If you have never tried using fruit and vegetable powders before, you may have a few questions. With such a wide variety of powders to choose from, it can be difficult to know where to start, or which products might be best suited to your needs. Here’s a quick guide to some of the most popular berry powders.
- Goji berry powder
Goji berries are a small red fruit native to Asian regions. They have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries, which is believed to be because of the high antioxidant levels. This can help to ward off the onset of serious health problems and may help to enhance digestion and maintain optimum weight levels.
They can be eaten raw or dried, and they still retain most of their nutritional value when processed in powder form. This is a more convenient and cost effective way to consume the fruit for many people, and it’s also a very versatile product. They have a sweet flavour with a slight sour note, making them ideal to add to smoothies or sprinkle on cereal.
- Acai powder
Freeze dried acai powder is made from the acai berry (pronounced ah-sigh-ee). They are a small round dark purple fruit, similar in appearance to the blueberry. However they have a large seed in the middle which means that they are classified as a fruit rather than a berry.
Their flavour is described as a blend of dark chocolate and blackberries, so they suit a sophisticated palette. They are native to the rainforests of South America, and are now a popular breakfast ingredient throughout the world.
Compared to many other fruits, the acai has an unusually high nutritional value, which has led to them being classified as a ‘superfruit.’ Fresh acai fruit has a short shelf life, which is why it is popular in powder form, where it retains most of its nutritional value while having a much longer shelf life.
Acai powder contains vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, and C, as well as a range of minerals including calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, phosphorus and zinc. It is thought that this can help to maintain healthy cholesterol levels and possibly reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer.
- Camu camu powder
Camu camu powder is made from a small sour flavoured berry native to the Amazon rainforest. Because of its acidic flavour, it’s not eaten raw or cooked, but it is often used in powder form because it is densely packed with vitamin C. In fact, one portion of camu camu powder can provide 30 times more vitamin C than an orange.
Vitamin C is essential to help maintain healthy skin, bones, and blood vessels, and can help wounds to heal more quickly. We cannot store vitamin C in the body, so we need to make sure that we include enough sources in our diet. It’s recommended that adults have an intake of 40mg per day.