Acai berries look purpleish and are about as big as a cranberry. Among the nutrients found in acai berry, its antioxidants are what it’s most known for. Recipes using acai berry pulp have become very popular, including the acai berry smoothie with soy. The acai berry is becoming more popular as an important part of herbal weight-loss drinks and other products.
People who are overweight are at risk of developing problems metabolizing fats and sugar, which then leads to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and/or type-2 diabetes. All these symptoms, together with high blood pressure, high fasting blood glucose levels, elevated levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) and reduced levels of good (HDL) cholesterol, are collectively called “metabolic syndrome.”
In 2011, an interesting exploratory study was conducted on 10 overweight men and women. Each was given 100 g acai pulp to drink with a meal twice daily for one month. The diet of the adults (total nutrient and caloric intake) was constant during the study. After a month of drinking the açai pulp, the adults’ average fasting glucose and insulin levels had decreased significantly. What’s more, drinking the açai had lowered their total cholesterol and also reduced the bad (LDL) cholesterol from being slightly elevated to being in the optimal range. The researchers concluded that by consuming açai pulp for 30 days, the overweight adults’ rise in glucose levels following a standardized meal was significantly smaller than it was before their acai regimen. By drinking acai berry juice, they had in fact, reduced their symptoms of metabolic syndrome – thus lowering their risk for diabetes – in just 30 days.
