What is Baobab?
Tiiga Co-Founder's son holding a ripe baobab fruit that has fallen from a tree in Burkina Faso.
Baobab is a fruit that grows from the Boabab tree; commonly referred to as "The Tree Of Life". It grows in arid parts of Africa and can live up to 3,000 years! This tree is known for the immense amount of water it can store in it's trunk to help the tree weather even the harshest of climates. This tree produces incredibly nutrient dense fruit, seeds, and bark. When cracked open, this pod-like fruit holds pulp that is NATURALLY powdered. This powder is removed from the pod and sieved down to a nutrient dense powder that is used in drinks and other food products.
The Western word is just starting to learn more about the incredible benefits of this fruit and the amazing impacts it can have on your body. Here are the Top 10 Reasons Baobab Should Be in Your Daily Diet:
1. Baobab is High In Vitamin C
The human body cannot make or store Vitamin C on its own. So, it is important to make sure you have plenty of Vitamin C as a regular addition to your diet. Baobab contains almost 6x the amount of Vitamin C by weight compared to an orange. Vitamin C is known to be involved in the formation of collagen and the proper functioning of the immune system.
2. Baobab is Rich in Prebiotic Fiber
You may have heard of probiotics, but are you familiar with prebiotics? Prebiotics feed the good bacteria (probiotics) in your gut to keep them happy and healthy. The baobab fruit is almost 50% fiber, both soluble and insoluble and fiber is essential to keeping your microbiome in good condition.
These prebiotic qualities can also help explain how baobab might just be the secret to having the world’s healthiest gut. Studies of the Hadza Tribe in Tanzania, some of the planet's last remaining hunter gatherers, found they have 40% more diverse gut microbiomes than the average Westerner! “According to scientists, the Hadza have the most diverse gut bacteria of anyone anywhere in the world”
3. Baobab is Full of Antioxidants
When most people think of antioxidants, they think of acai, goji berry, or even blueberries. What most people do now know is that baboab powder's Antioxidant ORAC value FAR surpasses the ORAC values of these berries listed below. Antioxidants help neutralize harmful free radicals, which may play a role in heart disease, cancer, and other diseases.
4. Baobab May Help Regulate Your Blood Sugar
5. Baobab is high in Potassium
Baobab has over 4 times the potassium of a banana. Potassium is a nutrient that plays an important role in nerve and muscle function. Athletes especially pay attention to the amount of potassium in the products they consume as it helps to prevent cramping when trying to perform.
6. Baoab is Extremely Bioavailable
Sure, nutrient density is important and vital to the keeping our bodies in tip top shape. But what good are nutrients if our body cannot absorb them?! Baobab is full of vitamins and nutrients that are actually bioavailable as well. This means that a high amount of these benefits are absorbed and metabolized by your body to use.
7. Baobab Powder is a Raw Nutrient
One of the most interesting aspects of the baobab fruit is the state in which people consume it.
Baobab grows in arid areas of Africa during the rainy season, but then ripens for a few months on the tree until harvested during the dry season.The result is a completely dried out pulp when the fruit is cracked open.
This means that you are consuming a raw fruit when drinking Tiiga. Over 50% of our product is the baobab fruit, so you can feel good that you are drinking a natural product that has retained as many nutrients from the baobab fruit as possible.
8. Baobab Empowers Local Communities Back in Africa
Baobab trees are revered in African communities and are extremely unique in that the trees are not owned by any one group or individual. This fruit is wild harvested by small local communities that then work together to sieve and then sell the fruit. This process creates a sustainable income for families and empowers women to build an income for themselves. Tiiga is proud to partner with our baobab suppliers to continue to grow the income and education opportunities for those who harvest this fruit.
Looking for a way to incorporate baobab into your diet?
Just one serving of Tiiga a day gives you 7 grams of raw baobab fruit. It is easy to take on the go and mixes easily into your favorite water bottle.
Click here to get started with our Tiiga 6 Pack Sampler Risk Free!
All Nutritional facts from USDA, Tiiga and other reputable sources. More information available upon request. ORAC – stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity – a measure of the ability of a substance to absorb free radicals(which you want to control) in your body. Used in determining the antioxidant effects of foods on the human body.
