Wednesday, July 1, 2009

The Health Enhancing Advantages Of The Acai Berry

By Tony K Graham

The acai berry has only been presented for universal ingestion for about the past 5 years. Because this berry is particularly fragile it has only been in the past years that processing methods have allowed this fruit to be presented outside of Brazil.

The acai berry is full of a variety of good for your health nutrients. It is believed that this berry can be beneficial for a host of ailments including obesity, heart disease and the prevention of cancer. Few scientific studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of the tangible berry but many studies have established the efficiency of the nutrients contained within the berry.

The acai berry is plentiful in the deep purple pigment that gives colors to foods such as blueberries, red wine and purple cabbage. This color is really a vigorous antioxidant called anthocyanins. Purified anthocyanins were demonstrated to be positive in reducing the body fat of laboratory mice in a controlled study. This central antioxidant is also believed to be beneficial to heart health and the health of the whole cardiovascular system. Red wine is also high in anthocyanins but the acai berry actually contains 10 to 30 times more of this most important antioxidant than red wine.

Anthocyanins are exceedingly favorable for cardiovascular health. Studies show that it improves blood circulation, prevents blood clots, relaxes blood vessels and prevents atherosclerosis. Further studies have concluded that anthocyanins also have antiviral and antiallergenic properties and it may be likely that they can play a part to cancer prevention by blocking carcinogens on a molecular level and stimulating tumor cell death.

Acai berries contain many healthy fats that are comparable in arrangement to the fats from olive oil. They contain a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid called oleic acid, and a polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid called linoleic acid. Both of these fatty acids are advantageous to cardio health because they lower the LDL cholesterol and maintain the HDL cholesterol. Healthy fats also encourage the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, which are necessary to good health.

The fatty acids found in the acai berry penetrate the cell membranes and make them more supple. This allows for hormones, neurotransmitters and insulin receptors to work more competently, which in turn greatly reduces inflammation, which is a leading cause of the problems normally connected with aging, including wrinkles, gray hair and dementia.

Anti-aging is perhaps the most foremost advantage of the nutrients found in this berry. The vital nutrients such as the antioxidants, the essential and healthy fatty acids and the 19 amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein, are all beneficial in slowing the aging process.

The acai berry is truly an incredibly favorable dietetic discovery. This little berry has one of the utmost antioxidant capacities of any food, the beneficial fat content is exceptional and the protein and fiber just contribute more to its outstanding nutritional profile. The acai berry is in fact an astonishing nutritional finding.

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