Acai Berries: Miracle Food or Miracle of Hype?
If you pay any attention to the incoming junk mail in your e-mailbox, you may have noticed a recent increase in the number of splashy messages promoting something called acai berries. "Anti-aging miracle!" "More antioxidants than blueberries." "Superfood!" "As seen on Oprah!" "Today Show exclusive!" Before you whip out your credit card, let's take a breath and see what's really going on here.
First, a definition. Acai berries (it's pronounced "ah-sigh-ee") are the fruit of the Brazilian acai palm tree or palmberry plant. They are about one inch in diameter and purplish, looking something like grapes, and it's said that in their raw form they have a taste that's an intriguing blend of berries and chocolate. Inside is one small seed. In Amazonian regions, the berries are harvested as food, and they are indeed nutritious, with a 100-gram serving providing the daily recommended allowance of fiber. They're also an excellent source of fatty acids, the kinds of phytosterols that help to reduce cholesterol levels.
Because the berries share many characteristics with other berries and fruits that have already proven to be great sources of antioxidants, scientists have studied them to see if they are as beneficial as other dark berries and grapes (and red wine) when it comes to anti-aging properties. One study out of the University of Florida found that not only were antioxidants present in abundance but that the berries also triggered "a self-destruct response" in leukemia cells, and that's certainly interesting.
The big catch is that acai berries are highly perishable and therefore almost impossible to consume by Americans in their raw and theoretically most beneficial form. Instead, health food stores may stock juices laced with acai juice, pills, or powdered forms of acai berry skin. That's fine, but it can be difficult to know what concentration of the beneficial compounds you're getting in such products (if you're actually getting any at all), and therefore it's easy to get ripped off. At the same time, some of that junk mail you're reading talks about weight loss, improved energy, and other health benefits that are untested so far. For now, the only thing known for sure is that acai berries do have those antioxidants and beneficial fatty acids, but it will take a little research to make sure you're getting those benefits from the adulterated forms you find on American store shelves. For now, be sure to read all the fine print on those ads for pills and powders before you open your wallet.
Read More on This Topic:
http://www.acai.vg
Brazilian berry destroys cancer cells in lab, UF study shows
http://news.ufl.edu/2006/01/12/berries/
