Stand Aside, Super Fruit Camu Camu Berries Are Coming Through

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Regular readers of our daily alert will already know about the numerous health benefits of berries, especially their powerful natural antioxidant properties. It seems that the flood plains of the Amazon Rainforest are the ‘secret garden’ where the most potent berries grow.

The Acai berry is one of these ‘super fruits’, it’s a rich source of antioxidants and contains high levels of anthocyanins. It boosts your metabolism - aiding weight loss - and with its 19 different amino acids, it also helps with the growth, repair, and maintenance of body tissues.

But have you heard of the camu camu berry or Myrciaria dubia?The Health Sciences Institute newsletter first mentioned the amazing health benefits of this Amazonian Rainforest berry back in February 2003.

Camu camu: Super fruit to the rescue

Like the Acai berry, the camu camu berry grows in the flood plains of the Amazon Rainforest and is quickly gaining recognition, especially for having the highest naturally- occurring concentration of vitamin C on the planet – more than 50 times the level found in oranges. It is also rich in niacin, riboflavin, amino acids, terpines, fibre, beta- carotene, calcium, potassium, phosphorus and iron.

Vitamin C impacts collagen formation, ability to recover from physical exertion, and ability to adapt to increased altitude, in addition to its well-known effects on the immune system. As a natural vitamin C source, camu is superior to synthetic vitamin C products, as one study comparing camu camu juice and synthetic vitamin C found.

Given the properties of the camu camu berry it should come as no surprise that it offers a wealth of health benefits, such as to strengthen the immune system, maintain healthy gums, eyes and skin. It also acts as an anti-inflammatory and a powerful antioxidant.

In a comparative study of hundreds of botanicals, ranked in order of effectiveness for various health conditions, camu camu was ranked among hundreds of herbs, plants and fruits as follows:

* antimutagenic - No.4
* anti-viral - No.6
* anti-oxidant - No.4
* asthma - No.1
* atherosclerosis - No.1
* cataracts - No.1
* colds - No.1
* depression - No.2
* oedema - No.1
* gingivitis - periodontal disease-No.1
* glaucoma - No.1
* hepatitis - No.1
* infertility - No.1
* migraine-cluster headaches - No.1
* osteoarthritis - No.1
* Painkiller - No.1
* Parkinson's disease - No.1

Some of the extraordinary properties of camu camu are described by Dr. Gary Null, in his Clinician’s Handbook of Natural Healing (1998). Anecdotally and in clinical experience, Null’s assessment of camu camu has proven to be correct although the camu camu fruit as such has hardly been studied at all, apart from clinical experience there is only indirect inferential evidence from scientific studies on the effect of Vitamin C.

Based on this, one can say that camu camu appears to also provide nutritional support for the brain to optimize its own mood balancing chemistry. According to studies at the Albany University in 2002, Professor Manuel Sandoval and his team verified that camu camu has a great antioxidant and anti-depressive power.

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Camu camu and a healthy heart

Since the camu camu berry is not well known in the US and Europe, not many clinical studies have yet been conducted to show all its health benefits. However, since this berry is extremely popular in Japan it comes as no surprise that researchers have already started to conduct medical studies to prove its health benefits.

Researchers from the Department of Cardiology, Koshigaya Hospital, Dokkyo Medical University, in Japan, set out to assess the anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties of camu-camu in humans.

20 Male smoking volunteers (considered to have accelerated oxidative stress), were recruited and randomly assigned to take daily 70 ml of 100 per cent camu-camu juice (corresponding to 1050 mg of vitamin C). As a control, another group (with the same levels of oxidative stress) were given 1050 mg of vitamin C tablets for 7 days.

After 7 days, oxidative stress markers decreased significantly in the camu-camu group, while there was no change in the vitamin C group.

The researchers concluded that camu-camu juice may have powerful anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties, compared to vitamin C tablets containing equivalent vitamin C content.

Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) is a chronic inflammatory response in the walls of arteries and it’s effects are chronic, slowly progressive and cumulative. With it’s tremendous anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties (based on the results of the Japanese study) one can assume that the potential of camu camu as a supplement for a healthy heart, is tremendous.

I for one, would like to see more studies done on this amazing berry. At the moment the proof of its amazing health benefits is mainly anecdotal and we all know that this is simply not good enough to win the favour of the powers that be.

Camu camu is available from online resources in powder form, capsules or juice. There are no known side effects, such as photo-sensitivity or gastrointestinal problems, and it can be used safely in combination with pharmaceutical antidepressants. There have been no reports of its interference with the effectiveness of any pharmaceutical drugs. It is not recommended that pregnant or breastfeeding woman use camu camu and as always we advise you to speak to your doctor or healthcare practitioner before you change your daily regime.

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Sources:

‘Acai Berry in the UK – Super Food or Superfood?’ published online, pure-acai.co.uk

‘Health Benefits of Camu-Camu’ by Heidi Wiesenfelder, published online 23.02.09, brighthub.com

‘Camu-Camu (Myrciaria dubia) - A Potent Immune System And Mood-Balancing Botanical Support’ published online, wholeworldbotanicals.com

‘Tropical fruit camu-camu (Myrciaria dubia) has anti- oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties’ published online, 21.04.08, sciencedirect.com