The maqui berry fully deserves the label of 'superfood'. It is a nutrient-dense superfood that is rapidly growing in popularity. Maqui berries are a rich source of vitamins and minerals, and a great source of iron, calcium, vitamin C and other essential nutrients. Due to its high antioxidant content, maqui berries delay ageing and the associated ailments.
Almost everyone knows that blueberries, blackberries, black currants, acai berries, raspberries and elderberries are healthy. But only a few people know the greatest super berry of all - the maqui berry.
For centuries, it was a key part of the nutritional, medicinal and ceremonial culture of the Mapuche people in Patagonia. This tiny, dark purple miracle berry is packed with essential vitamins, fibre, proteins, carbohydrates, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents.
Maqui - or Aristotelia chilensis - is a tree that grows in the wild in Patagonia, Chile. Its purple berries are revered by the Mapuche people who use them as food and medicine. It is considered sacred because of its effectiveness.
The maqui berry is also one of the most nutritious superfoods in the world with a wonderful and unique taste.
The Mapuche people have enjoyed the anti-ageing benefits of this unique medicinal and health-promoting berry for centuries. The Mapuche traditionally use the maqui berry to improve endurance and strength as well as to support a healthy immune system.
Maqui berries are harvested in a sustainable way by the Mapuche. They hit the flexible branches of the tree to get to the maqui berries and place the fallen leaves and twigs on the ground, which in turn fertilize the tree.
The maqui berry fully deserves the label 'superfood'. It is a nutrient-dense superfood that is rapidly growing in popularity. Maqui berries are a rich source of vitamins and minerals and a great source of iron, calcium, vitamin C and other essential nutrients.
The maqui berry has one of the highest antioxidant values of all fruits and contains 3 times more antioxidants than the acai berry and more than 10 times as many polyphenols and 100 times as many anthocyanins (especially delphinidins) as red wine.
Above all, delphinidins are found in unusually high concentrations in maqui berries. Delphinidins have effective, anti-inflammatory properties and therefore reduce the risk of a variety of degenerative diseases that are related to inflammations.
The great amounts of antioxidants in maqui berries are created by an additional oxygen molecule, which helps fight the cell-destroying free radicals before they can cause damage. Although the body produces its own antioxidants, most of them are used to cope with stress and everyday tasks.
The antioxidants in maqui berries increase the body's ability to fight free radicals while minimizing the effects of ageing. In clinical studies, the maqui berry had the highest ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacities) value of all currently known plants.
Inflammation is part of almost every degenerative disease - from cardiovascular diseases to diabetes and arthritis. Any disease that ends with 'itis' is an inflammatory disease. One of the most recent discoveries is that the anthocyanins in the maqui berry have powerful anti-inflammatory properties. These anti-inflammatory effects can help the body's bones and joints- especially in people who have arthritis and joint pain.
Antioxidants are crucial for good health and increase the body's ability to fight free radicals. Especially when it comes to ageing and age-related diseases caused by harmful free radical oxidation - including heart disease, cancer, arthritis and premature ageing.
The antioxidant compounds in maqui berries also help reduce the oxidation of cholesterol in the blood. The oxidation of cholesterol is a factor in the development of cardiovascular diseases, including heart attacks, strokes and hardening of the arteries. Regular daily consumption of maqui berries is a good investment for cardiovascular health.
An anti-inflammatory effect has also been discovered in maqui berries, which prevents the production of COX-2, the main cause of joint and muscle inflammation. This justifies the Mapuche's use of the Maqui berry as a natural medicine against arthritis.
Consuming maqui berries can also help improve our resistance to diseases and strengthen the immunity. Maqui also has antibacterial properties, which means it can help prevent diseases caused by bacteria in food.
The ageing process is inevitable for all of us. It is caused by cell damage during oxidation when free radicals trigger toxic chemical reactions. In Patagonia in southern Chile, the Mapuche people have used maqui berries for years to prevent the effects of ageing.
The Mapuche do not need scientific evidence to know that Maqui berries make them healthier and more vital, but Western science was able to conclusively prove what they always knew. The maqui berry has the highest quality and quantity of antioxidants of all known fruits in the world. With an ORAC value twice that of the runner-up - the acai berry - it is the large amount of antioxidants from the fertile soils of Patagonia that provides amazing health benefits.
Antioxidants slow down and prevent the oxidation of food, which reduces the formation of cell-damaging free radicals. Not only does this help the body function at a higher level, but it also reduces the signs of ageing caused by free radical damage. The body produces its own antioxidants, which, however, are not enough to perform all tasks expected of it at the same time.
By consuming other sources of antioxidants, especially fruits and vegetables, the body can work more efficiently and slow down the ageing process. Although antioxidants are found in all types of fruits and vegetables, they come in different qualities. Since you can never have too many of them, you can immediately choose the most effective source.
Adding maqui berries to your diet can help slow down the signs of ageing and ensure that you look younger for longer and, more importantly, feel healthier.
The Mapuche people of Chile and Argentina have included the maqui berry in their diet for centuries because of its remarkable medicinal and health benefits. In fact, there are no negative side effects from consuming maqui berries as part of a varied and healthy diet.
When maqui berries are consumed as a dietary supplement along with a normal and healthy diet, the maqui berry has the potential to improve the overall health of the body by detoxifying the vital organs and building a barrier against cell damage caused by free radicals. Maqui berries can strengthen the immune system in the body, support its natural ability to fight diseases and infections and also help feel fit and healthy.
Since shipping fresh maqui berries around the world would be both impractical and harmful to the environment, maqui berries are offered in freeze-dried powder form. Freeze-drying the maqui berries is the best way to preserve all of the sensitive, beneficial nutrients in the maqui berries. Freeze-drying means that the pulp of the berries is quickly frozen and then warmed up again to allow the frozen water to evaporate.
Freeze drying is a cold drying process that preserves the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other beneficial nutrients in the maqui berry. This process preserves almost all of the sensitive, beneficial ingredients of the maqui berry and allows the body to absorb them when the freeze-dried maqui berry powder is consumed.
Many manufacturers use the cheaper spray-drying method to make maqui powder. The maqui juice is sprayed onto a carrier such as maltodextrin. Since the maqui berries are heated during this production process, valuable vital substances are lost. Therefore, the maqui powder obtained this way does not contain the full spectrum of valuable active ingredients of the maqui berry.
Maqui berry powder, which is produced by spray drying, does not consist of 100% maqui berries but has a more or less high share of a worthless carrier substance. These maqui berry products are cheaper but have much smaller effects. Therefore, when buying a maqui berry product, make sure that it was made using the freeze-drying technique.