History of the Acai Berrie

The Acai (pronounced ah-SAH-ee) berry is the most recent super antioxidant food sweeping the world. This little round fruit is developed by the Acai Palm which is native to Central and South America flood plains 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 purposed to fight cancer, control cholesterol, increase energy, better your sex life and help you lose weight. The University of Florida is analyzing its cancer fighting attributes 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 small berry has been boasted as one of the most healthy and healthy foods in the world.

The studies being taken at the University of Florida have established that the Brazilian berry destroys cultured leukemia cancer cells. This study was not intended to show whether acai berries could prevent leukemia in individuals as it was only a cell-culture model. This is not a special result 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 begun on the acai berry. Some Other study is ongoing to look into the effects of acai’s antioxidants on human subjects.

The acai berry is a little dark blue fruit, similar in size to a blueberry or small grape but with less pulp, that evolves in clusters or panicles of close to 800 berries on Acai palm trees. The tribes of the Amazon knew of the health attributes of this fruit for centuries and traditionally pulped it to make wine. The berries contain a fine layer of edible pulp surrounding a large seed. These palms are highly prevalent in the floodplain regions of the Amazon River and are simple to cultivate as a substitute tree in areas where the rain forest has been demolished. The narrow palm trees grow from 40 to 80 feet tall and have leaves up to 10 feet long. Each palm tree can make more than 50 pounds of berries annually. The harvesting of this powerful antioxidant robust product has become a superior industry in Brazil and hires up to 30,000 people on a daily basis to reap and process the product. Regrettably the fruit degenerates rapidly after reaping (active attributes can disappear after 24 hours) and so it is restrained to being consumed in the growing region or being refined and sent as juice or frozen pulp. This industry has become an lucrative and environmentally-friendly substitute to unsustainable harvesting of hearts of palm, lumbering and transition of the rain forest to farming or ranching. During the last tenner in Brazil, acai has become a major food fad and Brazilians eat 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 trying to find outside of South America although the frozen pulp and juices are beginning to be imported into the US and Canada. Your greatest 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 promptly frozen to keep its maximal 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 contributed to home-made smoothies as well as in health food extracts and supplements.