Acai Berry Nutritional Benefits

August 23, 2008 by admin  
Filed under Acai Berry Benefits

This is a map location of the Amazon Rainfores...Image via Wikipedia

The Açaí berry on the Oprah Winfrey Web site lists the berry as the world’s #1 super food for health and age defying beauty! Oprah’s Web site called Açaí berries “one of the most nutritious and powerful foods in the world”. Dr. Nicholas Perricone wrote in his book, The Perricone Promise, the Açaí fruit with “Hidden within its royal purple pigment is the magic that makes it nature’s perfect energy fruit.” Dr. Nicolas Perricone has given great praise to the Brazilian berry.
The Açaí Berry is a small, round, fruit about 25mm (1 inch) in diameter, with a dark-purple color. The Açaí berry grows on Palm trees located in the Amazon. The cluster grows like a grape on a vine in bunches of 700 to 900 berries. This energy boosting super food is harvested in the rainforests of Brazil twice a year in Spring and Fall.
The strength of Açaí has been measured by a large number of studies. The oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay was developed in 1992 at the National Institute of Aging. ORAC measures how much a particular food inhibits the activity of free radicals. The  results of the test were so clear it is now used by the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging in massive scientific research.
A current report using modernized testing on a freeze-dried Açaí powder showed a high antioxidant effect with an ORAC value of 1026; compared to the ORAC value of broccoli is 130, and for Spinach it is 150. A study in 2006 with the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry showed that extracts from the Açaí fruit triggered a death of cells in response in to 86 percent of leukemia cells tested.
Interestingly enough the Açaí berry, has been used by ancient and modern inhabitants of the Amazon rainforest for centuries, has never been heard of by most people. Açaí has a protein comparable to eggs, has 20 phytonutrients, a monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat ratio identical to olive oil, and a blood-sugar-friendly glycemic index. The American Diabetes Association lists Mona Vie (a blend of 19 fruits and berries with the Açaí berry being its hidden treasure) on their approved lists of foods.
The Açaí berry is packed with Polyphenol (a generic name for potent plant antioxidants) and boasts up to 30 times the Anthocyanin content of red wine! The Açaí berries are extremely rich with vitamins, and trace minerals including but not limited to iron, copper and calcium.
Many experts agree that Açaí may help with energy deficiencies, weight loss, immune problems, circulatory conditions, lowering cholesterol and sexual dysfunctions as well as other ailments

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Benefits of Acai Berry Superfood

August 18, 2008 by admin  
Filed under Acai Berry Benefits

buy-acai Benefits of Acai Berry SuperfoodAcai Berry is a berry that comes from deep in the Amazon Rain Forest. Immediately upon reading that, you may already think it sounds fake, but if you saw the effects you would probably think very differently. Acai Berry has been seen on Oprah, Rachael Ray, and many other talk shows boasting the amazing effects.

  • Acai Berry can do great things to boost your metabolism naturally. A boosted metabolism can mean keeping fat and weight off in the long run even when you are done taking acai berry.
  • Cleaning your body of toxins can have a huge effect. Your body can have pounds and pounds of waste that cause problems with energy levels, fat loss, gas, and bloating.
  • The berry can also have great effects on your immune system. Boosting your immune system keeps you from getting sick and will keep your metabolism high and working hard to keep fat away.
  • Aside from weight loss, acai berry can also improve your body’s circulation. Improved circulation will improve the look and feel of your skin along with get nutrients to your body faster which will keep your fat burning properties very high.
  • Finally, acai berry can also prevent cancerous cells from forming in your body. The toxin disposal effect of acai berry keeps your body from potentially harmful problems turning regular cells into cancer cells. What could be better then that?

Obviously, Acai Berry has even more amazing properties that could do wonders for your body, but this is just a few. Acai Berry also offers a free trial at the site below or clicking on the link! The Acai Berry Superfood is going to continue to become more popular and be part of the growing trend of all-natural weight loss supplements.

freetrial Benefits of Acai Berry Superfood

Cancer Curing Possibilities in the Acai Berry

August 18, 2008 by admin  
Filed under Acai Cancer Studies

buy-acai Cancer Curing Possibilities in the Acai BerryThe fight against cancer is a big one and some will say every little bit counts, maybe a little berry will pack a punch in the battle. The Acai Berry is a small dark purple fruit similar in size to a blueberry, it grows in bunches like grapes at the top of tall palm trees found prevalently in northern Brazil. The berry is the topic of several news segments and has become one of the new superfoods on the list of hot food items for a healthy lifestyle. The fruit has only a small amount of pulp with a seed making up the majority of the berry’s size. It is the small amount of pulp and the skin that is used to make the many Acai based products on the North American market today.

During the past couple of years two studies have been published showing results that could be viewed by some as small insights or by others as perhaps encourage information in the fight against cancer. In 2006, Dr Steve Talcott and others from the University of Florida investigated the effect of Acai Berry’s antioxidant content on cultured human cancer cells, more specifically leukemia cells. The research, published by the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, showed very promising results with Acai extracts triggering a self destruct response in up to 86 percent of leukemia cells tested. However, as this study was based on a cell-culture model they were quick to caution the study did not prove that compounds found in Acai berries could prevent leukemia in people. Nonetheless the results were optimistic and indicated that further research could likely indicate a similar beneficial effect in the body.

There are skeptics that may consider the evidence to date of trivial consequence. But to those who may be looking for alternatives or complimentary measures to current cancer treatment it is one more sign of possibility in their fight against an illness that in 2007 claimed the lives of over half a million men and women in the US alone, 8% of this figure to leukemia.

Since Talcott’s initial study of 2006 was performed a second follow up study also lead by Talcott, now an Assistant Professor at Texas A & M University, and a team of colleagues has been completed, it was the first ever human consumption trial of Acai juice and Acai pulp. While the earlier published study indicated that the antioxidant content in the Acai Berry was related to the destruction of cultured human cancer cells, this second study looked at the ability of the human body to absorb the antioxidant properties of the Acai Berry when consumed. The publication date for the more recent Acai study has not yet been released but a preview of the abstract on the Texas A&M University website certainly provides a look at a possible outcome.

The study was conducted using twelve healthy volunteers in which Acai berry pulp and clarified Acai juice was compared to a non-antioxidant drink and applesauce controls. The antioxidant capacity in plasma and urine was repeatedly sampled over 12 hours and 24 hours post consumption respectively as an indicator of absorption. Results showed plasma antioxidant capacity was significantly increased by Acai pulp. Individual increases in plasma antioxidant capacity were also found for both Acai juice and Acai pulp. These results demonstrated the ability of the human body to absorb the antioxidant properties of Acai when consumed.

It seems each day presents more data proclaiming the benefits of this rising star of a berry, it may not only bring goodness to the well-being of the general consumer but also hope to those counting on its now evidenced cancer destroying properties.

freetrial Cancer Curing Possibilities in the Acai Berry

Gabrielle Martineau

Learn more about the Acai fruit and juice at Acai Berry Info. Check out the latest Acai news, discussion and videos. Details the various health benefits that acai berries provide and features acai product retailers and suppliers.