Why Acai Berry is the Queen of Purple!
April 6, 2009 by Caitlin Ryan
Filed under Weight Loss
Are you looking for loads of energy, more radiant skin and thicker hair? Would you like to slow the signs and symptoms of aging and look and feel more youthful? Your answers may be with the Queen of Purple: The acai berry!
It was not long ago that I was feeling tired and sluggish. I was noticing more lines on my face and my hair began thinning and had a high amount of breakage. I could not figure out what was wrong. I ate as well as possible trying to get enough fruits and veggies, but it is not easy to get eight servings a day as the FDA recommends. I even exercise often.
My doctor could not find anything wrong with me, so I decided to find a solution on my own. Looking into natural supplements, I found many products that might help, but I decided on the acai berry because it contained antioxidants, omega 3 fatty acids and essential amino acids.
There are so many supplements on the market that it can be difficult to decide what to buy. What I wanted was something simple. I did not want to take tons of pills or spend a bunch of money. Acai berries contain essential amino acids that are nearly as complete as animal protein and highly powerful antioxidants.
Using a test called Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC), the total antioxidant power of a given food or substance can be measured. While blueberries have an ORAC of 2400, Amazonian acai berries have an ORAC of 90,000 making their antioxidant capabilities more powerful than any known food source.
The benefits of purple fruits and plants have been studied extensively. The phytochemicals that give purple plants their color and high antioxidant quality are called anthocyanins. High amounts of anthocyanins have been found in acai berries, blueberries, blackberries, cherries, plums and herbals such as bilberry and elderberry.
One of the most compelling actions of these highly powerful antioxidants is their anti-inflammatory ability, which lab studies have found to prevent a number of health problems.
Anthocyanin supplementation in animals reduced allergic reactions, reversed neurological defects normal in aging, reduced capillary malfunction as occurs in diabetes and prevented blood vessel damage. Anthocyanins are also capable of inhibiting human tumor cell growth and thus fantastic for cancer prevention.
As far as overall health, antioxidants such as anthocyanins are able to neutralize free radicals, repair damage and aid in cell regeneration. Free radicals and the damage they incur are responsible for the aging process as well as a host of other health problems such as cancer and heart disease.
This is primarily why I began to feel so much better after supplementing my diet with acai berry extract supplements. My energy levels went up after just one week and a month later, my hair was noticeably fuller and my skin was more radiant and youthful.
Acai berries are not a quick fix for energy such as caffeine. Acai berries will not cover wrinkles or give your hair volume immediately like mousse. What they will do is work to improve your health from the inside out, which will in turn make you more energetic and improve tissue health.
These are just a few of the amazing benefits of acai berries and more are bound to be found.
Acai Berry Tales and Truths
March 24, 2009 by Caitin Ryan
Filed under Weight Loss
Are you looking for ways to improve your health through nutrition? Have you thought about looking in the Brazilian rainforest for the answer? You do not have to book a flight because a miracle fruit from this mystical region is now available to all of us in various acai berry products. You are going to love what this super fruit can do for your health!
Acai (pronounced Ah-SIGH-ee) berries have become quite popular in the past few years, but the people of the Brazilian rainforest have long revered this gorgeous purple fruit that grows on a palm tree.
Folklore tells the tale of an Amazon Indian girl named Iaca whose father was the tribal chief. The tribe had become too large and soon, there was not enough food to feed everyone. The tribal chief ordered that any child born needed to be sacrificed. His daughter was the first to give birth after this decree, but the chief showed no mercy for the sake of the whole tribe.
She mourned her child to the point of hearing the cries of a baby outside her hut. She desperately searched for what she thought was her newborn baby crying for her. Instead, she found a new palm tree growing in the midst of the Amazon rainforest. Terribly heartbroken, she lay beneath the palm tree and died.
The tribe discovered Iaca and noticed that the new tree had purple berries plentiful enough and nutritious enough to sustain the entire tribe. The tribal chief said that the newborns would now be spared death and he named the berries Acai (Iaca spelled backwards) after his daughter.
Clever story, but the truth behind acai berries is just now being realized. Scientists are finding that acai berries just might be the most potent fruit available because they contain super antioxidants, essential amino acids and omega 3 fatty acids.
The antioxidant that gives acai berries their beautiful royal purple color is called anthocyanin. Anthocyanin is a super antioxidant able to slow or stop tumor growth. All antioxidants are capable of fighting and preventing cancer because of their ability to stop the cancer-causing actions of free radicals at the cellular level. They are also important for rebuilding and repairing damaged tissue.
Because free radicals are also responsible for the aging process, acai berries are also great for preventing premature aging and slowing the biological clock.
Essential amino acids are important for tissue structure. Though only animal protein contains a complete blend of essential amino acids, it also contains dangerous saturated fat. Acai berries contain a nearly complete blend of essential amino acids making them fabulous for maintaining tissue structure (i.e. collagen in skin cells).
Speaking of fat, acai berries contain good fat called omega 3 fatty acids, which are capable of lowering bad cholesterol (LDL) and raising good cholesterol (HDL). You may have heard of omega 3 fatty acids in regard to the benefits of eating fish or taking fish oil supplements.
Acai berries are able to improve your health, prevent disease and slow the aging process. Available in a number of ways, acai products can truly benefit your overall health and restore a more youthful appearance.
Acai berry juice lines the supermarket shelves with its growing popularity, but make sure you do not fall prey to these corn syrup juices.



