Acai berry is an inch long black-purple fruit that looks similar to a grape, but is a relative of the blueberry and cranberry. The Acai berry comes from the Acai palm tree, which is native to Central and South America. For hundreds of years the Acai berry has been harvested in South and Central America and is thought of as an energizer by the people of South and Central America. In recent years the growing popularity of the fruit, has sparked hundreds of studies and debates about its health benefits.
The Acai berry consists of 3 layers, the exocarp (skin), the edible mesocarp (pulp) and the endocarp (seed). The seed consists of over 80% of the fruit so it takes many berries to gather enough pulp and skin to make one serving. If you've tasted fresh Acai you will know it has an amazing taste! It tastes a bit like blueberry berry with a subtle chocolate after taste.
You cannot buy Acai at the supermarket unless you live in South or Central America.
The Acai berry is very perishable and spoils within about 24 hours of being picked from the Acai palm tree. That is why most Acai berries that are going to be sold outside of South and Central America are either juiced or freeze dried and then turned into powder. It is better to purchase the powder Acai rather than the Juice because over time, the juice loses a lot of its flavor and nutritional benefits.
Nutritional content
Using modern procedures of a standardized freeze dried acai fruit pulp found that 100 g of powder was equal to 533.9 calories, 52.2 g carbohydrates, 8.1 g protein, and 32.5 g of fat. The Carbohydrates portion includes 44.2 g of fiber, which is nearly 1/3 of its mass as dietary fiber! Acai is very rich in fatty acids. Of the 32.5 g of fat, 56% of its fat is Monounsaturated fatty acid oleic acid, 24% saturated fat palmitic acid and 13% polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid linoleic.
Benefits
The Acai berry is considered by many to be not just a “Super Food” but the #1 “Super Food” because of its health benefits.* The Acai Berry is packed full of anthocyanins and flavonoids: It has 10 times more
antioxidants than red grapes and has 10 to 30 times the amount of anthocyanins and flavonoids as red wine.
The berry is also loaded with muscle building compounds. It has a protein profile similar to an egg which is considered by many to be the “perfect” protein for building lean, hard muscle and it also has tons of amino acids for muscle building and recovery.
The Acai is also packed with hearty healthy
omega 3 and omega 6 and omega 9. The fatty acid profile (healthy monounsaturated fat) has a lot of cardiovascular benefits, very similar to that of olive oil.
Because the acai berry itself is high in fiber, it immediately helps to curb your appetite and helps keep your system regular. The Acai berry also aids in digestion and is helpful for breaking down the foods you eat while storing less fat.
It sits at the top of the ORACS TABLE.
What is the ORACS table? It is a measurement of a substance to subdue oxygen
free radicals. In short, it is a lab assessment that can measure the antioxidant activity of one substance compared to another substance. The higher the ORACS number the stronger the antioxidant properties. Here is a graph showing how Acai is the king of fruit when it comes to expelling free radicals out of our body.
Other claims
Because it is so packed full of antioxidants, many proponents claim that the acai berry helps you lose weight from the inside out, promoting more energy, more sleep, and encouraging a wonderful feeling of well-being. There have also been claims that the Acai berry improves sexual performance, detoxifies the body, improves skin appearance, reduces cholesterol and helps the body recover from many ailments.
