Archive for December, 2008
So what is this acai juice? It is the essence of small (about the size of a large grape) berry that is the fruit of a kind of palm tree.
Where does the acai berry come from? It is widespread in South America. The Amazon basin and the region of Para in Brazil to be more precise.
What do the people of Brazil use açaí for? The eat it and drink it in many different dishes – from drinks and shakes to breakfasts and bars. Brazilians use açaí to flavor meat and fish dishes, too, topping them with a pulpy, curd-like substance made from the fruit.
Why is the acai fruit in such high demand? Not only is the açaí a tasty meal ingredient but is also renowned for amazing health benefits.
What can the acai do for my health? Acai juice is said to be therapeutic for gastric workings, dermatitis, low sex drive, and even sleeplessness. The açaí berry is naturally low in sugar, too. The University of Florida found that acai actually destroyed cultured leukemia cells and continue to follow this research route.
So does the acai cure cancer? NO! Don’t get carried away. All we know is that açaí is a great food with several health properties that will do you good as part of a healthy balanced diet.
Where have I heard of the acai fruit before? Only recently have people ioutside of Brazil discovered the advantages of this so called ’superfood’. NBC’s Today program featured acai in a story in 2004, and Oprah Winfrey pushes it on her website.
Where can I get hold of some acai berry juice? Get on down to your favorite juice bar or smoothie maker and you might find açaí as one of the ingredients open to you. Also, we plan to review all he acai berry products on the market and save you the time of going through every one. We test all, you reap the rewards 
Can I eat the acai berries straight from the tree? No way, they have to be picked when ripe twice a year and heavily processed because they do not stay fresh more than 2 days.
We hope this mini guide on acai berry fruit has helped you.
December 25th, 2008
Would Oprah Winfrey lead you astray on such a vital issue as your health? Certainly not, so when she promotes a food product such as acai fruit juice on her TV program and her website you have to listen up. The Acai is the berry of a palm tree that is known to Brazilians as “The Tree Of Life”. This is because of its health-enhancing properties. Dr. Perricone, Oprah’s health guru rates it at number one in his top ten of super foods.
So what is so great about this acai (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) berry juice? Why would the TV food guru put a totally unknown plant at number one? Well of course, TV is all about hype and melodrama and frankly the whole idea of ranking foods is ludicrous and unscientific. So don’t go out and line up a supply of acai juice to put yourself on an acai diet to the exclusion of everything else. However this grape like fruit from the Amazon basin is a nutritious alternative to one of your daily fruit portions in your balanced diet.
Açaí is said to taste like a mixture of blueberries and chocolate. When ripe it is a beautiful dark purple color that is nature’s way of saying “come and eat me I will be really good for you”. And so Brazilians, especially in the Para region have been pulping it and juicing it and putting it in drinks and foods for centuries. Obviously you can’t go out into the rain forest and harvest a handful so you will need to find a specialist grocer or health food store. Oprah recommends the pulp in as natural a state as possible, without added sugar.
What really excites Dr. Perricone, apart from the sexy exotic nature of this cult berry is the large amount of antioxidants in each humble berry. Antioxidants, as all foodies know, help to slow down the body’s aging process. Red grapes are similarly blessed with antioxidants but only to about one tenth of the level in acai. The acai also has a life giving mix of mono unsaturated fats, those are the good ones, fiber and phytosterols all of which give your heart and digestion a really good shot in the arm.
Acai doesn’t stop there because it is a source of essential amino acids and trace minerals that are necessary to proper muscle function. In terms of fatty acids the acai is as good as olive oil. Oleic acid is a nice substance because it helps another nice substance omega 3 fish oil (also in Dr. Perricones top ten list) to get into your cells. And what fruit is rich in oleic acid? You guessed it, acai berry juice.
December 16th, 2008
The Brazilian people know a good thing when they see it. They use the acai berries, juice and pulp in many different dishes – from drinks and smoothies to their breakfast cereals and muesli bars. Brazilians also use acai as a flavoring for meat poultry and fish dishes. They top many of their dishes with the pasty, curd substance made from the fruit.
What they are really doing with all this acai additions is to get for themselves the amazing health benefits. Acai is a completely non-fattening source of energy and antioxidants. Antioxidants of course are the great anti-aging substance.
Only in the last few years have people in North America and the rest of the World become aware of how acai gives them a nutritional super boost. Some state of the art smoothie places may serve acai as one of the exotic flavorings available to you.
Not only are savvy health conscious consumers taking advantage of the benefits of acai, but scientists and the press are singing the praises of acai and have even found it capable of destroying cultured leukemia cells!
From the very real world of the Amazon rain forest to the virtual world of the Internet acai can be found in enormous symbolic quantities. It can be ordered and paid for by credit card in several forms, very different from the beautiful purplish berries of the ripe fruit. It comes as powder or capsule supplements or even frozen. From ancient plant magic to ultra modern technological nourishment in a pill acai today is like something out of Frank Herbert novel.
Acai is the most unbalanced part of your balanced healthy diet. It is unbalanced in the sense that there is nothing in it that isn’t good for you and it gives no adverse side effects whatsoever.
December 10th, 2008
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