Micah Stanley
The acerola cherry is also called natural vitamin C. It is one of the three best sources of vitamin C in the world and has an extraordinarily high antioxidant potential. The acerola cherry is only available fresh in its homeland, but the valuable ingredients are also contained in extracts such as acerola powder and acerola fruit juice.
Acerola – A source of health
The acerola (Malpighia glabra, Malpighia emarginata, or Malpighia punicifolia) is a plant species from the Malpighia family that originally comes from the Mexican peninsula Yucatán. Today, the evergreen shrubs or small trees are cultivated throughout Central America, in numerous South American countries – especially in Brazil – but also in Jamaica, in the south of the USA, in India, Africa, and Australia.
Even the indigenous peoples of the Mayan culture considered the acerola a source of health and appreciated its small, healing fruits very much. These were eaten very consciously back then, e.g. B. to strengthen the physical defenses.
However, the name Acerola was first coined by the Spanish conquerors, as they visually reminded the exotic fruits of the sweet cherries in their homeland. In German-speaking countries, they are therefore also referred to as acerola cherries or Barbados cherries. Although both are stone fruits, the acerola is not related to our sweet cherry. Also, the acerola cherries do not taste sweet, but rather sour.
In those countries where the acerola thrives, fresh fruit is often eaten pure and is also used to make juices, jams, and a wide variety of medicinal products such as fruit extracts. Due to the acid, however, a lot of sugar is usually used in all of these acerola preparations.
The acerola cherry in folk medicine
In traditional Latin American medicine, acerola cherries are widely used to prevent and treat diseases due to their astringent, anti-inflammatory, stimulant, and diuretic properties.
In Brazil, for example, they are used to strengthen the cardiovascular system, cure diarrhea and dysentery, and aid in wound healing. Furthermore, fresh fruits are used for fever, anemia, diabetes, and liver diseases such as hepatitis and are always considered an ideal therapeutic agent when the body – e.g. B. by diseases – is weakened.
Scientific interest in the acerola cherry only began to grow in the mid-20th century, when South American researchers came across the fruit in the jungle and then subjected it to various analyses. It was scientifically clarified for the first time why the acerola cherry has such great healing potential: it is an extremely good source of vitamin C.
Acerola Cherry – The third-best source of vitamin C in the world
The acerola cherry is truly a superfood. Because there are only two fruits known worldwide – namely the Australian bush plum and the camu-camu from the Amazon region – that contain more vitamin C than the acerola cherry.
One could almost think that the acerola cherry has hardly any other nutrients to offer because it consists of 93 percent water and contains hardly any protein, fat, or carbohydrates. According to analyses, 100 grams of the fruit contain between 700 and an incredible 5,000 milligrams of vitamin C. In comparison, the same amount of oranges or lemons, which are often referred to as vitamin C bombs, only contain around 50 milligrams of vitamin C.
How high the vitamin C content of acerola cherries is depended on various factors such as B. on the location of the acerola plant, but also on the degree of ripeness of the fruit. The less ripe the fruit is, the more vitamin C it has.
Unfortunately, fresh acerola cherries are only available in acerola-growing countries, since the plant can only survive in subtropical and tropical climates and the fruits are so sensitive that they spoil just three to five days after harvest.
Acerola dried fruit
Fortunately, organic shops, health food stores, and pharmacies offer a wide range of high-quality acerola products, so we don’t have to do without healthy fruits either. The acerola cherries are shock frozen or dried in the producing countries immediately after harvesting. The gentler the drying process, the higher the active ingredient content.
Due to dehydration, dried acerola fruit and the extracts made from it contain more nutrients than the same amount of fresh acerola cherries. The dried fruits contain an impressive 15,600 milligrams of vitamin C per 100 grams.
In Central Europe, acerola dried fruit is still rarely offered, but it is increasingly finding its way into muesli, fruit bars, or fruit teas. Once the package has been opened, dried acerola cherries have a shelf life of 3 to 4 weeks if stored at a temperature between 5 and 10 °C.
Acerola juice
With acerola juice, too, the manufacturing process determines the quality of the product. It is crucial that the fruits are stoned and pressed immediately after harvesting. When buying, be aware that not every juice that contains acerola cherries is automatically healthy. A distinction is made between:
- Acerola direct juice (mother juice): This juice is obtained from the first pressing of the acerola cherries, the fruit content is 100 percent. As a rule, the very acidic acerola juice is not drunk pure, but diluted with water and mixed into smoothies or other juices. Fruit juices can be stored in the fridge for a few days.
- Acerola fruit juice from concentrate: After pressing, around 95 percent of the water is removed from the juice. A concentrate is created, with the help of which large quantities of juice can be shipped inexpensively at low transport costs. In the target countries, the concentrate is then diluted again with water and sold as “juice from concentrate”.
- Acerola fruit nectar: The legally prescribed minimum content of fruit juice or fruit pulp in fruit nectar is only between 25 and 50 percent. Acerola fruit nectar may also contain up to 20 percent of the total weight of sugar.
Acerola fruit juice drink: The fruit juice drink is not subject to the fruit juice ordinance, but is one of the soft drinks. In addition to sugar, flavorings may also be added.
If the enjoyment should have a health value, only the first two variants come into question. Keep in mind – in the spirit of raw food – that fruit juices are generally pasteurized at 80 to 85 degrees to guarantee shelf life.
Although this results in nutrient losses, acerola fruit juices are characterized by a high content of vital substances. Alnavit’s organic acerola juice, for example, still contains 650 milligrams of vitamin C per 100 milliliters, which of course puts any orange juice – whether enriched with vitamin C or not – far in the shade.
Acerola Powder (Acerola Extracts)
Most commonly, acerola cherries are offered as a dietary supplement in the form of powdered extracts. Acerola powder can be made from both the fruit juice and the pulp of the acerola cherry. While acerola powder made from pureed fruit pulp contains all-natural fiber and has a coarser structure, fruit juice powder made from dried fruit juice concentrate is almost free of fiber and has a finer structure.
Analyzes have shown that freeze-drying is the gentlest process for producing acerola powder. The original structure of the acerola cherries is preserved, and drying takes place at temperatures down to -80 °C.
The decisive factor is that heat-sensitive ingredients such as vitamin C and secondary plant substances are preserved much better during freeze-drying than with conventional drying processes. According to a study at the Federal University of Sao Carlos in Brazil, no significant vitamin C losses occur during freeze-drying, while these are over 60 percent for acerola cherries dried in hot air.
After freeze drying, spray drying is the second most gentle process that has proven itself in the production of acerola powder. A method very common in the pharmaceutical industry to produce powders from liquid starting materials.
Where can you find natural vitamin C from the acerola cherry?
After drying, the acerola cherries are ground into acerola powder, which contains all the vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals found in the fresh fruit. The content varies from product to product depending on the manufacturing process. High-quality acerola powder contains around 130 milligrams of vitamin C per gram (e.g. the organic acerola powder from effective nature). If you spread it out over the day, e.g. B. Take 4 grams, then you provide yourself with 520 milligrams of vitamin C – in addition to the vitamin C content of your food.
Acerola tablets (lozenges (tabs) or capsules) containing acerola powder are also commercially available. Capsules are beneficial for those people who find acerola powder too acidic on its own. Lozenges (tabs) are sweetened because otherwise, they would be too acidic to suck.
A daily dose of acerola lozenges from effective nature (3 pieces), for example, provides 180 milligrams of vitamin C. These tabs are sweetened with xylitol, a tooth-friendly sugar substitute that contains 40% fewer calories than sugar, has a glycemic index of 11, and hardly affects blood sugar levels also has a caries-reducing property.
Acerola Cherries – How Much Vitamin C Do Humans Need?
Science agrees on one thing: Humans need vitamin C to survive. Vitamin C performs numerous important roles in the body, which were summarized by researchers at the University of Rajasthan in 2013.
For example, vitamin C contributes to the normal function of the blood vessels, supports the body in absorbing iron, protects as a strong antioxidant and free radical scavenger
r the cells from oxidative stress, and optimizes the immune system. In this sense, vitamin C reduces the risk of arteriosclerosis, diabetes, cancer, and dementia and even contributes to the healing of diseases.
However, there is uncertainty when it comes to answering the question of how much vitamin C people actually need. According to the German Society for Nutrition (DGE), the daily requirement is around 100 milligrams of vitamin C. Only one tablespoon (13 milliliters) of mother juice or less than one gram of acerola powder is needed per day to achieve this recommended daily dose.
However, it is often overlooked that this recommendation only applies to healthy adults, but is not intended for all those people who are pregnant or breastfeeding, are exposed to severe physical and/or mental stress, drink a lot, smoke, or take certain medications (e.g. antibiotics or birth control pills), are under stress, have infections or are recovering from surgery.
In addition, less than 10 percent of the population manages to eat the recommended 3 to 5 servings of fruit and vegetables. In this case, the vitamin C requirement can hardly be covered by the diet. So if you don’t like fruit and vegetables that much and instead use baked goods and pasta, meat, and dairy products, you are most likely severely undersupplied with vitamin C. In this case, a dietary supplement is almost mandatory, at least if you want to stay reasonably healthy.
If the everyday stresses mentioned are still present (stress, illness, medication, etc.), the vitamin C requirement increases sharply. Here, 500 to 1000 milligrams of vitamin C daily may be required.
On the other hand, the high intravenous doses of vitamin C (30,000 to 60,000 milligrams) that are often administered intravenously in the case of serious illnesses are used therapeutically and have nothing to do with the normal vitamin C supply.
Vitamin C prolongs the life
As early as 1992, researchers from the University of California, based on a long-term study with 10,000 subjects, came to the conclusion that people who take 800 milligrams of vitamin C daily have a life expectancy that is six years longer than people who only take 60 milligrams Consume vitamin C per day. The risk of dying from cardiovascular disease was reduced by up to 42 percent.
A 2012 study at Oregon State University clearly showed that the recommended daily allowance for vitamin C needs to be reconsidered. The researchers suggested at least a daily dosage of 200 milligrams of vitamin C for healthy adults, which is contained in a maximum of 10 grams of acerola cherries or in just over 1 gram of acerola powder.
It is important to know that bioavailability decreases with increasing oral intake of vitamin C. The increase in vitamin C detectable in the blood is less than 30 percent at doses of more than 3,000 milligrams per day.
However, if you take 200 milligrams of vitamin C per day, almost 100 percent of the vitamin is metabolized. It is important that you use the vitamin C source – e.g. E.g. the acerola cherries (regardless of whether they are fresh, dried, or in the form of juice or powder, etc.) – spread them out over several portions a day, as this way you can optimize utilization.
Natural vitamin C is better than ascorbic acid
At the beginning of the 20th century, various biochemists succeeded in isolating vitamin C (ascorbic acid). The annual production of artificially produced ascorbic acid is now over 80,000 tons worldwide, annual sales are in the billion-figure range and cheap imports from China have long since conquered the world market.
Since 2011 there have been indications that isolated or synthetic ascorbic acid cannot hold a candle to natural vitamin C, since vitamins in a natural association may be more readily available to the body. What is certain, however, is that acerola cherries, like all other types of fruit and vegetables, contain a large number of other health-promoting nutrients and secondary plant substances in addition to vitamin C, the effects of which promote each other.
A study conducted in Japan showed that 20 milligrams of natural vitamin C have the same antioxidant effect as a hundred times the amount of synthetic vitamin C.
This study has shown that the natural vitamin C from the juice of the acerola cherry is firstly better absorbed by the body than pure ascorbic acid and secondly is eliminated from the body more slowly. These effects are attributed to the fact that other substances contained in the acerola cherry, e.g. For example, the flavonoids increase the absorption of vitamin C and inhibit its excretion.
Antioxidants from the acerola cherry
The acerola cherry is primarily known for its high vitamin C content. However, it is often forgotten that sour fruits contain many other health-promoting ingredients. These include a total of more than 20 vitamins and minerals or trace elements, which, however, are not so significant given the small quantitative intake of acerola powder or acerola mother juice.
Much more interesting is the acerola-typical mix of secondary plant substances. These include beta-carotene and various flavonoids. B. rutin and anthocyanins, have many positive effects on health. Some manufacturers of acerola powder use both ripe and unripe fruits, as the flavonoids are particularly hidden in the latter. In this way, the best of the acerola cherries can be combined in a fruit powder.
Numerous studies have shown that flavonoids have antioxidant, antiallergic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antiviral and antimicrobial effects and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. In addition, flavonoids can help to heal diseases that have already occurred. in this review by Kumar and Pandey no less than 160 sources are mentioned.
The medicinal effect of the acerola cherry is primarily attributed to the interaction of the antioxidant ingredients that protect our body from free radicals and thus also from diseases. In fact, there is hardly any other fruit that has one like this that has a fantastic ORAC value like the acerola cherry: it is up to 70,000 µmol TE/100 g! In comparison, the ORAC value of the goji berry is 25,000 and the acai berry is 18,500.
Acerola cherry renders free iron harmless
The excessive formation of free radicals can be caused by various factors, including free iron. Iron overload occurs in B. through regular transfusions of red blood cells, but also through iron supplements or high consumption of iron-rich animal foods (meat, sausages, etc.).
Iron overload promotes degenerative damage in all tissues and thus puts a strain on all organs. Free iron can e.g. B. lead to diabetes type 2, arteriosclerosis, heart attack, stroke, and cancer and also seems to be a major cause of Alzheimer’s. Further information can be found under the following link: Iron supplements can lead to a heart attack.
In 2016, a Brazilian study at the Universidade da Região da Campanha found that the juice from unripe and ripe acerola cherries protects against damage from free iron.
Acerola cherry protects against ionizing radiation
Numerous drugs such as B. cyclophosphamide, which is used in cancer therapy and in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, can lead to permanent changes in DNA. In this way, healthy body cells can mutate into uncontrolled growing tumor cells.
A study by Brazilian researchers from the Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná — also in 2016 — showed that acerola juice counteracts mutation and can prevent the development of cancer.
Ionizing radiation (including UV, radioactive and X-ray radiation) also leads to increased formation of free radicals. Scientists from the Universidade Estadual de Maringá have found that the pulp of the acerola cherry can protect us from related damage.
They, therefore, recommend that patients who come into contact with ionizing radiation – e.g. B. in thyroid diagnostics and treatment – take relevant dietary supplements such as acerola powder.
Acerola powder: what to consider when buying?
Since you can quickly lose track of all the different acerola extracts, we have put together seven helpful buying tips for you:
- Tip 1: The product should show the manufacturing process, which tells you how gently the acerola cherries were processed. Freeze-dried acerola powder is also ideal for raw food lovers. The only disadvantage is that the process is very complex and the corresponding acerola preparations, therefore, cost more.
- Tip 2: Only buy acerola powder whose packaging or leaflet tells you the ingredients and exact quantities. This is the only way to know how much vitamin C and other active ingredients the powder contains.
- Tip 3: High-quality acerola powder does not contain any additives such as sugar, sweeteners, preservatives, or colorings.
- Tip 4: Pay attention to any carriers that may be present. These are necessary for the spraying process, as otherwise the acerola powder would be very sensitive to oxygen and would quickly clump together or spoil. The sugar mixture maltodextrin, which is obtained from starch (e.g. wheat or corn starch), is often used here.
- Tip 5: If GMO-free is important to you, find out whether GMO maize was used.
- Tip 6: Are you vegan or do you suffer from gluten sensitivity or intolerance? Then, of course, pay attention to vegan quality and freedom from gluten.
- Tip 7: Rely on organic quality!
Acerola powder: storage
Since the natural fructose in acerola powder is sensitive to oxygen, attracts water from the air, and causes it to clump, you should always store it in a dry and cool place. Close the can tightly again immediately after use. However, the clumped powder is still edible, you can easily grind it back into powder with the help of a blender.
Acerola powder and acerola fruit juice in the kitchen
Acerola powder, which consists of 100 percent pulp or fruit juice, is also great for cooking.
Just like the fresh acerola cherries, the acerola powder not only impresses with its valuable ingredients but also with its exotic and sour taste. It is therefore perfect for adding value to fruit juices, muesli, fruit salad, shakes, and delicious smoothies.
Acerola fruit juice tastes particularly good in combination with other juices, for example, grape, apple, mango, or peach, and can be used to give desserts such as jams, jellies, or ice cream a special taste.
In addition, acerola fruit juice is ideal for giving wings to savory dishes. You can create unusual spreads, for example in combination with avocado, leeks, or carrots. In the popular tomato sauce that goes with rice and pasta dishes is served, in a spicy vegetable stew or in a curry, acerola fruit juice tastes just as tempting.
However, it is important to remember that the heat-sensitive active ingredients in acerola cherries are only optimally preserved if they are not boiled or not heated above 40 °C. Nevertheless, the vitamin C content is z. B. in acerola jelly with a fruit content of 100 grams still at least 500 milligrams of vitamin C.
