What Do You Know About the Acai Berry?
If you have been reading any health magazines for a while, you are not likely to miss hearing or reading about acai. The acai berry has been in the news, featured in many TV shows such as in Oprah, featured in best selling books such as those by Dr. Nicholas Perricone and mentioned by many celebrities such as Rachel Ray. Many people have vowed that they will always live by the acai berry to save them from unbearable aches and pains.
Although it is not hard to hear that the acai berry is healthy, most people have not tried it for themselves and do not know if they are really healthy. There have been many claims that the acai berry can cure diseases and illnesses. There are studies that say that the acai berry has the highest ORAC value. You are likely to find so many claims and some are proven while some are not.
When people mention the acai, they often refer to the berry. An acai fruit is a berry, not a vegetable or other types of fruits. Some people do not even know that the acai is natural. They think that since it is so good, it cannot be natural. Since they usually do not see the acai fruit in the supermarket, they think that it is not a fruit. The acai berry is found deep in the swamp areas of the rain forests hidden away and hard to reach.
Even if they know that the acai is a berry, they might now know that the acai berries grow on tall trees that are in the palm family. The acai palm trees are large and tall with the acai berries hanging down in branches that look like ribbons. There can be about 20kg of acai berries harvested from each acai palm tree each year.
What people usually look for in fruits and berries is antioxidants. In the acai berry, there are many potent antioxidants. In 2005, a well known research finding was published that says that the acai antioxidants were excellent against hydroxyl radicals. The research compared the effects of acai antioxidants against other fruits and vegetable juices an found that the acai antioxidants are far superior than others.
If you are worried about cancer, in 2006, the University of Florida published a research finding that says that the acai berry extract may lead to scientists finding a cure to cancer. The research caught a lot of attention in the media and it was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. There need to be more research on the effect of acai berry on cancer cells.
Although, there is much to be done before people can truly benefit from the acai berry, it does not stop people from trying to get some acai juice and other products to try in hope that they will live a with better health today. Companies also profit by including the acai in their products hoping to capture the market share of the many acai lovers.
