Acai Berry

Acai Berry has another important advantage its benefits does not get diminished when preserved. Its strong anti oxidants retain their benefits and can still be very advantageous to the body. Research is still underway to completely understand this wonder fruit and find further ways to utilize its byproducts.

The Acai Berry supplements was released worldwide in the public in the beginning of January 2006. These supplements contains all the nutritious minerals and vitamins present in the natural Acai Berry fruit. The Acai Berry supplements constitute combination of 19 fruits, which contains vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. These three components make the Acai Berry supplements very effective. Acai Berry supplements are not like a magic pill, which the person takes and all the ill effects goes away from the body. It is known to be the scientific nutritional product, which helps lot of people in reducing weight and serves as an antioxidant in the body in order to prevent it from illness and curing other diseases.

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Acai (ah-sigh-EE ) is a fruit that grows on the Acai Palm Trees in the Amazon Rainforest of Brazil. The Acai berry is small in size (smaller than a grape) and is dark purple in color. Acai is mostly seed, covered in a small amount of pulp. While Acai may be small in size it packs an amazing nutritional punch:

* The Acai Berry has 10 times the antioxidant power of red grapes

* The Acai Berry has double the antioxidant power of blueberries

* The Acai Berry has 10-30 times the anthocyanins of red wine

* Acai has been called the #1 Superfood by Dr. Perricone

* Acai is an excellent source of fiber, healthy fats and proteins

With the incredible nutritional profile of Acai Berries it should be no surprise that a number of Acai supplements have flooded the market. It should also be no surprise that the quality of these Acai supplements varies greatly.

Freeze Dried Acai - simply the best

There are cheaper ways to make Acai powder. There are quicker and easier ways to make Acai powder. However, the best way to make Acai powder is to freeze dry. The freeze dried process which Sambazon uses is low heat, introduces no carry agents and retains all the nutrients of the Acai berry. The freeze dried process starts with fresh Acai pulp that dried, frozen and turned into an Acai powder. One gram of Sambazon freeze dried power is equal to about 6 grams of fresh Acai berry. 100 grams of fresh Acai has an impressive antioxidant rating of 5,500 ORAC score but 100 grams of freeze dried Sambazon Acai powder has an amazing ORAC score of 34,000!

So, when looking for an Acai supplement - make sure it is made with 100% Freeze dried Acai.

What about Spray Dried Acai supplements?

There is a much cheaper way to process Acai and make Acai supplements - it is called spray dried Acai. The Spray Dried process involves heating the Acai to high temperatures to remove the water and spraying the Acai with carries such as maltodextrin. To put it bluntly - spray dried Acai is a terrible idea! The first problem with the spray dried process is that it requires heating the Acai to very high temperatures. The problem is that the high temperatures kill off many of the nutrients in the Acai. The second problem is that the spray dried process involves using a carrier agents such as maltodextrin to dry the Acai. In the end, 40% of the "Acai powder" is actually maltodextrin. So, if you see a spray dried Acai supplement that claims to have 500mg of Acai per capsule - it probably only has 300mg of actual Acai per capsule.

Spray dried Acai powders, while cheap to buy, are vastly inferior to freeze dried Acai powders.

Can I just look for Maltodextrin on the label of Acai products?

You can look - but you will never find it! Since Maltodextrin is added during the manufacturing process, it technically does not need to be listed as an ingredient on the label. It is just a loophole in the FDA labeling laws, but since Maltodextrin is a product of the manufacturing process and not an "added ingredient" - it does NOT need to be listed on the label. If a Acai supplement does not say "Freeze Dried Acai" on the label - we would not recommend it.

What about Acai Extracts - like 4:1 Acai Extract?

With herbal supplements, extracts involve isolating one element of the plant and extracting it. For example, with the coffee bean plant you may want to create a caffeine extract. This would involve isolating the caffeine in the coffee berry and extracting.

When it comes to Acai - extracts make no sense. The health value of the Acai berry comes from the whole fruit - so what exactly do you want to extract from the Acai berry? In truth, you want the whole Acai berry - not just an extract. The other issue with extracts is that almost all are made from spray dried Acai. The only thing worse than spray dried Acai is an extract of spray dried Acai. It should then come as no surprise that the ORAC value of Freeze Dried Sambazon Acai has tested 50 times as high as that of spray dried Acai extracts. Don't let phrases like "4:1" and "super concentrated extract" fool you. You want all the nutrients of the whole Acai berry, and you can only get this in freeze dried Acai powder.

Does it matter which company makes the Acai powder?

Yes, yes and YES! As we have discussed, Acai is highly perishable, so you want to make sure the company making the Acai powder is using fresh Acai berries. After all, the best freeze drying techniques really don't mean much if you start with spoiled Acai berries! You also want a company with strong relations with the indigenous people of the Amazon who will be picking the Acai berries.

Conclusions:

It is clear that not all Acai Berry supplements are created equal. The highest quality Acai supplements will be made with Sambazon freeze dried acai. Spray dried and "extract" Acai supplements should be avoided at all costs. Ideally, you want to buy an Acai supplement that just contains 100% freeze dried Acai in a capsule. Sometimes the best things in life are also the simplest.

Acai is an antioxidant rich berry that grows wild in the Brazilian Amazon and tropical forests in Cetral America and is considered to be one of the top Superfoods in the world. Acai has long been consumed in Brazil but is relatively new in other parts of the world.

Acai, like other fruits and herbs found in the rainforests on this planet holds the key to many of the unknown health benefits.

A reason for acai's slow adoption in other countries is that the fruits can be had only for a short period post-harvest, before it quickly deteriorates. Hey good things don't last do they ? so the fruit is only available in juice or fruit pulp outside the growing region.

The juice and pulp of acai fruits are frequently used in various juice blends, smoothies, sodas, and other beverages, primarily in South America where such products are widely available.

Acai fruit flavor and texture
The fruit pulp is very deep purple and is reminiscent of a blueberry sorbet or ice cream with a hint of chocolate flavor. Akai berries are produced by a palm tree known scientifically as Euterpe oleracea, common in floodplain areas of the Amazon River. When ripe, the berries take on a dark purple color and about the size of a blueberry. They contain a thin layer of fruit pulp surrounding a large seed.

The Nutrients in Acai

Oleic acid

Palmitic acid

Linoleic acid

Anthocyanins (also present in red wines)

Beta-sitosterol (beta-sitosterol), a phytosterol that inhibits cholesterol absorption.

The fiber content is approximately 44% of the total fruit mass, making it one of the most fiber rich fruits.

The fruit pulp also has very good antibacterial properties, resulting in wide use as an astringent in South America. All of the above nutrients makes acai one of the most concentrated source of nutrients you can get in a fruit form.

Due to the high antixoxidant content, the acai berry is known as one of the most powerful of the anti-aging foods.

A University of Florida study found that acai contains antioxidants that destroyed cultured human cancer cells. University of Florida was one of the first to investigate the fruit's purported benefits. "This was only a cell-culture model and we don't want to give anyone false hope. We are encouraged by the findings, however. Compounds that show good activity against cancer cells in a model system are most likely to have beneficial effects in our bodies" the study noted.

In what form can you find Acai? Various products in fruit pulp, juice, blended juice products, capsule, chewable tablets. The fruit pulp is available in health food stores. Several juice vendors even have an "acai boost" that you can have with other juices.

When a natural product such as Acai, becomes a health fad, several by-products advertized as supplements, health food etc, comes into the market in a massive scale to tap into a trend. While the benefits of Acai has been widely touted, it is not a panacea for all ills. The consumer needs to exercise caution in buying Acai related products and should watch carefully as to what they are really getting.