Fruit

Camu Camu Benefits: The Fruit With 30x More Vitamin C Than An Orange

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Natural Society | January 21 2013

In the world of natural health, we often hear of exotic fruits that promise to be the next “big thing”, the next superfood. Camu camu is one of these fruits. But in the case of this fruit, it isn’t all hype. Actually, the camu camu berry-like fruit is awesome.

Camu camu is a fruit from deep in the Amazon. It is native to Peru, where locals use it to flavor ice cream, jellies and juices. There is little evidence of it being eaten historically, and instead, evidence exists that it was not eaten because of its extremely acidic nature. However, in 1957 the Instituto de Nutricion in Peru undertook the first nutritional analysis of the fruit and found that the acidic fruit was packed with vitamin C.

Camu Camu: A Vitamin C-Rich Health Gem

When compared with other fruits, the vitamin C content of camu came is highest. It contains about 2,800 mg of ascorbic acid per 100 grams of pulp. In other words, it contains about 30 to 50 times the vitamin C of an orange. In addition, it contains “10 times the iron, three times the niacin, twice the riboflavin and 50 percent more phosphorus” according to Willow Tohi with Natural News.

Since that initial nutritional analysis in 1957, several studies have been undertaken, each showing that camu camu has promising health benefits.

Studies have shown it can offer anti-aging, cognitive, anti-inflammatory, immune, vision, and antiviral benefits. It’s not only due to the vitamin C within, but a powerful concentration of antioxidants. Together, scientists have found, these compounds work to prevent hardening of the arteries better than traditional vitamin C tablets, containing the same amount of vitamin C as the camu camu fruit.

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7: The Magic Number Of Fruits And Vegetables To Make You Happier

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Natural Society | October 31 2012

The health benefits of produce are undeniable. We know they are good for you. And if you are a regular consumer of fruits and vegetables, you also know that they don’t only affect your physical health, but your mood. Put a regularly healthy eater, for example, on a diet of processed foods, and watch their otherwise healthy glow and attitude turn sour. And while this could be due to taste preferences and the knowledge of what’s in the “bad” foods, scientists say it’s also because plant foods simply make us happier.

How Many Servings Does it Take to See Results?

Researchers examined the diets and related moods of 80,000 people and found that those who consumed the most fruits and vegetables were happier. The magic number of produce servings to create the best mental benefits: 7. Seven portions of these plant-foods created the happiest people. More servings provided even more benefits.

Those who met the ideal 7 servings reportedly had greater life satisfaction in general, greater happiness and mental well-being, less nervousness, mental disorders, and fewer bad moods. It’s also important to note for many that fruit and vegetables have been shown to help people quit smoking naturally.

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After 32,000 Years, An Ice Age Flower Blooms Again


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Discover Magazine | August 22 2012

Fruit
This campion plant grew from a 32,000-year-old fruit.
AP/Institute of Biophysics of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Deep in the frozen tundra of northeastern Siberia, a squirrel buried fruits some 32,000 years ago from a plant that bore white flowers. This winter a team of Russian scientists announced that they had unearthed the fruit and brought tissue from it back to life. The fruits are about 30,000 years older than the Israeli date palm seed that previously held the record as the oldest tissue to give life to healthy plants.

The researchers were studying ancient soil composition in an exposed Siberian riverbank in 1995 when they discovered the first of 70 fossilized Ice Age squirrel burrows, some of which stored up to 800,000 seeds and fruits. Permafrost had preserved tissue from one species—a narrow-leafed campion plant—exceptionally well, so researchers at the Russian Academy of Sciences recently decided to culture the cells to see if they would grow. Team leader Svetlana Yashina re-created Siberian conditions in the lab and watched as the refrigerated tissue sprouted buds that developed into 36 flowering plants within weeks.

This summer Yashina’s team plans to revisit the tundra to search for even older burrows and seeds.

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