Acai Health Benefits

Acai (pronounced: ah-sigh-EE ) is a fruit that grows on the Acai Palm Trees in the Amazon Rainforest of Brazil. The Acai berry is small in size (smaller than a grape) and is dark purple in color. Acai is mostly seed, covered in a small amount of pulp. In fact, about 90% of the Acai berry is seed - it is important to note that no one eats the Acai berry seed.

acai berries

What makes Acai so special?

While Acai may be small in size, it packs a nutritional punch unlike any other food in the world...

  • "Rich in antioxidants and amino acids, açaí is thought to be one of the most nutritional fruits of the Amazon basin." New York Times, 8/4/2004
  • Acai has 10 Times the antioxidant power of red grapes and twice that of blueberries
  • The Freeze Dried Acai used in the Perfect Acai has 9x the antioxidant power of blueberries!

While other sites make claims about Acai curing every disease known to man, we would never make those claims. What is clear is that Acai has tremendous health properties and may be one of the best possible foods you can eat to stay healthy.

What will taking Acai do for me?

The nutrients in Acai may help:

  • Maintain the healthy function of bodily systems and organs
  • Increase energy, libido and stamina
  • Promote healthy, glowing skin and hair
  • Promote healthy sleep
  • Support immune system
  • Act as a powerful anti-inflammatory
  • Help reduce pain and soreness
  • Help rejuvenate your mind, body and spirit

How can the Acai Berry provide all those health benefits?

The Acai berry has an incredible nutritional profile, which explains why the tiny Acai berry can provide so many benefits...

Incredible Antioxidant and Anthocyanins Levels

Simply put, Acai is one of the highest antioxidant fruits in the world. Acai has 10 times the antioxidant level of grapes and twice that of blueberries. Acai has 10 to 30 times the Anthocyanins (a powerful antioxidant) of red wine. The ORAC score (a measure of antioxidant power) for 100 grams of freeze dried Acai powder is over 70,000. An almost unbelievable number when you consider most of the population consumes less than 1,000 ORAC units a day.

Healthy Fats

The Acai berry is very rich in healthy Omega fats. Nearly 50% of the Acai berry is fat - with 74% of the fat coming from healthy unsaturated fats such as Omega 3, Omega 6 and Omega 9.

Excellent source of Plant Sterols

Three plant sterols (or photosterols) have been identified in Acai: B-sitosterol, campesterol and sigmasterol. Photosterols have been shown to have numerous health benefits for maintaining healthy heart and digestive function.

Rich in Amino Acids and Protein

7.59% of the weight of the Acai pulp is from amino acids; 19 different amino acids have been identified in Acai. Since amino acids are the building blocks of protein, it is no surprise that you have over 8 grams of protein in a 100 gram serving of Acai.

Good Source of Fiber

For a fruit, Acai has a strong fiber profile. There are about 27 grams of fiber in every 100 grams of freeze dried Acai powder.

More to be discovered

Research on the nutritional makeup of Acai is on going and there are many aspects of the fruit that have not been characterized yet. We know there must be undiscovered antioxidants in Acai, because even though it is high in Anthocyanins - they are not high enough to account for the incredible ORAC scores.

Where can I get the Acai Berry?

Due to the high Omega fat content the Acai Berry is very perishable and spoils within about 24 hours of being picked from the Acai Palm tree. For this reason, fresh Acai berries are only an option if you happen to live in the Amazon Rainforest.

For the rest of us, fresh Acai is not an option. The good news is Acai pulp can be dehydrated into a powder and freeze dried. This powder can then be put into capsules to make pure Acai supplements that maintain all the nutritional properties of fresh Acai - just in a concentrated form.

If you are looking for 100% pure and Organic Acai you may want to try our Perfect Acai line of products.