acai berry weightloss

Archive for September, 2010

It’s official-the Acai fruit is officially an energy fruit. A particular celebrity show host has said so. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of acai fruit before, most people are still discovering the little berry. This little berry, though, is soon going to be world famous and in high demand. This fruit is actually a berry that comes from an Amazonian palm tree that is harvested in the Brazilian rainforest.

The acai fruit is a drupe that measures about an inch in diameter and looks sort of like a grape but does not have as much pulp. It grows in panicles of seven hundred to nine hundred and two crops of these fruits are produced each year. The fruit has a seed that is less than ten millimeters in diameter. The fruit is harvested as a food and is considered to be one of the most important species of three different Caboclo tribes in Brazil. The juices from the fruit are often blended into sodas, smoothies and other drinks and are traditionally served in a gourd alongside tapioca and sugar. In Brazil it is popularly served in a bowl where it is mixed with granola. This concoction is often thought of as an energy meal. The fruit has also been made into ice cream.

It is a very nutritious fruit. One hundred grams of this powder contains almost five hundred and forty calories, fifty two grams of carbohydrates, eight grams of protein and thirty two grams of fat. It has forty four grams of fiber, which makes it incredibly valuable as a macronutrient. It is also rich in fatty acids like oleic acid, palmitic acid and linoleic acid. It is thought to reduce blood cholesterol. It contains nineteen amino acids and is very high in aspartic acid and glutamic acid content.

The most important part of this fruit, though, is its anti-oxidant content. Anti-oxidants can slow down the aging process by keeping our cells healthy. Many authorities find that acai fruit is one of the most powerful anti-aging foods in existence. This small fruit contains more antioxidants than grapes and blueberries.

This fruit also has the potential to help people’s digestion (thanks to its high fiber content), keep their cardiovascular system healthy, and helps with muscle regeneration and contraction.

Acai-rich foods are hard to find, as the fruit is rare. You probably will not find anything with acai as an ingredient in your local grocery store, but you might be able to find it in a health food store or a gourmet store. Because the fruit is becoming more popular, largely thanks to a popular magazine, it will slowly start becoming easier to find and people might find ways to grow the “super fruit” somewhere outside of Brazil.

The acai fruit is probably one of the healthiest fruits on the planet. It may help your muscles, your heart, your digestion, your energy levels and even can prevent early aging and slow down the rest of the aging process.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

The Aai (ah-sigh-ee) Berry is found in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest. This little dark, purple berry boasts an ORAC (antioxidant) score of about 10 X the power of red grapes and up to 30 X times the anthocyanins of red wine! Its incredible power pack of antioxidants produce high levels of anthocyanins and polyphenols. These antioxidants are the substances that protect the cells against the damage from oxidation caused by “free radical” molecules. In addition to the anthocyanins potent antioxidant capabilities, anthocyanins are reported to have strong anti-viral properties.

Did you know that the antioxidants in the Aai Berry destroyed cultured human cancer cells in a recent University of Florida study? According to Stephen Talcott, an assistant professor with UFs Institute of Food and agricultural Sciences, the study showed extracts from Aai Berries triggered a self-destruct response in up to 86 percent of leukemia cells tested. (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, January 2006). “In this type of experiment we look for two things. We try to see if the cancerous cells are dying, and we try to see if the cells release an enzyme known as caspase-3.” Caspase-3 is an enzyme released by cancerous cells as they die.

On the Oprah Winfrey Show, special guest Dr. Nicholas Perricone, author of the best-seller, The Perricone Promise presented Aai as number one of the Top 10 Superfoods on the planet. He called it, one of the most nutritious and powerful foods in the world!

Its no wonder people are going nuts over this amazing fruit from the Amazon. The Aai Berry is also loaded with vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6 and B12, as well as beta-carotene, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, fiber, protein and amino acids. It contains anti-inflammatories, anti-mutagenics and anti-bacterials. This berry is packed with phytonutrients which have been found to have potent antibacterial and anti-viral effects. Its phytosterol elements are made up of sterols which are components of plant cell membranes providing numerous reported benefits to the human body, namely the reduction of blood plasma cholesterol.

Unlike other fruits, the Aai Berry also contains essential fatty acids with a ratio that resembles that of olive oil. It has about 60% Omega 9 (Oleic acid) and 12% Omega 6 (Linoleic acid). Research shows that Omega 9 fatty acids can help to lower LDL and maintain HDL (beneficial cholesterol) levels, while Omega 6 can help lower both LDL and HDL levels.

Fruit juices are often avoided by diabetics and people watching their sugar intake. Yet, another unique quality of the Aai Berry is its low-glycemic factor, high protein and high fiber content. In The Insider’s Guide to America’s Worst & Best Supplements, Dr. Juliann Whitaker never thought he would ever recommend drinking a fruit juice. Nevertheless, when he discovered the Aai Berrys contents, he gave it a thumbs-up!”

Buyer beware! Consumers must be careful when shopping for Aai, because this little gem has to be freeze dried within 24 hours or it loses its active properties. Spray drying the berries also destroys most of its nutrients. To make matters worse, most Aai products contain non-organic ingredients, fillers, stimulants, water or chemical preservatives, as well as added sugar, artificial sweeteners, fructose or lots of other fruit juices. When buying Aai, be sure to only purchase products that have passed the 10 Acai Product Quality Tests.

Hidden in the mysterious depths of the Amazon are said to be found natural cures to several of the modern man’s ailments and because of the incredible size of the Amazonian rain forest most of these natural cures remain hidden, waiting for someone to come across and discover their wonderful properties. Today we’re going to talk about one of those natural miracle cures that we have been lucky enough to find, that cure is called Acai.

Acai grows at the top of many palm trees in the Amazon basin and it has been used for many purposes such as promoting cardiovascular health, improving energy but most importantly it has recently been discovered that this particular fruit is able to do a lot more than that. Let’s take a look at some of the compounds and natural ingredients that are found in this fruit.

Compounds

– High fiber with a low glycemic index.

– 10 to 30 times more anthocyanins than the concentration found in red wine. This high concentration of anthocyanins delivers equivalent levels of energy in a healthy manner which doesn’t rely on caffeine and a concentration of sugar to produce this effect. Most energy drinks in the market not only contain caffeine and sugar but several other chemicals that may cause an unbalance which is felt as a jittery burst and then a sudden crash.
– More than 16 types of antioxidants and phytonutrients
– A fatty acid compound similar to that of olive oil, this particular compound is beneficial to the skin.
– Several traces of macro-minerals and compounds which help regulate the levels of cholesterol

The Acai berry contains both omega-6 and omega-9 chemical compounds which control and regulate levels of cholesterol, controlling cholesterol levels can help prevent cardiovascular complications such as stroke and heart attacks.

Fatty acid as well as omega-3 can have a positive impact when it comes to people who are concerned about their age and their skin appearance, these chemical compounds and ingredients that are naturally found in this fruit and help slow down the skin aging process.

Testing Acai – Findings

A recent study conducted by the University of Florida revealed what is believed to be the most important benefit of the antioxidant mixture found in this particular fruit; an extract of the Acai berry triggered what is believed to be a self-destructive sequence amongst 86% of the leukemia cells tested, these are very encouraging results.

Media Coverage

Not only has Acai shown to have properties capable of treating cellular diseases but it also has been successfully used in order to create better dietary supplements and help people lose weight. Because of the many health-related benefits that this fruit provides it has been featured as one of the super foods on the Oprah Winfrey show.

Many other health related TV programs have covered the breakthrough that Acai represents for people who want to loose weight in a more natural and controlled way as well as for those who are interested in the medical benefits that the antioxidants found in this Brazilian fruit can provide.