What Are The Health Benefits of Acai Berries

The health benefits of acai berries are being researched and new information is becoming available continuously. Although this berry has been a staple in the Amazonian diet for centuries and is a normal part of our diet here in Bolivia and Brazil, the "modern" world is just beginning to show interest in the elements it contains that aid with weightloss, and in the other nutritional qualities of the acai berry.

In the Amazon region the acai berry is ground into a pulp and consumed in the form of juice. Berries are also sundried and eaten either whole or ground into a powder. The indigenous communities of the Amazon where acai berry is a staple food also attribute many healing qualities to this berry and have for centuries believed it enhances both virility and fertility, improves your vision, and cures diseases. They also use it on their skin to heal wounds and skin irritations.

Scientists do agree that "proven" health benefits of acai are similar to those of any other fruit. A balanced diet that contains several daily servings of fruit is healthy for anyone. Fruits such as blueberries and cranberries (related to the acai) have antioxidants, thus these and acai (which has up to 300% the antioxidants of any other fruit) help fight free radicals in the body. Acai is high in antioxidants and incorporating it into topical oils (used in skin products) is not unhealthy for skin.

But scientists will not go so far as to confirm that acai berries contain elements that kill cancer cells, cure osteosporosis or diabetes, or prevent any diseases. Research studies on this plant began recently (only 5 o 6 years ago) and acai berries contain at least 50 elements that scientists have not yet identified. It wouldn't be scientific to attribute all these amazing healing qualities to acai berries without further research.

But here are some things we do know:

Antioxidant levels remain high in acai berries and products manufactured with acai even after long periods of time in storage. This means the fruit or sub-products made from it retain many of their nutritional qualities for a long time.

This WEBMD article states: "Acai contains several substances called anthocyanins and flavonoids. The word anthocyanin comes from two Greek words meaning “plant” and “blue.” Anthocyanins are responsible for the red, purple, and blue hues in many fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Foods that are richest in anthocyanins -- such as blueberries, red grapes, red wine, and acai -- are very strongly colored, ranging from deep purple to black.

Anthocyanins and flavonoids are powerful antioxidants that help defend the body against life's stressors. They also play a role in the body's cell protection system. Free radicals are harmful byproducts produced by the body. Eating a diet rich in antioxidants may interfere with aging and the disease process by neutralizing free radicals. By lessening the destructive power of free radicals, antioxidants may help reduce the risk of some diseases, such as heart disease and cancer."

This AHO article explains that the acai berry contains plant sterols including "Beta Sitosterol, which is very helpful in lowering cholesterol...Plant sterols are compounds found in healtful plants that have a capacity to lower cholesterol amounts in humans considerably, by taking the physical space that cholesterol would assume in your body.

When plant sterols are ingested, they block cholesterol from it’s normal resting place and that in turn induces absorption of all the extra cholesterol by the small intestine...The United States Food and Drug Administration officially announced in a press release from 2000 that foods enriched with plant Sterols can display labels claiming that plant Sterol and plant Stanol Esters lower the risk of Coronary Heart Disease by lowering blood cholesterol levels."

This ACAI BERRY CLEANSE article indicates that "the pulp, juice and skin of the acai berry (about 100 grams) contains 52.2 grams of carbohydrates, 8.1 grams of protein and 32.5 grams of total fat (most of it good). Of the 52.2 grams of carbohydrates, 42.2 grams was fibre. The acai berry also contains a bit of vitamin C, 260 milligrams of calcium, 4.4 milligrams of iron, 1,002 units of vitamin A, as well as aspartic acid, glutamic acid and amino acid, which made up 7.59 percent of its dry weight... Studies have actually found that the blood anti-oxidant capacity of someone who takes the berry, will increase within only two hours."

In this UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 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..."

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