The ever changing world we live in with fast foods, less sleep and coffee addicts, it’s easy to forget just how important having a healthy body is. About five years ago researchers discovered a little berry from the rainforest regions of Brazil that appeared to have many health benefits. We are going to reveal to you some of many acai health facts and possible acai berry side effects that have been discovered by taking a deeper looking into this acai health wonder of the world.

The acai berry is a very delicate fruit requiring special attention when harvesting and processing so that it can be eaten. There isn’t much pulp (the actual edible fruit part) on the berry due to the large seed located inside the berry. The majority of acai that is consumed is in the form of powder, juice, wine or the more popular supplements. Some natives use the powder acai extract in the form of spice enhancing for entrees that are cooked while others simply mix it into shakes and various drinks.

Acai berries when compared to many other fruit doesn’t seem to be any different but a closer look into the berry reveals that acai health benefits associated with the fruit are many. One of the most noted health benefits of acai berries are their high levels of antioxidants. Acai berries are known to contain more antioxidants than any other fruit that we are currently aware of. You will also find a large portion of the necessary bodily vitamins and minerals all within the acai berry fruit.

If you would like to learn more about acai health benefits, check out some of our other resources such as our: Acai Berry Wikipedia, Acai Berry Research, Acai Berry Benefits and many other great articles that we have already published.

There are numerous acai berry benefits that have been proven and from what the experts are saying, probably many more to be discovered. Eating is a part of our daily lives but many of us over look the importance of healthy eating and a healthy diet. Some of the acai berry benefits we will talk about are going to reveal to you the true results of what meeting your daily recommended bodily nutrients can really do for you. So let us go ahead and begin our journey to discovering a healthier lifestyle.

The acai berry has recently been named one of the worlds’ leading Superfoods, with studies bringing in an enormous score on the antioxidant scale. This fruit and the nutrients buried deep inside are of no small size when it comes to a powerful punch of health. A few of the most prominent acai berry benefits discovered are those of the berries natural ability to stimulate the body to reduce and remove harmful toxins from within the body. Extending it a little bit further, we can see there are addition benefits of the acai berry once those harmful toxins are cleared out of the way. The body begins to feel better and because your skin has been receiving a much more potent supply of the necessary daily vitamins and minerals, it starts to look healthier. Some more acai berry benefits that have been known to improve your body and help make you feel healthier is the way it naturally strengthens your immune system from the high level of antioxidants contained within the acai berry. Because of your immune system being reinforced, your body begins to develop a better energy level and that stimulates your metabolism.

With the above acai berry benefits mentioned, there have been additional benefits evolving around the acai berry, some may or may not be direct results of the acai berry. However, as new studies are being performed on the acai berry, doctors, scientist and other health experts are noticing the vast nutritional benefits of the acai berry and highly recommend you add it to your daily diets. If you would like to learn more about the acai berry and what it can do for you, please read more of our articles listed below.

It is known that health experts are strongly trying to encourage consumers to make eating fruit(like acai berries) and vegetables, a few times a day, a part of their diet to receive enough antioxidants(acai antioxidants). The biggest concern is many people do not understand or even know what antioxidants are and what their importance is to the human body. We are here to enlighten you by explaining exactly what antioxidants are, why you need them and most importantly a major fruit that is filled with them. So let’s begin by learning of what antioxidants (acai antioxidants) are.

What Are Antioxidants

We eat many common foods that contain antioxidants; foods that contain Vitamin C and E (acai antioxidants)are more common examples of the antioxidants we eat. Antioxidants are vitamins that have a mission to search and remove harmful particles and items that cause damage to our body cells which could lead to various diseases and illnesses if they were not removed. These free radicals are often used by our immune system to eliminate viruses and bacteria but can really cause negative effects if they weren’t controlled properly by antioxidants. Instead of letting these free radicals loose and roaming freely, the antioxidants keep these little guys in a controllable and confined state.

Why You Need Antioxidants

Aside from the above mentioned reasons of needing antioxidants, a study shows that dietary antioxidants are believed to be effective nutrients in the prevention of oxidative stress related diseases. Studies show that there is a strong positive result on the prevention of diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, inflammatory disease and age-related diseases. Antioxidants boost your immune system and help you feel healthier, more energetic and increase body functionality.

What is the Best Source of these Antioxidants

Although the acai berry fruit has only been available to countries outside of South America for the approximately the last 5 years, studies on this little berry have turned up quiet a stir. Research has revealed that the acai antioxidants levels in the acai fruit are through the roof and are the highest of all known fruits in the world. Acai fruit (acai extract, fresh fruit has a lower quantity) of 1027 micromoles versus cranberries at 95 micromoles and red grapes at 13 micromoles. So you see the significant difference in the acai berry over the other listed fruits. That is why the acai berry has been labeled as one of the worlds #1 Superfoods because of the high acai antioxidants.

Please look around our website for addition resources dedicated to the acai berry and the acai antioxidants research. And you can get a free trial of acai berry supplements just for being a reader. Experience acai berries for yourself!

(*Information and statistics from this article have been gather from “Acai (Euterpe oleracea) – An Extraordinary Antioxidant-Rich Palm Fruit” by Alexander G. Schauss, PhD, FACN – Copyright 2006)

More on Anthocyanins

How well are anthocyanins absorbed? Early research suggests that absorption of anthocyanins may be low, but recent studies are more encouraging. In 2005, researchers sought to evaluate the bioavailability of anthocyanins (how much gets into the blood and tissues after it’s been ingested) and to find out what impact, if any, an anthocyanin-rich diet has on antioxidant levels in rats. While depriving the animals of vitamin E (an important antioxidant), but instead giving them bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.), supplements rich in anthocyanins, the researchers observed significantly enhanced antioxidant capacity compared with animals fed a normal diet with no intervention. Although much of the anthocyanins were eliminated unchanged, they nevertheless exerted a positive effect on antioxidant capacity in the test animals.

Anthocyanin and Antioxidants

To predict how a substance will behave when ingested by humans, and to quantify the activity of anthocyanins and other naturally occurring antioxidants in the body, scientists have developed a number of laboratory tests and models. One method that is gaining in popularity was developed in the mid-1990s by scientists working at the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore, Maryland. Known as oxygen-radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), this method uses an indicator protein, a powerful oxidant radical generator, and a control substance called Trolox (similar to vitamin E) to measure the ability of a test substance to absorb damaging oxygen radicals.

Early research from the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (the chief scientific agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture) suggests that eating an abundance of high-ORAC fruits and vegetables may help slow the processes associated with aging in both body and brain. High-ORAC fruits and vegetables raised the antioxidant power of human blood 10 to 25 percent, prevented some loss of long-term memory and learning ability in middle-aged rats, maintained the ability of brain cells in middle-aged rats to respond to chemical stimuli, and protected rats’ capillaries (tiny blood vessels) against oxidative damage.

According to the USDA, natural fruits typically score between 500 and 900 ORAC units per 100 grams (3.5 ounces). The FDA has recently suggested that Americans should increase their consumption of antioxidants to 7,000 ORAC units daily. It would require nearly twelve servings of ordinary fruit to achieve this level of protection. Unfortunately, most of the ORAC values of acai have been generated by industry, and not published in scientific journals. To make matters worse, inconsistency in units of measurement used to report the ORAC activity of acai has made comparisons between different products very challenging. The best information available suggests that high-quality acai might provide somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000 ORAC units per 100 grams. These are exceptionally high ORAC scores, even when compared with other anthocyanin-containing compounds, indicating powerful free-radical- scavenging capacity.

Anti-inflammatory Relief

Researchers investigated the therapeutic efficacy of anthocyanins, primarily C-3-G, in an experimental model of lung inflammation in rats. After inducing an inflammatory response in the lungs (characterized by fluid accumulation containing a large number of white blood cells) as well as oxidative effects, researchers administered anthocyanins, which exerted “multiple protective effects” against lung inflammation and pleurisy.

Do they Protect the Brain

The brain-protective effects of anthocyanins and other flavonoids is the subject of intense scientific interest and a growing amount of research. In order for the powerful antioxidant effects of anthocyanins to protect the brain directly, these compounds must be able to cross the blood-brain barrier, a special membrane that limits the passage of substance from the blood into the central nervous system. A 2003 study explored the potential of anthocyanins and their metabolites to cross the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain’s cells. Their research showed that several flavonoids, including cyanidin-3-rutinoside, were taken up by brain cells in mice and rats.

Prevention of Ulcers

Researchers have studied the effects anthocyanins, with and without the antibiotic clarithromycin, on Helicobacter pylori, the organism thought to be a primary cause or contributing factor to most stomach and small intestinal ulcers. Since H. pylori can become resistant to clarithromycin and other antibiotics, alternative treatments are desirable. In one study, anthocyanin-rich berry extracts significantly inhibited H. pylori and also increased susceptibility of the organism to clarithromycin.

Cancer Fighting Results are Strong

Anthocyanins present in many edible berries possess a wide spectrum of therapeutic and cancer-fighting properties. These natural antioxidants repair and protect the integrity of DNA. As we age, the cumulative effects of oxidation take their toll on our bodies, and this is seen in many of the telltale signs of aging, but also in an incidence of various cancers. Cancer prevention is one of the more exciting and well-studied areas of research on anthocyanins. Several different body systems and cancer types have been studied in this regard, and anthocyanins are yielding very exciting results on almost all fronts.

In animal and test-tube studies, anthocyanins are proving to be potentially powerful allies in the fight against colon cancer. (Other than skin cancer, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer found in men and women in the United States.) In test-tube studies, anthocyanins were more effective than other flavonoids at inhibiting the growth of human intestinal carcinoma cells. In another study, colon cancer cells were inhibited by anthocyanin-containing berry extracts.

In animal research, tart cherry extracts, rich in many of the same anthocyanins as are found in acai, inhibited development of intestinal tumors in mice, suggesting that anthocyanins may reduce the risk of intestinal cancer. Freeze-dried black raspberries, purple corn, purple sweet potato, and purple cabbage have all been shown to inhibit chemically induced colon tumors in rats. In other research, the anthocyanins appeared to specifically target cancerous cells, but left noncancerous cells alone.

How Does It Do It

Little is known about the anticancer mechanisms of action of anthocyanins. However, two mechanisms have been elucidated in recent research: protection of DNA and inhibition of angiogenesis (new blood vessel formation). By protecting DNA from oxidative damage, antioxidants (and anthocyanins in particular) halt one of the initiating processes in the cascade of cellular dysfunction that leads to cancer. The effects of several anthocyanins against experimentally induced DNA damage were evaluated in a liver cancer study of rats. Anthocyanins were found to be protective against cellular toxicity, DNA strand breaks, and oxidative damage. In another study, rats were maintained on vitamin E-deficient diets for twelve weeks in order to enhance susceptibility to oxidative damage and were then given rations containing a highly purified anthocyanin-rich extract. Consumption of the anthocyanin-rich diet significantly improved blood antioxidant capacity and decreased damaging products of oxidation in the liver.

Angiogenesis is the growth of new blood vessels from preexisting vessels, which is a normal part of wound healing and growth and development in general. However, angiogenesis is also a key step in the transition of tumors from a dormant state to a malignant state. Inhibition of abnormal angiogenesis is thus emerging as one of the more important therapeutic tools of cancer prevention now being explored in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical studies. Many botanical and nutritional agents have been tested for their anti-angiogenic capacity, including anthocyanins. In 2004, researchers at Creighton University demonstrated that berry anthocyanins prevent angiogenesis. This research, together with at least four earlier studies, suggests that angiogenesis inhibition is one of the important mechanisms by which anthocyanins fight cancer.

Read Part 3 Here

The main benefit of consuming acai is its powerful antioxidant activity. To better understand how a powerful antioxidant can help preserve health and prevent disease, consider how much harm and suffering is caused by oxidation. In chemistry, free radicals are atoms that have unpaired electrons, which makes them highly reactive. In biological systems like the human body, this reactivity usually translates into damaging effects on the body’s cellular structures (for example, cell membranes and DNA). This oxidative damage caused by free radicals in the body has been associated with a staggering number of diseases and disease-promoting processes, notably cancer, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, and cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Aging in mammals is the result of normal developmental and metabolic processes. Free-radical damage is also one of the major factors affecting how cells age, making it a major determining factor of how fast and how well (or how poorly) our bodies age. A significant amount of research data clearly demonstrates the causative role of free radicals in the aging process. Research also shows that specific antioxidants help the body resist spontaneous oxidation and combat oxidative damage to DNA, which in turn lengthens the life span of mammals. The incidence of age-related diseases and how long good health can be maintained is thus highly dependent on our total production and intake of antioxidants.

Centenarians typically represent the best example of successful aging. A 1998 study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that centenarians had lower blood levels of lipid peroxides (oxidation products) and higher blood levels of antioxidants than did people aged seventy to ninety-nine. Thus centenarians’ lower degree of oxidative stress and higher antioxidant defense functioning were directly correlated to their longevity.

On the other hand, major causes of disability in elderly people— including atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), Alzheimer’s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis—are caused or accelerated on some level by free radicals and oxidation. Several diseases commonly seen among the elderly are associated with oxidative damage:

• Oxidation of LDL cholesterol is considered a primary disease-causing mechanism in the development of atherosclerosis.

• Oxidative damage to cells can trigger mutations and malignant growth leading to cancer.
• A considerable body of evidence suggests that oxidative stress causes inflammation and tissue damage, for example, in the respiratory system. The lung damage, and later immune damage, experienced by individuals with lowered cellular antioxidant capacity is thought to be a risk factor for asthma.
• Free-radical damage to lens proteins damages the eyes and contributes to the development of cataracts. If cataract development in the general population were delayed by ten years through the use of antioxidants, it is estimated that the number of cataract surgeries in the United States would be reduced by half.
• Increased lipid peroxidation (a marker of oxidative stress) has been found in the blood of rheumatoid arthritis patients.
• Diabetes is known to involve oxidative stress in several different ways. Among patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus there is a significant inverse correlation between levels of glycated hemoglobin (a major risk factor for diabetes) and total free-radical scavenging activity; oxidative damage may also promote non-insulin-dependent diabetes. Oxidative damage is also known to contribute to several of the major complications of diabetes, such  as  retinopathy, nephropathy, and atherosclerosis.
• Antioxidant levels are significantly depressed in fibromyalgia patients.
• There is solid evidence that Alzheimer’s dementia is associated with oxidative stress.
• High levels of the byproducts of oxidation products have been found to be elevated in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of people with multiple sclerosis.
• Oxidative stress is a pivotal problem in chronic pancreatitis. Antioxidant therapy has been shown to be a safe and effective medical alternative to surgery for painful chronic pancreatitis.
• Oxidative stress appears to play a role in the tissue damage of active ulcerative colitis, and it has been suggested that a defect in antioxidant defenses is a causative factor in the disease.
• Abnormalities of antioxidant function and depletion of the body’s antioxidant reserves have been shown to contribute to the development of Parkinson’s disease.
• Many drugs cause or accelerate the formation of toxic free radicals, which are thought to be responsible for a large number of adverse drug reactions, as well as adverse interactions between drugs.
• Skin inflammations, including atopic dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, and sunburn, are all associated with antioxidant depletion in the skin. Supplementation with antioxidants has improved all of these conditions.

The fruits of acai and its relative jucara have been consumed by traditional cultures for generations. Ethnobotanists have recorded more than twenty uses for the various parts of the tree. The acai fruit has powerful cultural and socioeconomic significance for the population of Para. Acai fruit and palm hearts are transported to river cities and towns where they are sold at market by local families. In the city of Belem, acai is so popular that discarded pits litter the streets. Such problems will recede as preparation of acai drinks becomes more industrialized.

Acai juice is a major component of the diet of the lower classes, and is typically consumed with manioc (cassava) meal or with tapioca and sugar. Sometimes it’s eaten with manioc meal and grilled fish or dried shrimp; it’s also eaten as mingau, a porridge made with manioc meal. Locals have long known that acai fruit is dense with nutrients and can prevent nutritional deficiencies, which is why it’s part of their basic diet. Acai’s pleasing, mild flavor and excellent nutritional profile have made it a common side dish as well, often accompanying fish, rice, and beans, as well as other regional dishes. Acai is also used in many prepared foods in Brazil: jellies, yogurts, liqueurs, cakes, puddings, and even chocolates filled with acai pulp. The palmito (fruit) is used to make ice cream, ice pops, and other desserts. However, the most popular way Brazilians consume acai is in its juice form.

Acai has a mild, nutty flavor and is often sweetened with sugar or syrup, or combined with sweeter fruit juices. It provides a pleasing energy boost, without the over-stimulating effects of caffeine. Sometimes, acai is mixed with caffeine-containing plant extracts, such as guarana, to augment its uplifting effects. The “wine” of acai (vinho de acai) was originally consumed by indigenous tribes and is becoming increasingly popular throughout the region. Once known as “poor man’s juice,” acai is now consumed by people in every socioeconomic stratum of Brazil. Acai is very much an everyday drink, the way milk is for many North Americans. In fact, in Brazil, acai is often served to children at breakfast as a nutritionally rich substitute for milk. Many Amazon river towns and villages have an acailandia, an acai juicing operation that sells the popular beverage in small plastic bags.

Within each purple fruit is a hard, inedible seed. Claims have been made that the seeds of the acai fruit can be used in making a nutritive fertilizer for the cultivation of vegetables, but agricultural researchers have disputed this. The seeds can also be crushed to produce a green oil that’s been used as a folk remedy for scrofula (a form of tuberculosis characterized by swollen lymph glands). The roasted and crushed seeds can also be infused to make a tea, which is a traditional remedy for fever. Acai-seed tea is also used as a remedy for jaundice and as a tonic for the blood (acai is rich in iron). Tea made from the grated fruit rind has been used topically as a wash for skin ulcers. To use the root medicinally, it must be decocted (i.e., boiled) to break down the root bark and release the medicinal compounds. Decoctions of acai root have traditionally been used to treat many diseases, including diabetes, hepatitis, malaria, kidney disease, and dysmenorrheal (menstrual pain).

No doubt you’ve heard about many of the wonderful things that the acai berry can do for you but there is one major acai berry benefit. Before we dive into what that acai berry benefit is, let’s not forget that laying aside the benefits of the acai berry its flavor is wonderful. But moving past the tasty side of the fruit and moving into the main acai berry benefit that is driving such a buzz amongst the health world and news populations.

The acai berry has been known to bring near miracle results in many different ways, anything from improved eye sight, better sleep, losing weight and more energy. The most significant acai berry benefit is its naturally rich source of vitamins and minerals. It’s an excellent source for almost all of the major vitamins and minerals the body craves each day. It’s known to provide more enriching ingredients than many of the local vitamin supplements you find in your local pharmacy store. Are you wondering how that affects you? It’s like this analogy, if you were taking a road trip and you drove down to the nearby gas station to refill your gas tank before leaving on your trip, let us say your car requires Plus 89 type of gas and you fill it with Regular 87 gas because it’s cheaper. You’re care will most probably run but it won’t run exactly the same as if you put the proper type of gas into the vehicle. That’s similar to how the body works, when the body has the proper nutrients and vitamin intake each day, it functions and performs better. So the main acai berry benefit is it’s enriching vitamin ingredients that help your body intake the appropriate amount of nutrients to be optimal.

That is the main acai berry benefit. There are also other great results from the acai berry that you can read about in other articles on our website, so feel free to check them out!

You’ve probably heard of some of the benefits of acai berry but we are going to go a little more in depth into them today. Perhaps we’ll cover some new things you haven’t heard before. The benefits of acai berry is nothing like the sales pitch of some of the fake pills created by drug companies to help you ‘lose weight’ or ‘have energy’ but the acai berry is an all natural, God created fruit that has wonderful health benefits that are part of its natural use and not a manmade supplement.

Some of the first benefits of acai berry that I want to talk about are how it works to improve your bodies over all cleanliness by removing wastes. Over years, each of us develops and collects toxins within our body, in areas like the colon, which tend to stick around and are not removed from the body as quickly as they should be. Some of these toxins are harmless but there are also others that are potentially very harmful. Some can even lead to cancer. Other negative effects of these toxins are as they collect, they build around your lower stomach and waistline. Because of what creates these extra inches in those bodily areas, you are not able to tone that part of your body through normal exercises and dieting routines. The acai berry actually contains ingredients that will stimulate your body to remove such wastes rapidly, thus preventing the buildup of these toxins and resulting is a slimmer stomach and waistline. Also, you body will realize the effects of those harmful toxins and once they are removed you will now feel much better because your body isn’t defending itself against such toxins.

The next benefits of the acai berry we’re going to cover are the positive increase in overall energy driven from the higher metabolism the acai berry will produce for you. Which leads to many great benefits one of which being weight loss and cutting those extra pounds. And by having more energy, losing weight, higher metabolism, you feel more active, you will be more active and you will notice that attitude towards things will be brighter. When a body is in a healthy state, you are able to focus on things easier, you won’t get as tired as quickly. And in instances such as work or a demanding kid schedule, you’ll be able to perform better work by being focused and with a non tired body.

There are also other benefits of acai berry that have been mentioned as results, acai berries are the worlds #1 antioxidant fruit, the improvement of vision, healthier skin color and tone, healthier hair and nails, an arthritis reliever and many other forms in which consumers have provided feedback of.This should help you get a very good idea of the many different angles in which acai berries can help improve your daily life and body. Sign up for our newsletter to say up to date on other benefits of acai berry.

Also, you are able to receive a free trial offer of acai berry supplements with no obligation. All you have to do is click the banner at the top of this page or just below the article here and you will be taken America’s #1 trusted acai berry distributor. You’ll get a free 14 day trial; all you have to do is pay a few dollars to cover shipping costs. This is one of the best ways to experience the true benefits of the acai berry without spending hardly any money. Get your free trial why they last!

Would you like to improve your body’s health and feel better all the time? There are many acai benefits that have a very positive impact on our bodies. Known as the #1 Superfood and being one of the highest antioxidant fruits in the world, makes this little berry very rewarding. This article will talk about other acai benefits and what they can do for your body. We may not be able to list all of the known acai benefits, mostly because of there being so many, but we will identify at least the major ones. So don’t stop reading yet.

There are many ways to consume the acai berry extract; the purest and all natural form is in the acai berry supplement form. Despite all of the things we eat, even the vitamins we take, most of us still lack all of the essential elements to keep us healthy and feeling well. The acai berry fills in those gaps and more. That’s why it produces such great effects on our bodies; it actually provides the necessary vitamins and minerals our bodies crave. It’s a huge antitoxin enhancer, helping your body get rid of potentially harmful toxins that can build up. By maintaining a healthier body, it will improve your coordination and focus resulting in getting more things accomplished and producing higher quality work.

Dr. Oz, who appeared on the Oprah show, talked about the detoxifying powers of the acai berry and the importance of cleaning out your body. That alone will increase your energy and you’ll start to see those extra pounds located around the waistline start to fall off. By having the extra energy, you’ll feel more motivated to exercise or to stay more active. It can ease the pain of arthritis and in some cases remove all signs of it. Other acai benefits can be: improved vision, healthier skin, healthier hair and nails.

Many people use the acai berry capsules to help them manage their cholesterol level. The acai berry has a natural ingredient that helps the body control what foods you intake and to properly balance them with your daily diet. Another strong point of the acai berry is the amount of fiber you will find within it. If your body is lacking fiber, this is a great supplement to help you get more fiber in your body to stay strong. These are just some of the many acai benefits you can get by taking the acai berry extract.

If you’d like to give acai berry a try and see how amazing this all natural supplement is and what it can do for you, sign up for a completely Free Trial by clicking the banner at the top of this page or just below this article. This is the same company recommended and used by Oprah and Rachael Ray. You’ll never know the full acai benefits until you give it a try for yourself. Studies have proven that acai berries are the worlds #1 Superfood. Don’t forget to get your free trial below!