Acai Health Benefits:

Acai Health Benefits:

What is known about the Acai berry fruit health benefits, backed by scientific research into the fruits properties, is quite substantial. Acai is a rich source of anthocyanins and other phenolics and phyto-nutrients. Acai berries are amongst the most nutritious foods of the Amazon, rich in B vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Acai also contains oleic acid (omega-9), a beneficial fatty acid (often mistakenly referred to as essential).

Minerals found in Acai Berry: Potassium is the mineral most abundant in the Acai. Acai is also rich in copper, and unusually high in manganese. Only a small portion supplies far more than the body needs of this ultra-trace mineral.

Acai Phytonutrients: Anthocyanins are compounds that have potent antioxidant activity, allowing for the neutralization of potentially harmful free radicals. The famous research regarding the "French Paradox" attributes anthocyanins as being the antioxidant that protects the French from heart disease. The French are known to consume large amounts of coffee, nicotine, sugar, white flour, cheese and saturated fats, yet they have a very low rate of heart disease compared to neighboring countries like the UK and Denmark. The red wine grape, due to its anthocyanins is what is believed to be responsible for the very low incidence of heart disease. While red wine has good quantities of anthocyanins, the Acai berry has been shown to contain many times the anthocyanins levels of red wine. Back

By neutralizing these free radicals, anthocyanins from the Acai berry may actually serve to maintain the healthy function of numerous systems and organs. Some of the anthocyanins that have been found in Acai include cyanidin-3-glucoside and cyanidin-3-glucoside-coumarate. Other phenolics include catechin and epi-catechin (the same compounds in green tea), quercetin derivatives and other flavonoids. It is likely that the synergistic effects of these compounds, as present in Acai fruit are responsible for its potent antioxidant activities.

ORAC Scale: The Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity (ORAC) assay measures the total antioxidant activity of a biological sample. It’s a test developed for the USDA by scientists at Tufts University to measure the antioxidant speed and power of foods and supplements. The ORAC scale is used in human, agricultural, food and pharmaceutical products, as well as food ingredients and is quickly becoming the accepted standard for comparing antioxidant potential in foods and supplements.

Acai Antioxidant Benefits: For the average Western person to cope with all the reactive oxygen and free radicals they will encounter on a daily basis, foods and beverages totalling an ORAC value of at least 2000 units per day are needed. It’s been estimated that 80-90 percent of the world’s population fails to consume even half of this level. Acai is reputed to be extremely high on the ORAC scale and provides levels multiple times that of many anthocyanin-rich fruits and vegetables, such as cherries, cranberries and mulberries.

Aging Population: As the population ages, 80% of older people in Western countries will develop at least one chronic metabolic disease. If the USDA says that high-ORAC foods may slow aging and prevent metabolic disease from occurring, isn't it about time you increased the quantity of antioxidants in your diet to prevent this process from occurring in the first place?

Acai Juice Commercial Exploitation

Acai Juice Commercial Exploitation

Palm Hearts: Acai and other Euterpe palm trees are the subject of commercial exploitation in South America. Palm hearts, eaten worldwide as a vegetable, are obtained by cutting the palm and removing the crown shaft, in which the heart is found. Palm hearts are the tender, whitish immature leaves of the palm frond just above the growing point on each stem. Although it has almost no nutritious value, palm hearts have been a staple food enjoyed by the local populations for generations and have also become a economic resource and export product for many rainforest countries. France, followed by the U.S. are the largest importers of palm hearts. There are over 120 registered palm heart processors operating in the Amazon, with a multitude of smaller unregistered family operations selling their harvests to the larger facilities with onsite canning operations. Originally, much of the commercial palm heart production in South America beginning in the 1960's came from a different palm tree, Euterpe edulis, which only produces a single trunk. (However, one large tree can yield up to 50 pounds of palm hearts.) Because the tree must be felled to extract the palm heart, palm heart exploitation without any adequate management severely decimated the wild populations of this species at an alarming rate.

After many native E. edulis palm groves disappeared, harvesters began using the acai palm as a more sustainable alternative since it produces many stems/trunks. Unlike it's cousin, when one of the Acai's stems is cut, more stems will grow back on the same root system and the cutting of some of the stems encourages fruiting on the remaining stems. Acai palm (E. oleracea) is now the world's main source of palm hearts. While Acai does offer a more sustainable alternative, it does not ensure that the correct exploitative harvesting methods will be used to guarantee the plant's survival. Huge stands of Acai palm are often over-exploited and sometimes entire groves are clear-felled for palm heart exploitation. Currently, there is a shortage of raw materials in many locations in the Amazon River estuary due to over-harvesting and a lack of sustainable management of native stands; palm heart processing plants in the area generally operate only 2-3 days per week. Ref: http://www.rain-tree.com/acai.htm

Most botanists concur that palm heart harvesting of any palm species is probably an unsustainable practice due to the damage done and the trees wasted in the process. The Acai palm's future does look rosy however, due to the rapidly growing profitable export market for the Acai fruit. Profits gleaned from sustainable harvesting of the Acai fruit are quickly outstripping the profits from unsustainable harvesting of the palm heart.

Acai Juice Distribution & Habitat

Acai Juice Distribution & Habitat

The Acai Palm is widely distributed and is very common throughout northern South America. The natural habit of the Acai Palm tends to be along river edges and seasonal flood plains and is mostly found along water courses of Brazil. Acai Palm is also cultivated extensively and grown in organic, chemical free conditions in the vast Amazon River estuary.