Learn the facts about Acai

by Todd Levering


One of the most nutritious berries on the market, the acai berry, is found in the rain forests of South America . Arguably the most nutritious berry, the acai (A sci EE) berry has more nutrients in it than any other berry currently on the market.

The berry comes the from the acai palm, where it grows in strings. The palm itself is 15-25 meters tall with multiple trunks. The average palm has four to eight trunks, each one four to six inches in diameter, but palms with as many 25 trunks aren't uncommon. The fruit itself is under an inch in diameter, with a single large seed inside. The palm grows best in low-lit swampy areas, such as are found in the Brazilian rain forest, but it has been spread by animals throughout the Amazon basin. Each trunk produces four to eight bunches of berries throughout the year, with the dry season seeing the largest fruit production. An acai palm generally doesn't start producing fruit until it is about four to five years old.

The acai palm was originally harvested for its palm hearts, taking the place of another palm that had been harvested almost to the point of extinction. The multiple trunks of the acai palm can be removed, and the palm's trunks will grow back. Acai palms now provide most of the world's palm hearts, but over-harvesting is becoming a problem. However, as the palm hearts aren't as profitable as the acai berry juice is becoming, and as palm heart production is sustainable, the palm's berries may save the trees in the long run.

From the acai palm (euterpe oleracea) comes both its berries and the palm heart (a cluster of new leaves, also known as "cabbage). It grows quickly in the swamps of Brazil, Guyana, and Suriname. Not only is it used for food; the fronds themselves are used to thatch homes as well as for weaving.

The juice of the acai berry is also used in the preparation of patients for MRI scans of the gastrointestinal tract as a contrasting agent. Another use is as an astringent, an agent that contracts or shrinks tissues, which decreases secretions and controls bleeding.

The locals use acai to create creams, and in a porridge with manioc meal, bananas, or even fish. The seed makes an excellent fertilizer (it has even started to be used for this in the United States), and can even be seen in local handicrafts (most notably necklaces). Specific parts of the plant can be burned to produce an insect repellent. The palm hearts are used for salads, creams, stuffing, and even the feeding of domesticated animals, and the roots are used in herbal remedies for maladies such as bleeding and worms. Different parts of the acai palm have been used to cure a wide range of diseases such as anemia, diarrhea, fever, liver diseases, malaria, and muscle and menstrual pain.

Most important is the acai berry. Besides being used for juice, it is also used as a flavoring and colorant in wines and liqueurs. The berries are an excellent source of essential fatty acids (Omega-3 and Omega-6) plus oleic acid (Omega-9), which are good for lowering low-density lipoprotein levels. The berry also contains phytosterols (compounds of plant cell membranes), which help reduce blood plasma cholesterol.

The berries contain amino acids and vital trace elements vital to muscle contraction and regeneration, and they also provide dietary fiber (excellent for dietary tract health). Acai berries possess high levels of calcium, vitamins a and e, and phosphorus, as well as high concentrations of polyphenols, making them an excellent source of antioxidants. In fact, it's a much better source of antioxidants than foods such as blueberries, oranges, and even red wine.

Studies show a link between the use of antioxidants and increased longevity, and antioxidants also help in the fight against premature aging, cancer, cardiovascular and ophthalmological diseases, and other age-related degenerative problems. Acai may also help boost brain activity, support healthy cholesterol levels, make the skin healthy and supple, and provide natural energy.

Acai berries may be a proverbial "Fountain of Youth." Comparing them to milk, the berries contain 3 times as many lipids, seven times as many carbohydrates, 118 times more iron, nine times as much Vitamin B1, and eight times as much Vitamin C. They also have the same amount of protein and calcium as milk.

Acai juice is popular among the locals where it grows, and is seen as a "poor man's juice." In a single day, 400,000 pounds of fruit is sold daily in just one city. The juice is served in plastic bags, and goes for about $2 per liter in some areas, making it very affordable for even the poorest families. The fruit itself is also a staple in the diets of many locals, especially when mixed with manioc to create porridge.

In short, the acai palm is used for a number of things from art to repellent to medicine, and its berries are starting to a find their way into a number of dietary supplements. The berries have definite value as part of a healthy diet.

Todd Levering provides no-hype facts about the health benefits of the acai berry. To get unbiased information about the acai products visit his acai berry website at http://acaipro.com


About the Author
Todd Levering is the publisher of a website that provides no-nonsense information about the acai berry. To get more info about acai berry research and products that are made with the acai fruit, visit http://acaipro.com

The History of the Acai Berry

by Todd Levering


The acai (ah-sigh-ee) berry has been around for thousands of years and not until the 1990's was it introduced to the western world. The acai berry was found to possess tremendous health properties. The acai berry was first used by the tribes of the Amazon jungle as a cure for various ailments. It is estimated that the indigenous tribes people routinely use up to 2,000 of the 3,000 known rainforest fruits for medicinal purposes.

The Amazon borders eight different countries and has the world's largest river basin. Not only does the Amazon supply one fifth of the worlds freshwater, it has the highest diversity of birds and freshwater fish. The Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world where one third of all animal and plant species live. The acai berry is just one of these fruits that has been discovered in this vast region. The Shuar tribes are one of these Amazonian tribes that have for centuries, through tradition, kept the use of plants (acai berry) for medicinal purposes.

Shuar medicine men or women are called uwishin (oo-wee-sheen') a healer that works with medicinal plants, somebody who knows all the secrets of the rainforests. Uwishin, have a great deal of knowledge of medicinal plants and their cures, they learn from others, and through experiments from the plants themselves. One plant removes snakes venom from the body. It is the work of the uwishin to research and find solutions to illness.

The acai berry was discovered to have natural antioxidant properties, as well as being a natural cholesterol controller. When eaten it helps reduce the bad cholesterol in our blood and increases the good cholesterol. The tribes of the Amazon knew of these properties and found out that it helped build the immune system, fight infection, protect the heart, and control prostate enlargement (nature's viagra). It was a great energy food for the tribes-people. The acai berry, which is a palm fruit, was traditionally pulped to make wine that was rich in minerals. The acai berry was also discovered to fight schistosomosis, which is transmitted by snails. Schistosomosis affecting more than 10 million Brazilians. The acaí berry is also used to produce an antibiotic that helps to fight against 'Staphylococcus aureus,' a common infection contracted mainly in hospitals. A berry so useful but only known to the traditional tribes men and woman of the Amazon, a lost secret.

The acaí berry comes from a palm that has a long thin trunk up to 25m high with a group of branches at the top from which hangs ribbon-like leaves. Acaí berries hang from these branches in clusters that look like groups of bluebottles. Traditionally the acai berries would be picked by hand and the tribe's men would shimmy up the tree and cut the branches from the top of the palm tree rich in acai berries. Now that the acai berry has been discovered as a highly sort after crop by the population of Brazil it is mass produced, as it only has a 24 hour life span in which the properties of the juice are still active. The acai berries must be loaded into baskets and onto boats soon after picking. To get it to the markets in Belem's they would have to transport the acai berries over night.

Each acai palm tree produces round about 20 kg of fruit per year and the wine produced by this fruit has become the most important product in terms of finance after wood forest products. Belem in Brazil now employs over 30,000 people on a daily basis to keep up with its enormous demand.

So we know where it comes from, what about it's recent history? After being introduced into the western world it was realised by the modern beach going Brazilian surfer as a natural way to regain energy. The acai berry was pulped and frozen to keep it fresh and became a natural additive to the smoothies drunk along the beaches of Brazil. It was known to help your prostate and was seen as a natural viagra for the boys of the beach. It soon became a drink for the trendy, for the sand and surf brigade.

The researches soon got hold of this magic acai berry and realised that it would be of great importance in the well-being and health of the western world, our diets are often over filled with fat and fast food, acai is naturally full with energy, it has a vibrant taste of berries with a hint of chocolate, is rich in proteins, fibre, vitamin E, minerals and essential Omega oils to reduce our bad cholesterol caused by our western diets. The acai berries fatty acid ratio resembles that of olive oil this is thought to be a contributing factor to low incidence of heart disease in Mediterranean populations. The acai berry contains similar properties as red wine in controlling fats in the blood and is a fair contributor to go up against the wine diets of the Mediterranean people.

Known as the miracle fruit, acai berries also helps in preventing cancer due to it's antioxidant properties that are five times more potent than gingko biloba, a commonly used herbal therapy product.

Acai berry juice has been introduced into other products like bars and health snacks to be sold at gyms and health spars. It's history is important as by studying the effects that the berry has had on the tribesmen in the Amazon we have discovered that it's traditional use as an energy booster for hunting and good libido has lead to acai berry juice to being a very commercially viable product.

It's most recent history is that it has been endorsed by such talk show hosts as Oprah Winfrey and has been seen as a feature on her show, a berry with star success. So lets say good bye to guranum and hello to the acai berry.


About the Author
Todd Levering is the publisher of a website that provides no-nonsense information about the acai berry. To get more info about acai berry research and products that are made with the acai fruit, visit http://acaipro.com