What is Acai Berry?
Acai (pronounced a-sigh-EE) are found on acai palm trees in South and central American countries. However the fruit is mainly grown in the Amazon. Despite being just a small round berry the acai very is considered to be very high in anti oxidants. In fact an acai berry has 10 times the anti oxidants as a grape. The acai berry was originally used by the tribes as the main food source. These berries are broken down into the following nutritional values:
- Carbohydrates (50%)
- Fats (8%)
- Proteins (32%)
Like all berries the acai berry is very rich in vitamin C and has many anti inflammatory benefits. The acai berry is also high in polyphenols which is an amazing source of anti oxidants. Another supplement that has been getting a great deal of hype is resveratrol. It too is very high in polyphenols.
Acai berries have mainly been popular in the weight reduction industry. Marketers have been expressing that acai berries will flush the body of toxins that will lead to weight loss. Further, it is being said that acai berries will increase your metabolic rate. The fact remains there have been no clinical trials to prove this.
There needs to be some caution with the purchasing of acai berries though. Many cleaver marketers are “over selling” the benefits of acai berry. There are some very high level claims of acai berry even being able to prevent and cure cancel. However, there is no empirical research to suggest this is the case. While it is high in anti oxidants to suggest that acai berries can cure cancer is absurd.
Marketers have also exploited free acai berry trails when in fact many of these trials are not actually free. There have been many cases where people have signed up to these trails, received samples and then been billed $90 US per month and have had extremely difficulty in cancelling there acai berry trails.
While acai berry has some obvious health benefits one still needs to understand that acai is not a miracle cure to your health problems. Like any health supplement, it needs to be just that; a supplement. Nothing will compensate for excessive eating, drinking, smoking. You need to combine acai berry with a balanced diet and exercise.
About the author
Michael Jenkins is the owner of Australian Lifestyle & Fitness. ALF has been looking into acai berry and its health benefits. While acai berry is a good anti oxidant, consumers need to be aware that it is just a supplement, not a health cure.
