What is Acai berry?

February 16, 2009

What is Acai Berry?

It is a Brazilian fruit, that has taken the health food industry by storm. It is extremely rich in nutrients. After being featured on Oprah, the Rachel Ray Show, and NBC news as one of the healthiest foods on the planet, everyone seems to be scrambling to get their hands on this amazing fruit.

Acai Berry is a small round black purplish grape like fruit in appearance and size though with a lesser pulp. Acai berry has single large seed, when the berries are ripe, the exocarp turn into a deep purple color or green depending on the type of acai berry as well as its maturity. The endocarp of the acai berry fruit takes about 80% of the fruit while the fleshy part of the berry is the mesocarp that contains the pulp which is of a uniform thickness.For the amazon people of Beazil acai is a very important fruit as 42% percent of the food intakes for the people of this region and the juice and pulp of this fruits have been found to be very useful and it is used as blends in various juices such as soda, smoothies and several other drinks.
The berries have the tendency to deteriorate very fast after harvest due to its high fatty content and today several companies now use acai berry to produce juice and energy drink.Acai is not only good for food, since eighty percent of the fruit constitutes the seed; the seeds can be ground for livestock or used as manure for plants.

Despite being extremely popular in Brazil, the acai berry has been relatively unknown in other parts of the world. However, recent media coverage of this amazing food has been touted on the Oprah Winfrey show, ABC, NBC and CBS news and other shows. It has also been featured in several books. In fact, Dr. Perricone calls this berry the number one superfood in his book “The Perricone Promise”. The berry is extremely rich in antioxidants, amino acids and essential fatty acids. With 15-20 times the antioxidants as red grapes, it is one of best sources of antioxidants of any food. There are numerous benefits to acai. In summary, it can help:

* Promote weight loss
* Boost energy & stamina
* Support the immune system
* Promote more restful sleep
* Fight aging and inflammation
* Protect against heart disease
* Increase libido

Not only is Acai berry juice one of the healthiest foods you can eat, but it is also one of the best tasting. With a taste that compares to a mixture of chocolate and berries, you will never know that you are consuming a “health food”.

Since the Acai seeds are so large it makes transportation of whole Acai berries very difficult.

The berries are usually made into Acai pulp and either frozen or made into juice. You will find many products in your grocery store claiming to be Acai, but most of these are really just over priced grape juice with a splash of Acai.

The best way to get real Acai products is by ordering them online from companies that specialize in producing certified organic Acai products.