You've probably heard the hype. Acai is the global “wonder berry.” Sales exploded to 104 Million last year in the United States – double that of 2007. It must be straight from heaven. Actually, it comes from Brazil.

Acai comes from the Amazon rain forest where berries cluster atop tall, swaying palms. Sounds nice doesn't it? The locals call these palms the “trees of life.” The marketing frenzy is in full stride. Now, companies are packaging bottles with exotic images of enchanted waterfalls and multi-hued birds. And more, they're even using themes that include images of Incan healers and Mayan shamans. It is news to me that the Mayans lived in Brazil., but I suppose to a typical US citizen, “south of the border,” covers a multitude.

The story gets better. The Acai berry went mainstream when it was first featured on Oprah and presented by Dr. Nicolas Perricone. During the episode Oprah asked Dr. Perricone to discuss his top ten super foods. The number one super-food on his list was MonaVie, a blend of 19 different fruit juices created by Monarch Health Sciences. No surprise, the main ingredient of MonaVie is Acai.

The hype is that Acai weight loss products are a natural concoction of essential fatty acids, fiber, phytosterols and amino acids. They all work in unison to help your body burn fat more efficiently, process food quickly and shed unwanted weight. How exactly this is supposed to happen is not so clear.

If you're going to buy all this Acai hype try Ayurvedic Science before getting too excited.

Ayurveda focuses on three main healing areas for total health: the prevention of disease, the healing of existing illnesses, and the promotion of body longevity and rejuvenation through proper eating habits. The premise to all of these principles is the closer to nature the better. The thinking goes back 5,000 years and just makes sense.

Within the Ayruvedic pharmacopeia there is one berry that stands above all others. It's called Amalaki. The hype calls it the “Great Rejuvenator.” No surprise that it is harvested in an almost religious type ceremony atop the trees of the Himalayas.

Regardless of the story, Amalaki is considered a potent rejuvenative for holistic health. It is said to stimulate the production of red blood cells, enhance cellular regeneration, increase lean body mass and support proper function of the liver, spleen, heart and lungs. It has also been used to improve eyesight, strengthen the bones and teeth, and cause hair and nails to grow. It is also a rich natural source of antioxidants. Whether you can lose weight by eating berries is debatable, and although I entitled this hub “hype and facts,” let’s be straight – there is an awful lot of hype and not a lot of facts surrounding all these products.

Amalaki has gained recent popularity though the network marketing company, Zrii, an upstart competitor of goliath MonaVie. The company was founded by mega-business-builder Bill Farley and is endorsed by Ayruvedic sensation Dr. Deepak Chopra. So, I know what you are thinking. Who would you rather have in your camp...Deepak or Oprah? Well, the plot really thickens when you consider Bill Farley is Oprah's neighbor and has appeared on her show. Score one for Zrii over MonaVie...(nice rhyme, huh).

The question remains can all of the “rejuvenative” qualities of Amalaki do anything to help you lose weight. Well, Zrii isn't taking any chances. It recently launched a new weight loss product combining several Ayurvedic herbs. The new product, called NutriiVeda, features the Amalaki weight loss berry as well as two other so-called “fat busting botanicals.” The two new Ayruvedic herbs are called Sugar Destroyer and Fat Killer. Whether or not it can live up the Acai hype that has gripped the nations wallets and purses is yet to be seen, but let’s face it – if it seems too good to be true………….