The health benefits of acai berry. Natural. News) Acai berry has been cherished by the Amazonian people for centuries. This unique berry has an extraordinary amount of antioxidants that protect the tissues and cells of the body. The acai berry has a wide array of phytonutrients that make it one of the most well publicized superfoods among health enthusiasts. Acai berries grow on palm trees around the Amazon River regions. · Superfoods: 11 berries to improve your health They may or may not perform miracles, but these wonder fruits are packed with nutrition. · If you're interested in herbal medicine, you might have heard of the acai berry, the fruit of a palm tree, also known as Euterpe oleraceae, that's native. · WebMD examines the health benefits of acai berry, known as a “superfood” because of its antioxidant qualities. The trees grow up to 4. The berries are dark purple and look similar to blueberries. They contain powerful polyphenolic anthocyanin compounds such as resveratrol, cyanidin- 3- galactoside (C3. G), ferulic acid, delphinidin and petunidin. They also contain proanthocyanidin tannins such as epicatechin, protocatechuic acid and ellagic acid. Acai berries are extraordinarily rich in antioxidants and have a very high ORAC score (Oxygen Radical Absorbency Capacity) that is far superior to any other form of fruit that has been officially tested and categorized. It is also rich in key B vitamins, electrolytes and trace minerals that are necessary for reducing inflammation and improving energy levels. Acai berries and cancer: Free radical damage is one of the leading causes for accelerated aging and cancer cell formation. When cells are exposed to heavy amounts of free radicals without sufficient cell signaling processes, they develop genetic mutations that replicate abnormally. This constant bombardment of free radicals is one of the leading factors in cancer cell formation and proliferation. Anthocyanins are what give certain fruits and vegetables their dark blue or purplish pigments. This color is derived through very unique double bond structures that provide intense antioxidant protection from the detrimental effects of long- term UV light exposure for these fruits and vegetables. Scientists have found over 6. The most common form is C3. G, which has been shown to upregulate genes that provide more radiation and free radical protection in the body. A 2. 00. 6 study done at the University of Florida showed that acai extract was able to trigger the apoptotic death switch in 8. Compounds that show great effects such as this in cell culture models oftentimes have great effects in human studies. This is attributed to the large amounts of C3. G and other anthocyanins and their profound effect on cellular genetics. Acai berries and the immune system: The antioxidants in acai berries have a profound effect at reducing the oxidative stress that foreign invading microorganisms and environmental toxins produce. They also help the immune system to function at a higher level and increase their strength of attack against these opportunistic microbes. The acai berry also contains a unique polysaccharide fraction called arabinogalactan. This polysaccharide is a specific carbohydrate that has been shown to induce robust T cell stimulatory activity. The largest polysaccharides from acai were the most active immunologically. They activated both myeloid and T cells and increased IL- 1. Native to South and Central America, the açaí palm is most commonly found in regularly flooded regions of rainforest and often forms large groves along lowland. There are many bogus claims about Acai berry. This article distinguishes between the hype and the incredible health-giving benefits of Acai. Amazon Thunder produces and sells quality Acai berries and acai berry diet juice products. It’s a healthy & 100% pure Acai juice and Improve Overall Health. This improved T cell activity improves the body's fight against infections. Acai berry recommendations: It is important to remember that acai does contain fructose sugar, as all fruits and berries do. For optimal health, we want to consume very low amounts of fructose and high amounts of antioxidants. This is why consuming an organic, minimally processed acai berry extract or powder that has very small amounts of sugar and is in its purest possible form is most effective. Be sure that the company you purchase from has a Certificate of Analysis verifying its genuine and unadulterated state. It should also be wildcrafted, meaning that it is harvested in its native state in Brazil. Typical dosages should range between 1 and 2 grams per day for a maintenance dosage. If you have a metabolic disease and are using acai as one of your key antioxidants, then higher dosages in the 5- 1. Sources for this article include: http: //www. About the author: Dr David Jockers is a Maximized Living doctor and owns and operates Exodus Health Center in Kennesaw, Georgia where he specializes in functional nutrition, functional medicine and corrective chiropractic care to get to the underlying cause of major health problems. His website features great articles on natural health and incredible recipes. He is the author of the best- selling book Super. Charge Your Brain - the complete guide to radically improve your mood, memory and mindset. He has over 5. 0,0. Primal Health movement. Dr. Jockers is also available for long distance consultations and health coaching to help you beat disease and reach your health goals. For more information got to www. Açaí palm - Wikipedia. The açaí palm (Portuguese: [aˌsaˈi] (listen), from Tupi- Guaraniasaí; [2]Euterpe oleracea) is a species of palm tree in the genus Euterpe cultivated for its fruit and hearts of palm. Its name comes from the Portuguese adaptation of the Tupian word ïwaca'i, '[fruit that] cries or expels water'. Global demand for the fruit has expanded rapidly in recent years, and açaí is now cultivated for that purpose primarily. Euterpe edulis (juçara) is a closely related species which is now the primary source of hearts of palm.[3]Euterpe oleracea is mostly native to Brazil and Trinidad and northern South America, mainly in swamps and floodplains. Açaí palms are tall, slender palms growing to more than 2. Harvesting and uses[edit]The fruit, commonly known as açaí berry,[5] is a small, round, black- purple drupe about 2. The exocarp of the ripe fruits is a deep purple color, or green, depending on the kind of açaí and its maturity. The mesocarp is pulpy and thin, with a consistent thickness of 1 mm (0. It surrounds the voluminous and hard endocarp, which contains a single large seed about 7–1. The seed makes up about 8. Two crops of fruit are produced each year and is harvested during the dry season between July and December.[citation needed]. A grove of açaí palms in Brazil. Separation of açaí pulp from seeds in market Belém, Pará, Brazil. In a study of three traditional Caboclo populations in the Brazilian Amazon, açaí palm was described as the most important plant species because the fruit makes up a major component of their diet, up to 4. In 2. 00. 5, an article published by Greenpeace International stated that “the tasty dark violet wine of açaí is the most important non- wood forest product in terms of money from the river delta of the Amazon.”[7] A 2. Los Angeles Times article noted that while açaí has been acclaimed by some sources as a renewable resource that can provide a sustainable livelihood for subsistence harvesters without damaging the Amazon Rainforest, conservationists worry that açaí could succumb to the destructive agribusiness model of clear- cut lands, sprawling plantations, and liberal application of pesticides and fertilizer.[8] Although most açaí is grown conventionally, the US company Sambazon established USDA Organic certification for their açaí palm plantations in 2. Cultivars[edit]Few named cultivars exist, and varieties differ mostly in the nature of the fruit: 'Branco' is a rare variety local to the Amazon estuary in which the berries do not change color but remain green when ripe. This is believed to be due to a recessive gene since of 'Branco' palm seeds only about 3. It has less iron and fewer antioxidants but more oil, and many believe it to have a superior taste and digestibility to purple açaí.[1. BRS- Para Dwarf' was developed by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Agency. It grows to at most 5–7 meters tall, fruits sooner (3 years from seed), and produces a larger seed yielding 2. Other uses[edit]Apart from the use of its fruit as food or beverage, the açaí palm has other commercial uses. Leaves may be made into hats, mats, baskets, brooms and roof thatch for homes, and trunk wood, resistant to pests, for building construction.[1. Tree trunks may be processed to yield dietary minerals.[1. The palm heart is widely exploited as a delicacy.[1. Comprising 8. 0% of the fruit mass, açaí seeds may be ground for livestock food or as a component of organic soil for plants. Planted seeds are used for new palm tree stock, which, under the right growing conditions, can require months to form seedlings.[1. The seeds are a source of polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids.[1. Nutritional content[edit]A powdered preparation of freeze- dried açaí fruit pulp and skin was reported to contain (per 1. The carbohydrate portion included 4. The powder was also shown to contain (per 1. C, 2. 60 mg calcium, 4. U vitamin A, as well as aspartic acid and glutamic acid; the amino acid content was 7. The fat content of açaí consists of oleic acid (5. Açaí also contains beta- sitosterol (7. Food product[edit]In the general consumer market, açaí is sold as frozen pulp, juice, or an ingredient in various products from beverages, including grain alcohol, smoothies, foods, cosmetics and supplements. In Brazil, it is commonly eaten as açaí na tigela. Dietary supplement[edit]In 2. The proliferation of various açaí supplement companies often misused celebrity names like Oprah Winfrey and Rachael Ray to promote açaí weight loss pills online.[2. Marketers of these products made unfounded claims that açaí and its antioxidant qualities provide a variety of health benefits, none of which has scientific confirmation to date. False claims include reversal of diabetes and other chronic illnesses, as well as expanding size of the penis and increasing men's sexual virility.[2. As of 2. 01. 5, there are no scientifically controlled studies providing proof of any health benefits from consuming açaí. No açaí products have been evaluated by the FDA, and their efficacy is doubtful.[2. Specifically, there is no scientific evidence that açaí consumption affects body weight, promotes weight loss or has any positive health effect.[2. According to the Washington, D. C. based Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) thousands of consumers have had trouble stopping recurrent charges on their credit cards when they cancel free trials of açai- based products.[2. Even some web sites purporting to warn about açai- related scams are themselves perpetrating scams.[2. In late 2. 00. 8, lawyers for The Oprah Winfrey Show began investigating statements from supplement manufacturers who alleged that frequent Oprah guest Dr. Mehmet Oz had recommended their product or açai in general for weight loss.[2. Polyphenols and antioxidant activity in vitro[edit]The oil compartments in açaí fruit contain polyphenols such as procyanidin oligomers and vanillic acid, syringic acid, p- hydroxybenzoic acid, protocatechuic acid, and ferulic acid, which were shown to degrade substantially during storage or exposure to heat.[2. Although these compounds are under study for potential health effects, there remains no substantial evidence that açaí polyphenols have any effect in humans.[2. A comparative analysis from in vitro studies reported that açaí has intermediate polyphenol content and antioxidant potency among 1. A powdered preparation of freeze- dried açaí fruit pulp and skin was shown to contain cyanidin 3- O- glucoside and cyanidin 3- O- rutinoside as major anthocyanins; [3. The powdered preparation was also reported to contain twelve flavonoid- like compounds, including homoorientin, orientin, taxifolin deoxyhexose, isovitexin, scoparin, as well as proanthocyanidins (1. The anthocyanins of fruit likely have relevance to antioxidant capacity only in the plant's natural defensive mechanisms[3. The Linus Pauling Institute and European Food Safety Authority state that dietary anthocyanins and other flavonoids have little or no direct antioxidant food value following digestion.[3. Unlike controlled test tube conditions, the fate of anthocyanins in vivo shows they are poorly conserved (less than 5%), with most of what is absorbed existing as chemically modified metabolites destined for rapid excretion.[2. When the entire scientific literature to date and putative health claims of açaí are assessed, experts concluded in 2. Internet marketing than of scientific substance.[2. Juice blend studies[edit]Various studies have been conducted that analyze the antioxidant capacity of açaí juice blends to pure fruit juices or fruit pulp. Açaí juice blends contain an undisclosed percentage of açaí. When three commercially available juice mixes containing unspecified percentages of açaí juice were compared for in vitro antioxidant capacity against red wine, tea, six types of pure fruit juice, and pomegranate juice, the average antioxidant capacity was ranked lower than that of pomegranate juice, Concord grape juice, blueberry juice, and red wine. The average was roughly equivalent to that of black cherry or cranberry juice, and was higher than that of orange juice, apple juice, and tea.[3. The medical watchdog website Quackwatch noted that "açaí juice has only middling levels of antioxidants — less than that of Concord grape, blueberry, and black cherry juices, but more than cranberry, orange, and apple juices." The extent to which polyphenols as dietary antioxidants may promote health is unknown, as no credible evidence indicates any antioxidant role for polyphenols in vivo.[3. Oil phytochemicals[edit]Obtained from the fruit, açaí oil is rich in phenolic compounds similar in profile to the pulp itself, such as vanillic acid, syringic acid, p- hydroxybenzoic acid, protocatechuic acid and ferulic acid as well as (+)- catechin and numerous procyanidinoligomers.[1. It is green in color, has a bland aroma and is high in oleic and palmiticfatty acids.[4. The oil may be used for cooking, as a salad dressing or in cosmetics as shampoos, soaps or skin moisturizers.[citation needed]Other uses[edit]Orally administered açaí has been tested as a contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging of the gastrointestinal system.[4. Its anthocyanins have also been characterized for stability as a natural food coloring agent.[4. References[edit]^ ab. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families^açai: definition of açai in Oxford dictionary - American English (US)^Cardoso, S. R. S.; Eloy, N. B. June 4, 2. 00. 0). Genetic differentiation of Euterpe edulis Mart. AFLP analysis"(PDF). Molecular Ecology. Retrieved February 2, 2. Euterpe oleracea". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations". Retrieved February 2, 2. Marcason, W. (2. 00. What is the Açaí Berry and Are There Health Benefits?". Journal of the American Dietetic Association. PMID 1. 98. 57. 63. Murrieta RS, Dufour DL, Siqueira AD (1. Food consumption and subsistence in three Caboclo populations on Marajo Island, Amazonia, Brazil". Human Ecology. 2. A: 1. 01. 87. 79.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
August 2017
Categories |