The Health Benefits of the Amazing Acai Berry

What if you could get a plethora of health benefits from one tiny little berry? Not only is this berry healthful, loaded with antioxidants, essential fatty acids and amino acids but this berry is also delicious, purportedly tasting like berries covered in dark chocolate or a cross between a blueberry, a raspberry and a grape.

The acai berry (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) that is only grown in the Amazon rainforest fits all of these categories. It is extremely nutritious, boasting one of the highest antioxidant levels on the planet; it has a synergy of healthy fats and an almost perfect essential amino acid complex. All in all it is one of the healthiest nutritional discoveries of this century.

An antioxidant is a molecule capable of slowing or preventing the oxidation of other molecules. While oxidation is crucial to life, it can also damage our cells, which can lead to premature aging, many diseases and even being overweight. This is why nature has provided us with many healthy foods that are loaded with antioxidants. The acai berry has one of the highest antioxidant levels of any food on the planet.

The Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) is a method of measuring antioxidant capacities of different foods. The acai berry has the highest ORAC of any berry, at 10 times higher than grapes, twice as high as blueberries and even 10 to 30 times higher than red wine.

Not only that the acai berry contains a host of essential fatty acids. The fatty acid content in this berry is similar to 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 function more efficiently. 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.

All of the research being done on acai berries point to the fact that this tiny little berry is a nutritional powerhouse. It has been dubbed a superfood. The term superfood is used to describe a food with a high phytonutrient content that is believed to confer health benefits as a result.

The acai berry definitely fits into the category of the superfood as it has been proven to be beneficial in the prevention of diseases, weight loss and the prevention of decline associated with aging.

The acai berry is extremely perishable so it is not available throughout the world as a fresh fruit but only in its processed forms, such as juice or supplements.