John Myers
In times of self-optimization, it should only be the best of the best when it comes to nutrition. On closer inspection, expensive superfoods are often no more nutritious than domestic foods at low prices. What about Camu-Camu from the Amazon?
True miracle fruit? camu camu
Novel food, i.e. new foods, are flooding the German market and are advertised with all kinds of promises of salvation. Superfoods do indeed contain a comparatively high amount of nutrients, but often no more than many locally grown foods.
Camu camu, a fruit from the Amazon region, contains a lot of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). However, since the berries that grow on a bush are hardly available fresh, they are offered in Germany as a powder, extract, juice or in capsules. The problem: If you want to use the high vitamin content, you would have to take a relatively large amount of it. Oranges and lemons do not provide the high amount of vitamin C that Camu-Camu does, but you can still cover your daily requirement with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. And much cheaper than with Camu-Camu.
How does camu camu work?
The need for ascorbic acid can generally be covered well, because vitamin C is not only found in fruit and vegetables, but also in many other foods. A deficiency is rare in a normal, balanced diet. For this reason, nobody has to resort to camu camu. However, the fruit is said to have many other effects as a medicinal plant. It is said to have an immune-boosting and anti-inflammatory effect, help digestion, keep you young with its antioxidants, drive away tiredness and prevent hardening of the arteries. None of these claims have been scientifically proven. There is only research where mice fed camu camu extract did not gain weight as quickly as those who did not get the extract. Which components of the camu camu plant have this effect and whether it can be transferred to humans is the subject of further investigations.
Use and dosage of camu camu
If you still want to try camu camu powder, you can sprinkle it in muesli, stir it into drinks or yoghurt. The taste is rather tart, so sweet foods are preferable. It is important that you do not heat camu camu too much: vitamin C is sensitive to heat. When it comes to dosing, you should observe the information on the packaging; in principle, the intake of too much vitamin C in healthy people is unproblematic. What the body doesn’t need is simply excreted in the urine. If the fun is too expensive for you, our nutrition expert has listed the vegetables with the most vitamin C for you. This allows you to provide yourself with the nutrient in an enjoyable and inexpensive way.
