photo credit: borderlys

There are many Acai Berry products on the market right now. There are drinks, powders and capsules. They are rapidly becoming very popular. The berries have been called a 'superfood'. These are foods that are particularly high in nutrients, and therefore very good for our health. Some good reasons for eating or drinking these products are said to be:

• Lower cholesterol levels
• Better digestion
• Better sleep
• More energy
• Clearer skin
• Detoxification
• Weight loss

Some of the claimed benefits of these products have scientific evidence to support them. If you would like to read more about this, see the 'References' section of this site. There are symbols at the end of some of the text. These show which of the scientific papers in the 'References' section the evidence came from.

Where Do The Berries Come From?

The acai berries come from the fast-growing Açaí Palm Euterpe oleracea. It's found growing mostly in swamps and floodplains in South and Central America. The fruits are a similar colour, size and shape to grapes. They contain one fairly large seed.

They are an important food in Brazil, and are now becoming popular with the rest of the World. This could be because of the nutritional benefits of the fruits. It could also be because many people say they taste like berries and chocolate!

In Brazil, the pulp and juice of these fruits is used in various smoothies, juice blends, fizzy drinks, and other drinks. In the North of Brazil it is served with tapioca, either salty or sweet. In other parts of Brazil it has become popular as an ice cream flavour. The juice sometimes is made into liqueur.

Açaí Health Benefits

Some of the properties and benefits the fruits have are:

• Antioxidant Activity

Antioxidants are said to help combat premature ageing. An antioxidant is a molecule which can slow down or stop the oxidation of other molecules. It is this oxidation which may damage or kill cells in the body. The fruits are said to be high in antioxidants. Studies have demonstrated that after drinking juice made from the berries, after two hours the antioxidant capacity of the blood increases†.

• Amino Acids

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and are vital in repairing muscle damage from exercise and normal daily routines. The ones that we can't make in our own bodies are called Essential Amino Acids. These must be taken in as part of our normal diet. The berry fruits naturally contain almost all of the Essential Amino Acids which we need in our diet.

• Essential Fatty Acids

The fatty acids in the fruits are similar to those which are found in olive oil, and have high levels of monounsaturated oleic acid. It is thought that oleic acid could be responsible for the hypotensive (blood pressure reducing) effects of olive oil. The berry contains one of the highest known concentrations of oleic acid in the pulp of a fruit (56%).*

• Effects On Leukaemia Cells in vitro

Chemically-extracted fractions of acai rich in polyphenolics have been found to reduce experimental HL-60 leukaemia cell proliferation during experiments in the laboratory.‡ Inhibition of leukaemia cell proliferation was also observed with extracts from the berry pulp oil**.

• Vitamins, Minerals And Fibre

The berries have been found to be a good source of dietary fibre. After laboratory testing, 100 grams of freeze dried pulp and skin was found to contain 44.2 grams of fibre. In addition to this the researchers found Vitamin A, Calcium and Iron*

For †, *, ‡ and ** see 'References' page for details of scientific papers on acai berry products.

photo credit: gurucrusher

This is probably one of the easiest, lightest and most convenient ways of taking supplements with you when you're on the move. The capsules contain berries that have been dried to ensure that the nutrients remain available and are not destroyed during the storage and transportation process. The fresh berries do not keep very long after they have been harvested so this is a good way of retaining the goodness in them. It's best to opt for the ones which contain powder made from freeze-dried berries as this helps to preserve more of the natural nutrients which could be destroyed by drying at higher temperatures.

As is the case with the fresh berries , the acai capsules contain naturally-occurring  nutrients including antioxidants (said to reduce cell damage and help slow ageing), vitamins (nutrients essential to the body's functioning), minerals (also vital nutrients needed by the body), essential amino acids (aid in repair of  damaged muscle tissue caused by exercise), essential fatty acids (believed to play a part in reducing blood pressure),  and fibre (for maintaining a healthy digestion) .

They are therefore useful for people whose normal diet may be lacking in these important nutrients, or people who need extra nutrients e.g. those who do a lot of strenuous exercise (marathon running, triathlons etc.).

Most manufacturers' capsules are suitable for vegetarians as the part containing the powder is made from vegetable materials instead of animal-derived products. If you are vegetarian it would be a good idea to check with the seller that the ones that they are selling are suitable for vegetarians.

The usual dose for this supplement is one or two capsules per day. However, as the amounts of powder in each capsule can vary between manufacturers, it's important to follow your capsule manufacturer's recommended dosage.

Some people believe that taking these suplements helped them to achieve their weight loss goals, and sometimes it is sold as an aid to weight loss. However, at the moment there does not seem to be any independent scientific evidence that taking this supplement will directly cause weight loss. For people who are on a calorie-controlled diet and taking regular exercise, this type of supplement could be an easy and convenient way to help ensure that you meet the body's nutrient requirements.

photo credit: eduardozarate

As with the fresh fruits themselves, the juice drinks contain natural nutrients such as antioxidants (said to reduce cell damage and help slow ageing), essential amino acids (help repair muscle damage from exercise), essential fatty acids (thought to help reduce blood pressure), vitamins (essential nutrients the body requires), minerals (also essential nutrients required by the body) and fibre (for a healthy digestive system) .

Once harvested from the Açaí Palm, the berries are soaked to soften the thin shell on the outside of the fruit, and then pressed to extract the juice.  In the Amazon region of Brazil, the local caboclo people drink a large amount of this juice, served cold either with or without sugar and tapioca.  For these indigenous people, Açaí berries account for up to 42% by weight of their diet.

Herbal medicine in Brazil also uses oil extracted from the fruit in the treatment of diarrhoea, and the rind of the fruits has been used as a natural treatment for skin ulcers.  Crushed seeds from the fruits have also been used to treat people with high temperatures.

The juice has been recommended by some people for weight loss. At the moment there seems to be no evidence for this.  This means that this product can't be recommended as a fat-burning drink.  It is, however, a good additional source of nutrients for people on calorie-controlled diets.

photo credit: gurucrusher

This is an easy and convenient way to take acai berry.  The powder can be added to your favourite drink including juice, milk or even to your favourite type of smoothie to give it some extra nutritional value.  Freeze dried acai often has a higher concentration of nutrients than the same weight of the fresh fruit, and the freeze drying process retains the nutritional value of the fruits, ensuring that you get the same nutritional value from the powdered version.

It is worth noting that other processing methods such as spray drying are carried out at higher temperatures and can result in the destruction of some of the berry's nutrients.  This means that it is preferable to choose powders that have been produced using the freeze drying method.

As is the case with the fresh fruits, the powdered form of the fruit  contains naturally-found nutrients like antioxidants (believed to have an effect on reducing damage to cells and helping slow the effects of ageing), essential amino acids (assist the body in recovery from exercise, builds muscle), essential fatty acids (believed to have a role in the reduction of blood pressure), vitamins (nutrients the body needs to function), minerals (other nutrients required for normal body function) and fibre (essential for maintaining operation of the digestive tract) .  During laboratory testing, 100 grams of freeze dried pulp and skin has been discovered to contain 44.2 grams of fibre.

Although often sold as a weight loss supplement, there seems to be currently no evidence that acai speeds up weight loss. It could, however be a useful source of extra nutrients for people who are on a conventional weight loss diet.

photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography

Many people strongly believe that their weight loss was achieved by use of acai berry supplements, such as acai powders, acai juice and acai capsules.  There seems to be no clear scientific evidence at present that there is any weight loss directly due to taking the supplements.  There is, however, plenty of evidence of the healthy properties of these berries.  They have been scientifically proven to contain beneficial nutrients such as antioxidants, essential amino acids and essential fatty acids plus vitamins, minerals and fibre. These supplements can therefore help those who are dieting to take in enough of these nutrients.

Scams

It's very important if you choose to try any acai products that you read the small print.  What appears to be a free trial with no obligations can turn out to be a monthly bill on your credit card for products or services which you didn't realise you'd agreed to pay for!  These unscrupulous companies are relying on the fact that most of us just do not read the small print when we go online to make purchases.  Please be careful if you decide on a free trial to make sure that it really is a free trial by reading all of the terms and conditions before going ahead.

*Schauss AG, Wu X, Prior RL, Ou B, Patel D, Huang D, Kababick JP. Phytochemical and nutrient composition of the freeze-dried amazonian palm berry, Euterpe oleraceae Mart. (acai). J Agric Food Chem. 2006 Nov 1;54(22):8598-603.

‡Del Pozo-Insfran D, Percival SS, Talcott ST (Feb 2006). "Açai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) polyphenolics in their glycoside and aglycone forms induce apoptosis of HL-60 leukemia cells". J Agric Food Chem. 54 (4): 1222–9

**Pacheco-Palencia LA, Talcott ST, Safe S, Mertens-Talcott S (May 2008). "Absorption and biological activity of phytochemical-rich extracts from açai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) pulp and oil in vitro". J Agric Food Chem. 56 (10): 3593–600