Given the sudden popularity of this purple gem, many companies are jumping on the band wagon to produce as many Acai products as they can. That means the consumer needs to do their homework to find a manufacturer that hasn’t taken any shortcuts in their processing and ingredients. If we are not careful, we could end up with a product that has lost its active properties, is full of fillers or has unwanted chemicals.

Before you purchase Acai products, make sure the product lines up with these standards:

1) Certified Organic Ingredients. When using non-organic fruits, you could be exposed to pesticides and other chemicals. A legitimate company will produce a certificate to prove their product is Certified Organic. Non-organic antioxidant products can contain chemical pesticides, herbicides and other toxins.

2) Acai Must Be Processed Within 24 Hours. Safely transporting this little gem, often called The Crown Jewel of the Amazon, across the world is not an easy task! This highly potent berry starts losing its active properties within 24 hours of being picked. As you can imagine, for companies that care about producing a quality product, this is no simple feat.

3) Acai and Other Ingredients That Are Not Processed in China. Many products on the market today are processed in China, where they are known for using harsh chemicals and they do not have any regulations for pesticide use, nor do they have organic guidelines. Acai processing plants in China often use unregulated soy, fillers and/or chemicals in the extraction process.

4) Freeze-Dried and Not Spray Dried Acai. To preserve the berry’s nutrients, Acai must be freeze-dried. Spray drying involves heating the berries at high temperatures, which destroys the active properties. In this process, they are also sprayed with a carrier such as maltodextrin to dry them out. When this occurs, a large portion of the resulting Acai powder is actually maltodextrin.  

5) Acai Should Never Be Overheated. During normal pasteurization, high heat is involved. Any Acai juice product should only be flash-pasteurized, which does not harm the enzyme level of the berry and is FDA approved.

6) No Fillers Such as Soy or Maltodextrin in Processing. During the extraction of the pulp from the pit, fillers, chemicals and carriers should not be used. These items used in the manufacturing process remain a part of the end product, but are not required to be listed on the label because they are not considered to be an “added ingredient.”

7) No Fillers or Water Added to the Product. Adding fillers makes the Acai fluffier and bulks it up, so you are not getting as much Acai. Check the label for such fillers as soy, corn, maltodextrin, water and lots of other concentrated fruit juices. After all, when we buy Acai, we want Acai.

No Added Sugar, Artificial sweeteners, Fructose or Stimulants. Look to see that the Acai does not have added sugar. Sugar is not good for our immune systems, weight and it can cause inflammation. Also, some products may have added stimulants like caffeine or guarana.

9) No Chemical Preservatives. If we are seeking a nutritional product for our health, why would we want to consume chemicals along with it? For example, Sodium Benzoate appears in our soda and snack cakes, but why would we want it in our health foods? In 2006, the FDA re-opened their investigations into the use of Sodium Benzoate in soft drinks, because of the discovery of the breakdown into Benzene that can occur when mixed with ascorbic acid (vitamin C).

10) ORAC Lab Testing Done on Actual Product. Make sure the company’s reported ORAC (antioxidant) levels are based upon tests done on their actual Acai product and not just reports from Acai right off the tree. Just because Acai Berries have a high ORAC score when picked, does not mean it still does after the manufacturing.

As we can see, not all Acai products are created equal. In fact, a person will have a hard time finding Acai that can measure up to all 10 standards! So far, we have only found one Acai product line that passes all of these tests and that is Amazon Thunder!

Resources and Further Reading:

Amazon Acai Berry.net – All About the Acai Berry: www.AmazonAcaiBerry.net

FDA re-opens probe into benzene contamination of soft drinks – by Chris Mercer, 2/15/2006 www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=65840-soft-drinks-fda-benzene 

Why Is Weight Loss Necessary?
We eat a significant more amount of junk food and trans fat compared to three decades ago. Do you see your mothers 24-inch waistline? That took an effortless fruit and oatmeal diet to pull off. One of the reasons why losing weight is often a challenge is because it’s hard to resist the temptation for burgers and sodas, especially when the establishments sit just around the corner. So when the media complains about the need for people to lose weight, it’s actually less of a sales pitch and more of a question about image building. A huge chunk of it has to do with health.

Imagine gulping down two burgers in a week, about two boxes of pizza, seven huge bottles of soda, and a gallon of ice cream. You’re probably going to think: 10 lbs more this week! Well, that’s true too, but even more importantly, it can spell out clogged arteries, brain and/or heart stroke, diabetes, cancer, etc. In other words, more than just busting your zippers, you’re also at the risk of killing yourself.

Age Old Weight Loss Advice
You already know that we’re going to suggest diet and exercise for you to regain your health. That’s the basics, but there’s a secret to faster and healthier weight loss. Some manufacturers can try to lure you in with chemical laxatives that do nothing but purge your body of excess water. However, the last thing you want is to get sick because of dehydration. An acai berry supplement or juice can help aid you in losing weight faster than any other magic berry or red wine. This is scientifically proven too, so there’s no need for you to worry about fluff.

Nutritional Make Up Of Acai Berry
In its most potent form, acai berry has 10 times the anthocyanin level found in red wine, and twice the antioxidants found in blueberries. In other words, you don’t need to worry about side effects, because no one messed with the make up of acai berries to give you all the benefits. You’re only getting the benefit you need from natural fruit intake, only in a more concentrated form.

Anthocyanin is the reason why the French, despite their huge cheese intake, haven’t all suffered from heart attacks yet. This is because they drink a lot of red wine too, which, in recent studies, has shown to contain fat eliminators called anthocyanin. For people who are allergic to alcohol and can’t drink red wine, an acai berry is the perfect solution. Aside from being free from alcohol, it’s also more potent that red grapes.

The value of antioxidants in our diets can’t be stressed enough. It helps flush out the free radicals in our bodies than can cause the formation of cancer cells. Acai berry is also high in fiber (every berry has approximately 14% of fiber) and it promotes good, healthy digestion. It’s also a high source of vitamin A, E, C and D, which makes your purchase well worth the money you spent for it.  

Can You Buy Fresh Acai?
You can’t buy fresh acai berries unless you live in the Amazon, which is least likely the case if you’re browsing the internet right now. When you buy acai berry in supplement form, make sure that you’re buying freeze dried whole products, not extracts nor spray dried ones. These other processes make acai berry lose all its healthy characteristics. You may be able to find frozen pulps in health stores which are good for smoothies, but you may also find that they’re pricier. Never buy acai berry products with seeds, because they have no proven nutritional purposes yet. Seeds are only mostly used for jewelry or fuel, so don’t let yourselves be fooled by manufacturers who try to sell acai seeds as weight loss products.

Acai has an astounding number of health benefits due to its sizeable amounts of fiber, antioxidants, fatty acids, and proteins. The acai berries require humidity and wetland conditions to grow well. Thousands of palm trees per acre have been recorded in areas of the rainforest.

Acai berries begin as a green color and ripen to a deep purple. Each acai palm stem usually produces four to eight bunches of fruit during the average year with fruits ripening the heaviest in the dry season from July to December.

The acai palm thrives throughout the lowland flood areas where it forms in large groves. In one of nature’s wonders, when one of acai’s stems is cut, more stems will grow back and the cutting encourages more fruit to grow on the remaining stems.

Acai palm is now also the world’s main source of palm hearts. In Brazilian herbal medicine, the oil of the acai berries is used to treat diarrhea; the grated berry rind is used as a topical wash for skin ulcers; and the fruit seeds are crushed and made into a treatment for fevers.

Scientists are currently studying acai to determine just how nutritionally valuable it is. The researchers are discovering ways to use the acai berries to fight such diseases as diabetes, cancer, digestive issues, obesity, blood clotting ailments, obesity, and much more.

Experts are uncertain how much effect antioxidants have on cancer cells in the human body, because factors such as metabolism, nutrient absorption, and other biochemical processes may influence the antioxidants’ chemical activity.

Brazilians have long used acai berries to treat skin conditions and digestive disorders. Current medical research suggests acai products can help consumer’s lower cholesterol, get energized, and lose weight.

We are just beginning to understand all the health benefits of the acai palm. It can also be harvested for its delicious heart-of-palm, which tastes great in salads. In Colombia, where the acai palm grows along the Pacific coast, acai berries are turned into a popular drink.

In a University of Florida study, six different chemical extracts were made from acai fruit pulp and each extract was prepared at seven separate concentration levels. When applied for 24 hours, four of the extracts were shown to kill a significant number of leukemia cells. The UF study shows that research on foods not commonly found or consumed in the United States is extremely important, because it may lead to undiscovered health benefits of food nutrition.

Eating a balanced diet of at least five servings a day of fruits and vegetables is recommended for promoting optimal health. Research on the effects of diet on chronic diseases show an increased consumption of fruits and vegetables is associated with decreased risk for many illnesses.

One of a kind, acai berries also has a high concentration of essential acids, specifically monounsaturated oleic acid. This nutrient helps diminish inflammation, which is the leading cause of the detrimental health we experience, as we get older.