Choose Acai Berry for Weight Loss and Antioxidant Health

The acai berry (pronounced ah-SAH'-ee) is full of antioxidants, essential fatty acids, fiber, and other beneficial nutrients. Using an acai berry supplement can help you if you want to lose weight. Acai can also help you feel better if you suffer from arthritis, diabetes, or just the aches and pains of old age. With more antioxidants than even blueberries, Acai is a worthy addition to everyone's daily supplement regimen.

The acai berry is one of the many fruits located in the Amazon Rainforest. Prospering in swampy or floodplain areas, the acai palm stands approximately 15-30 meters tall with leaves up to 3 meters long. The berry, which is approximately the size and shape of a grape, grows in bunches of 700-900 berries on the palm.

Acai has a number of benefits, including antioxidants, fiber, fatty acids, proteins, and is thankfully very plentiful in the Amazon. One of the astounding acai discoveries is the amount of antioxidants contained in each berry. The antioxidants from the berry are much higher than those found in red wine (at least 20 times more) or blueberries (at least two times more), which are two of the largest antioxidant carriers.

In fact, acai has one of the best, if not THE best nutritional value of any fruit on earth, which has most experts calling it a 'super food'.

The majority of the population of Brazil lives on the acai berry. Rumor has it that they consume more acai than milk. Shops that sell only acai can be found on almost every street corner in populous areas of Brazil.

The acai berry, which is 90% nut, cannot be eaten raw. Rather, the dark purple skin of the berry is made into a pulp, which holds most of the acai's health benefits. Brazilian natives have used this pulp as a puree that can be consumed by itself or as a compliment to other foods.

Scientists are currently examining acai to determine just how nutritionally wholesome it is. They are finding many ways to use the berries to combat such ailments as cancer, diabetes, digestive problems, blood clotting issues, obesity, and so much more.

Acai Stimulates Fat Loss Through Several Different Means

The acai berry can be a great weight loss aid. The berry's natural concoction of essential fatty acids, fiber, phytosterols and amino acids work together to help your body burn fat more efficiently, process food more quickly and shed the unwanted pounds that you'd like to lose.

Essential Fatty Acids

Our bodies need essential fatty acids to maintain proper health. Our bodies are unable to produce Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. It just so happens that these fatty acids are plentiful in acai berries. Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids help increase your metabolism, which can help you shed those extra pounds.

Fiber

Acai contains a generous amount of fiber, which helps your digestive tract to move food through your body. In this way, excess food is eliminated rather than absorbed and turned into fat. Similar to the fatty acids mentioned above, fiber also helps to satiate hunger.

Amino Acids

The acai berry is rich with amino acids, which are widely known as the building blocks of protein. Your muscles need these amino acids in order to operate properly, and to regenerate from resistance training trauma or other exercise stress. Since the fatty acids in acai increase your metabolism and the amino acids build your muscles, we can say that the nutrients in acai berries help your body burn fat and energy more efficiently, causing you to lose weight.

Phytosterols

These building blocks of cell membranes help fortify your digestive tract, moving waste materials out and absorbing nutrients more efficiently. Acai berries are one possible source of phytosterols.

I wouldn't say that acai berries are the magic weight loss pill, but I would say that acai is an important ingredient in your weight loss supplement arsenal.

University of Florida Study Shows Off Acai's Cancer Fighting Potential

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - A Brazilian berry popular in health food contains antioxidants that destroyed cultured human cancer cells in a recent University of Florida study, one of the first to investigate the fruit's purported benefits.

Published today in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the study showed extracts from acai berries triggered a self-destruct response in up to 86 percent of leukemia cells tested, said Stephen Talcott, an assistant professor with UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

"Acai berries are already considered one of the richest fruit sources of antioxidants," Talcott said. "This study was an important step toward learning what people may gain from using beverages, dietary supplements or other products made with the berries."

He cautioned that the study, funded by UF sources, was not intended to show whether compounds found in acai berries could prevent leukemia in people.

"This was only a cell-culture model and we don't want to give anyone false hope," Talcott said. "We are encouraged by the findings, however. Compounds that show good activity against cancer cells in a model system are most likely to have beneficial effects in our bodies."

Other fruits, including grapes, guavas and mangoes, contain antioxidants shown to kill cancer cells in similar studies, he said. Experts are uncertain how much effect antioxidants have on cancer cells in the human body, because factors such as nutrient absorption, metabolism and the influence of other biochemical processes may influence the antioxidants' chemical activity.

Another UF study, slated to conclude in 2006, will investigate the effects of acai's antioxidants on healthy human subjects, Talcott said. The study will determine how well the compounds are absorbed into the blood, and how they may affect blood pressure, cholesterol levels and related health indicators. So far, only fundamental research has been done on acai berries, which contain at least 50 to 75 as-yet unidentified compounds.

"One reason so little is known about acai berries is that they're perishable and are traditionally used immediately after picking," he said. "Products made with processed acai berries have only been available for about five years, so researchers in many parts of the world have had little or no opportunity to study them."

Talcott said UF is one of the first institutions outside Brazil with personnel studying acai berries. Besides Talcott, UF's acai research team includes Susan Percival, a professor with the food science and human nutrition department, David Del Pozo-Insfran, a doctoral student with the department and Susanne Mertens-Talcott, a postdoctoral associate with the pharmaceutics department of UF's College of Pharmacy.

Acai berries are produced by a palm tree known scientifically as Euterpe oleracea, common in floodplain areas of the Amazon River, Talcott said. When ripe, the berries are dark purple and about the size of a blueberry. They contain a thin layer of edible pulp surrounding a large seed.

Historically, Brazilians have used acai berries to treat digestive disorders and skin conditions, he said. Current marketing efforts by retail merchants and Internet businesses suggest acai products can help consumers lose weight, lower cholesterol and gain energy.

"A lot of claims are being made, but most of them haven't been tested scientifically," Talcott said. "We are just beginning to understand the complexity of the acai berry and its health-promoting effects."

In the current UF study, six different chemical extracts were made from acai fruit pulp, and each extract was prepared in seven concentrations.

Four of the extracts were shown to kill significant numbers of leukemia cells when applied for 24 hours. Depending on the extract and concentration, anywhere from about 35 percent to 86 percent of the cells died.

The UF study demonstrates that research on foods not commonly consumed in the United States is important, because it may lead to unexpected discoveries, said Joshua Bomser, an assistant professor of molecular nutrition and functional foods at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

But familiar produce items have plenty of health-giving qualities, he said.

"Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables is associated with decreased risk for many diseases, including heart disease and cancer," said Bomser, who researches the effects of diet on chronic diseases. "Getting at least five servings a day of these items is still a good recommendation for promoting optimal health."

Source: http://news.ufl.edu/2006/01/12/berries/

Less Pain, Fewer Wrinkles, and Decreased Risk of Cancer

The acai berry can play an extremely important role in not only maintaining good health but also in preventing future problems such as cancer and heart disease. The benefits from consuming this very nutritious berry are almost endless.

Due to acai's high concentration of anthocyanin, it has a unique ability to counteract the negative effects of aging. In fact, acai is recognized as one of the top superfoods for anti-aging, more so than even blueberries or red wine. You have likely heard great things about the anti-aging benefits of red wine, yet the acai berry contains from 10 to 30 times more anthocyanins than red wine.

In addition to antioxidants, the amino acids and trace minerals found in acai facilitate muscle contraction and regeneration; which not only benefits the body internally, but also helps keep those facial muscles high and tight rather than drooping and wrinkly.

Acai berries also have a high concentration of essential fatty acids, specifically monounsaturated oleic acid, which together with omega 3 fish oils enter cell membranes and help to make them work more efficiently, thereby diminishing inflammation. Inflammation is, after all, a leading cause of the negative effects of the aging process.