The Healthful Nutrients In The Acai Berry

The acai berry is an amazing nutritional discovery. Found only in the rainforests of Brazil it has only recently been accessible throughout the world due to advances in processing techniques. This amazing little berry boasts up to ten times the antioxidant level of red grapes and twice the antioxidant levels of blueberries. The acai fruit also diminishes the antioxidant levels of red wine having ten to thirty times as much antioxidant activity. The acai berry contains a few of the highest antioxidant levels of any fruit available anywhere.
The acai berry is extremely high in two powerful antioxidants called anthocyanins and flavonoids. Anthocyanin is the substance that makes the deep red to deep purple colors of many health-promoting foods including blueberries, red grapes, purple cabbage and of course the acai berry. Foods that are high in anthocyanins are exceptionally nutritious and full of antioxidants.
Vitamin antioxidants such as anthocyanins and flavonoids defend the body from stress and free radicals. Free radicals are described as a molecule or an atom that contains a single unpaired electron. Due to this unpaired electron the molecule is extremely unstable and disruptive to your body. An antioxidant will pair up the random electron and neutralize the molecule. Both anthocyanins and flavonoids are strong antioxidants that defend the body from stress and free radicals.
Antioxidant capacity is characterized by a number referred to as an ORAC score. An ORAC score assesses the ability of a substance to neutralize free radicals in a test tube. The higher the number of the ORAC scores the stronger the antioxidant properties of the substance being evaluated. The acai berry has an extremely high ORAC score. Most of the products made with the acai fruit have retained this high ORAC capacity.
Astonishingly for a fruit, the acai fruit is also loaded with efa’s which are crucial to good health and amino acids which are the building blocks of proteins. Nearly half of the edible portion of the acai berry is composed of fat and 74% of that fat is the unsaturated healthy fats Omega 3, Omega 6 and Omega 9. The acai berry is also composed of 19 different amino acids.
The acai berry are also comprised of an lavish amount of vitamins and plant sterols. Plant sterols have shown to give a number of health benefits and of course, we are all familiar with the health benefits of vitamins. The acai fruit contains vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C and E in copious amounts. It also has ample amounts of the essential minerals magnesium, calcium, potassium, copper and zinc.
Even with all of these amazing health advantages among the best things about the acai fruit is that it is quite tasty and it provides a substantial dose of fiber. Acai berry products range from dried berries to a delicious juice and even various products made from the extract. Acai berries may be used in desserts, smoothies and more.
Research will continue to be conducted on the acai fruit but the findings so far have been pretty astonishing. The acai berry can aid in weight loss and the prevention of diseases. The acai berry offers tremendous nutritional benefits that are beneficial to human health.

Facts and Fiction Surrounding the Acai Berry

By: Joseph Long
Acai berry fruit is a rare fruit that can only be found in the Amazon. It’s rare not because it’s an endangered plant, but because exporting it takes a lot of effort. It can’t simply be sipped as a fresh fruit because it spoils easily. This is largely because of the high (good) fat content in its pulp. Also, only 10% of acai berry fruits are beneficial for human dietary consumption. About 90% of the fruit are seeds, which have no nutritional value.

Popularity
Acai berry products have been popular through the years for its anti-aging benefits. Fairly recently, medical researches have found that it’s also largely responsible for weight loss. Oprah pronounced it as the world’s #1 superfood, because is has the highest lever lf antioxidants, anthocyanins, vitamins, and minerals, compared to other fruit sources.  

Make Sure You Read The Label
Because the acai berry fruit can’t be imported from the Amazon as fresh produce, it needs to undergo various types of preservations. The most common is freezing the acai fruit pulp, which is responsible for the rare and pricy fruit pulps that the most health conscious of us buy from specialized stores. The more common derivative of acai berries, however, are capsule supplements.

You should carefully read the label and look for a “freeze dried” note. This means that the acai berry has been frozen and dried before it was turned to powder. “Spray drying” which may be the technique used for cheaper acai berry supplements strip the fruit of all its nutrients. Do not buy “extracts” of acai berries as well, because it defeats the purpose of buying acai berries in the first place. When you buy these berries, you would want their full benefits.

Nutritional Facts
When you buy acai berry, you rest assured knowing that you’re purchasing organic products. This means that you don’t have to worry about odd side-effects which may be caused by chemicals added into your supplements. Acai berries give you the same benefits as any other fruits, only in a more concentrated manner. For example, we already know that most plant foods have antioxidants, Omegas and Anthocyanins. For such a small fruit, though, researchers have found that these substances exist in a high percentage on a single acai berry fruit.

Acai berries offer 10 times the amount of Anthocyanins compared to good old red wine. This means that taking a single capsule of acai berry supplement can actually be more beneficial for the heart compared to a full glass of red wine. This is especially good news for people who are allergic to alcohol.  

Acai berries also have twice the antioxidants that are found in blueberries. Blueberries used to have the highest amount of cancer-fighting antioxidants before the discovery of this new fruit. Those who have difficulty with their bowel movement may also benefit from the high fiber content (14%) of acai berry products. This is certainly a healthier way to lose weight compared to artificial laxatives which only cause our bodies to get dehydrated.