Acai is everywhere -- celebrities are drinking and eating the berries, doctors recommend it and of course tons of companies are in business to capitalize off the acai berry juice.

The acai fruit is mostly found on the beaches of Brazil and Peru. a few hundred years ago Brazilians began to harvest acai in an attempt to overcome a shortage of food. They originally extracted juice from the acai fruit to make red wine.

Acai juice is said to have between 10 and 30 times more antioxidants than grapes,pomegranates, and even blueberries. Because of the extensive vitamins, amino acids, minerals, Omega acids, and other properties, the acai very is said to be one of the most nutritionally dense berries on the planet.

Because of the hype, there are a multitude of companies who are trying to cash in on the popularity of acai juice. That is why you need to be careful and really do your homework when you are investigating a company that produces acai juice. Try to find out what their quality control standards are, how they manufacture the juice, and search the Internet for negative information on the company. Any time a health food reaches enormous popularity like the acai berry, you'll always see a lot of unscrupulous business owners coming out of the woodwork to take your money. Experts say that it is best to look for a company who has extremely high quality control standards, certified organic, and even certified kosher. Quality control is a key to effective acai juice and without it you are paying for regular juice and you are not getting the advertised benefits from the acai berry.

THE PROBLEM

QUALITY: Finding an acai company who creates a quality, organic, pure acai product who will not rip you off. Since acai is so popular these days, many manufacturers have entered the market creating watered down acai products with fillers which give you NONE of the benefits that authentic acai will give you. There are a lot of companies selling inferior acai products that are more than 50% filled with carriers like magnesium stearate, multidextrin, soy lecithin and others..

FREE TRIAL SCAMMERS: (By the way, they are not really free because you have to pay shipping!) The reason they charge you for shipping is so they can get your credit card info and charge it every month. I am talking about all of the "free trial" offers out there who promise a free trial but instead they start charging you $89 per month or more without you knowing it - then they make it very hard to dispute the transaction. Also all of these free trial offers are shipping you spray dried butchered acai powder that is about 75-95% dried corn starch! What the reports on these free trial scammers fail to tell you is that the free trial scammers are shipping you worthless placebo! Real acai works but it has to be of the highest quality only. Not just a trace ingredient.

FREE TRIAL SCAMMERS WHO TRY TO ACT LEGITIMATE: Since the "free trial' acai scammers have been exposed lately in the national media, the same scammers who peddle these schemes set their websites up so they appear to be educating consumers about free trial offers. So they start by saying BEWARE OF FREE TRIAL SCAMS -- but the problem is, they are in fact the scammers, they just try to divert attention by appearing as if they are warning about acai scams.

THE SOLUTION

LOOK FOR USDA ORGANIC CERTIFIED ACAI: Products that are USDA Certified Organic are intended to assure consumers that the organic foods they purchase are produced, processed, and certified to be consistent with national organic standards. This is very important because if you are purchasing an acai product that is non-organic, it could contain harmful pesticides and toxins. Acai products which are chemical and preservative free will give you the maximum benefits. However, acai products that are non-organic could cause you more harm than good. Look for the USDA ORGANIC label before buying ANY acai berry product.

KOSHER CERTIFIED: Some companies go a step further and get their acai product Kosher Certified as well. This adds another layer of quality control which ensures that you are getting the highest quality acai juice or capsules available on the market today. Kosher certification is not easy to get - you can see the requirements here on the OUKOSHER.ORG website. Amazon Thunder is one of the only acai products on the market that are Kosher Certified

NO SUGAR: Look for acai juice that contains no added sugar, you don't want sugar in your acai for obvious reasons and because sugar is the #1 cause of inflammation and acai is an anti-inflammatory. The acai berry has high levels of antioxidants and you don't want anything else in there that would compromise the high ORAC levels. Also acai has been linked to battling leukemia. Cancer feeds off of sugar.

NO PRESERVATIVES: Make sure the acai you are buying has absolutely no preservatives. When purchasing any health products, sometimes the benefits can be canceled out by the preservatives that are added to the product.

GLASS BOTTLES: Make sure the acai pulp juice you are purchasing comes in a glass bottle and is unclarified and unfiltered. Any acai pulp juice product that is packaged in a plastic bottle will cause plastic leeching no matter what they tell you. Juices that are put in plastic bottles have to be hot filled at high tempereratures to kill off micros and bacteria and to santize the bottle. The only acai products that are acceptable in plastic bottles and this plastic must be a hard plastic are capsules and loose powder.

UNFILTERED: Make sure the acai product you are buying is unfiltered to maintain the wholeness of the acai pulp and fruit.

THICKNESS: True, authentic acai juice is thick -- no water added, no sugar, no preservatives, no sodium, just pure organic acai pulp.

ORAC LEVELS: Look for acai juice that has at least 3000 ORACs per one ounce serving. Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) is a method of measuring antioxidant capacities of different foods. If an acai company doesn't mention the ORAC levels of their acai, it is probably because their levels are very low. High quality acai products have high ORAC levels.

IS IT SOLD IN STORES?: Real acai companies sell their products in stores - fake "free trial companies" only sell online because they are not legitimate enough to get their products in major chains like Whole Foods and others who carry acai.

PASTEURIZATION: Acai has to be pasteurized or at the least flash pasteurized to kill off micros and bacteria. Anyone suggesting they are selling unpasteurized acai is not telling the truth it is not allowed by the FDA and even if it was you wouldn't want to consume it because the micros and bacteria would be too high and pasteurization is what kills the micros off. When pasteurization is done right at the right temperatures the acai will remain unharmed. In fact when freeze dried powder is made from the pulp puree, the pulp puree has to be first pasteurized or flash pasteurized to kill off the micros and then it is turned into freeze dried powder.

Everyone knows that antioxidants are good for you -- that news has been out a long time. What most people don't know is how rich the Acai berry is in antioxidants. In fact, it has one of the highest antioxidant levels of any fruit or berry. The amazing property of these phytonutrients is they seem perfectly compatible with our own bodies and can work in conjunction with them to protect us from disease. Discoveries are being made all the time with in excess of 900 compounds cataloged already,but medical researchers believe that they are only just beginning and this could be the future of preventative health care in the world. Recent studies have indicated the phytonutrients found in fruit provide a whole host of natural health benefits,the anti-aging power of blueberries, the joint pain relieving properties of cherries and a whole host of powerful properties in pomegranates are just a few examples.

Containing many different antioxidants, blueberries also have one of the lowest sugar contents of the fruits tested. On the other hand, the Acai and acai juice has nearly double the antioxidants that blueberries have. Currently the most efficient and pleasurable way to get the benefits of these fruits is by drinking their juice,regular consumption can help our circulation and increase our ability to combat illness. Although they help to prevent disease, the powerful antioxidants contained in these fruits can also help fight disease and infections as well. The chance of heart disease can be reduced by eating apples which also contain these nutrients.

Lemons, limes and other citrus fruits to are proving to have many such phytochemical properties as well. Tart cherries for instance have a number of properties which work together to help people who have arthritis, gout and fibromyalgia. Other substances, vitamins and minerals for instance, are also being studied more carefully even though their benefits are well documented. Blackberries, mulberries, and especially blueberries are rich in powerful antioxidants like resveratrol.

These amazing compounds seem to benefit the elderly with many properties that help reduce conditions found in aging like Alzheimer's, heart disease, blood pressure and stoke. Others found in tomatoes make this one super-food in the prevention of heart disease. However, it is now recognized that the best way to receive a sufficient quantity of the antioxidants contained in a tomato is by having it as a puree in a dish using tomato sauce or as a juice. Even the humble water melon, so refreshing on a hot summer's day, has now been found to have some of the most important and powerful phytonutrients available naturally. The health benefits of plants are still in the early stages but why wait to appreciate the benefits this whole range of fruits can bring.

Acai is said to regulate blood sugar levels along with a lot of other things, so a diet steeped in acai juice could help with diabetes. Although many people diagnosed with diabetes initially worry about the future, there is no grounds why with a properly governed diet, they cannot enjoy a good healthy life. As with many things that are good for you in life, there is a payback and diabetes is no different, and it will be necessary to alter the foods you may be used too. Sorting out a diabetic diet program is much simpler with diabetic recipes and is one of the most important things you need to do if you suffer from diabetes.

Firstly, one of the main goals for a diabetic diet is to lower your weight and maintain it. Consuming food from the four main food groups and sticking to your diabetic diet will help you with your diabetes. Acai, raw acai berries, and acai juice could help with this diet. For patients, having a healthy diabetic diet program means eating in a way that reduces the risk of complications that are commonly linked with their condition, including heart illness and stroke. A diabetic diet using specially devised diabetic recipes which are essentially a healthy, low-fat, balanced eating program that helps the patient feel better and more energetic, and accomplish some control over the symptoms like fatigue, thirst, unclear vision.

Eating healthy involves eating a wide variety of nutrients that address the whole diet spectrum with the help of the diabetic menu containing the food pyramid of vegetables, whole grains, fruits, non-fat dairy products, beans, lean meats, poultry, and fish. In diabetic, low-carb diets, the nutrients that are approved are meats, fish, poultry, eggs and cheese and certain vegetables like kidney beans, carrots, avocados. Diabetic recipes should include nutrients that are reduced in saturated fats and cholesterol, such as skinless domestic fowl, fresh fruit, and vegetables as previously mentioned.

A diabetic is not just about eating the right foodstuffs, as it is also serious that the amount consumed is correct to ensure the calorific intake is not too high, so weighing the food will become second nature. When buying the food that are needed for a diabetic recipes, it is particularly serious to read the labels since most food tags show daily values based on a two thousand calorie diet. For Instance, your breakfast on 2,000 calorie diabetic diet plan might consist of something like this, a cup of skimmed milk or sugar free yoghurt, a couple of slices of bread, rice cakes or pasta if you prefer, an egg prepared your favorite way and a serving of fruit. In a 1,800 calorie diabetic diet plan, diabetic recipes might suggest that the breakfast should ideally comprise of two slices of bread, a cup of skimmed milk, one serving of a fruit like a medium-sized banana, apple or an orange, and a tablespoon of cheese.

In the mid afternoon a snack might comprise of a half cup of tea or coffee with synthetic sweeteners a couple of crackers and some more fruit. Instead, to vary your diabetic diet you could always have a cup of skimmed milk or yoghurt to substitute the tea or coffee. There is no grounds for you to believe that you can no longer relish your food if you're limited to a diabetic diet, because diabetic recipes are designed to have plenty of variety.

Acai juice has been endorsed by health specialists across the globe. The acai juice fruit is quickly catching on in the U.S., finding its way into a number of juices, smoothies, and nutrition bars The real question is, Is acai worth all the hype? According to old Amazonian tribes, the acai berry cures a number of ailments, provides energy, and increases the libido.

The acai berry is one of the most nutritional foods in the world as shown by recent scientific studies. Grown in the Amazon, the acai berry starts as the fruit of palm trees in Brazilian rainforests The berry is filled with antioxidants, amino acid and fatty acids, and natural energy, and has a subtle chocolate taste. This combination creates a “superfood" that helps prevent high cholesterol, heart disease, and cancer, researchers say. Recent studies show that the açaí juice can help destroy some cancer cells in the body, making it a leading ingredient in many alternative medicine diets Because the acai fruit spoils too quickly to be distributed widely in its natural form, it’s mostly found as a main ingredient in other food products, like protein bars and juices.

Recently, the acai berry has shown up in some health food stores in an unsweetened pulp form, which provides a higher concentration of the antioxidants normally found in acai juice products To a society focusing more on sustainable development, the acai fruit is even more of a draw. Thousands of harvesters can harvest the acai fruit without destroying the Amazon rainforests. New concerns arise, however, as the popularity of acai juice products increases, requiring more of the acai fruit to be harvested Nevertheless, the acai phenomenon will only grow in the U.S., with acai and products being widely distributed in a number of food chains, like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s Research already provides evidence that the acai fruit is worth the hype; now it’s time for Americans to fully embrace it.

Found exclusively in the Amazonian rainforest, the highly nutritional acai berry is refined and turned into fruit pulp. For centuries Brazilians have enjoyed the acai benefits of the acai fruit by adding them to their diets and using them in recipes . Acai berries have a unique flavor that resembles a mixture of chocolate and berries and do not need added sugar for sweetness. Health drinks and acai juice are made from acai by extracting pulp from the purple grape looking berries and making juice.

Acai berries can be used to make health drinks and energy drinks which are the most enjoyable way to consume the berries. You can also mix pure acai juice puree or concentrate with any of your favorite berry juice for a treat that is equally enjoyable. Not only does it improve your mental clarity, but similar to the energy you receive from caffeine; mixing guarana with acai fruit gives you energy. Many conditions are being treated and helped by using acai berries. This super food contains high levels of antioxidants which help fight free radicals and prevent premature aging and also acai berries provide high levels of nutritional benefits. In addition to lowering cholesterol levels Acai berry juice also helps fight heart and vascular diseases because of the antioxidants found in it.

Acai fruit helps improve sexual function, digestion and can cleanse and detoxify your body in addition to fighting diseases. With more benefits than a multi-vitamin or taking multiple vitamins each day, acai juice is packed with high levels of many essential vitamins and minerals like protein. Acai is considered to be one of the most complete nutritional supplements available today. Having exceptional nutritional value and amazing health benefits earned acai fruit super food status. To have more energy and to feel rejuvenated and refreshed, drink acai berry juice.

It is a good idea to drink acai juice daily, there are many benefits that can be derived from acai juice. If you are concerned about your health, have high cholesteral or other issues, acai juice can help you overcome this but it dependson the ingredients, the quality, and how potent the acai juice is you are using.

Acai juice is not your normal juice, it has more antioxidants than any other fruit and it is one of the only berries that has naturally occuring Omega fatty acids in high doses. Acai direct from the Amazon has numerous health benefits, especially when it is included in your normal routine.

There are so many berry drinks on the market today that claim to be good for your health, but you have to look at how the company manufactures and maintains the quality control of the acai juice. How often should acai juice be taken? I take two times per day, once when I wake up and once before I go to sleep. Around 2 ounces per day.

While acai is available in so many formats, puree, raw, pulp, frozen, powder, capsules, pills, etc, the best way to take it is through a quality juice product that has high quality control standards.