Camu camu is getting a lot of face time in health food stores and people in the health food world seems to be all buzzing about it.  I wanted to find out what the scoop is with this new, so-called, super fruit, as I had never heard of it, and I am always a little skeptical about these fruits that have been around for eons and then all of a sudden become super hip to ingest.  You know what I mean? Why haven’t we always known about these fruits?  is it big business driving this trend, or is it really good for you?

What is Camu Camu?

Camu camu is a small bushy tree found in the Amazonian rainforest in Peru and Brazil, that bear a small reddish/purple cherry like fruit.  The fruits from the Camu camu tree are actually very bitter and the local people who tend to harvest them by running their canoes down the river, and pick the berries directly into their canoes, tend to mix the berries with sugar, milk, and or ice cream to make it more palatable.  There are thoughts that the camu camu berries enhance mood, and that it has anti viral and anti inflammatory effects as well.    The camu camu berries are certainly high in Vitamin C, and have basically the highest amount of Vitamin C of any fruit.  They are really only topped by synthetic Vitamin C supplements, which aren’t as easily absorbed by the body.  The Camu camu is also thought to be high in antioxidants, which can prevent cancer.  The local people tend to eat diets high in camu camu and have the highest regard for the fruit saying it is the reason hey have silky hair, to being happy, to easing arthritis pain  So, they seem pretty good on paper, right?

Do they live up to the hype?

Just like any other fruit that is “new” to the mainstream market, there is very little true research on these fruits and nothing much is known, other than they really do have that high vitamin C content.  My concern is that the only way people can make the fruit palatable is to add significant amount soy sugar, milk, or ice cream, and basically making this fruit into a high calorie dessert to eat it…is it worth it?  You can also take it in pill form, like a supplement, so that would be ok.  But in these times of people being all about sustainable farming and being eco-friendly, camu camu farming is super bad: Japan is the highest importer of camu camu from South America, and now the Western world is starting to buy into the Camu camu, and we are running these poor camu camu farmers to the brink of extinction.  It is being over harvested, and it is super expensive to export.  So that part is a total bummer.  Plus, all of the hype about the anti viral and anti inflammatory effects are not founded.  As well, there is nothing that shows that the camu camu helps to enhance mood or balances moods.

I hate to be a Debbie downer, but with the cost associated with camu camu, and all you really know you are getting is high Vitamin C content, you might want to stick with adding acerola (rose hip) supplements to smoothies or foods to boost that Vitamin C intake, or eat those citrus fruits!  And honestly, the part that makes me the saddest is that people are over harvesting this fruit and we are putting the whole fruit/tree at risk for extinction.  I am sure at some point someone will start goring them for commercial sale, but will they have the same benefits and be the same fruits then? Maybe I am being skeptical, but I think there are other ways to get Vitamin C and antioxidants!

Yours in Good Health

B