Acai Fruit – An Antioxidant Fighting Machine

Chances are you hadn’t heard the Acai Fruit until it made the “Top Ten List of Super Foods” compiled by the dermatologist and author Dr. Nicholas Perricone.

As Oprah mentioned, “This little berry is one of the world’s most nutritious and powerful foods. It can often be found in juice form in health food and gourmet stores.” Oprah recently featured the berry again on her February 5th airing of “Dr. Oz’s Ultimate Anti-Aging Checklist.” Dr. Oz commented on the show, “It has twice the antioxidant content as a blueberry, so it’s a wonderful alternative,” Dr. Oz says. “Look at the food label and make sure they don’t have too many carbohydrates. It’s available in all major stores now. It’s just breaking through.”

Açaí (pronounced ah-sigh-EE) is a palm tree’s fruit that grows in Brazil’s Amazon rain forests. The acai fruit is a small, round, blackish-purple berry about 1 inch in diameter. Two or three crops of fruit are produced each year. Harvesting this little berry allows the trees to stay where they are. In other words, the famous heart of palm becomes less valuable because the tree has to be cut down for it. Obviously, one only gets one product rendering by cutting down the tree. Whereas, with berry production, the tree has at least two uses yearly.

The acai fruit has found fame recently, being labeled as the new kid on the block of disease super-fighters. This fruit’s ascension is a large number of antioxidants it carries as weapons in the war.

So the recent popularity of Antioxidant Açaí is helping humans in many ways and preventing deforestation of the Amazon.

The Acai Fruit contains antioxidants that protect your health and give you energy. In fact, it delivers 33 times more antioxidant power than both red grapes and red wine. In addition, the Acai Fruit also contains amino acids, essential vitamins, and trace minerals.

In summary, Acai is rich in the following beneficial nutrients:

• antioxidants
• phytonutrients
• essential fatty acids (Omega 3, 6, & 9)
• vitamins and minerals
• complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber
• amino acids, trace minerals

Since açaí loses its nutritional value rapidly after harvesting, outside the growing region, popular forms of açaí are frozen, dried, or freeze-dried. Several companies now manufacture juices, health drinks, and sorbets with these little berries (often with other berries and fruits included).

Harvesting of the berry deep begins in the Brazilian Amazon—removing only the berries and leaving the tree for future harvesting and safeguarding the rainforest. Since the açaí berry is a delicate fruit, much of its vitamins and nutrients can be lost within 24 hours after harvesting. Some companies take special care to freeze the berry and then reduce the berry into a fine freeze-dried powder.

Certain companies can capture the unique benefits only the fresh açaí berry can offer through this patent-pending technique. For bottling, the best technique is flash pasteurization rather than kettle pasteurization, therefore capturing the berry’s fresh flavors, vibrant colors, and dense nutrient content.

Acai berry complex protects the body’s cells from pathogens, antigens, and carcinogens. The body recognizes these nutrients and adapts them to protect and strengthen the immune system. In addition, the berry allows blood/brain barrier transmission while strengthening cell membranes.

All cell membranes need to protect against the unwanted entrance of pathogens. In addition, the berry strengthens the nervous system. From the brain to the smallest nerve ending, this physiological (electrical) process needs energy for proper synaptic responses that quality food delivers.

The berry provides essential oils. Oils are tiny particles that bind with other nutrients and transport them through membranes. Our bodies would not work without them. They not only transport but contain phytochemicals themselves.

Have you tried the acai berry?  Please let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

Learn more about the Acai Berry and its benefits: