“Old” is always ten years older than you are, right?
And then one day you see it:
“Time marches on, and eventually you realize it’s marching across your face!” (Thanks, Steel Magnolias.)
While you cannot freeze time, you can support your brain health. And you may even assist your brain in functioning younger than your biological age.
Mangosteen & Camu Camu for Brain Health
Young Brain drink mix supplement contains four key ingredients (in addition to other fruit/veggie blends) of some of nature’s best age-fighters: Acai, Goji berries, Camu Camu and Mangosteen. (You can learn more about the potential benefits of acai and goji berries.) For more on how Camu Camu and Mangosteen can keep you healthy, read on…
Camu Camu Is Awesome Awesome
Like the acai berry, camu camu is a fruit recently introduced to Western diets and medicine and grown in the Amazon rainforest. This sour fruit is harvested and often processed into powders, pills or juices. Dehydrated to increase shelf life and boost potency, camu camu is often consumed with other foods or supplements that minimize its tart taste.
Vitamin C with Camu Camu for Fighting Free Radicals
Camu Camu is a superfood loaded with high Vitamin C content. This essential nutrient (essential because your body cannot make it) is important for boosting the immune system, reducing inflammation and destroying free radicals.
Camu camu (which looks very similar to a cherry) has such high concentrations of Vitamin C that it can contain 50 times the amount of Vitamin C found in an orange!
Antioxidants Fight Free Radicals and Oxidative Stress
As you age, the body’s ability to manage free radicals decreases. The antioxidants contained in camu camu wage war on free radicals and other toxins found in the body. This is critical as free radicals can lead to oxidative stress. Free radicals may contribute to cognitive decline, inflammation throughout the body and brain, and neurological degeneration, such as Alzheimer’s.
Interestingly, camu camu was shown to benefit smokers more than non-smokers. (Smokers have even higher levels of excess free radicals and oxidative stress.) A study in 2008 showed significant decreases in free radicals and oxidative stress markers in the blood in participants given camu camu, as opposed to those in the control group, who were given Vitamin C tablets containing the same quantity of Vitamin C as the camu camu.
This study may suggest it’s not only the Vitamin C, but the additional minerals and nutrients found within this tropical fruit that have a significant impact on the brain and inflammation.
Camu camu is also thought to benefit the brain by helping alleviate symptoms of depression and other mood disorders. Although the influence is not fully understood and more studies are needed, it is thought the magnesium and other vitamins reduce inflammation, calm the body and reduce mood swings.
Mangosteen for Brain Health?
Mangosteen, sometimes also called the Queen of Fruits, is a royal purple fruit with a starkly contrasted bright white, juicy inner flesh. It is found in Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar and other tropical Asian climates. The flavor has been described as a delicate balance of sour and sweet, often distinguished by notes of ripened strawberries, aromatic peaches and creamy vanilla ice cream.
Unlike many fruits, the bark, leaves, rind, and inner fruit are all used medicinally. Mangosteen can be canned, enjoyed fresh or found in juice form.
Potential Age-Related Benefits of Mangosteen
Mangosteen is considered an anti-aging agent not only because of its antioxidants, but also because of its anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. While the mangosteen is packed with vitamins, minerals and nutrients, it contains a relatively rare and powerful one: xanthones, a polyphenol.
Benefits of Xanthones in Mangosteen
Found primarily in the flesh and rind of the fruit, xanthones can:
- Strengthen cell walls (which can battle free radicals)
- Potentially improve cognitive ability, particularly in aging populations
- Boost immunity
- Prevent infection
- Increase metabolic activity
- Fight bacterial growth (such as adult acne)
- Reduce inflammation, thus improving joint flexibility
- Potentially prevent cancerous cells from developing, growing and spreading
Think Young: Anti-Aging Benefits for the Brain
If wandering to the far reaches of the world, hacking through the Amazon rainforest, or harvesting shrubs in Thailand isn’t easily doable with your schedule, we can bring the benefits of caumu camu and mangosteen to you in a tasty drink mix.
Young Brain contains the powerful antioxidants and neuroprotective nutrients your brain needs as it ages. Get the mental boost and improved memory and cognition you need! Learn more acai and goji berries (other ingredients in Young Brain).