The Many Health Benefits of Acai Berry

By Ed Briscoe


Acai berries are small dark purple berries that are as about as big as a small grape. The Acai Palm tree in Brazil bears this delicious fruit.

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.

Small purple flowers grow on this tree in clusters. When the flowers mature, green fruits come forth and form into bunches.

Before the natives can enjoy these delicious berries, they must wait 4-5 years before fruit is born from the Acai Palm. The acai berry has a diameter of one inch with one seed inside. When the berries become a purple dark hue, they are ripe for the pickings.

For centuries, the natives of the Amazon rain forests have been making these nutrient-rich berries an integral part in their diets. Not only do the natives of Brazil eat the acai berry but they also use them to help to heal different conditions of the skin.

If they are suffering from a fever, they use acai seeds and brew them to make tea. This helps to calm and soothe the fever. If someone is suffering from menstrual pain or diabetes, the acai root is boiled and consumed to treat these conditions.

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 are not only the coloring crayon for plants but they also function the same way as antioxidants do.

Vegetables and fruits are a rich source of antioxidants because they are plant-based foods. Antioxidants help to get rid of damaged cells that can cause you harm, such as aging prematurely and cancer-causing cells.

A testing method that is often used by the Department of Agriculture called ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) was originally formulated in the U.S. ORAC measures the absorbent capacity of oxygen radicals in foodstuffs.

It does this by evaluating the activity of antioxidants of ingredients in food; a measurement that returns a high reading, results in a favorable ORAC number.

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.

Acai berries don't stop there. They have a high concentration of vitamins B1, B2, B3, C, and E. As I stated earlier, they are nutrient rich having proteins, fiber, phosphorous, calcium, and potassium. These nutrients are essential to maintain a healthy body.

Our bodies need vitamin C to help ward off bacterial infections. It also boost the immune system, helps to maintain the health of our heart and eyes; and it helps to prevent skin wrinkling. Cabbage, oranges, potatoes, and mangoes are a good source of vitamin C.

Acai berries fight against the aging process by producing new collagen proteins deep within the dermis layer of the skin, which lies underneath the epidermis, which is the top layer of your skin. Acai berries also have other potent nutrients that help to protect your skin from UV damage. The effects of UV light exposure on your skin can lead to skin wrinkling and premature aging.

Added 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.

A make-up powder containing a high concentration of acai berry is being used in several treatments for the face to retain a more youthful and healthy appearance in women. Studying the acai berry and its health benefits has become a growing new field of study within the scientific community.

Women who have problems with skin wrinkling and acne have noticed younger and more beautiful skin while using acai powder. Moreover, more research still needs to be done to see what other hidden secrets the acai berry has to offer.




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1 comment:

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