The Acai (pronounced ah-SAH-ee) berry is the latest super antioxidant food sweeping the world. This small round fruit is produced by the Acai Palm which is native to Central and South America floodplains and swamps. The fruit is rich in anthocyanin / anthocyanidin phytonutrients which are members of the flavonoid class of antioxidants. The dark purple berry, which tastes something like a blend of berries and chocolate, supposedly contains 10 to 30 times the flavonoids contained in red wine. The pulp is also rich in B vitamins, minerals, protein, Vitamin E, caffeine, fiber and essential fatty acids (such as Omega-3, Omega-6 and Omega-9).
The acai berry, in actuality, is not a berry at all. It is a fruit, similar in size and appearance to the grape, and it comes from a type of palm tree that grows in Central and South America. While the soft, inner part of the palm, called heart of palm, is often eaten in salads, the fruit portion of the plant is now very popular as a nutritional supplement. It is sold for a multitude of uses, most commonly as a weight loss supplement.
Because the fruit does not last long after it is harvested, it is mostly available to anyone outside of the Amazon as a juice or frozen. It also cannot be eaten in raw form, but rather in pulp form. That has not stopped its popularity. The dark, purple skin is what contains a majority of the healthy benefits. The natives of Brazil have been passing down recipes to create purees, which you can warm as a sauce over grains or entrees like meat and fish. The aa berry can also be frozen for a sorbet-like dessert.
The benefits of the aa berry, as well as the media coverage it has received, have made research into this fruit a top priority. Researchers at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro have discovered that aa extract can be used to fight infection, like the parasitic infection schistosomosis which affects 10 million Brazilians each year and the common bacterial infection staphylococcus aureus. The University of Florida also did a study which investigated the effect of the berries on human cancer cells. The study showed that the berries triggered a self-destruct response in up to 86 percent of leukemia cells tested. There is still no proof that the berry will prevent cancer. More studies are going on all of the time to research the benefits of this amazing berry.
Acai can be difficult to find outside of South America although the frozen pulp and juices are starting to be imported into the US and Canada. Your best chance of finding the product is in health food stores or the health food section of your supermarket. Make sure that the acai berry is wild harvested and quickly frozen to retain its maximum nutrient value. Also in the US, acai is being sold as an ingredient in a number of beverages, and as frozen fruit that can be added to home-made smoothies as well as in health food extracts and supplements.
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