The Acai Berry
The Acai fruit berry is one of the world’s most fascinating and nutritionally powerful foods to be discovered in recent years. The berry grows in bunches on the Acai palm in the Amazon rain-forests of Brazil, and is harvested multiple times in a given year. It is made up of the purple Acai skin, the flesh of the berry, and the seed at the center.
It’s very properties make it difficult to harvest, as it can only last about a day once off the tree. In addition only about ten percent of the berries can be used on average, and they have to be removed from the Acai seeds.
Due to the Acai fruit berry being highly perishable, it must be quickly frozen or processed into juices, powders or other forms and stored properly to prevent the product from going bad. This is the main to be used the same day it was picked off the tree.
So why has this unique purple berry become so popular with millions of health conscious people across the globe? To name a few, Acai berries are rich in antioxidants, amino acids, anthocyanins, protein, omega fatty acids, plant sterols, vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
They harness more power to fight free radicals in the body than any other fruit known to man, beating out blueberries by over 100 times! Free radicals are one of the body’s worst enemies, leading to early signs of aging and other health complications that arise from cell oxidation. To fight these damaging agents effectively you need to feed your body with proper antioxidants, and there is no better source than Acai fruit berries.
A Nutritional Powerhouse
ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) is a measurement used by the USDA to find out the antioxidant density and capacity of certain foods. By looking the chart, you can clearly see the Acai berry’s ORAC score is dramatically greater than other fruits.
Besides being rich in antioxidants, the Acai berry is also an excellent sources of omega 3,6 and 9 fatty acids. In fact, about half of the berry is made up of these essential fatty acids. To date, there are almost 20 known amino acids that have been discovered in the fruit, which of course are what make up the cell-building protein vital to the body’s health.
In addition, fiber properties of the berry are excellent, providing the body with a health amount of its daily intake needs in just a few servings. Plant sterols, vitamins and minerals, and anthocyanins are also in abundance, aiding the body in various important functions and general health complication prevention.
Experts agree, that the Acai fruit berry has truly earned its right to be called a super-food. Considering the wide spectrum of health properties it contains, it’s no wonder it has grown so quickly in popularity, and remains one of the most sought after fruits in the world.
