Acai Berry
The Acai berry is a grape like fruit harvested from the Acai palm trees in South America. Proponents claim the Acai berry is a super food with enormous antioxidant properties and many health benefits. Acai contains two important substances, anthocyanins and flavonoids. These substances are powerful antioxidants that have the capacity to fight free radicals and prevent oxidative stress, protecting our cells. Strongly colored foods such as blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, strawberries, and red grapes also contain anthocyanins in lower amounts. Acai contains about 10 times more antioxidants than red grapes. Acai also contains heart friendly fats (monounsaturated) and dietary fiber that promote heart and colon health.
Enthusiasts claim the Acai berry has lots of benefits such as weight loss, improved digestion, detoxify the body, boost immunity, enhance vision, reduce cholesterol levels, improve arthritis and cancer, and improve overall health.Below is some of the research on Acai.
J Agric Food Chem 2006 Nov 1;54(22):8604-10.
Antioxidant capacity and other bioactivities of the freeze-dried Amazonian palm berry, Euterpe oleraceae mart. (acai).
Acai has been demonstrated to exhibit significantly high antioxidant capacity in vitro, therefore may have many possible benefits.
In this study, the antioxidant capacities of freeze-dried acai fruit pulp/skin powder (OptiAcai) were evaluated.
Results found that acai berry has exceptional activity against superoxide in the superoxide scavenging (SOD) assay, by far the highest of any fruit or vegetable tested to date. Acai was also found to be a potential cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and COX-2 inhibitor.
Nutrition Journal 2011, 10:45
Effects of Açai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) berry preparation on metabolic parameters in a healthy overweight population: A pilot study
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of açai fruit pulp on risk factors for metabolic disorders in overweight subjects. Although several studies have been conducted in vitro and with animals, little is known about the potential health benefits in humans aside from an increase in plasma anti-oxidant capacity. Metabolic syndrome is a condition which is defined by a cluster of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and/or type-2 diabetes. Preliminary studies indicate that a reduction in reactive oxygen species can assist in the normalization of the metabolic pathways involved in this syndrome.
This study was conducted with 10 overweight adults who took 100 g açai pulp twice daily for 1 month. At the end of the study, measurements of fasting plasma glucose, insulin, cholesterol, triglycerides, exhaled (breath) nitric oxide metabolites (eNO) and plasma levels of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were obtained.
Results: This study shows that compared to baseline there were reductions in fasting glucose and insulin levels following the 30 day treatment (both p < 0.02). Total cholesterol was also significantly reduced. There was no effect found on blood pressure.
Conclusions: consumption of açai fruit pulp reduced levels of selected markers of metabolic disease risk in overweight adults, indicating that further studies are warranted.
2010 Jul-Aug;26(7-8):804-10. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2009.09.007. Epub 2009 Dec 22.
Diet supplementation with acai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) pulp improves biomarkers of oxidative stress and the serum lipid profile in rats.
The purpose of the study was to investigate the antioxidant potential and hypocholesterolemic effects of acai in rats fed a standard or hypercholesterolemic diet.
Results: Animals that were fed the hypercholesterolemic diet presented increased levels of total and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and decreased levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Supplementing the diet of this group with acai caused a hypocholesterolemic effect by reducing total and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
Conclusions: These results suggest that the consumption of acai improves antioxidant status and has a hypocholesterolemic effect in an animal model of dietary-induced hypercholesterolemia.
Safety and Dosage
Acai appears to be a safe product when consumed in moderate amounts. Acai can be consumed raw, in tablet form, in beverages such as juice, smoothies or energy drinks, or in other food products such as jelly. It has not been known to interact with other supplements, or medications. There is no information on its safety during pregnancy or breastfeeding so i’d best to avoid its consumption.
Conclusions
Since the 1990′s antioxidants have become a popular subject and have been added to pretty much any food you can think of and promoted in hundreds of different ways.
Today antioxidants are added to breakfast cereals, sports bars, energy drinks, processed foods, and are promoted as additives that can prevent heart disease, cancer, cataracts, memory loss, among many others.
Lets take a look at what “antioxidant” even means. When we refer to a product as an antioxidant, we are claiming it has the potential to fight and destroy free radicals. Free radicals, also known as reactive oxidant species, are capable of damaging cells and genetic material in our bodies. The body generates free radicals every day as a byproduct of the food we metabolize or the sunlight that is absorbed through the skin. Any molecule can become a free radical by gaining or loosing an electron, which leaves an uncoupled electron in that molecule. The uncoupled electron becomes very reactive and can start a chain reaction. Chain reactions can cause more damage to our cells than individual free radicals. Antioxidants can stabilize these molecules, preventing them from damaging our cells. In other words, products are called antioxidants because they have the capacity to donate an electron.
Now lets talk about Acai. There is not a whole lot of evidence in humans to support Acai as a “superfood” that can detoxify, boost our immune system, improve digestion, much less arthritis or cancer. There are small studies that have shown Acai to be beneficial for weight loss in overweight individuals and reduce cholesterol levels as well. Studies have also shown that Acai contains extremely high levels of “antioxidant” properties which could potentially be beneficial for humans, but has yet to be seen. Overall I think Acai is a very healthy product that may provide certain health benefits when consumed, but it’s far from being a miraculous food that can cure diseases.
Questions and Answers
What are the benefits of taking Acai berry?
Acai berry has enormous antioxidant properties. These properties have yet to translate into clear health benefits in any large clinical trial in humans. Certain evidence suggests that Acai berry produces weight loss in overweight individuals and reduces total cholesterol levels.
Are there any known interactions with Acai berry?
There aren’t any reported interactions to date which makes Acai likely safe to consume with other products.
Are there any side effects with Acai berry?
There are no reports of any serious side effects, allergic reactions have been reported
Posted on Dr. Julian in Suppements
