How would you like to enjoy a breakfast fruit that has a fascinating blend of scents that can be best described as a mixture between chocolate and pineapple? When biting into that strange, tropical fruit, you find that it tastes like a soft pear with a hint of banana as well. Your senses go wild as you smell chocolate and pineapple, taste pear and banana, and enjoy the soft texture of one of the Amazon Rain Forest’s most fascinating tropical fruits called the cupuacu tree. What is even more fascinating is that you can use parts of the fruit, especially cupuacu butter for several important health benefits.
In this short article, we will look at twelve of the most amazing health benefits of this truly magical tropical fruit tree when made into cupuacu butter. Even if you do not live in some tropical jungle in South America, you can still enjoy the benefits of cupuacu butter as we also will offer advice on where you can purchase top quality cupuacu butter.
What is Cupuacu Butter?
The cupuacu tree is native to the Northern reaches of the Amazon Rainforest. The delicious hint of a chocolate smell that defines this tree is derived from the fact that the tree is related to the cacao tree where chocolate is made from. In Brazil and other South American countries with large extension of rain forest where the cupuacu tree is both cultivated and grows wildly, local populations have been using this delicious fruit for generation for everything from making traditional ice cream to juices and candies.
People also learned that the cupuacu fruit, which is extremely creamy, could also be used for a number of health and beauty benefits. A crude form of cupuacu butter derived from the seeds of the tree has been made by indigenous populations in the Amazon for thousands of years. Though the indigenous populations may not have known the exact medicinal properties of cupuacu butter, they found that it had enormous benefits for skin, hair, nails, and other parts of the body.
Scientists today have confirmed what indigenous populations have known for centuries, that this delicious fruit and the cupuacu butter from its seeds is packed with antioxidants and other important nutrients that you skin, hair, and your body in general needs. Cupuacu butter is high in phytosterols which is a major ingredient needed to help treat dry and damaged skin through supporting the collagen in your dermis. Additionally, it has been confirmed that cupuacu butter also helps to stabilize emulsions and other skin ingredients so that you can stay looking young and healthy.
The fruit from the cupuacu tree falls freely from the tree during the intense rainy season that characterizes the Amazon Rainforest, is gathered by small farmers and others living in the area, and the seeds are then cold pressed into the cupuacu butter that is sold commercially around the world.
12 Cupuacu Butter Benefits
There are seemingly unlimited uses for cupuacu butter. This all natural butter is high in a number of important natural ingredients that our bodies need. Below we look at 12 of the most important cupuacu butter health benefits.
1. Smooths and Softens Your Hair
If you have troubles with wiry hair that explodes into frizz as soon as you dry off from your shower, a little dose of cupuacu butter on your hair is a great way to build a natural smoothness and softness to your hair. The hydrating properties of cupuacu butter will leave a long lasting and natural moisturizer to help brittle hair regain a natural sense of smooth, rejuvenated beauty.
2. A Natural Lip Balm
For people who suffer from dry, chapped lips, several Chap Stick products that can be bought commercially contain heavy amounts of steroids that are harmful and will not allow your body to naturally rehydrate itself. Cupuacu butter is a natural lip balm without any sort of strong, chemical ingredients that is great for chapped lips.
3. Skin Hydrator
Cupuacu butter can also be used a simple skin hydrator when applied directly to the skin as a type of skin cream. It has been reported that cupuacu butter to attract upwards of 240% more water towards your dried out skin.
4. Anti-Aging Skin Toner
For people who fear those premature wrinkles appearing around your eyes and forehead, cupuacu butter can be used as a fantastic anti-aging toner. It is extremely high in anti-oxidants meaning that it will combat the free radicals in your skin that lead to those unsightly wrinkles that everyone want to avoid.
5. Natural Sun Screen
The high amount of Vitamin E in Cupuacu butter offers a certain amount of protection from the damaging UV rays from the sun. When you use cupuacu butter as a sun screen, you will be protecting your skin and nourishing it all at once.
6. Restores Skin Elasticity
For people with tight skin, cupuacu butter is also known to help restore and improve your skin’s elasticity. The high levels of oleic acid and stearic acid have strong emollient effects to help improve the elasticity of your skin appearance.
7. Encourages Healthy Hair Growth
If you are having trouble growing out your hair after a haircut that went wrong, cupuacu butter can help to encourage healthy and rapid hair growth. Not only will it help to moisturize your hair, but it might also help you grow out your hair more quickly.
8. Night Cream Salve
You can also choose to use cupuacu cream as a night time skin salve that will slowly moisturize and nourish your skin while you are sleeping. In the morning, you will quickly find that your complexion is more radiant and youthful.
9. Anti-Inflammatory
Cupuacu butter is also reported to have certain anti-inflammatory properties which are great for a number of different topical skin problems. Whether you suffer from psoriasis or simply have some unpleasant looking swelling from a bee sting, a little bit of cupuacu butter can go a long way in helping to reduce topical inflammation.
10. Combined with Cocoa to Make White Chocolate
While some people might think that chocolate isn’t necessarily a health benefit, several studies have shown that dark chocolate is actually a super food that is loaded with essential nutrients and vitamins our bodies need. You can mix cupuacu butter with dark chocolate for an extra nutrient packed sweet treat that your whole family will enjoy and benefit from.
11. Immune System Booster
The fruit of the cupuacu tree is known to boost and strengthen your immune system. The energetic effect that you get when eating the food is similar to your cup of morning coffee but isn’t caused by caffeine. The same immune enhancing properties that come from eating the fruit might also be present when people apply cupuacu butter topically.
12. Lowered Cholesterol
Finally, the cupuacu tree is also known to help people lower their cholesterol levels through lipid peroxidation inhibition. If you have access to the cupuacu fruit, you could very well eat the fruit to help lower your cholesterol and save the seeds to make your own cupuacu butter!
The dozens of benefits of cupuacu butter for both skin, hair and overall body health make this one of the healthiest super foods you can find. Though it might be hard to find at your local supermarket, there are several places to find cupuacu butter online which we will suggest below.
Ways to use Cupuacu Butter
Cupuacu butter can be used in a number of different ways. While you could apply the butter directly to your skin or hair for the numerous benefits explained above, there are also other products that combine cupuacu butter with other types of natural fats such as Shea butter, the acai seed, and others.
Cupuacu butter can be made into a skin cream, a salve, and even shampoo. It can be used as an anti-aging tonic, for bath and body creams, lip protection products, hair and scalp conditioners, and even as a natural sun screen. The applications for this marvelous product are virtually unlimited.
Where to Buy Cupuacu Butter
If you are having a hard time finding the actual cupuacu fruit to extract the seeds and make cupuacu butter yourself, fortunately there are several cupuacu products that can be found online.
Below we offer the top five cupuacu products that you can find and purchase on the internet.
- Unrefined Cold Pressed Cupuacu Butter ?: This is the real deal with no added ingredients and is great for applying to both hair, skin, and lips.
- The Raw Option ?: This product is great since it also claims to be completely raw.
- The Refined Option ?: For people who want a product that is more like the skin creams and salves you can find at the beauty store, this refined cupuacu butter is a great option.
- DIY Mixes ?: This unique cupuacu butter product comes with a several do-it-yourself mixes that will allow you to experiment with what is best for your skin and hair.
- The Large Option ?: This is a 16 ounce option which is great for people who plan to use this product extensively.