Everyone seems to be talking about these potent berries and their many health benefits; especially since it was mentioned on Oprah as the world's Number 1 Superfood.

Whether people are looking to lose weight, detoxify, energize, or add to their nutrient intake, sales of acai berry supplements are going up every day. But its important to choose the right brand and make sure you are getting the genuine product.

Click here to see the Top Brands of Acai supplements

Currently the best place to buy pure acai berry products is on the web; since there are so many different sellers; and prices tend to be better than you'd find in your neighborhood health food store. Also as mentioned earlier - online vendors usually have free trials, which is great if you want to evaluate a few different brands and / or check it out before spending any money.

So let's say you're interested in trying it - how do you know the quality of what you are getting? Let's start by looking at how acai supplements are prepared.

The best method is freeze drying. There are cheaper and easier ways; but this method is by far the most effective way to "lock in" all the nutrients of the fresh fruit. Typically, one gram of freeze dried powder is equal to about seven grams of the fresh berries.

A common and much inferior method of preparing supplements is called "spray drying". It involves heating the fruit to a high temperature; as well as adding a chemical to help dry it, usually maltodextrin. Problems with this process are that a) heating the berries to such high temperatures gets rid of many of the nutrients, and b) the added maltodextrin can dilute the final product by over 30%.

So try to ensure that you buy acai berry extract prepared using the freeze dried method. That way you should receive the full nutrient payload of this remarkable plant.

What's the fastest way to decrease the potency of Acai by 90%? By including seeds in the supplements!

Yes, while seeds make up 90% of the volume of the fruit, they contain almost none of the nutrients and beneficial compounds. In fact they are discarded by the Amazonian tribes who use the berry. Reputable herbal companies only use the skin and the pulp...but shadier manufacturers may include the seeds, diluting their product substantially.

So to recap, ensure that you buy products that are freeze dried, and contain no seeds. Also consider a free trial in order to 'try before you buy".