The antioxidant benefits come from the pulp and skin of the berry, although the heart of palm is also consumed as an ingredient in salad.  The Acai Berry is a dark purple fruit that has a large pit or seed.  In fact, only about ten percent of the berry is made up of the beneficial pulp and skin.  The berries are harvested and the seeds and pulp are separated.  What is left is a puree that is consumed in a variety of ways in Brazil.

The Acai Berry Emerges As A Superfood

While the people of Brazil were already well aware of the health benefits of the Acai Berry, it is only in recent years that the berry has come under the scrutiny of scientists and nutritionists from America.  The news about the nutritional value of the acai berry has made its way into virtually every media market in the United States.

It seems that the acai berry has an impossible reputation to live up to, but there are some amazing qualities of this fruit that will provide health benefits to those who use it.  It is mainly the antioxidant properties of the fruit that have given acai its lofty reputation.

Antioxidant Properties Of Acai Berry

In simple terms, antioxidants do just what their name implies.  They counteract the effects of oxidation in our body’s tissues.  Oxidation is a normal part of the aging process and it is what causes our bodies to break down.  Antioxidants are nutrients and enzymes that will stop the progression of this breakdown in the body.

The acai berry has been shown to have a great deal of this antioxidant power and is, in fact, one of the best sources that you can include in your diet.  Some of the areas that antioxidants and the acai berry can help you are:

• Boost your immune system.  This will help your body’s natural ability to fight off disease
• Weight loss benefits by aiding the body’s natural ability to lose weight
• Improve the body’s ability to digest foods properly
• Reduce or eliminate aches and pains
• Increase your energy
• Help with sleep problems
• Increase your sex drive
• Fight Cancer
• Lower your blood pressure
• Counteract the effects of aging
• Fight inflammation
• Fight heart disease

Using Acai Berry

With all of the benefits of acai berry, it is little wonder that many manufacturers have jumped on the bandwagon and developed products to sell to the eager consumers who are clamoring for this wonder fruit.  Another of the benefits of acai berry that is rarely mentioned is its wonderful taste.  It is used in a number of drink products that are sold in health food stores everywhere.  The most common method of using acai berry, however, is in the form of supplements.

In these supplements, the weight loss benefits of the berry are being stressed heavily.  The studies have shown that there is a boost to the metabolism from acai berry and it can aid dieters in their weight loss efforts.

One of the problems with the acai berry is that it is an incredibly perishable fruit.  It is nearly impossible to bring the fruit to market fast enough because the fruit begins to spoil just a few days after it is harvested.  That is the main reason why supplements that are made from the fruit are such a popular way to bring the benefits of the acai berry to the market.

It is important to note that acai berry has to be preserved almost immediately after harvesting.  Many of the products that are available on the market use a freeze drying technique that is reported to be the best way to retain the health benefits of acai berry.

While acai berry is marketed by many companies as an aid in weight loss, it is the antioxidant benefits that give it so many other health benefits. These benefits can have a profound effect on many different aspects of your health. Those who are looking for a supplement that will impact their health in such a positive way, should read the benefits that are provided by the acai berry.

When acai berry is taken as a supplement, there is a major effect on the natural aging process. As the body ages more free radicals are produced in the body and begin to destroy cells. As cells are destroyed the body begins to age. Antioxidants can eliminate the free radicals and put a stop to the damage that is being caused in the body. This has a tremendous effect on the entire body. Some of the benefits that come from antioxidants such as the ones that are found in acai berry.

Here are just some of the benefits of including acai berry in your diet.

• Improved Cancer And Disease Fighting
• Boost To The Immune System
• Aid The Body In Weight Loss
• Improve The Digestive System
• Improve Vision
• Fight Heart Disease
• Improves Energy
• Increases Stamina
• Improves Sleep

Many of these benefits can be attributed to the antioxidant effects of acai berry. Every one of these benefits that can be gained from the use of acai berry has been researched and proven.

Improved Cancer and Disease Fighting: The acai berry has double the amount of antioxidants as blueberries that were previously thought to be the number one superfood. Cancer and some disease have been linked to cell damage caused by free radicals. The antioxidant effect of acai berry stops the progression of this damage by attacking the free radicals in the body.

Boost To The Immune System: The immune system is the body’s defense mechanism against disease and illness. The acai berry provides the immune system with a new weapon in the form of antioxidants. This enables the body to fight off disease with a stronger and improved immune system.

Aid The Body In Weight Loss: When the body is functioning at its best, it is much easier to lose weight. The acai berry helps the body’s own natural processes work to their fullest capacity so you are more likely to lose weight when you use this superfood. There is an improvement to the fat burning capabilities as well as a way to return balance to the body so that weight loss can be achieved.

Improve The Digestive System: Not only are there antioxidants in acai berry, but there is also a healthy amount of fiber. The body must have fiber to maintain good health. When you are looking to improve your diet to encourage a healthy digestive system, acai berry can be added for these benefits.

Improve Vision: Many people don’t think of their vision when they are considering the effects of aging, however, many of the problems that people face are caused by eye disease. The degeneration that occurs to your vision as you age can be diminished with the addition of antioxidants and acai berry in your diet.

Fight Heart Disease: Acai berry works to fight heart disease by lowering the amount of bad cholesterol and maintaining the good cholesterol in the body at the same time. This is essential in the fight against heart disease. It also provides many of the nutrients that are effective in fighting against heart disease as well.

Improves Energy: Acai is a rich source of vegetable protein and carbohydrate. The carbohydrates in acai berry provide your body with energy. That is typically the reason that you will find acai berry served in health clubs all over Brazil. The antioxidant effect of acai berry can also produce an increase in energy as the damage that is caused by free radicals is eliminated and an increase in the immune system is produced.

Increases Stamina: The vegetable protein that is found in acai berry is delivered directly to the muscles of the body without producing cholesterol in the same way that an animal protein will.

Improves Sleep: The acai berry has the ability to improve sleep by providing necessary nutrients to the muscles that not only allow them to perform better, but also allow them to relax as well.

Where Is The Acai Berry Grown?

The acai berry comes from the acai palm that grows in the rainforests of Brazil.

Why Are Acai Berries Becoming So Popular?

As the health benefits of the acai berry were discovered it increased in popularity. When it was featured on the Oprah Winfrey show and Dr. Perricone declared that the berry was the number one superfood, its popularity hit worldwide proportions.

What Are The Health Benefits Of The Acai Berry?

The acai berry is a potent source of antioxidants, which have a variety of health benefits. Acai berries have twenty times the antioxidant power of grapes which have long been noted for their health benefits and is the reason that red wine had been shown to have a positive effect on health. It also has high levels of essential fatty acids such as Omega-3. These fatty acids have been shown to reduce inflammation in the body which is a source of a variety of diseases such as arthritis. This combination in addition to fiber, vegetable protein, vitamins and minerals make acai berry an extremely healthy food. Some of the benefits that can be attributed to the acai berry are:

• Boost to the immune system
• Cancer fighting properties
• Heart Disease fighting properties
• Increase in energy
• Increase in stamina
• Improvement to the digestive system
• There are many more benefits to the acai berry because of its unique combination of attributes.

Where Can Acai Berry Be Purchased?

Acai berry is available in a number of locations. It is found in supermarkets, health food stores and online. Even though acai berry has many benefits, it has a remarkably short shelf life. The berries will begin to spoil within a few days of harvest. Some manufacturers have freeze dried the pulp and skin of the berry to allow for transport. This is currently the best method of preserving the nutritional and health benefits of acai berries.

Are The Health Benefits True For The Acai Berry?

All of the health benefits of antioxidants can be found in the acai berry in a much more concentrated form than in any other food. Currently the acai berry is typically marketed as a weight loss aid. While there are weight loss benefits of the acai berry, that is certainly not the only benefit that can be gaines with the acai berry. The overall improvement in the health of the body and its functioning, will allow the body to lose weight more easily.

However, there are side effects in some of the products that are being sold as acai berry on the market. Many of these products are mixed with other ingredients to create a weight loss product. This is where the trouble can begin. Make sure when you are searching for acai berry, that you only choose pure forms of the antioxidant rich fruit. Read the ingredients to find out exactly what you are taking.

Some of the supplements that are on the market are mixed with caffeine to produce an appetite suppressant effect to aid in weight loss. The weight loss benefits of acai berry don’t need any additional ingredients to aid in losing weight. Acai berries help with weight loss by allowing the body to function at the optimum level.

Use care when you are choosing the acai berry products that you will use in supplement form. Check the ingredients list very carefully before you take any over the counter product. If you want the most benefit of acai berry without the side effects of other ingredients, you should look for a product that is made of pure acai berry and not filled with other ingredients. Some of the products could be dangerous.

The bottom line on acai berry is that there are a great many health benefits and zero side effects. One thing that should be noted when using acai berry. The powerful health benefits that you will receive from using this berry are not an excuse to eat an unhealthy diet and not exercise. Many people are looking for a miracle drug that will solve all of their problems. There is no doubt that using acai berry will significantly improve your health, but if you are trying to lose weight, you will have to watch your diet, exercise and supplement with acai berry.

Use acai berry for an improved quality of life, increased energy, immune system boost, improved vision, weight loss and a variety of other benefit without the risk of side effects. Find a high quality pure acai berry product for your supplement.

Almost from the minute the health benefits of this amazing berry became known, a growing media frenzy began to feature the acai berry in news story after news story.  The incredible benefits that can be found with the berry sparked an interest among consumers and the media sought to give them what they wanted which was more information on this berry.

The first news stories started to appear on all the major television networks and national magazines.  These news stories fueled an explosion on the Internet of businesses scrambling to get products to an eager consumer market.  In the beginning the details of the amazing benefits of acai berry were told to a huge television audience on the Oprah Winfrey show.  What was described on the Oprah Winfrey Show and the show’s website was a superfood that tasted like a mix of berries and chocolate.  Too good to resist for most dieters.

Research And Studies

Savvy consumers who have seen this kind of hysteria before were waiting for more hard evidence to come in about the health benefits of acai berry.  As more and more news reports started to come in, with detailed studies on the health benefits of acai berry, it became clear that this is, indeed, a remarkable fruit.

The University of Florida was one of the first to begin the investigation of the health benefits of acai berry.  In their study they found that the berry triggered leukemia cells to self destruct in eighty six percent of the cells that were tested with the berry.  While they do not wish to convey the message that acai berry can prevent leukemia, they are reporting some very interesting results that can demonstrate what the fruit is capable of when it is taken in supplements, juices and other products.  This is a first step toward understanding what can be gained from including this fruit in your diet.

Now that there are products available to test, it is clear that we should be seeing even more results of these important studies.  In the past, the acai berry was not tested because it was so perishable.  Now that there are products on the market that are freeze drying the berry and making it available for testing, it will become more and more apparent what acai berry can bring in terms of health benefits.

Acai Berry And The Internet

The Internet is, perhaps, the largest source of information regarding the acai berry.  Everywhere you look there are websites and products that include acai berry.  As more and more information is being revealed about the acai berry, the Internet is primed to be a great source of these studies.

There seems to be no end in sight to the interest in this little purple berry as more people are looking for ways to combat the signs of aging, live healthier lives and lose weight.  The acai berry is in a perfect position to accommodate all of these growing markets.

The fruit, is a dark purple berry that is clustered at the very top of the tree and one man will climb to the top and collect the fruit.  Because of the massive interest in this berry from other countries, entire villages are becoming involved in the harvesting of the fruit.

Separating Pulp From The Seed

Despite the health benefits of acai berry, it is a remarkably fragile fruit.  The minute it is harvested, the countdown begins to get it to the processing plant before it spoils.  The acai berry will spoil within twenty four hours of harvest if it is not processed in time. The berries are loaded onto boats and carried away to the processing plant that will work quickly to begin the separating process.

There are a number of processes that could occur to the pulp and skin once it has been separated from the seed.  The process will depend on where the product is going to end up.  The pulp can be made into juice, sold as pulp for a number of food dishes, freeze dried and turned into a powder or dried for more processing later.  The product that is the result of all this work will be used in a wide variety of products.  The pulp is used in a number of dishes in Brazil and the surrounding area.  It is a staple of the diet in this part of the world and can be made into many delicious foods.

Some of the product will be distributed to businesses that will use the freeze dried and or powdered product for supplements.  Some companies mix the acai berry powder with other ingredients while others use the pure powder all on its own.  When you are shopping for acai berry, this is something that you should take note of on the ingredients list.

The Popularity Of Acai Berry

The amount of interest in acai berry has made a dramatic impact on the harvesting activities in this part of the world.  It is a great benefit to the people of Brazil that the world has taken notice of the benefits of acai berry.  The harvesting of the berries has no impact on the trees and it actually prevents people from cutting them down to acquire the heart of palm.  This is a tremendous benefit to the area where the acai palm grows.  Not only are the people of Brazil enjoying an economic increase, but they are also keeping the acai palm trees flourishing and growing in the rainforest.

It wasn’t until the 1990’s that the acai berry first made its way to the western countries.  And since that time, and more so in recent years, it has risen to the top of the list of healthy foods with a stunning array of benefits.  The recent popularity of the fruit has come as more information is released about the antioxidant benefits of the fruit and its nutritional value for a wide variety of ailments and conditions.

The Story Behind Acai Berry

One of the common stories that is told about the acai berry goes back to the history of the Amazon Indian tribes.  This fascinating tale tells the story of a time in tribal history when there was a shortage of food.  The tribal chief faced the problem of finding ways to feed his people during this time of decreased food supplies.

The tribal chief developed a plan to make the food supplies last longer by killing all newborn babies until the time when there was more food for the tribe.  The drastic plan eventually touched his own family when his own daughter, Iaca, gave birth to her own child.  To show that there was no favoritism in his plan, Iaca’s child was killed.

While mourning for her child, Iaca heard the sound of a baby crying outside of her hut.  Following the cry, she walked into the jungle where she found a tall palm tree that had an abundance of dark purple fruit.  Iaca looked up at the tree that had the life saving food that could have prevented the death of her child had it been found sooner.  She died leaning against the trunk of the tree.

When the rest of the tribe found her the next morning, the tree with the fruit was discovered as well.  The tribe quickly harvested the fruit and used it to sustain them and increase their strength and energy.  It was after the death of his own child that the tribal chief rescinded his order and named the fruit Acai for his daughter.   When you spell Iaca backwards you get Acai.

Whether or not this tale is true, it is a colorful story to explain the unusual name of the fruit.

Interesting Facts About Acai Berry

There are some interesting facts about Acai Berry that are not commonly known.  Here are a few more pieces in the puzzle of the story of acai berry.

• There were a great many tribes in the Amazon in the times before European exploration.  Almost all of the Indian tribes were wiped out by the germs that were brought by these explorers, except those that lived on acai berry.  These tribes never saw the same kind of illness and death that the other tribes experienced.

• The acai berry began to be noticed for its health benefits, not in the 1990’s when the western world learned about it, but in the 1950’s.

• Acai berry is a common breakfast item for people in Brazil.

• Acai berry is eaten nearly every day by the people in Brazil.