The tiny, little acai berry can offer you a wealth of health benefits. It is jam-packed with antioxidants, essential fatty acids and amino acids. It is also delicious with a taste similar to a cross between a grape, a blueberry and a raspberry or maybe even berries dipped in dark chocolate.
The acai berry (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) that is only grown in the Amazon rainforest fits all of these categories. It is extremely nutritious, containing one of the highest antioxidant levels on the planet; it has a combination of healthy fats and a next to perfect essential amino acid complex. All in all it is one of the most nutritious finds of this century.
Antioxidants are molecules that are instrumental in slowing or preventing the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is crucial to life but in excess it can damage our cells which in turn leads to many diseases, premature aging and even being overweight. Nature has given us an abundance of nutritious foods that are loaded with antioxidants. The acai berry has been found to have one of the highest antioxidant levels of any food ever discovered.
The Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) is a method of measuring the antioxidant capacities of different foods. The acai berry has the best ORAC of any berry, at 10 times more than grapes, twice as much as blueberries and even 10 to 30 times higher than red wine.
Not only that the acai berry has a host of essential fatty acids. The fatty acid content in this berry is like that in olive oil, as it is rich in monounsaturated oleic acid. Oleic acid makes the cell membranes more supple. By keeping the cell membrane supple, all hormones, neurotransmitter and insulin receptors work more effectively. This is important because high insulin levels have been linked to numerous diseases, most notably diabetes, but also heart disease and metabolic syndrome, which is believed to be a contributor to many different conditions, including obesity.
Testing on the acai berry is proving that it is a nutritional powerhouse, even a superfood. Superfood is a term used to describe a food with a high phytonutrient content that is believed to confer health benefits as a result.
The acai berry is proving to be beneficial in weight loss, the prevention of age-related decline, and the protection against diseases.
You can only achieve these benefits from the acai berry by including the processed forms of the berry in your diet because the berry is exceptionally perishable. However you can benefit from the processed forms, including juices, supplement, extracts and more.
