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Well, ever since Dr. Nicholas Perricone touted its benefits on Oprah, the Acai berry is not such a secret. However, if you somehow missed it, the Acai berry is a fruit which Dr. Perricone put at the very top of his list of 10 “super foods”. The research which has been done on the Acai backs this claim too. This berry is just the size of a grape but is jam-packed with nutrition and health benefits.

The Acai berry is the fruit of the Acai palm (the c in Acai is pronounced as an s, by the way) which is a tree native to the Amazon region and is a staple of Brazilian food. The Acai boasts a delicious berry flavour with an aftertaste redolent of chocolate. Brazilians use both the juice of the Acai as well as the pulp in a variety of foods, including blends, smoothies, drinks and ice cream. It is also served both as a sweet or savory dish with tapioca or granola. The Acai is very perishable, spoiling within a day of being picked – which has kept this berry from being widely exported in the past, despite its nutritional value.

But now things have changed.

Why is this fruit causing so much of a stir among nutrition experts? For starters, the Acai berry has twice the antioxidant content of blueberries and ten times that of red grapes. These antioxidants found in Acai are more long lasting in effect as well. The Acai contains a lot of fatty acids, including oleic acid, which can reduce cholesterol levels. The University of Florida has done studies on the fruit, finding that the Acai berry also has compounds called polyphenolics which can slow down the progress of leukemia. The Acai berry is at the top of the “super foods” list because it: has anti-inflammatory properties, lowers cholesterol, helps your body burn excess fat, regulates metabolism, lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, protects against cancer and heart disease, promotes digestive health and gives you energy too!

Eating the Acai berry or using it in a variety of dishes as do Brazilians has been impossible for most of the world until now. The berry is now being exported however, both as frozen pulp and Acai powder. The pulp is used in smoothies, among other things (you may have seen Acai smoothies on the menu at juice bars) but can be pricy. The powder, made by dehydrating and freeze-drying Acai pulp is cheaper and gives all of the same nutritional health benefits of the whole berry.

When shopping for Acai supplements, always carefully read the list of ingredients – you want to be sure that they contain the skin and pulp of the berry. Some of these supplements only contain Acai seeds, which are largely devoid of nutrients.

A word of caution, though. When you’re choosing your Acai supplement, read the packaging to make sure that it’s the genuine berry skin and pulp that has been used in the manufacturing process. Some of the products on the market use mainly the Acai seed, which has been crushed. The only value of the seeds is to make necklaces from them or burn them as a source of energy – nutritionally, they have little value. This amazing Acai fruit is one of the most nutritious foods in the world – and now it’s within the reach of everybody, not just those who go to Brazil for their vacations.

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