George Alarcon asked:


Many positive things have been mentioned about acai berry. Believe it or not, acai berry has been in the market for only 5 short years. Acai berry is a well-kept secret of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil where it is hand-picked by the natives. Acai berry grows quite wildly on top of palm trees. The acai fruit is of a deep purple color and is famously rich in important nutrients such as protein, fiber, heart-protecting fatty acids, and vitamins.

This fruit can play an extremely important role in not only maintaining our health but also preventing future problems from ever arising such as cancer and heart disease! The benefits from consuming this very nutritious berry are almost endless. In fact, according to a world renowned anti-aging expert, Dr. Nicholas Perricone, acai berry is one fruit he highly recommends adding to one’s daily diet. Why? This most-talked about berry is a very nutritious and one of the most powerful foods found in the world.

One of the most vital health benefits that acai berry can actually provide is the unique ability it has on the aging process because of its antioxidant properties that come from its concentration of anthocyanin. Because of this concentration of anthocyanin, acai has been recognized as one of the foremost superfoods for anti-aging; these properties are in fact the same one believed to be responsible for providing red wine with its reported health benefits; yet, acai berry contains from 10 to 30 times more anthocyanins than red wine.

This amazing fruit combats free radicals which are the chief cause of the aging process as they damage different parts of the human body from within over the years. For example, the amino acids and trace minerals that are found in acai help in ideal muscle contraction and regeneration; this helps slow down the destructive effects to the skin which cause the signs of aging.

Another example: the fatty acid in acai is high in monounsaturated oleic acid which together with omega 3 fish oils enter cell membranes and help to make them suppler; this in fact permits for neurotransmitters, hormones, and insulin receptors to work more efficiently, diminishing inflammation. Remember: inflammation is a leading cause of the aging process.

Acai berry provides many health benefits that it would be impossible to list them in this article. There is little wonder why this amazing fruit has become so popular around the world.



Acai Perricone Diet

Mark Ransome asked:

The Acai (pronounced ah-SAH-ee) berry is the latest super antioxidant food sweeping the world. This small round fruit is produced by the Acai Palm which is native to Central and South America floodplains and swamps. The fruit is rich in anthocyanin / anthocyanidin phytonutrients which are members of the flavonoid class of antioxidants. The dark purple berry, which tastes something like a blend of berries and chocolate, supposedly contains 10 to 30 times the flavonoids contained in red wine. The pulp is also rich in B vitamins, minerals, protein, Vitamin E, caffeine, fiber and essential fatty acids (such as Omega-3, Omega-6 and Omega-9). This wonder food is purported to fight cancer, control cholesterol, increase energy, improve your sex life and help you lose weight. The University of Florida is studying its cancer fighting properties and Dr. Nicholas Perricone has recommended it as one of his “top 10 superfoods for age-defying beauty” on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show, and in an article in “Oprah” magazine and also in his book “The Perricone Promise”. This little berry has been touted as one of the most nutritious and healthy foods in the world.

The studies being conducted at the University of Florida have determined that the Brazilian berry destroys cultured leukemia cancer cells. This study was not intended to show whether acai berries could prevent leukemia in people as it was only a cell-culture model. This is not a unique effect as other fruits such as grapes, guavas and mangoes contained antioxidant products that also destroyed cultured cancer cells. A lot of claims are being made but research has just started on the acai berry. Another study is underway to investigate the effects of acai’s antioxidants on human subjects.

The acai berry is a small dark blue fruit, similar in size to a blueberry or small grape but with less pulp, that grows in clusters or panicles of approximately 800 berries on Acai palm trees. The tribes of the Amazon knew of the health properties of this fruit for centuries and traditionally pulped it to make wine. The berries contain a thin layer of edible pulp surrounding a large seed. These palms are extremely prevalent in the floodplain areas of the Amazon River and are easy to cultivate as a replacement tree in areas where the rain forest has been destroyed. The slender palms grow from 40 to 80 feet tall and have leaves up to 10 feet long. Each palm can produce more than 50 pounds of berries annually. The harvesting of this powerful antioxidant rich product has become a major industry in Brazil and employs up to 30,000 people on a daily basis to harvest and process the product. Unfortunately the fruit deteriorates rapidly after harvesting (active properties can disappear after 24 hours) and so it is restricted to being eaten in the growing region or being processed and shipped as juice or frozen pulp. This industry has become an economic and environmentally-friendly alternative to unsustainable harvesting of hearts of palm, logging and conversion of the rain forest to farming or ranching. During the last decade in Brazil, acai has become a major food fad and Brazilians consume the frozen pulp alone or in yogurt, ice cream, smoothies, drinks, fruit or as a cereal topping. The frozen pulp tastes like a blueberry sorbet or ice cream with a hint of chocolate.

Acai can be difficult to find outside of South America although the frozen pulp and juices are starting to be imported into the US and Canada. Your best chance of finding the product is in health food stores or the health food section of your supermarket. Make sure that the acai berry is wild harvested and quickly frozen to retain its maximum nutrient value. Also in the US, acai is being sold as an ingredient in a number of beverages, and as frozen fruit that can be added to home-made smoothies as well as in health food extracts and supplements.

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WRC asked:

The Açai (ah-sigh-ee) Berry is found in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest. This little dark, purple berry boasts an ORAC (antioxidant) score of about 10 X the power of red grapes and up to 30 X times the anthocyanins of red wine! Its incredible power pack of antioxidants produce high levels of anthocyanins and polyphenols. These antioxidants are the substances that protect the cells against the damage from oxidation caused by “free radical” molecules. In addition to the anthocyanin’s potent antioxidant capabilities, anthocyanins are reported to have strong anti-viral properties.

Did you know that the antioxidants in the Açai Berry destroyed cultured human cancer cells in a recent University of Florida study? According to Stephen Talcott, an assistant professor with UF’s Institute of Food and agricultural Sciences, the study showed extracts from Açai Berries “triggered a self-destruct response in up to 86 percent of leukemia cells tested.” (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, January 2006). “In this type of experiment we look for two things. We try to see if the cancerous cells are dying, and we try to see if the cells release an enzyme known as caspase-3.” Caspase-3 is an enzyme released by cancerous cells as they die.

On the Oprah Winfrey Show, special guest Dr. Nicholas Perricone, author of the best-seller, The Perricone Promise presented Açai as number one of the Top 10 Superfoods on the planet. He called it, “…one of the most nutritious and powerful foods in the world!”

It’s no wonder people are going nuts over this amazing fruit from the Amazon. The Açai Berry is also loaded with vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6 and B12, as well as beta-carotene, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, fiber, protein and amino acids. It contains anti-inflammatories, anti-mutagenics and anti-bacterials. This berry is packed with phytonutrients which have been found to have potent antibacterial and anti-viral effects. Its phytosterol elements are made up of sterols which are components of plant cell membranes providing numerous reported benefits to the human body, namely the reduction of blood plasma cholesterol.

Unlike other fruits, the Açai Berry also contains essential fatty acids with a ratio that resembles that of olive oil. It has about 60% Omega 9 (Oleic acid) and 12% Omega 6 (Linoleic acid). Research shows that Omega 9 fatty acids can help to lower LDL and maintain HDL (beneficial cholesterol) levels, while Omega 6 can help lower both LDL and HDL levels.

Fruit juices are often avoided by diabetics and people watching their sugar intake. Yet, another unique quality of the Açai Berry is its low-glycemic factor, high protein and high fiber content. In The Insider’s Guide to America’s Worst & Best Supplements, Dr. Juliann Whitaker never thought he would ever recommend drinking a fruit juice. Nevertheless, when he discovered the Açai Berry’s contents, he gave it a “thumbs-up!”

Buyer beware! Consumers must be careful when shopping for Açai, because this little gem has to be freeze dried within 24 hours or it loses its active properties. Spray drying the berries also destroys most of its nutrients. To make matters worse, most Açai products contain non-organic ingredients, fillers, stimulants, water or chemical preservatives, as well as added sugar, artificial sweeteners, fructose or lots of other fruit juices. When buying Açai, be sure to only purchase products that have passed the 10 Acai Product Quality Tests.

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