Is Acai Berry Beneficial To You or Is It Just Another Hyped-Up Super Fruit?
by Jerry Shielder
The Acai Berry has a dark purple color to it and it is about the size of a red grape. Acai Berries are native to Brazil where they grow on an Acai Palm trees.
When you first taste them, they have an after-taste like cranberries. If you enjoy eating raspberries as well, you will like acai berries.
In its natural habitat, the Acai Palm tree (Euterpe oleracea) grows in floodplains and swamps. It really thrives in soil that is moist, well-drained, and acidic.
The flowers that bloom on the Acai Palm are small and purple. They begin to grow into clusters and mature. After maturation, green fruits begin to emerge that grow in bunches.
Of course these fruits don't grow over night or even in a year. It takes four to five years before the Acai Palm begins to bear fruit. The berry itself has a diameter of 1 inch containing a single seed inside of it. The natives know when they are ripe for the picking when they turn a dark purplish color. You can get two bumper crops of fruit every year from the Acai Palm.
Acai berries are a rich source of nutrients and the natives of Brazil have been taking full advantage of this for centuries. Not only do they taste good but they are also used to treat different skin conditions.
Tea is brewed from the acai seeds to bring a fever down. Menstrual pain and diabetes are treated by boiling the acai root and eaten.
Antioxidant Power
Anthocyanins are compounds responsible for giving the acai berry its dark purplish color. In fact, anthocyanins are responsible for the color in blue, red, and purple plants. This fact has attracted the attention of manufacturers who make supplements.
Anthocyanins also have antioxidant characteristics. These compounds have two functions in plants, one to give pretty colors and the other to help plants ward off bacterial infections.
Fresh fruits and vegetables that are rich in antioxidants help to get rid of free radicals in your body that cause premature aging and the development of certain cancers.
ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) is a method created in the United States. It is commonly used by the Department of Agriculture to measure the concentration of oxygen radicals in food products.
The ORAC method measures antioxidant activity in the ingredients of food. A reading that is high gives a ORAC number that is favorable.
When the ORAC method was used to measure the antioxidant level of acai berries, they had an high ORAC number, the berries scored really high, higher than any other fruit or vegetable.
To toot their own horn, acai berries have ten to thirty times as much anthocyanins as red wine and twice the concentration of antioxidants as blueberries.
They also are a rich source of vitamins B1, B3, B2, E, and C. These berries are nutrient rich with potassium, phosphorous, fiber, calcium, and proteins. These vitamins and nutrients are very much needed by our bodies if we are going to remain healthy.
Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin that improves your immune system, prevents against heart and eye disease, and wrinkling of the skin. Other foods that are rich in vitamin C are cabbage, potatoes, oranges, and mangoes.
Deep below the epidermis, collagen proteins are made in abundance with the help of acai berries. This is how premature aging is prevented. These same nutrients also help to shield your skin from the damaging rays of UV light. UV light or sunlight can cause wrinkling of the skin due to long exposure over time.
More Health Benefits
Phytosterols are also compounds that naturally occur in acai berries. Plants produce these compounds to remain turgid and healthy.
In humans phytosterols inhibit the absorption of cholesterol in the intestine. This helps to lower your cholesterol. In the cosmetic industry, acai berries are being used to help to promote better skin health.
They are already using a make-up facial powder with acai berry as the main ingredient. This powder is used to smooth out the wrinkles in skin and rejuvenate it to a healthier appearance. This super fruit has created a new scientific field of study to explore its many health components.
This powder has been proven to help those with acne and premature skin wrinkling. While research is still ongoing to see how much more we can squeeze out of this tiny berry, it has proven itself to be ahead of the class in the nutritional health supplement field.
As you can see the <a href="http://www.weightlossproductreviews.net/acai_berry.html">akai beri</a> is truly an amazing fruit. This is why it is called a super fruit. It has so many properties that can benefit our health. If you are not yet convinced of the power of akai beri read more <a href="http://www.weightlossproductreviews.net/acai_berry_select_reviews.html">akai beri select reviews</a>here.
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