinia cambogia.
Improves Cognitive Functioning
Camu camu may also be able to improve your cognitive functioning. Free radicals and oxidative stress can disturb cognitive pathways, which can result in brain fog or less than optimal cognitive functioning. Luckily, camu camu has antioxidative properties, mainly due to its high vitamin C content. Consequently, Camu camu can help to reduce some of this oxidative stress and improve the performance of your brain. Some studies have even ventured further to see if nutraceutical products with antioxidants can help to offset some of the symptoms of various types of mental illnesses.
Camu camu has been shown in studies to have a sedative-like effect on the body, which can help stabilize mood swings and reduce anxiety. High amounts of magnesium and other anti-inflammatory vitamins may be the reason for this essential health benefit, especially for women experiencing depression or menopausal mood swings. However, the specific reason why camu camu does this is not yet clear. We have covered how nutraceutical products such as turmeric can relieve people from depression by reducing oxidative stress to the brain. As a result, camu camu may just be similar to other nutraceutical products that contain antioxidants. However, the relatively high levels of magnesium are an added bonus. We have covered extensively how magnesium is one of the best nutraceutical products for anxiety and depression.
Inflammation, Cholesterol and Blood Pressure
Many people choose to consume nutraceutical products because they can help with common health issues such as inflammation, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. As it turns out, camu camu can likely help with all three of these health issues according to multiple studies.
Reduces Inflammation
Camu camu can help reduce inflammation, and this is not just because of its high vitamin C content. Camu camu is also abundant in anthocyanins, catechins, and flavonols. It offers pain relief and reduces inflammation for persons with arthritis, gout, hemorrhoids, and headaches.
Blood Pressure
Many types of nutraceutical products, especially turmeric, are very popular because they can help lower your blood pressure. Camu camu also has the potential to lower your blood pressure. As a result, randomized controlled trials on human adults have become more popular, as this can help shed light on how much of an impact camu camu has on your blood pressure. Some studies have shown lower levels of both systolic and diastolic blood pressure after people consumed camu camu. At the very least, it is helpful to know that vitamin C consumption is connected with lower blood pressure.
Lower Cholesterol
Finally, one of the previously mentioned studies on camu camu and obesity also showed that camu camu may be able to reduce total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol. The reason is not yet entirely clear, although it is clear that camu camu helps to counter many negative symptoms caused by obesity, which can include high cholesterol levels.
Other Health Benefits of Camu Camu to Monitor
Given that camu camu is an antioxidant abundant in vitamin C and other minerals, it is not surprising to see that there are many other unique health claims being made about camu camu.
Viral Infections
Camu camu may be able to help with viral or bacterial infections because of its nutritional profile. Camu camu is often used for many types of viral infections including shingles and the common cold. Although camu camu is not an adequate treatment for serious medical conditions, it can help to boost the body’s immune system when it is most crucially needed.
Muscle Mass
Camu camu has a unique combination of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and organic compounds, promoting muscle growth and protection. Eating it might be a great post-workout supplement if you want to increase your metabolism and muscle mass.
Improved Vision
Carotenoids are well known for their antioxidant properties, which help protect the eyes. However, they also play other critical functions in the body. Camu’s carotenoids reduce oxidative stress in the eye to keep your vision clear as you get older. This reduces the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts developing.
Assists Digestion
Camu’s dietary fiber content isn’t as noteworthy as its vitamin C content. However, it’s still considerable and may improve your general health by improving your digestive processes or even protecting your heart from the hazards of imbalanced cholesterol levels. Fiber also helps treat diabetes by regulating insulin receptor activation in the body.
Takeaway
If you have read any of our other articles, you will notice that this is quite an exhaustive list of health benefits. Camu camu is highly overlooked and has a plethora of health benefits relative to other nutraceutical products. A wide variety of health food stores sell camu camu powder, so it is very convenient for anyone to find a way to consume camu camu. Camu camu appears to have very special characteristics relative to other nutraceutical products. The high levels of vitamin C and antioxidants work well together to produce many types of physical and mental health benefits, and the beta carotene is also very beneficial. Consequently, there is ample room for the camu camu extract market to take off during the next decade.
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