Acai berries - superfruit health benefits
Acai berry fruit, juice and health supplements
Just what are acai berries?
Acai berries (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) have quickly grown in popularity in recent years. This is largely since they have finally been identified in the West as being a “superfruit” because of their high nutritional content. But just precisely what are they and where can you find them?
An acai berry is a little round fruit (around 25mm in size), which is located only in swampy sectors of the Amazon rainforest (Central and South America). It grows on the sizeable palm trees (açaí palms) that grow there, which can achieve a height of over eighty feet. These berries mature from from green to deep blue / purple in colour as they ripen and eventually look much like grapes, except that they have a large, inedible seed - in actuality, they are around 90% seed and only 10% flesh.
Some background to acai berries
South Americans indigenous to the Amazon have been experiencing the dietary health benefits of the superfood acai berry for quite a while. In fact, acai berries are thought of as a highly important source of food for 3 traditional Caboclo tribes in the Brazilian Amazon, given it makes up a significant element of their diet - up to forty-two per cent of their total food consumption by weight. This fact of itself reflects their unbelievably high nutritional content.
The nutritional benefits of acai berries
As already mentioned, acai berries are now widely acknowledged as a “superfood” or “superfruit” - titles which recognise their superior nutrient content of vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and antioxidants.
They are regarded as being helpful for:
Interesting facts about acai berries
Acai berry fact #1:
Acai berries are wild harvested, as opposed to farmed, which is important because it means that they are not subjected to unhealthy pesticides and fertilizers.
Acai berry fact #2:
Acai berries grow in bunches (similar to bananas), unlike some other fruits and berries (like cherries), which grow singularly on trees. The average açaí palm tree can yield between 3 and 8 bunches of acai berries.
Acai berry fact #3:
Acai berries have just one large seed in them and even this section of the fruit can be useful. Folks have been known to grind the seed and use it as manure for their plants. Others utilise it to make organic matter for agriculture and livestock food.
A few other purported health rewards of acai berries include their antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-mutagenic properties.
So where can I find acai berries?
One specific reason for the interest in acai berries (apart from their high nutrient per calorie ratio of course) is the fact that they taste delicious. Some people describe the taste as a mix of berries and earthy chocolate, whilst other people think that it is a cross between a wild raspberry and grape.
Regrettably, acai berries are not yet widely available in their fresh form. Although they are now quite common as ingredients in juice form in many health food shops and supermarkets, to make sure that you are getting the optimum level of nutrients from this incredible superfruit, it is arguably best to go for a top quality, high strength health supplement, which contains pure freeze-dried acai berries. The freeze-drying process (in contrast to the juicing process) ensures that fewer nutrients are lost, delivering maximum benefit.
For max strength (1065mg per capsule), high quality pure acai berries in freeze-dried capsulated form plus added antioxidants (465mg per capsule), click on the link above! Unbeatable value and a unique, highest potency formula that cannot be found anywhere else!
