Acai Berry – An Exceptional Super Food Created By Nature

Many of us may not even have heard of acai berry – a humble berry that is fast gaining popularity across the world as nature’s own super food. In fact, this small, marble-sized, blackish-purple berry that is harvested from the rainforests of Brazil, is one of the most nutritious and powerful gifts of nature. Brazilian natives who are aware of the incredible healing and nutritional properties of acai berry have been using it for centuries.

Although the acai berry has a richly delicious berry-chocolate flavor, this berry is highly popular today for various factors other than simply its great taste. The acai berry is an unbelievably comprehensive package of minerals, vitamins, essential fatty acids and antioxidants. However, the berry does not remain fresh for long after harvest. Consequently, the fresh berries cannot be transported across long distances. This is why acai berries are processed at the origin to separate the seed from pulp and packaged in the form of a syrup or puree.

What Makes Acai So Special?

Acai berry is a storehouse of a host of nutrients that promote energy, health, mental clarity and beauty. Let us now take a deeper look into the nutritional benefits of acai berry.

Acai berries contain various nutrients like Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, calcium, potassium and iron. In addition, acai berries also feature a good content of essential fatty acids like Omega 6 that help in maintaining healthy cholesterol levels. The pulp of acai is a rich source of vegetable protein – a good form of protein that is digested more easily than animal proteins in milk.

Most importantly, acai berries contain a fabulously high concentration of antioxidants. In fact, the antioxidant content in acai berries is almost 10 times that of blueberries and 33 times the content in red grapes used in making wine.

All these nutritional benefits naturally translate into wonderful health advantages, natural cures, more energy, stamina, vitality, immunity and youthful looks. So, it is no wonder that acai berries are widely used by Brazilians in various forms ranging from smoothies and drinks to breakfast dishes. Today, the extract of acai berries is increasingly being adopted for use in energy drinks, ice-creams and energy bars.

Innumerable Health Benefits

Acai extract benefits your body in lots of ways. To begin with, its incredible concentration of nutrients revitalizes the human body by boosting energy levels and slowing down the natural aging process. Acai juice also improves digestion, enhances blood circulation, strengthens the immune system and detoxifies the body. Acai has also long been used as a natural remedy for lethargy, sexual dysfunction, skin irritation and even insomnia.

The acai berry also boasts of numerous anti-mutagenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. Owing to its high content of antioxidants, acai berry plays a major role in reducing or preventing complications of diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, urinary infections, high cholesterol, heart problems and problems with vision.

While improved immunity seems one of the most important of health benefits of acai berry, most people choose acai juice due to its instantly energizing effect.

Does Acai Have Side-Effects?

People who choose acai berry either for its healing abilities or nutritional benefits may still be concerned about its potential side effects. If you harbor such worries, simply remember that acai berries have been a part of Brazilian diet since times immemorial and no serious side effect has been recorded till date.

If acai berry does cause any side effect, it is yet to be discovered. In the meanwhile, here is another fact related to acai – since acai juice provides slow-release energy, it is widely popular among athletes and weightlifters that need a reliable, natural, long-lasting reservoir of energy. This is exactly why acai juice is now widely available in sports clubs and gyms across Brazil. Don’t you think this single fact is more than enough to do away with any lingering doubts about side effects of acai?

The question of side effects is more prominent than ever before because acai berries – though they have been in use for Brazil for a long time now – is still new to the rest of the world. Naturally, medical and health professionals continue to monitor its health benefits and possible side effects. As of now, research studies conducted worldwide have been unable to prove that acai berries pose side effects.

Does Acai Berry Work As A Colon Cleanser?

Colon cleansing basically refers to any process that removes harmful build-up of toxins from the body that may otherwise lead to constipation, unsuccessful weight loss programs or digestive ailments. Acai berry features outstanding colon cleansing properties that make it a key ingredient of many oral supplements for colon cleansing.

Using acai-included supplements for colon cleansing offers another surprising benefit – it greatly aids in weight loss efforts by helping to reduce appetite. In fact, before starting on a diet, many people use supplements of acai berry for colon cleansing and for achieving better results at weight loss.

Shopping For Acai

Simply google the phrase ‘buy acai berry’ and you will receive an overwhelming number of sites dedicated to a staggering variety of acai berry products ranging from drinks and powder to capsules. As mentioned before, since acai berries do not remain in fresh condition for long, only the processed pulp is available in all regions outside Brazil.

While local supermarkets may not stock acai products, it is quite common to find acai fruit pulp or acai juice in most gourmet stores and health stores. Good quality acai juice looks like cloudy grape juice with an oily film on top (resulting from the presence of fatty acids). In addition, you also get to taste acai in smoothies, juice blends, ice-creams and sodas that include acai pulp.

If you are interested in purchasing acai products online, there are thousands of sites to choose from. After finding a good site to purchase from, remember to confirm if the acai product you are being offered is indeed genuine. As a rule, it is best not to trust sites that offer ‘real’ acai supplements at ridiculously low rates. Also, steer away from juice blends. After all, if you have the real acai pulp or juice, you can always blend it with the juice of your choice!