While recently at an expo on spirituality and intergalactic, interdimensional law, I came across some really cool ideas, healing modalities, and products, as well as a lot of stuff that didn’t quite sit right with me. A lot of the information at a convention like this can be quite questionable, at the very least subjective and an exercise in trusting your intuition, so I tend to gravitate toward the things that promote physical health through nutrition. It feels more concrete. And that’s how I found out about camu camu, as introduced to me through a powder called Royal Camu from Whole World Botanicals.

No, it is not the ashes of an existentialist philosopher. Camu camu is a berry from an Amazon native bush that prefers to grow in flooded regions, often spending the first three months of its life underwater. It looks like some kind of Dionysian fruit, like a giant, juicy, cherry-red grape, which, if you were a Greek God, you’d go to some eternal underworld for eating. Thank goodness you’re human and it’s 100% good for you here and now, in this body.

As U.S. markets are still coming to terms with similar berries such as acaí and acerola, camu camu isn’t found in this country too much. A stab at concrete research* says that the fruit is the highest concentrated source of naturally-occurring Vitamin C of any plant. It also has an amino acid complex that naturally balances moods, plus antioxidants, phosphorus, calcium, and potassium. Some health experts say it helps ward off all the viruses in the herpes family (nice!). Besides an obvious cheerleader for the immune system, it’s known as the Amazon’s “feel good” fruit.

A half-teaspoon of the powder I purchased contains 166% of Vitamin C. After trying it for a few weeks in some water, I can say that it sometimes pulls me out of my episodic moodiness, sometimes not. Regardless, I haven't gotten sick, and I'm getting some good comments on my skin.

All that's great, but how does it taste? It’s not delicious, I have to say. It’s kind of acidic, though not unbearable. In fact, in small doses it tastes a little tiny bit like your throat after you throw up. But weirdly, if you drink it in higher concentrations, the taste gets better. And in juice, you don’t notice it at all.

Camu camu is sold as a nutritional supplement through a variety of manufacturers. I like what I purchased because it’s wildcrafted, meaning it’s been grown without any pesticides or fertilizers of any kind, and has been ethically harvested. For 15 years the Whole World Botanical founders have been working with the indigenous people of Peru to bring their medicinal herbs and superfoods to the U.S., and has demonstrated their commitment to preserving the land and people of the Amazon rainforest through their countless outreach and education programs, as well as fair trade and compensation. (No one paid me to say this, or gave me anything free; I genuinely think they're cool.)

A little camu camu goes a long way. A little Camus does too, though the former is less likely to induce questions of identity and purpose. 

*More research here.

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