Wild & Natural Herbs
from the Amazon Rainforest

Camu Camu:
The Natural Vitamin C Powerhouse For Peak Mental Function and Nervous System Protection

Mike Adams, the Health Ranger   A NaturalNews Special Report by Mike Adams Welcome to this NaturalNews special report on camu camu berries, written by Mike Adams. Here, you'll learn about this unique superfruit and its phenomenal health benefits. Keep reading, and you'll discover: Where camu camu comes from and how it's grown and harvested Why camu camu offers the highest natural vitamin C density of any plant in the world How camu camu protects and defends the nervous system from degenerative disease How I personally use camu camu powder to maximize mental focus and cognitive performance Why camu also protects the eyes from macular degeneration How camu may help you prevent dementia and Alzheimer's disease Camu camu's preventive effects vs. cancer and liver disease How to prevent depression, infertility and migraine headaches with camu camu Where to get high-grade camu camu berry powder How to use camu camu powder to make an energizing drink or vitamin-boosting superfood smoothie

Camu Camu There's a lot of attention focused on superfoods these days. People are interested in foods that can give them high-density nutrition, protect them from chronic disease, and even help reverse disease. One of the best (but little-known) superfoods is actually a superfruit, and like many superfruits, it comes from the rainforest regions of our planet. This one in particular comes from Peru; it's one of the most nutrient-dense foods and offers considerable disease-prevention benefits. It contains high-density nutrition. This superfruit is called camu camu, or the camu berry. The camu berry is best known for its unusually high vitamin C content. Vitamin C, as you may know, has many uses for preventing chronic disease. Natural (not synthetic) vitamin C is an antioxidant that prevents free radical damage to the DNA of the cells throughout your body, which helps in the prevention of cancer and heart disease (among other health problems). Vitamin C also prevents colds and even the flu. It is a huge immune system booster and an all-around power-packed vitamin -- but only in its full-spectrum natural form.

There's no food on the planet with a higher concentration of vitamin C than the camu berry. How high a concentration? Consider this: oranges are generally known for their high vitamin C content. However, oranges often only have around 1,000 ppm of vitamin C. Sometimes they can have as high as 3,000 or 4,000, but that's unusual, especially given the way they are commercially grown today. The camu berry can have concentrations as high as 50,000 ppm or about 2 g of vitamin C per 100 g of fruit. That means that the camu berry provides 50 times more vitamin C than an orange (on an ounce-for-ounce basis). Health benefits One of the best-known uses for vitamin C is in protecting your nervous system. The nervous system includes your brain, eyes and all the nerves running throughout your body that tell your heart when to contract, your lungs when to breathe, and your muscles when to flex -- it's the electronic system of your body. When your nervous system is under assault by unhealthy foods or environmental toxins, your quality of life begins to fade rapidly.

If you don't have a fully functional nervous system, you may experience symptoms like depression. You may lose the ability to focus sharply. You may have what is sometimes called brain fog. You may find you don't learn as quickly or you can't remember things as well. Eventually, you may end up with a diagnosis of dementia or even Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease is associated with the buildup of plaque on brain nerves, and recent research in mice shows that this plaque is reversible. Through nutrition and brain exercise you can actually reverse the buildup and remove the plaque, restoring your brain to a more youthful state. It's just like any other muscle in your body: when you use your brain and give it good nutritional support, it will work well for you and avoid degenerative conditions.

Camu Camu berries support healthy eyes.

The eyes are an important part of your nervous system. Many people have vision problems and there's a lot of disinformation about the cause of these problems. Eye impairments are typically diagnosed as physical deformities of the eyes, but this is usually false. Doctors will tell you that your eye is too long or the lens isn't shaped right. This is something with which I strongly disagree.

I'm 38 years old and I have perfect vision that I maintain through nutrition. I have outstanding night vision and no need to wear glasses or contacts. This is accomplished through the frequent intake of berries and superfoods like camu camu, goji berries and cacao (chocolate).

Muscle tone
When you have poor nutrition, many of the muscles in your body begin to sag. They actually lose their proper posture. For example, if your heart muscle doesn't have sufficient B vitamins it can appear to be physically deformed because it begins to sag. The same thing happens with your eyes. If you have poor nutrition, the muscles that control your lenses cannot function properly and you end up with poor eye posture. I know this idea sounds radical, and most optometrists would not agree with this diagnosis, but this really is a more accurate description of what happens with your eye.

Merle Geierman and friend demonstrate martial arts.

Muscles don't just wear out; if you get good nutrition, your muscles' posture and function will improve. When you provide good nutrition for your body, you can reverse the poor posture of all the muscles throughout your body including your eye muscles, heart muscles and skeletal muscles. For example, there is a condition called mitral valve prolapse in the heart, which surgeons usually try to correct with surgical procedures -- but it can usually be reversed through good nutrition. The same thing is often true with the eyes. You can reverse vision problems through nutrition; one of the most important nutritional components for eye health is vitamin C, which is why the camu berry has turned out to be such a fantastic protector of eye health.

I've heard of people who drank powdered camu, and within minutes leapt to their feet shouting, "I can see!" Within a few minutes, the vitamin C they consumed went into their bloodstream, passed through the blood brain barrier, and protected the retina and the nerves of the eye. Within minutes one woman was able to see with much greater clarity than she had for years, just from drinking this powdered camu berry.

Camu camu is well known to be a protective food for cataracts. It doesn't mean that camu berry is an all-powerful, magical cure for every patient suffering from cataracts, but this is a superfruit that certainly should be investigated by anyone who is suffering from the condition. Camu also protects against glaucoma, a debilitating disease of the eye.

The camu berry is 100 percent natural and based on powerful high-density nutrition. It has absolutely no negative side effects, and since it doesn't carry the dangers of prescription drugs. In other words, it won't cause heart attacks and strokes like many prescription drugs do, and it's less expensive than most prescription drugs.

Protecting the Brain
At the same time camu berry is protecting your eyes from degenerative disease, it's also protecting your brain from neurodegenerative disorders such as dementia and Alzheimer's. In fact, if you're interested in anti-aging, or if you're getting up in years and you want to make sure you have optimal brain performance for the rest of your life, the camu berry is one of the most important nutritional supplements you can consume. Think of it as an insurance policy against neurodegenerative diseases.

The human brain.

Obviously, it's not the only thing you can consider; there are many other important nutritional strategies for boosting brain performance. For example, eating raw nuts and seeds on a daily basis is hugely important for the healthy functioning of your brain and nervous system. You cannot function at a high level of performance without healthy oils and plant-based fats in your body; you need those omega-3 fatty acids and oils from raw nuts and seeds. It is a good idea to consume cod liver oil on a regular basis too, but most importantly, you need natural, full-spectrum vitamin C.

It's interesting to note that the human body does not manufacture vitamin C. Dogs and many other animals manufacture their own vitamin C, but humans do not; we must get it from dietary sources. Vitamin C is complex; it's not just a single, isolated chemical in its natural form. It is delivered through superfruits like camu in combination with several different supporting phytochemicals which makes the positive effect of vitamin C even more powerful than when taken alone. That's why I've always recommended that people get nutrition through plants wherever possible. High-density plants give us the highest nutrition we can get.

Combating Depression
I've documented some of the physiological actions of the camu berry from some extensive research. Some of this information comes from Dr. Gary Null's book called "The Clinician's Handbook of Natural Healing," as well as invaluable facts from other authors. My top recommended author on this topic is James Duke, PhD, author of "The Green Pharmacy" and numerous other books on botanical medicine. Dr. Duke is a champion of the camu camu berry, and he's written about it extensively in books and published research papers. (Find his books on Amazon.com by searching for "James Duke")

Through this research, we learn that camu camu is antiviral -- it helps kill viruses that could threaten your immune system and is a powerful protective agent against colds and the flu. It is anti-arthritic, so it can help reduce inflammation, which tends to ease the pain of arthritis. And it's anti-atherosclerotic, which means it can help prevent atherosclerosis, or the buildup of plaque in the arteries. Plaque in the arteries leads to serious heart disease and eventually heart attacks. It can help prevent the buildup of plaque to protect you from the foods you may be consuming that tend to cause the buildup of that plaque (such as fried foods or processed foods made with hydrogenated oils).

Camu Camu berries

Camu camu is also known as an antidepressant. This is not surprising, given that depression is often the result of a suppressed or poorly functioning nervous system. Of course, depression can have many causes, but the most common is actually a malnourished nervous system. Depression is not, as conventional medicine claims, a chemical imbalance in the brain that has to be corrected with prescription drugs. It is typically just a nutritional deficiency that can be corrected through diet by eating natural foods. The camu berry is one of the natural strategies you can use to reverse depression, even serious depression.

Camu berry is also documented as being anti-gingivitic, which means it helps fight gingivitis, the gum disease that can affect dental health.

Next, camu is described as anti-hepatitic, meaning it protects against liver disorders, including liver disease and liver cancer. This is not a surprising effect, given that antioxidants are protective of the liver in general. Being a potent antioxidant, it can help support the liver's efforts in detoxifying many of the chemicals to which you are exposed.

Today, in the Western world, we are exposed to so many outrageous chemicals. Most consumers expose themselves to literally hundreds of dangerous chemicals through the use of hair spray, shampoo, hand soap, laundry detergent, cologne and perfume. In fact, there are over 20 known carcinogens in most perfumes sold on the market today. Those perfumes are illegally marketed in violation of FDA laws because they don't carry cancer warning labels, but that's a loophole that the FDA is not currently enforcing. The fact that your liver is detoxifying all the chemicals you're exposing yourself to is one of the primary reasons the camu berry can help your liver stay healthy.

Easing Inflammation
Camu berry has also been shown to promote fertility. Infertility is on the rise in the United States, where as many as one out of four couples can no longer conceive. That is a frightening statistic. Part of what's wrong is the fact that people aren't getting good nutrition, and they aren't protecting themselves against the toxins that they are exposed to through their foods and their environment. The camu berry can help protect you against those toxins, and subsequently boost the chances of conception in both men and women.

(Please note that camu camu alone is not sufficient to protect you from heavy metals like mercury or lead. The best products I know of for that purpose are called Metal Magic from www.BaselineNutritionals.com and HMD Heavy Metal Detox from www.HeavyMetalDetox.net)

There is also evidence of the camu berry having an anti-inflammatory effect. Inflammation not only affects arthritis, it also affects heart health. In fact, inflammation and the C-reactive proteins are a hot topic now in medical literature. People are more aware of how inflammation is a systemic problem, meaning it affects the entire body (and all the organs in it). Vitamin C is an excellent anti-inflammatory supplement, and when you get high-density, full-spectrum vitamin C from camu berries, you get one of the best anti-inflammatory medicines from the natural world.

Once again, vitamin C is not a single, simple magic-bullet solution to inflammation, but it can be part of an overall anti-inflammatory nutritional strategy that includes healthy oils, herbs like curcumin or turmeric, and many anti-inflammatory foods and beverages. When working to prevent inflammation, it is important to avoid consuming foods that cause it: Processed sugar, white flour, fried foods and vegetable oils high in omega-6 fatty acids (such as soybean oil and corn oil). Many researchers now theorize that systemic inflammation is largely brought on by an imbalance in the consumption of omega-6 fatty acids vs. omega-3 fatty acids. People are consuming way too much omega-6 oils and not nearly enough omega-3 oils.

Camu berry can help migraines when combined with the removal of aspartame and MSG from the diet Camu has even shown a positive effect on migraine headaches. Many consumers in the Western world suffer from migraines, and some have even come to think of migraines as a normal life experience, but I can tell you from extensive research that migraines are not normal. Migraines are caused by toxic food and a toxic environment, pure and simple. When you protect your nervous system against toxic chemicals found in foods and in the environment, then your incidence of migraines reduces rapidly. Camu camu is a neuro-protective superfruit, so it can help greatly reduce the incidence of migraines. Additionally, if you stop drinking aspartame in diet sodas and consuming MSG in foods, then you will experience far fewer migraines.

Try dropping aspartame and MSG from your diet, add camu berry, and let me know how it works, because I love to hear good news from people. There are people out there who have suffered with migraine headaches for years, and they feel helpless not knowing what to do. Some turn to radical medications to control their head pain, when the fact is you can usually do it with diet and nutritional supplementation. So please spread the word: let people know they don't have to suffer with migraines.

Anti-cancer effects
Camu is also shown as being anti-mutagenic, which means it helps prevent the genetic mutation involved in the creation of cancer tumors. In fact, if you can prevent DNA mutations in your body, you will live longer, have fewer chronic diseases, and greatly reduce your chances of ever being diagnosed with cancer.

One of the most impressive characteristics of camu is its anti-Parkinson's quality, so if you have Parkinson's disease or if you would like to protect yourself from Parkinson's disease, the camu berry is one of the things you should put on your investigation list. Again, it doesn't mean that this is a cure for Parkinson's disease; but it can certainly be a healthful nutritional tool that can either reduce the progression or potentially protect you from ever having it.

Camu is also antiseptic, which means it kills bacteria. You can even use camu on your skin. If your skin suffers an injury, you can actually squeeze camu berry juice -- or sprinkle camu powder -- right on the wound to help prevent infections. I have not used it this way, but if I were injured I wouldn't hesitate to do it. Personally, I find that plants are the best first aid.
Camu is shown as being anti-ulcerous, anti-herpes, and hypotensive. If you're suffering from hypertension or high blood pressure, taking the camu berry can help naturally lower your blood pressure. The most likely mechanism for this is that vitamin C combined with the mineral content of the camu berry helps relax the blood vessels throughout your body. This allows your blood vessels to be more flexible and to simultaneously reduce your overall blood pressure.

Some people who drink powdered camu fruit say that it brightens their day and clears their mind. That's not surprising, because many phytochemicals from camu camu go right to your brain, protecting it against oxidative damage and toxic chemicals that may be circulating in your blood. The result is that you feel better almost instantly. Taken over the long term, it helps prevent chronic degenerative disease; your mood is lifted; your vision improves; you get mental clarity perhaps unlike any you've experienced for a long time.

The elderly can benefit from camu camu and proper nutrition, too
If you've ever cared for an elderly person, then you know how frustrating and sad it is to see someone who can't dress or feed themselves, can't communicate, or can't control their muscle movements because they suffer from the degeneration of their nervous system.

I used to volunteer in a nursing home and I've had people in my family who've suffered from these conditions in the past, and the truth is that we now have at our disposal the nutritional tools to help prevent this kind of suffering; we can help people lead higher-quality lives as they age. We can give them back the mental clarity they once had with these nutritional tools.

Camu Resources
I want to emphasize how incredibly privileged we are as consumers to even have access to this product. Ten years ago, you couldn't have purchased this product. A hundred years ago, only super wealthy people would have even had access to something like this, and even then it would have been extremely rare. Five hundred years ago, only kings and queens could have possibly afforded even a few camu berries; yet today we can purchase it at a very reasonable price. It gives us tools that our ancestors never had to protect their bodies and nervous systems against degenerative disease.

I must mention that all of the health information I give here is my own personal opinion based on considerable research. These are not the claims of any company that manufactures this product. I am not a doctor, and I don't pretend to be one. I am a researcher and a holistic nutritionist; I share information that I find to be helpful to people. As with all the nutritional products I write about, I have absolutely no financial ties with the product or any company that makes it. I'm not an employee or an associate of the company I'm about to introduce to you, and I have not been paid anything to review their products. I have neither asked for money nor have I been offered money to do so. Even if I were offered money, I would refuse it. This is a 100 percent independent and unbiased review of the product I'm about to introduce.

The product is called Pure Camu and it is grown, harvested and packaged by a company that I am very fond of, a company that I have been writing about for several years. It has brought life-saving products to consumers in the Western world, and it's called the Amazon Herb Company.

The head of the company is "Amazon John" Easterling, who used to be a treasure hunter in the Amazon rain forest. Over time, he discovered that the real treasure of the rain forest was the herbage found there; the amazing healing plants and foods that the rain forest produced. He pursued a shift in his life and his career, and decided to start the Amazon Herb Company many years ago. Since then, he has been a pioneer in the development of herbal tinctures and superfruits that can greatly enhance the health of consumers in the Western world.

Amazon John is reinventing the economic model of the nutritional supplements industry. Rather than going into rain forests and exploiting the locals for their knowledge, he is working with them and helping them gain ownership of the land they have lived in for thousands of years. He is showing them how to make the rain forest more valuable alive than dead. As a result, he is having a huge impact on reducing the clear-cutting operations in the rain forest.

The Amazon Herb Company makes great products, including camu powder, through ethical business practices
John Easterling is a man who deserves to be on the cover of Fortune magazine -- not for the bottom-line numbers of his Amazon Herb Company, but because he has created a sustainable business model that leverages the abundance of nature to create health and wealth for those who participate.

Everyone wins: the indigenous Indians in Peru make an honest living and gain ownership of their land, and the consumers who buy products from the Amazon Herb Company gain greater longevity, enhanced mental clarity, and reduced medical expenses because they are preventing disease. The distributors win because the Amazon Herb Company is a direct sales company; they gain a new source of revenue and control over their own finances. There are many distributors for the company now that make this their full-time job, and have created strong repeating revenue streams for themselves simply by introducing other people to these products. (I am not a distributor for the company, but I know many people who are.)

Camu Camu Trees
Eight years ago, the Amazon Herb Company began planting camu camu trees, which grow in swampy areas in Peru; it takes years for them to be mature enough to bear fruit. Each year, a river floods this region, bringing nutrients to the soil. Normally, if you farm the same land over and over again, year after year, the soil eventually becomes depleted of its nutrition, but this farmland is flooded every year, and the floods bring new nutrients and minerals which are then taken up by the plants and put into the fruit.

Camu Camu trees grow in the flood plain, adding nutrients to the soil.

The camu camu trees grown by the Amazon Herb Company are quite possibly the most nutrient-rich in the world. It has taken them eight years to grow to maturity, and now the harvest is ripe for the picking. The Amazon Herb Company has a small crew of local help in Peru harvesting these berries, drying them, grinding up powder, and packing it into small, convenient packets that we can put into a bottle of water to make our own high-density camu camu drink. This is one of my favorite products and I've been drinking it on a daily basis since I got my hands on the product. I often add it to my superfood smoothies to add a refreshing tangy taste along with an incredible natural source of vitamin C.

What's so fantastic is that the drying process further multiplies the high-density nutrition of the camu berry. It takes 100 pounds of berries to make 4 pounds of dried camu powder. That's 25 times the concentration of the original nutrition, because all the water goes out and you get just the powder. What I also like about this product is that there are absolutely no additives, preservatives, sweeteners or artificial colors of any kind. This product has only one ingredient: Pure camu berry. That's a great decision on the part of the Amazon Herb Company, and it's rare to find something like that in the marketplace.

The product is easy to use, too. You just open an individual packet, empty it into a bottle of water, close the lid and shake for 20 to 30 seconds. You have created an energizing, high-density, nutritional, natural water drink for yourself. It tastes great and doesn't need any sweetener. This is the only company in the world that I know of that is offering this format of the camu camu berry powder.

You may also find camu camu products available in health food stores, and I simultaneously recommend all quality camu products. But beware of the source! Don't buy camu camu products using raw materials from China. Be sure to research the sources and know what you're buying. The Amazon Herb Company is a trusted source, which is why I personally prefer to use their camu camu powder.

This is a product that definitely earns a five-star recommendation from me. I believe it can help protect our nervous systems from degenerative disease and oxidative damage, and greatly enhance our health -- especially as we age. It is a mental performance nutritional supplement, so even if you are in the middle of your working career and you just want to boost your mental performance, this is a great way to help do that.

Looking for smoothie recipes that show you how to make delicious, highly nutritious superfood smoothies you can combine with camu camu powder? See my book, Superfood Smoothies for ideas!

Camu camu powder goes best with tangy or tart fruits such as raspberries, citrus fruits, plums or pineapple. Try blending it with coconut oil, pineapple, macadamia nuts, stevia powder and chia seeds! It's a delicious tropical smoothie!