Truth About The Acai Berry

The açaí (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) berry has been promoted as one of the healthiest foods in the world. Until 2001 though, most Americans hadn’t heard of it. The Wall Street Journal reports that billion-dollar beverage companies like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are now adding it to their drinks. Even Haagen-Dazs products include açaí berry as an ingredient and Proctor & Gamble recently infused the berry in its Herbal Essence shampoos and conditioner. So, what exactly is the açaí berry? And what contributed to the surge in its popularity? Native to Central and South America, açaí berries are inch-long, reddish-purple fruits that are rich in anthocyanins and flavonoids. Both of these compounds are powerful antioxidants. Research has shown that a diet rich in berries and other antioxidants lessens the damage caused by stressors or free radicals during aging and disease processes. In their natural state, the total antioxidant content of açaí berries has been found to be higher than blueberries and strawberries, which are most commonly consumed in the U.S. In fact, a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry indicates that, in freeze-dried or pulp form, the açaí berry has more antioxidant content than any other food reported to date. And, according to David Grotto, author of 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life, açaí is one of a handful of fruits, besides avocados, that contains monounsaturated fats, which can help you feel more satisfied when you’re cutting back on calories. Açaí splashed onto the American scene when Dr. Oz promoted it on the Oprah Winfrey Show as an anti-aging food in 2008. Shortly thereafter, products featuring the fruit burst into the market, television ads, and health and nutrition websites. Consumers have flocked to purchase these products because of their supposed health benefits. http://customizedfatlossreview.thefanbase.net/

 Many companies have even claimed that drinks and dietary supplements with açaí can help with weight loss and sexual dysfunction. But are these claims valid, or have consumers been duped? There’s some truth to the claims – but there’s also plenty of unfounded hype. The reality is that açaí isn’t a miracle fruit that prevents diseases or promotes weight loss. In its purest form – freeze-dried or pulp – it really does have more antioxidants than any other berry. But what happens once it’s made into a juice and processed to create a diet or beauty product? One scientific study looked at exactly that, by analyzing samples of commonly consumed beverages made of fruits or plants with high antioxidant content, like blueberry juice, cranberry juice, teas, and açaí berry juice. In their natural states, research has confirmed that these fruits have strong antioxidant activity and related health benefits, as proven by clinical studies. In juice or dietary supplement form, however, antioxidant potency changes. Beverages with the highest antioxidant content included red wine, Concord grape juice, and blueberry juice, followed by a tie between black cherry juice, açaí juice, and cranberry juice. Unfortunately, when it comes to liquid dietary supplements - including so-called “super food” beverages containing açaí - companies haven’t just misled consumers, but they’ve also lied about the ingredients in the products that they’re marketing. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, there’s absolutely no scientific evidence that acai actually helps you lose weight. What’s worse is that the manufacturers of these products promote their beverages based on low-quality published research, much of which wouldn’t be considered reputable by scientists or public health professionals. In fact, public health investigators at Dartmouth found that marketing claims grossly overstate the significance of study findings and fail to disclose major weaknesses of the research that they cite. http://customizedfatlossreview.photofolio.org/

 And, unlike drugs, over-the-counter dietary supplements aren’t closely regulated by the FDA. As a result, manufacturers can oversell the benefits of these popular products or sell completely fake products that don’t even contain acai, without legal repercussions. The take-away? Açaí juice is still near the top of the list for beverages that are high in antioxidant content, so drinking it may have some health benefits. And because the amount of monounsaturated fats in açaí is very small, you’d have to consume huge quantities to get any benefit, which wouldn’t just be expensive, but would also add extra calories to your diet. Like any other fruit, açaí can be part of a healthy lifestyle that, when combined with calorie control and physical activity, can eventually lead to weight loss. As a bonus, if you want an alternative to other tropical oils used in beauty creams, shampoos, and conditioners, studies show that processed açaí oil actually does have high levels of antioxidants when stored long-term. It might not make you look a decade younger, but it might add a little extra shine to your skin and hair.http://customizedfatlossreview.thepopular.me/