Acai berry juice tastes great and enjoying a glass with breakfast is fine. But consumers should be wary of Acai berry product manufacturers’ all-purpose claims that the berries can bolster everything from the immune system to the sex drive. Even early promoters Oprah Winfrey and Rachael Ray are backing off of enthusiasm for the exotic fruit.
Although Acai berries are certainly good for you, they shouldn’t top the list of the healthiest foods. Like red wine, once promoted as especially good for the heart, Acai berry products have received a lot of enthusiastic promotion and fantastic health claims. Because of heightened publicity, one might be well advised to consider that the healthful aspects of Acai berries have been somewhat exaggerated.
What are Acai Berries and Why Did They Surge in Popular?
The Acai berry (pronounced “ah-sigh-ee”) is a grape-like berry that grows in Brazil's Amazon Rainforest. Natives of the region have harvested and eaten Acai berries for hundreds of years.
However, Acai berries are highly perishable. The edible part of the fruit is small in relation to the whole. The seed or pit is large. Acai berries are processed and pulp from the fruit is used primarily in juice. It is also available in powdered form and used, for example, to flavor smoothies or an ingredient in dietary supplements.
Like the nutritious Pawpaw, Acai fruit had not been exploited commercially in modern times. There are many food products that were known to our ancestors that are not widely known today for reasons having to do with ease of production and quantity of food per growing unit under cultivation. Some other less well-known foods are being reintroduced by producers who hope to benefit from healthful attributes or to replace food sources that are stressed. For example, as well-known seafood items become more expensive, new items like tilapia and squid appear more often in markets and on menus.
Acai Berry Health Benefits
Like other dark- or bright-skinned fruits, Acai berries contain antioxidants that keep free radical molecules from damaging cells. As they age, people become more interested in such attributes in order to fend off diseases and the ward off the effects of aging.
However, the government-recommended daily course of five servings of vegetables and two of fruits usually yields all the antioxidants the body needs and can use. Additional antioxidants aren’t processed by the body as a failsafe disease deterrent or means to reverse the slow but unstoppable progression of aging.
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