Ron Richardson asked:

Most have been highly localized and, until recently, not readily available to the public. Times are changing. The opening of world markets has made these rare products more widely available.

Consumers concerned with health and wellness are looking for natural foods that control free radicals, contain antioxidants, taste great and are organic. Health conscious individuals look to foods ones containing high vitamin and mineral content as well as high Omega and essential fatty acids. Exotic plants, fruits and berries provide low calorie, great tasting supplements with major health benefits. Let’s explore a few of these “superfoods.”

Fertile coastal regions of South and Central America harbor a wonderful palm tree known as the Acai Palm (pronounced asa’i) with excellent nutrients to be reaped. The palm hearts from the saplings of this species (Euterpe oleracea) are used widely in salads. They are very similar to those so common in oriental cooking. The large fronds of older palms are used to make roofing materials, clothing and fan blades.

The most important part of this palm, however, is the humble 1 inch round fruit. This berry looks like an oversized blueberry and has been described by many to taste like blackberries with a hint of chocolate. Yum! The Acai berry has a thin, dark purple skin and an extremely juicy inside, much like a grape. It surrounds a large, hard seed similar to that found in an olive. Acai berries are used locally as additions to cereals, eaten raw, or used in juices and teas. Berries shipped outside of local regions are generally available as ingredients in healthy juices.

This berry contains Omega-6, Omega-9 and nearly all other essential fatty acids that decrease incidents of cancer and cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks. Other benefits include a bolstered immune system and general good health. In addition, one serving of Acai contains protein equivalent to one egg.

Another important emerging berry is the Goji, or Chinese Wolfberry, which has been considered both a nutrimental food and a medicinal plant in Asian cultures for over 1900 years. The Goji berry is dried and eaten as a snack food or used in cooking. The Tibetan or Himalayan Goji is the most sought after and claimed to be picked only in the wild.

With the emerging emphasis on organically grown foods, China has implemented an organic growing program. Commercially grown Goji berry prices are beginning to come down while quality remains high. This makes them an excellent choice for people on the go who want to have healthy snacks at hand.

The pomegranate is probably the ugliest fruit on the outside and the most beautiful on the inside. The leathery red/brown outside holds small fruits resembling fields of rubies mixed with honeycombed inner passages. Many a child has sat for hours extracting the jewel-like seeds for their amazing flavor. A native of the tropical regions, this fruit is probably the best known of the exotic fruits. Its antioxidant properties have taken a back seat to its wonderful taste. Pomegranate juice tastes a bit like sweet ripe cherries, and the concentrated juice has been widely used in tropical drinks. Only recently have studies been done that show the incredible powers of this fruit in reducing health risks.

All fruits, berries and vegetables have great nutritional and food value. For people on-the-go who want to maintain the 5-8 servings of antioxidant foods per day, exotic berries, including Acai berry supplements, are a good snack choice. They contain up to five times more antioxidants than any other fruit or vegetable, including much touted prunes and raisins.

Free Acai Trial Offer

Judith Kelly asked:


Açai is a member of Euterpe Genus (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) extensively distributed in Northern South America. It is most abundant in the floodplains of the Brazilian Amazons. Acai (pronounced ah-SAH’-ee) is a lanky, multi-stemmed, monoecious palm that can grow to over 30 meters height. The most important aspect of this palm tree is the acai palm berries. The acai berry fruit grows in 7 species of palm through central and South America found along the basins, rivers and swamps. The acai berry fruits are mainly harvested from July to December. Each palm tree can produce from 3 to 4 clusters of fruits, each cluster can weigh 3 to 6 kilograms, and it contains about 700 to 900 individual grape sized berries. The globular shaped fruits change their color from green to dark purple during the process of ripening and their size range from 1.0 to 1.5 cm in diameter. The majority (about 90%) of the fruit is the large seed in the middle; the edible layer of the fruit is very small and covered by a slim fibrous layer. That is one of the reasons why acai is not that cheap. The edible layer is prepared as pulp and then made into a thick juice. The pulp has roughly 2.4% of protein and 5.9% of lipid. The juice has been prepared for human consumption. The taste is a combination of berries and chocolate. A lot of historical and biochemical evidence indicate that it is the healthiest fruit we have found so far.

It is commonly blended or combined with other fruits, juices, and made into energetic snacks, liqueur, jelly, ice cream and the freeze dried powder, which actually has higher potency than the liquid form due to the higher concentration of the nutrients. The powder has been used to make pills. It has been found that this magical fruit is a natural metabolism booster, hence a great healthy answer to a lot of dieters. It does not suppress your appetite, you still eat the same amount of delicious enjoyable meal as you like, what it does, in layman’s term is burring more calories while you are doing your normal activities. Acai has been used initially by surfers for better athletic performance, due to its ability of increased metabolism.

As we noted before, we do not just consume acai alone, we use acai in combination with other beneficial products to gain the most benefits form acai. The obvious benefit of the acai berry and its potential economical value has drawn a lot of companies into creating and producing their brand of acai products to aid weight loss and other health issues. But, every product is different. The formulations of existing acai products can be quite different, in the composition of choice of ingredient, the sourcing of the ingredients and preparation of the ingredients. All factors can affect the quality of the final products…

Hence, it is best to research and find out what is really in an acai product of interests before you spend your valuable hard earned dollars.



Where to buy Acai berries?

Laurie Robillard asked:


The Good Doctor Asks: “Do you want to be healthy?”

Are you tired of dreadful migraines? How is your blood pressure? Do you have a history of cancer in your family? Come on in to the Great Product Place. The good doctor is here. The good doctor says: “Drink with your health in mind.” “Fight back with anthocyanins,” and that doesn’t mean drink lots of wine and smoke like a chimney. The good doctor wants to know if you get your health guidance from the mainstream media. It goes like this: “The healthiest way to live is to guzzle red wine and drown everything in olive oil. You might elegantly call it the “French paradox” or the “Mediterranean diet.” The good doctor says there is a better way to get these valuable phytochemicals than guzzling wine and drowning in oil. He also says: “An apple a day does not keep the doctor away. You would do better with wild blueberries, green peppers, spinach, broccoli, and cranberries. You should also add cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, and dried oregano. “Don’t worry about the apple it comes with its own set of features and benefits. Variety and color is the key to good health. Don’t forget the recommended “5-a-day.” If you are eating “5-a-day” and most people aren’t, ask yourself is “5-a-day” enough? Do you basically just eat apples, bananas and oranges and treat yourself to grapes once a week. The good doctor knows what sells the most in the stores. You can’t hide what you are eating. OK if you’re from Trinidad you might eat mangoes. When the berries are in season you might eat strawberries, cherries, blueberries etc.

The good doctor wants to know if you heard about the Amazon Rainforest secret?

No it’s not the mangosteen, it grows in Asia. No it’s not the noni, it grows in the Polynesian Islands. The good doctor says: “If you don’t know what you don’t know therefore be learning from others.” This is the secret, Acai. Can you pronounce it? Try this (ah-saH’-ee). Have some fun with it. Acai is the fruit of a palm tree that grows in the rainforests of the Amazon – a tree Brazilians call “The Tree of Life.” About 90 percent of the small, round fruit is its hard, inedible pit. It’s the outside skin that holds the treasure. That dark purple skin is what contains the anthocyanins. Did you hear that word before? You heard it from the good doctor. He said: “Fight back with anthocyanins.” I told the good doctor that you want him to speak English. He said it’s time you expand your vocabulary so you can improve your health. He wants you to learn about antioxidants. Anthocyanins are members of the flavonoid class of antioxidants. The Acai fruit imparts health benefits associated with consumption of foods high in antioxidants, such as reduced risk or prevention of chronic and oxidative stress related disorders. Remember the questions you were asked when you entered the Great Product Place. The door to another world of healing just opened to you. The good doctor shared his secret. He feels his mission is accomplished. The rest is up to you. When you leave the Great Product Place don’t forget the good doctor’s words: “Fight back with Acai Berry.”

The good doctor also wants you to know about the importance of Omega 3,6,9. They are (Essential Fatty Acids) EFA’s . Your body can’t produce them and they are essential. You can find EFA’s in tuna, mackerel, and salmon but you might get some mercury also. DHA is one type of omega 3 fatty acid that is crucial for brain development that is found in breastmilk. EPA is another type of omega 3 fatty acid that is crucial for brain function in breastmilk, fatty fish (cold water wild fish) and algae. The most important thing to know about DHA and EPA is you need to get them in your diet. There are some food sources for omega 3′s such as flax, soybean, walnut, but these contain ALA (alpa-linolenic acid) which doesn’t have the same health benefits as EPA. Only 20% converts to EPA and DHA. Many people are dificient in the enzymes needed for the conversion, so you might be getting flax, but still end up deficient in EFA’s.  If you drink the Acai Berry 19 juice blend, then you will be sure to get the fatty acids needed for brain function.



 

 

 



Monavie Acai Berry