Posts tagged: Brazilian Acai Fruit

What’s Inside the Brazilian Acai Fruit

The Oprah Winfrey Show caused a massive furor around the Brazilian acai fruit. Ever since Dr. Nicholas Perricone talked about the acai berry on Oprah, this 2-centimeter purple fruit has sparked interest in every health-conscious American. What exactly is inside this berry that’s being hailed as the number one superfood on the planet?

Staggering antioxidant and anthocyanin levels The antioxidant content of the Brazilian acai fruit is 10 times than that of grapes and twice that of blueberries. Anthocyanins in acai are up to 30 times more than that of red wine. The ORAC score for 100 grams of freeze dried acai is over 50,000 – a number that no other fruit or vegetable can even come close to.

A complete range of vitamins and minerals The acai berry is a rich source of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C and E. Potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper and zinc are also present in the acai fruit.

Healthy unsaturated fat Almost 50% of the Brazilian acai fruit is fat – and 74% of that is Omega 3, Omega 6 and Omega 9 fatty acid that’s good for your heart.

Strong fiber profile For every 100 grams of freeze dried acai, your body receives around 14 grams of fiber.

Excellent source of amino acids and plant sterols Acai contains 19 different amino acids, supplying your body with more than 8 grams of protein for every 100 grams of acai. Three plant sterols that maintain a healthy heart and digestive system can be found in the acai berry: beta-sitosterol, campesterol and sigmasterol.

The Brazilian acai fruit is 90% seed and 10% pulp. Only the pulp and skin are edible, but some unscrupulous manufacturers are adding crushed seeds to their acai products. Stay away from any acai drink, capsule or powder that has seeds in it.

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categories acai berry | Acai Berry | datetime January 5, 2010 10:38 am | comments Comments (0)

Acai Palm Tree: a Valuable Component of the Brazilian Way of Life

The acai palm tree is one of eight palm species classified under the genus Euterpe. Pronounced “ah-sigh-ee”, acai grows abundantly in the floodplains and swamps of Central and South America where the tropical climate is friendly to this blackish purple drupe.

Acai palm trees are grown for their fruits and hearts. While it has been a staple food for many years in Brazil, the acai berry has become extremely popular in the US in recent years that global demand has gone through the roof.

Similar to grapes, the acai palm tree produces berries in bunches, going from a green color to a dark rich purple as they ripen. Acai fruits are round, with a single large seed enclosed in a fibrous pulp covered with an oily skin coating. One acai palm tree can produce four to eight bunches a year, with each bunch weighing up to 6 kilograms.

For hundreds of years, Brazilians have been using oil from the acai fruit to treat diarrhea. They also add shredded acai rind to topical wash solutions for skin ulcers. In Peru, acai seeds are ground, toasted and applied to fevers. In Colombia, the acai, also called naidi, is a very popular gastronomic delight.

Along the banks of the Amazon River, natives consume acai like water. They extract the juice by first soaking the fruit in water. Once the skin is softened, the acai is squeezed and strained to produce a dark purple liquid. Acai extracts are consumed as fresh fruit juice or added to ice cream, liquor and sweet snacks. Amazonians drink up to 2 liters of acai juice per day.

Since the time of tribal wars among Amazon warriors to modern Rio de Janeiro, juice from the acai berry has been and remains an important part of South American diet.

The secret behind those beautiful Brazilian bodies is bunched up there in the acai palm tree.

 

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categories acai berry | Acai Berry | datetime December 22, 2009 8:42 pm | comments Comments (0)