What is Acai ... and how this small berry been hailed as one of the World's top "superfoods"

 

What is Acai?

Acai (pronounced ass-eye-eee) berries grow on palm trees in Brazil's Amazon basin. Growing in large clusters towards the top of the Acai palm, these black-purple berries are similar in appearance and size to a grape but have a lot less pulp (about 90% of an Acai berry is seed, 10% pulp). The berry has it's own unique tastes, unlike any other berry. Slightly sour, Acai is said to have a slight chocolate and clove essence.

A brief Acai history ...

For many hundreds of years Acai berries were one of the staple ingredients of the Amazonian people’s diet, accounting to 40% of their total daily food intake. Eaten of necessity, it is only since the 1950's that Acai has been discovered to offer a wide and essential range of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

During the 1970's, new roads and transport links started being developed all across Brazil. It was then that a migration from the Amazon basin in the north of Brazil (where Acai was common) to Rio de Janeiro in the south west began. Missing their daily snacks of Acai berries, they arranged to have some Acai frozen (to preserve all it's natural characteristics) and shipped to them in Rio.

Their popularity grew among the Rio crowd, especially with the local surfers, athletes and health focused. It was quickly noticed that people taking Acai seemed to have more energy, and be healthier. This stayed a "secret" till the 1990's when Acai really "took off" as more and more of its health benefits were investigated and confirmed.

Protecting Amazon rainforests of Brazil ...

For decades, the main news to come from the Amazon was about "slash and burn" - burning down parts of the forest to grow crops for export or animal feed. As Acai has become more popular and in demand, the forest rather than the land has become more of value. As Acai fruit is becoming worth more than other crops which would cause the forest's destruction, landowners are learning to preserve it - not only for themselves, but the entire World.

Plus, Acai is allowing indigenous communities to remain and prosper on their land. Buying Fair Trade Acai gives the local Brazilian workers a fair wage for their work, with improved health and education for the workers families.

 

The health benefits of Acai ...

The main buzzword with Acai is "antioxidants" (specifically "anthoycanins). Acai berries have one of the highest counts of antioxidants of any fruit, higher even than blueberries. The ORAC score (click here for an explanation of ORAC and its importance) of Acai is higher than any other edible berry in the World.

And that is just for starters. Acai is also packed with healthy and beneficial Omega fats. A third of the Acai berry is fat, with 74% of it being Omega-3, Omega-6 and Omega-9. Then there is: fibre; amino acids; vitamin A; vitamin B1; vitamin B2; vitamin B3; vitamin C; vitamin E; Potassium; Calcium; Magnesium; Zinc; 3 important plant photo sterols ... which all together make the Acai an extremely powerful healthy little berry.

Keeping the nutritional balance and power of Acai ...

In order to keep all the nutritional goodness of the Acai (antioxidants, vitamins and minerals), and pass them from the freshly harvested berry to the Acai product you buy, the processing is of vital importance. While some processing does it's best to keep most of the nutritional goodness, some destroys it. You can read more about the different ways Acai can be processed here, but in summary your only choice should always be freeze-dried Acai.

Freeze drying keeps all the nutritional properties of the Acai, keeping the natural balance of nutrients working together. Freeze-dried Acai is the nearest to fresh Acai, giving you most of the nutritional goodness possible.

 

Read more on the health benefits of Acai here.
Discover why we only recommend Pure Acai™ here.