Brazillian ACAI...Nature's Most Nutritious Fruit

 Brazillian ACAI...Nature's Most Nutritious Fruit

Deep in the South American rainforest,there’s a palm tree that produces small purple berries. These berries are called Acai (pronounced Ah-Sigh-Ee) and they look like dark purple cranberries. Although they have large pits and very little pulp, these Acai berries have been called nature’s most nutritious fruit and have been prized for hundreds of years by Brazilian natives for their ability to provide a sense of strength, energy, and a high nutritional content. With the symmetry of a grape and the size of a giant blueberry, the Acai fruit tastes a bit like wild raspberry with a hint of grape. Most people have trouble putting their finger on the taste because it's so different.

Acai Berry's ORAC value (a measure of its antioxidant properties), is higher than any other edible berry on the planet. The remarkable concentration of antioxidants also helps combat premature aging and the Acai Berry is also an excellent source of dietary fiber! Acai Berries are high in essential fatty acids & omegas that have been found to lower both LDL & HDL cholesterol levels.

Its energizing value comes from the amount of fat that consists of unsaturated fatty acids. These acids have a substance that is highly active and acts in the blood circulation thus eliminating the saturated fatty acids (which cause vein or artery obstruction). 

    Additional Facts about Acai:

Acai is high in protein, fibre, vitamins, and minerals, but it is especially high in Anthocyanins, a kind of plant figment which turns the berries their dark colour. This pigment is a potent antioxidant, and Acai has 33 times the anthocyanin content of grapes. This is part of what makes Acai one of the most potent antioxidant foods available.

Packed with vitamins B1, B2, B3, C, and E, Acai also provides minerals such as Calcium, Potassium, and Phosphorus, essential fatty acids, and a wealth of micronutrients. Its nutritional profile has gotten the attention of Oprah, NBC, and Sports Illustrated, all of whom featured Acai as an important food for health.

Amazing Acai Fruit Benefits

This pulpy little berry has gotten some serious media attention for its nutritional profile. In general terms, Acai is associated with some important health benefits, such as improved resistance to disease. By boosting the immune system, Acai’s rich nutrient profile helps boost the body natural defences.

Acai Berry Increases Energy

With the immune system strengthened, many users of Acai have reported increased energy levels and greater stamina. Since most people get too few antioxidants in their diets, their overall health often suffers. However, the decrease in health may be so gradual that it goes unnoticed. Packed with antioxidants, Acai not only helps to restore overall health, but also boosts energy above previous levels.

Acai Berry and Cholesterol

Acai is also rich in essential fatty acids. A large body of research indicates that these fatty acids help to reduce harmful LDL cholesterol, while supporting levels of the beneficial HDL cholesterol.

Other Health Benefits of Acai

Acai contains Glucosamine, a building block of cartilage, and Celadrin, which helps support membranes and cushion joints. These two compounds help generally to strengthen the body and help maintain many of the body’s tissues.

Although results vary from person to person, most experience results within the first week or two. Below are some common benefits from Acai:

This list is incomplete, since it is almost impossible to produce a comprehensive list of Acai’s potential health benefits. Each person’s body will handle nutrients differently, depending in part on any pre-existing deficiencies or health conditions.

Acai’s Protective Properties.

Because it is so high in anthocyanins and phytosterols, two kinds of plant chemical that protect the body, Acai helps to protect connective tissues like collagen, which reduces the stress of aging on the skin.

Because of its high antioxidant content, Acai can help protect against high LDL cholesterol levels, as well as atherosclerosis, which often leads to heart attacks and strokes. The anthocyanins in Acai allow it to protect small and large blood vessels. In diabetics, weak capillaries can lead to a condition called retinopathy, which often leads to blindness.

Clinical data supports Acai’s powerful reputation. Since 1999, the ORAC test, developed by Baltimore scientist Dr. Guohua Cao, has been accepted as the standard measurement for antioxidants. The test measures how many free radicals a food can absorb and eliminate. The typical person needs around 1,670 ORAC per day. A single serving of Acai provides 3,800 ORAC. To put this into perspective, over 80% of the world’s population doesn’t even get half of the recommended daily ORAC value.

Acai is also known to protect the nervous system, which may help prevent age-related neurological problems. Acai has been used extensively for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, and even antimutagenic (meaning that it protects your DNA) properties.

Brazilian berry destroys cancer cells in lab,
UF study shows

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 (ah-SAH’-ee) 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.”

Credits:  http://news.ufl.edu/2006/01/12/berries/
Writer -- Tom Nordlie, tnordlie@ifas.ufl.edu, (352) 392-0400, ext. 276
Source -- Stephen Talcott, sttalcott@ifas.ufl.edu, (352) 392-1991, ext. 218
Source -- Joshua Bomser, jbomser@hec.ohio-state.edu, (614) 247-6622

Brazillian ACAI...Nature's Most Nutritious Fruit

                 This fruit juice tastes great and for your health -- great!  Light and Love, Tami