The Various Uses of Acai Berry

Touted as the next Superfood, the Acai Berry is no doubt, every inch a ‘super berry’ that the experts claim.  After the western world became familiar with its immense nutritional properties, intense research was carried out to establish whether the fruit really had so many vital nutrients packed within its small grape-like body.
Dr. Nicholas Perricone who is an M.D.; FACN and also an expert in nutritional medicine rates the Acai Berry number 1 on his ‘List of Superfoods’ and calls it the ‘nature’s perfect energy food’.  The author of the famous ‘The Wrinkle Cure’ and ‘The Perricone Promise’ has high praises for the Acai Berry.  Research indicates that Acai is indeed the world’s best anti-oxidant.  It has the capacity to kill the free radicals that destroy our cells and hence prevent cancer and prolong ageing.
Acai Berry extract has been projected as the super-weight loss formula by nutritional medicine experts.  With obesity becoming one of the most dreaded diseases, there is ample market for Acai as the natural weight-loss solution.  However, it cannot solely cause weight loss the way a medicine would.  It simply helps the process of weight-loss by detoxifying the body of free-radicals and other such elements.
People who have experienced the horrific side-effects of allopathic medicines would definitely prefer if they could solve their weight-issues without resorting to medicines.  It’s best to turn to nature when marvels like Acai are available.  Even if you are not over-weight, it is beneficial to add Acai to your regular diet as it has colon cleansing properties.
The Acai Berry is a completely fiber-packed fruit with 45% of its weight being fiber. This is the highest amongst all the fruits.  It’s this fiber content that helps keep the digestive system robust and cleans the colon keeping you away from colon-cancer.  Its high vitamin C content helps maintain teeth health and hygiene and prevents the bleeding of gums.  Apart from this the high vitamin E and C content helps in the creation of neurotransmitters thus reducing the chances of brain diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.  However, Acai Berry cannot be used as a cure for any of these diseases.  It can be used only as a dietary supplement for improved health and well-being.
The Acai Berry has a short-shelf life of about 24 hours.  So in order to reap the complete benefit of this wonder-fruit, consumers would need to eat it as fresh as possible.  The best bet perhaps would be to go for the freeze-dried or the frozen pulps because they retain the maximum nutrient value of the fruit.  It’s best to conduct a complete research about all the available products before buying one.

How Acai Berry Became So Popular

The Acai Berry can no doubt be called the ‘queen of all berries’ because its anti-oxidant properties can put any other fruit to shame.  Found in the deep dark forests of the Amazon, this wonder of a fruit is every health conscious person’s delight.  What is so special about this fruit that has made the world go crazy about it?  We have seen a boom in Acai Berry products recently.  Any product that remotely mentions the word ‘Acai’ will find immediate takers.  The deep purple fruit enjoys phenomenal popularity and there is no dearth of celebrities ready to endorse it.  Let’s delve deep in to the history of this fruit that has made it to the headlines in recent past.
The inhabitants of Brazil have known the benefits of Acai since time immemorial. It has always been a part of their staple diet.  The Acai berry has lived an anonymous life for a very long time.  Probably because the tropical forests in the Amazon, where it grew in abundance, were cut off from modern civilization for a really long time.
The western world remained ignorant about Acai Berry until the 1990s.  Moreover, it has a very short shelf-life due to its high fat content.  It would be a waste to eat the fruit after 8 hours of its being plucked from the Acai palm on which it grows. The nutritional value would become nil.  It completely decays after 24 hours of picking and so, carrying it out of Brazil was out of question.
However, as Brazil embarked on a path of progress, the visiting scientists and the western community heard of the marvelous berry from the locals.  Based on what they heard from the natives, they began their research and were delighted to find that the claims of the natives were indeed true.  Later the Acai Berry was found in the South American forests as well.  So, the Acai Berry research gained momentum.
The observations confirmed that the berry had a high anti-oxidant content and thus had important anti-ageing, colon cleansing and anti-cancer properties.  It was found to be beneficial for a number of ailments including sleep disorders, sexual performance related problems, stamina issues, weight problems etc.  Its protein content is as high as 9/100 grams which makes it an ideal diet for muscle builders.  Its high vitamin C content makes it an ideal cure for gingivitis and other teeth related problems.  Its vitamin E content helps the brain to function properly and prevents Alzheimer’s disease.
As these benefits of the Acai Berry became known to the people, the demand for it increased.  Thus the Acai came to be cultivated commercially.  The problem of short shelf life was solved by modern methods of preservation like freeze-drying and pulping.
Today, the berry boasts of an amazing number of followers and has assumed the proportion of a fad-diet for weight-loss.  It has found mention in the Oprah Winfrey Show.  So, what can we say about this stomach soother cum anti-oxidant cum aphrodisiac?  ‘Berry’ well indeed!