Friday, April 04, 2008
Diet & Nutrition
Acai Berry New Nutritional Wonder
Written by Jessica Emerson
Friday, 06 April 2007
Deep in the Brazilian rainforest, a team of explorers discover a tribe of natives living far from civilization, where heart disease is unheard of, and even the oldest members of the tribe appear to be - at their oldest - in their mid-thirties, despite tales and oral histories that reflect a far different story. After spending weeks studying the remote tribe, the secret finally presents itself - a diet based, nearly exclusively, on the berries of the acai palm, a plant native to Brazil and almost impossible to cultivate outside the humid and uninvaded space of the rainforest.
After attempts were made to harvest the fruit and bring them back for further study, a sad second discovery was made: the berries of the acai palm wilt and rot after only a few days from being picked from the palm, and thus, wide transport and cultivation of the fruit would evade society for decades to come. Finally, researchers stumbled upon the secret: while whole berries could not be harvested and transported from the forest, the juice of the berries can be collected and transported, remaining in virtually unchanged state for months at a time.
With this discovery, further detailed study of the fruit became possible, and it became quickly clear that these were in fact no ordinary fruit berries. Containing nearly ten times the amount of natural antioxidants as found in grapes and twice as many as in blueberries, the berries are a rich source of natural protein, healthy fats, essential vitamins and minerals, as well as a high level of polyphenols, valuable to boosting the immune system. Indeed, the acai berry is now thought by many leading researchers to carry among - if not the - best nutritional value of any fruit on Earth.
While the majority of Americans don't eat enough fresh fruit on a daily basis, a concentrated food source like acai berry juice may hold the answer. While the benefits of the acai berry have not yet been fully described, a recent University of Florida study showed that the berry contained antioxidants that successfully destroyed cultured human cancer cells. Some 50-75% of the berry's compounds have not yet been identified, though identified compounds have now shown positive results for destroying leukemia cells, aiding in weight loss, reducing the incidence of heart disease, boosting energy, and increasing the function and effectiveness of the immune system.