Acai berry research is just starting to get into gear now. For such an obscure plant, found only deep in the amazon, this is actually quite an achievement! Of course, having hundreds of celebrities and thousands of people of high standing in North America all insist that the acai berry has helped boost their metabolism and/or helped them lose weight may have something to do with this success. No matter where you look on TV, in magazines and on the internet, there are multiple ads making these claims. There are innumerable reports available on research of the acai berry. The acai berry is harvested in Brazil, and a few other countries in South America, from the acai palm, which grows on the banks of the amazon river. Naturally, Brazil is the head runner in the farming and production of this berry and its products.
There are so many different reports, almost all claiming something different on what the antioxidant value of the acai berry is. One report states that it is lower in antioxidants than the list of fruits already on the high-antioxidant value list. Another report denies this fact and says it is equivalent or higher in value than the fruits on this list. Actual product marketing naturally shows it to be much higher still.
Fruits are always healthier, with many more nutrients in them, when eaten fresh. However, since the acai berry grows very far away and in climates that are not present in the United States, getting it in this form is impossible for Americans. So the Brasilian producers have found ways to freeze-dry it and powder it, but the people who are manufacturing it this way are destroying some of the nutritional value by adding to it. They are trying to give it a longer shelf life by adding ingredients to preserve it. They are trying to stretch it for bigger profits by adding ingredients to bulk it up.
Since the acai berry cannot be grown in the United States and has to be exported, it is questionable if the US FDA will approve it deny it. Why should they, when it can’t even be grown here? Right now distribution and approval of exporting the berry is under the jurisdiction of the Brazilian government. Since the FDA is not getting involved in the production of this berry at this time, there will not likely be any forth coming official reports from them on the real nutritional value of this fruit.
Research at the University of Florida has recently shown that the effects of acai on leukemia cells has had a very positive reaction. It seems that instead of actually destroying the cells, it has caused a reaction that causes the cells to destroy themselves… Some medical researchers are claiming that their studies will show that the acai berry is going to be the new wonder cure for almost every ailment the human race suffers from… Assuming other scientists can reproduce these results.
Several manufacturers of products containing plant sterols have just been authorized by the US FDA to add to their labels that these products help prevent coronary heart disease. Acai berry is well known to be very high in plant sterol content, and so far this has been the one health claim that acai can make but no one has countered.
