Acai is a Brazilian Super Berry grown in the Amazon rainforest. The benefits from eating healthy are endless. Some foods can be eaten to help you look and age betterand at the top of this list is the acai fruit from the Amazon forest. This little berry is one of the most nutritious and powerful foods in the world. It can often be found in juice form in health food and gourmet stores.Acai tastes like a vibrant blend of Berries and Chocolate.
Acai Palm is a genus of 25-30 species of palms native to tropical Central and South America, from Belize south to Brazil and Peru, growing mainly in floodplains and swamps. They are tall slender attractive palms growing to 15-30 m tall, with pinnate leaves up to 3 m long. The fruit, a small, round, black-purple drupe similar in appearance and size to a grape but with less pulp, is produced in branched panicles of 700 to 900 fruits. The fruit has a single large seed about 7–10 mm in diameter.
Acai is a globose drupe, presenting flower residues, with a diameter varying between 1 and 2 cm and an average weight of 1.5 g. The epicarp of the ripe fruits is a deep purple color, almost black, or green, depending on the kind of açaí and its maturity. The mesocarp is pulpy and thin, with a consistent thickness of 1 mm or less. It surrounds the voluminous and hard endocarp which contains a seed with a diminutive embryo and abundant endosperm.
Nutritional content Benefits of Acai
Acai is called the only super berry on the market that has everything that you need, naturally from only the berry itself. It containes Vitamin B1, B2, B3, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Phosphorus, Calcium, Potassium, Fiber, Proteins, good fatty acids such as Omega 6, Omega 9 to helps lowering cholesterol level.
Also as an added benefit of acai is it gives you the highest level of anti-oxidant on the market, with studies showing up to 33 times the anti-oxidant as red wine grapes. With Acai it gives you the energy from your youth and opens up the vitality and increased stamina you had in your 20's. So try the new "Fountain of Youth" from this forbidden Amazon Berry and you too will feel the power of the Amazon.
Research on Acai has shown that these Anti-Oxidants are known to fight and regulate cholesterol levels in the body.
Acai has two essential fatty acids known as Omega 6 (Linoleic acid) and Omega 9 (Oleic acid). Research shows that Omega 6 helps lower LDL, which is the harmful cholesterol. Then you have Omega 9 fatty acids lower LDL and maintain HDL (beneficial cholesterol) levels.
Acai's Anti-Oxidant factors play a large role in maintenance of vascular cardiac system, which is important for better blood circulation.Synonyms: Euterpe badiocarpa
The dark purple color of the Acai is due to the polyphenolic compounds present. One of the main plant chemicals getting a lot of attention in Acai, is a compound called anthocyanin. Anthocyanins are a group of Flavonoids widely distributed in plants and lending a red to purple color to fruits like grapes, blackberries, and raspberries. In addition to the standard vitamins and minerals found in most fruits,
Anthocyanins are naturally occurring compounds that impart color of Acai fruit, Anthocyanins belong to a group of plant compounds called Flavonoids. Flavonoids are a subclass of plant polyphenols that may have antioxidant abilities and are being studied for their anticancer and anti-aging potential. Currently under investigation for their ability to inhibit LDL (the "bad") cholesterol, prevent blood clotting, and defend cells against dangerous carcinogens, Anthocyanins may prove to be significant compounds in human health.
Anthocyanins and their protective properties:
Inflammation and Collagen: Anthocyanins neutralize enzymes that destroy connective tissue. Their antioxidant capacity prevents oxidants from damaging connective tissues and repair damaged proteins in the blood-vessel walls.
The Nervous System: By preventing tyrosine nitration, the Anthocyanin properties in Acai may help protect against neurological diseases. The primary Anthocyanins in Acai known as Cyanidin-3-glucoside have been found to help in the reversal of age related neurological deficits.
Large and Small Blood-Vessels: Anthocyanins ability to counter oxidants make them a powerhouse in the fight against arteriosclerosis. Even in trace amounts, Anthocyanins effectively protect against LDL oxidation. Anthocyanins protect the integrity of the endothelial cells that line blood vessel walls and help to maintain micro capillary integrity. Diabetes: One of the serious diabetic complications is retinopathy, which in most cases can cause blindness. This condition occurs when the body attempts to repair leaking, damaged capillaries, but does so by over producing abnormal proteins. The protection of Anthocyanins may help prevent these capillaries from leaking and to help prevent abnormal protein proliferation.
Eyesight: Anthocyanins may also help improve eyesight by numerous mechanisms. In the Second World War, British fighter pilots were found to have improved night vision. These findings were thought to be contributed by the large amounts of bilberry in the pilot’s diet. The effects of the improved night vision were not long lasting after the initial consumption of bilberry lasting just hours after initial consumption. With this new found advantage, the pilots would consume the bilberry fruits Acai just prior to the mission.
Sources: Pigmentated Fruits are known to carry the highest amounts of Anthocyanins. Fruits that can be eaten with skin on, offer the highest value of Anthocyanins. These fruits would consist of cherries, grapes, raspberries, blueberries, bilberry, and Acai to name a few.
In Brazilian herbal medicine, the oil of the fruit is used to treat diarrhea; an infusion of the root is used for jaundice and to build the blood; an infusion of the grated fruit rind is used as a topical wash for skin ulcers; and, the fruit seeds are crushed and prepared in an infusion for fevers. In the Peruvian Amazon, an infusion of the toasted crushed seeds is used for fever, and a decoction of the root is used for malaria, diabetes, hepatitis and jaundice, hair loss, hemorrhages, liver and kidney diseases, menstrual pain, and muscle pain. In Colombia, where the trees grow along the Pacific coast line, it is called naidí and the fruit is turned into a common and popular drink.
