How to Eat Like an Olympian With Brazil’s Best Superfoods

As if Brazil’s famously fit bodies weren’t enough motivation to reach past empty-calorie snacks and toward more nutritious fare, the country now finds itself home to the world’s elite athletes as the 2016 Olympics prepares to kick off. While you swim, sail, and stick your landing along with your favorite team, why not also fuel up with the Brazilian superfoods that the health conscious covet?

For years, the South American country has introduced global audiences to antioxidant-rich power snacks cultivated in the Amazon (hello, acai berries!) or hydrating tonics plucked from the nearest tree (see: coconut water). Now with the spotlight on Rio de Janeiro, there’s never been a better time to familiarize yourself with the standout treats that will have you looking—and feeling—like an Olympian.

Coconut Water
Locals crack into Brazil’s bright green Anão coconuts daily for the hydrating health benefits of the fresh, vitamin-packed water within. While indisputably better when sipped on the sandy beaches of Ipanema, the country’s MVP elixir is available the world over, as brands like Pure Brazilian source their coconuts from the lush fields of Brazil. Low in calories and high in potassium, coconut water is a perfect drink for replenishing post-workout or combatting the dehydrating effects of a steamy summer day.

Acai Berry
With more antioxidants than blueberries, strawberries, or cranberries, as well as plentiful fiber and heart-healthy fats, the dark purplish acai berry has been a dietary staple of the Amazon’s indigenous population for generations. Now bottled and served all over the world as juice, in smoothie bowls, and in powdered form, it has never been easier, or more delicious, to get your daily boost.

Camu Camu
Containing approximately 100 times the vitamin C found in lemon, along with beta-carotene, fatty acids, and protein, the camu camu berry—also derived from the Amazon region—has been used as a homeopathic treatment for headaches, asthma, depression, and other illnesses. While its highly acidic taste previously rendered it nearly inedible, camu camu is quickly gaining in popularity in its processed form, as powder or in supplement capsules. And proving it has applications beyond beauty from the inside out, it has recently begun turning up in breakout skin-brightening face creams and serums.

Cupuaçu
A relative of the cocoa plant that grows wild in the rain forest, Cupuaçu fruit—derived from the tree of the same name and harvested in the north of Brazil—recalls the rich flavor of chocolate punctuated with a citrusy tang. Its creamy white pulp, which is high in antioxidants, amino acids, phytonutrients, and triglycerides, blends lusciously into smoothies, while its seeds can be pressed to create cupuaçu butter, a next-level moisturizer that deeply penetrates skin and hair.

Yucca
A mainstay of the Brazilian diet, yucca offers more than meets the eye. One cup of the raw root contains about half the recommended daily doses of vitamins C and manganese, along with significant levels of potassium, folate, and fiber. Eaten boiled, steamed, or even fried, yucca’s high nutrient content can fight free radicals and rebuild collagen. For those on a gluten-free diet, it’s also a popular grain-free flour alternative that’s turning up in everything from baked fries to Paleo bread.

 

 

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