MonaVie - Acai Berry Product

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Unlock the power of the Amazon and it’s Acai berry — known simply as nature’s perfect food — as well as the amazing power of Celadrin, in the MonaVie health drink. The daily supplement nature intended.

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Not all açai is ethically equal, according to one distributor, but managed the right way the industry for this Amazonian superfruit could protect the endangered rainforest and bring about positive social development in the region.

Açai berries (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) have long formed part of the staple diet of Indian tribes in the Amazon basin. With the appearance of a purple grape and taste of a tropical berry, it has been shown to have powerful antioxidant properties thanks to a high level of anthocyanins, pigments that are also present in red wine.

In the late 1990s, açai began its appearance in North America due in large part to trendy juice bars and nutraceutical beverages. This trend looks set to grow: in November, Mintel identified the “Amazonia movement” as a key trend for 2007.

According to Jon Wisniewski, general manager of pulp extractor Nu Fruits of the Amazon, the fruit has a potential role in protecting the region’s eco-diversity by boosting the local economy and social conditions.

While Wisniewski acknowledges that exporting açai from the Amazon to other parts of the world can rack up significant food miles, he told NutraIngredients-USA.com that this may be a worthwhile sacrifice towards sustaining an industry that can give locals motivation to protect the forest that is a vital organ of the world’s ecosystem.

The World Wildlife Fund estimates the Amazon rainforest holds approximately 30 percent of the world’s plant species. The Amazon River is also the world’s largest water basin with a flow volume equal to 20 percent of the joint volume of all rivers on the planet.

Yet according to Brazilian government estimates, the Amazon forest will have lost 25 percent of its original area by 2020. This would be disastrous not only for the ecosystem of the region, but for the world’s climate.

Logging, and the unsustainable farming that leads to more logging, has been erasing large swaths of the rainforest as migrants exploit the land as a means to earning a living. Cattle ranching and soybean farming are the two main industries for which trees are cleared.

And, according to Wisniewski, until locals are given a financial and social incentive to keep the forest standing, no amount of rules and regulations can stop this destruction.

While some ethically responsible suppliers are willing to pay a premium price for the berries to ensure they are being harvested in an environmentally and socially sustainable way, not all businesses are so bothered about sustainability, he said.

Wisniewski said a potential solution to this problem could be açai plantations. To date, the berry has only been wild harvested and bought by the basket by manufacturing plants from river dwellers.

“We have the potential to take this fruit and breed it and create something exceptional,” he said. “That’s our end goal.”

Nu Fruits of the Amazon says it support manufacturers that pay a higher wage to their workers than others, or that give back to their workers through projects such as running a school for the worker’s children.

“At the end of the day Brazil’s biggest problem is corruption and the only way you can change that is through education,” said Wisniewski, whose career has included a spell in the country’s forestry industry.

Nu only works with suppliers who work via ethical means, or who are on their way to establishing such practices. In turn, the company has developed an ‘Amazon-friendly’ stamp which some clients use on their products.

“Ethical products can command a premium,” said Wisniewski. “However, the trick is to feed that back to the people where it is meant to have the effect.”

While the Amazonian acai industry has the potential to save parts of the rainforest by ensuring it does not get cut down, Wisniewski does fear that if demand increases beyond a certain level it will have a negative effect on the locals who rely on the fruit for consumption.

In the capital city of Belem, where much of the company’s acai is sourced, an estimated 400,000 litres of acai is consumed per day by the city’s 1.2 million inhabitants.

“Most exporters don’t care and just figure locals can pay more for,” Wisniewski. “But the fact is that locals can’t necessarily afford it.”

Based primarily in New Zealand, Nu was established in 2004. In the first year of business it exported 100 tonnes of acai pulp, and currently ships between 400 and 500 tonnes per year. Wisniewski expected this to double in the near future.

Writer
Clarisse Douaud
Source
Decision News Media SAS

Acai, a purple wonder-berry which has twice the cancer-beating antioxidants of blueberries, is already a fashionable food in the United States, where scientists recently found it destroyed four-fifths of cancer cells.

It has already built up a band of celebrity fans, including Oprah Winfrey, the Formula 1 racing driver Rubens Barrichello, tennis star Andre Agassi, the singer Sting and former model Gisele Bundchen.

Pronounced ah-sah-ee, the grape-sized berries will hit Scottish supermarket shelves in June when Waitrose opens its first stores north of the Border.

Currently, it is available only in freeze-dried form at specialist shops such as Brazilian Sensation in Edinburgh, which claims to be Britain’s largest mail-order supplier of the wonder-berry.

“Acai is at the same point as coffee was ten years ago - just about to become really big,” said John Falconer, the owner of Brazilian Sensation. “The number of orders is increasing daily as word spreads about the health benefits.”

Acai berries also have the health-giving omega 6 and omega 9 fatty acids, rarely found in fruit, are low in calories and contain fibre, calcium and vitamins. Doctors say they help to fight leukaemia and premature ageing and the berries are even believed to increase libido. A study by the University of Florida showed that extracts from the berries triggered a self-destruct response in up to 86 per cent of cultured leukaemia cells tested.

Greenpeace and other environmental groups are fans of the fruit, because it is providing an alternative industry to the tree-clearing activities of logging and forestry in its native Brazil.

The first bottled juice version, made by a firm called Happy Monkey, will be sold by Waitrose from June - the month it opens two stores in Edinburgh.

Hamish McCall, the managing director of Happy Monkey, created the drink after a holiday in Rio de Janeiro, where he spotted locals drinking a “weird purple, gloopy” concoction.

Although it has become a mainstay of small and trendy juice bars, the Waitrose deal will see it transformed into a nationally available drink to health-conscious shoppers.

In the US, acai juice is now a £2.5 million-a-year industry, after being sold for the first time just over five years ago.

Mr McCall explained: “The acai is arguably the single most nutritionally beneficial fruit on earth.

“People are becoming increasingly aware of what they are putting into their bodies.

“There are some hurdles to overcome,” he admitted. “No-one has heard of the acai berry - and people can’t even pronounce its name - but it has a really distinctive taste which will appeal to a lot of people.”

Mr Falconer added that the freeze-dried version sold in his Edinburgh store could be used as an ingredient in everything from milk-shakes and sorbets to puddings and sauces. “It is very versatile,” he said.

ALASTAIR JAMIESON
CONSUMER AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT
news.scotsman.com

Cardiovascular Maintenance, Anthocyanins are cholesterol regulating compounds with well researched data (indicating their value in Cardiovascular support Elevated blood cholesterol is one of the major modifiable risk factors for coronary heart disease (5) and the leading cause of death in the US The fact is that 490,000 Americans die of Coronary Heart Diseases each year (3) with cost of over $60 billion annually in medical expenses and lost productivity ( 4) Therefore, regulating and reducing cholesterol through dietary means can contribute to prolonging life and reducing medical expenses.

Low cholesterol foods and exercise are only a part of the natural program to prevent and mitigate cardiovascular diseases. The consumption of foods rich in compounds that reduce cholesterol, reduce blood pressure and curry antioxidant protection completes the program. Acai is an excellent example of such a functional food that is now accessible to food, beverage and supplement markets in an economical and convenient form.

Calcium rich Acai also provides several cardiovascular health benefits. According to a research summary by the Just-Food.com editorial team. More than maintaining skeletal strength and reducing the impact of osteoporosis, studies have shown that people who suffer from high blood pressure often also have diets low in calcium, When calcium is added to their diet, blood pressure drops. Some research also suggest that calcium may help reduce LDL cholesterol levels. Also the lower risk of stroke, found in a study of 86,000 women, was attributed to calcium. Diets rich in calcium have also been linked to reduced occurrences of colon and breast cancer in various laboratory studies.

The generous amount of Vitamin E in Acai, twice the D.V., (Daily Value), is essential for regeneration of damaged tissue and as a protective antioxidant. Cancer prevention and Intestinal function: “Acai” high fiber content is very favorable to the consumers proper intestinal function, ” reports Dr. Herve Rogez , “Fiber accelerates the intestinal processes and has a very important role in avoiding colon cancer, The D.V. is 35g of fibers/adult a day, Acai consumers reach this dose very easily,” (2)

References (1)Claire Madden, VP Marketing at MarketResearch.com, (2) “Biochemical and Technical Studies on Acai” by Dr. Herve Rogez 2, Sofia Pascal 2, Jesus N.S. de Souza, Arlete R. Aquino & Raphaele Buxant Dept.. de Engenharia Quimica - Centro Tecnologico, Diaouiweir ria I niinnin, Beligica) (3) National Contor for Health Statictice. Annual summary of births, marriages, divorces, and deaths United States, 1993, Monthly vital statistics report-, vol 42 no 13. Hyattsville, MD: Public Health Service, 1594. (4) American Heart Association. Heart and stroke facts 1995 statistical supplement. Dallas, TX: American Heart Association, 1994, (5) National Cholesterol Education Program. Second report of the Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults Adult Treatment Panel II). BeM6sda National Heart, Lung

Alex Bellos travels to the Amazonian source of acai, Brazil’s favourite tipple for improving everything

Rio de Janeiro is the city that worships health and beauty and where the healthy and the beautiful drink acai. Pronounced ah-sah-yee, acai is more of a lifestyle option than a foodstuff; a magic fruit potion that fuels the hedonistic energy of Brazilian beach life. Shortly after I moved to Rio, I was told about the acais berry’s amazing nutritional properties: Brazilians believe it gives you strength, energy and is great for sex. A friend told me that when he was having difficulty in fathering a child, the first thing his doctor recommended was ‘drink lots of acai’. And it worked!’

I took my first sip at one of the juice bars that line the blocks by the beach. The berry juice is served half-frozen and its thick gloopiness means that you slurp it up with a spoon. This seems to accentuate its carnal, brutish aspect. As does the fact that the people who drink it are invariably nearly naked, in Speedo trunks or bikinis.

The way it looks is integral to its appeal. It is made from dark violet berries about the size of a raspberry; a deep, dense colour that seems weighted down by its nutritional secrets. It reflects no light and has the texture of mud. I wasn’t immediately sure about the taste, which was very sweet and medicinal. But by the end of the cup I was hooked. It is fruity with a chocolatey kick.

The nutritional breakdown of acai is prodigious. It has high levels of iron, calcium, carbohydrates, fibre and antioxidants. And energy. A small 100g cup has almost 300 calories. Combined with the mystique of its Amazonian origins, acai’s contents have made it the beverage of choice for Rio’s sporty elite.

Açaí is indigenous to the flood plains of the Amazon estuary. The acai palm regenerates with ease and in areas where human development has destroyed natural vegetation the first tree that grows in its place is acai. (Açaí palms cover an area equivalent to half the size of Switzerland.) In this region, its abundance and role as primary nutritional resource cannot be over-estimated: it is literally the fruit that has saved many poor families from starvation.

‘Açaí is the main food staple of river communities in the Amazon estuary,’ says the agronomist Oscar Nogueira. It is drunk for every meal - in much the same way as bread or rice is eaten in other cultures.

Having become an acai fan in Rio I was keen to visit Belém, the main city in the Amazon estuary and world centre of acai. If ever a city was so strongly defined by a single fruit, it’s Belém. There is a local saying: ‘Who arrives here and stops, drinks acai and stays.’ In Belém more of the fruit is drunk than milk. An estimated 200,000 litres of the purple liquid is consumed per day among a population of 1.3 million.

Açaí is highly perishable and the only way it gets to Rio is in frozen packages. In Belém, the fruit is always consumed fresh. Since it goes off within 24 hours, in order to service the population with fresh acai on a daily basis an enormous infrastructure has grown in Belém that employs an estimated 30,000 people.

The cycle starts in the rainforest. The acai palm has a long thin trunk up to 25m high and a clutch of branches at the top from which hang ribbon-like leaves. Hundreds of acai fruits dangle from branches in clusters that look like nests of bluebottles.

The fruit picking is done by hand. In the afternoons, river-dwellers scramble up the trees, cut off the branches and climb back down again exactly as they have done for hundreds of years. In the evening, boats containing baskets of acai leave the rainforest heading for Belém’s market, where they arrive in the middle of the night.

The acai market is a dockside next to the city market. By the early hours small boats have started arriving with baskets of the fruit which quickly fill the quay. By 3am men like Armando Ribeiro arrive.

Armando owns the Casa do Açaí, one of Belém’s 3,000 acai points, where the fruit is pulped,into juice. Armando buys several baskets of the best açai and takes it back to his premises, a small patio in a backstreet. When I arrive, shortly after 11am, Armando has been pulping the fruit for an hour. Customer demand for acai is at lunchtime, and they prepare it fresh. He pours the fruit into the pulping machine and keeps on re-pouring the discharge until the blend is perfect. He sells three versions; thick (£1), medium (60p) and dilute (40p).

In Belém, you are never more than a block away from an acai point. Wherever you look, your eye always finds a red acai sign. I find a bar and order a bowl. It is served like soup. The taste is almost unrecognisable from what I have become used to in Rio. The exotic sharpness and zesty kick is not there. The sensation is of a simple, neutered, bitter freshness. Açái is not a versatile fruit since it can only be stored frozen and cannot be cooked, so for the most part, it continues to be drunk just as the indians have drunk it for centuries.

For acai to catch on outside the Amazon, it needed a pioneer. That man was Carlos Gracie, the great-grandson of Scottish immigrants from Dumfries, who was born in Belém in 1902. In his early teens, a chance meeting with a Japanese immigrant led to his obsession with the martial art jiujitsu. In 1922 the Gracies moved to Rio and Carlos opened Brazil’s first jiujitsu academy.

When a shop near his Copacabana home specialising in obscure foods started to import frozen acai, he began to incorporate it into his diet and also to encourage all his jujitsu students to drink it. The jujitsu boys were pin-ups with the best bodies: everyone wanted to know what ‘miracle’ potion they were drinking. Soon Rio’s surfers became fans, and gradually the drink crossed over to become part of beach culture. By the early 1990s, no juice bar could exist without selling it.

The boom in acai over the last decade has had more effects than changing the eating habits of Rio’s body-obsessed men (and women). Scientists have discovered that acai is rich in anthocyanins, the group of chemicals in red wine that are believed to lower the risk of heart disease. Swig per swig, acai contains over 10 times more of them than red wine. It is also rich in essential fatty acids, calcium and vitamins. Açaí’s recent success is also changing the nature of agriculture in the Amazon estuary. Agronomists have been successful in developing ways of cultivating acai sustainably with high yield. In the last five years acai production has tripled and brought work to poor rural areas. Belém, now has more than 60 factories that export. ‘Açaí is the most promising product we have here for development,’ says de Jesus.

Açaí was an Amazonian secret that conquered Brazil. Whenever friends visit Rio they fall in love with the taste. I have lost count of the number of excited conversations about how we could export it around the world. I discovered recently that I’ve been beaten to it. A company in California now imports it to the US and next month Selfridges will introduce it to British palates. It may not be the same as sipping it fresh in Rio, but make no mistake, one day acai will conquer the globe.

Alex Bellos was the Guardian’s South American correspondent

Sunday April 18, 2004 The Observer

Phytochemicals characterize, or sum up the whole picture of the beneficial compounds found in fruits, vegetables, and certain teas. They are the protective living matter in which plants are able to thrive in some uncertain environments such as climate and insect infestations. When consumed by humans, these compounds act as antioxidants so vital to good health and longevity. Many studies suggest that the use of antioxidants may help in the fight against anti-aging, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and so many other age related degenerative diseases including ophthalmology.

Anthocyanins are some of the more potent forms of antioxidants. We have all heard of the “French Paradox”, how the people of France with their high fat diets and not uncommon unhealthy lifestyles are still below the percentage of related deaths from cardiovascular disease than many of the populations which exist today.

One reason may be that they consume large amounts of red wine. Wine, made from grapes have very high levels of the antioxidant anthocyanins. The polyphenols (anthocyanins) in red wine, are believed to mitigate the effects of a fatty diet and smoking. Anthocyanin, a polyphenol which is proven to reverse, halt, and improve the conditions of many age related diseases inflicted on the general population. Anthocyanins (flavonoids) found in various fruits have a unique chemical structure that makes them 6 to 8 times more potent than vitamin C.

One particular fruit, known as Acai (ah-Sa-E) contains the most highly concentrated forms of anthocyanins known thus far through intense research. The anthocyanin content in the Acai is proven to be 3.5 times the amount of that present in a glass of red wine, volume to volume when tested in an ORAL analysis ( measure of capacity).

Anthocyanins and their protective properties: Inflammation and Collagen: Anthocyanins neutralize enzymes that destroy connective tissue. Their antioxidant capacity prevents oxidants from damaging connective tissues and repair damaged proteins in the blood-vessel walls.

The Nervous System: By preventing tyrosine nitration, the anthocyanin properties in Acai may help protect against neurological diseases.

The primary anthocyanins in Acai known as Cyanidin-3-glucoside have been found to help in the reversal of age related neurological deficits.

Large and Small Blood-Vessels: Anthocyanins ability to counter oxidants make them a powerhouse in the fight against arteriosclerosis. Even in trace amounts, anthocyanins effectively protect against LDL oxidation. Anthocyanins protect the integrity of the endothelial cells that line blood vessel walls and help to maintain micro capillary integrity.

Diabetes: One of the serious diabetic complications is retinopathy, which in most cases can cause blindness. This condition occurs when the body attempts to repair leaking, damaged capillaries, but does so by over producing abnormal proteins. The protection of anthocyanins may help prevent these capillaries from leaking and to help prevent abnormal protein proliferation.

Eyesight: Anthocyanins may also help improve eyesight by numerous mechanisms. In the Second World War, British fighter pilots were found to have improved night vision. These findings were thought to be contributed by the large amounts of bilberry in the pilot’s diet. The effects of the improved night vision were not long lasting after the initial consumption of bilberry lasting just hours after initial consumption. With this new found advantage, the pilots would consume the bilberry fruits just prior to the mission.

Sources: Pigmentated fruits are known to carry the highest amounts of anthocyanins. Fruits that can be eaten with skin on, offer the highest value of anthocyanins. These fruits would consist of cherries, grapes, raspberries, blueberries, bilberry, and Acai to name a few.

Whole Foods Magazine The Hidden Secrets By: Jeffrey Bliss

Fans say the fruit (which comes to the U.S. as frozen pulp) not only tastes good, but also is good for you — packed with anthocyanins, the same antioxidants that give red wine its health benefits.

And, in a hat trick of health-bar chic, it’s good for the Amazon, too, because it’s collected by local families who can earn as much as $1,000 during the December-to-August harvest season (twice as much as they can usually make). “It gives them income and another land use besides cutting down the trees and raising cattle,” says Chris Kilham, who teaches ethnobotany at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

The Wall Street Journal April 18, 2003. By TATIANA BONCOMPAGNI

Published today in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the study showed extracts from acai (ah-SAH’-ee) berries triggered a self-destruct response in up to 86 percent of leukemia cells tested, said Stephen Talcott, an assistant professor with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

“Acai berries are already considered one of the richest fruit sources of antioxidants,” Talcott said. “This study was an important step toward learning what people may gain from using beverages, dietary supplements or other products made with the berries.”

He cautioned that the study, funded by UF sources, was not intended to show whether compounds found in acai berries could prevent leukemia in people.

“This was only a cell-culture model and we don’t want to give anyone false hope,” Talcott said. “We are encouraged by the findings, however. Compounds that show good activity against cancer cells in a model system are most likely to have beneficial effects in our bodies.”

Other fruits, including grapes, guavas and mangoes, contain antioxidants shown to kill cancer cells in similar studies, he said. Experts are uncertain how much effect antioxidants have on cancer cells in the human body, because factors such as nutrient absorption, metabolism and the influence of other biochemical processes may influence the antioxidants’ chemical activity.

Another UF study, slated to conclude in 2006, will investigate the effects of acai’s antioxidants on healthy human subjects, Talcott said. The study will determine how well the compounds are absorbed into the blood, and how they may affect blood pressure, cholesterol levels and related health indicators. So far, only fundamental research has been done on acai berries, which contain at least 50 to 75 as-yet unidentified compounds.

“One reason so little is known about acai berries is that they’re perishable and are traditionally used immediately after picking,” he said. “Products made with processed acai berries have only been available for about five years, so researchers in many parts of the world have had little or no opportunity to study them.”

Talcott said UF is one of the first institutions outside Brazil with personnel studying acai berries. Besides Talcott, UF’s acai research team includes Susan Percival, a professor with the food science and human nutrition department, David Del Pozo-Insfran, a doctoral student with the department and Susanne Mertens-Talcott, a postdoctoral associate with the pharmaceutics department of UF’s College of Pharmacy.

Acai berries are produced by a palm tree known scientifically as Euterpe oleracea, common in floodplain areas of the Amazon River, Talcott said. When ripe, the berries are dark purple and about the size of a blueberry. They contain a thin layer of edible pulp surrounding a large seed.

Historically, Brazilians have used acai berries to treat digestive disorders and skin conditions, he said. Current marketing efforts by retail merchants and Internet businesses suggest acai products can help consumers lose weight, lower cholesterol and gain energy.

“A lot of claims are being made, but most of them haven’t been tested scientifically,” Talcott said. “We are just beginning to understand the complexity of the acai berry and its health-promoting effects.”

In the current UF study, six different chemical extracts were made from acai fruit pulp, and each extract was prepared in seven concentrations.

Four of the extracts were shown to kill significant numbers of leukemia cells when applied for 24 hours. Depending on the extract and concentration, anywhere from about 35 percent to 86 percent of the cells died.

The UF study demonstrates that research on foods not commonly consumed in the United States is important, because it may lead to unexpected discoveries, said Joshua Bomser, an assistant professor of molecular nutrition and functional foods at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

But familiar produce items have plenty of health-giving qualities, he said.

“Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables is associated with decreased risk for many diseases, including heart disease and cancer,” said Bomser, who researches the effects of diet on chronic diseases. “Getting at least five servings a day of these items is still a good recommendation for promoting optimal health.”

The acai (ah-sigh-ee) berry has been around for thousands of years and not until the 1990s was it introduced to the western world. The acai berry was found to possess tremendous health properties. The acai berry was first used by the tribes of the Amazon jungle as a cure for various ailments. It is estimated that the indigenous tribes people routinely use up to 2,000 of the 3,000 known rainforest fruits for medicinal purposes.

The Amazon borders eight different countries and has the worlds largest river basin. Not only does the Amazon supply one fifth of the worlds freshwater, it has the highest diversity of birds and freshwater fish. The Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world where one third of all animal and plant species live. The acai berry is just one of these fruits that has been discovered in this vast region. The Shuar tribes are one of these Amazonian tribes that have for centuries, through tradition, kept the use of plants (acai berry) for medicinal purposes.

Shuar medicine men or women are called uwishin (oo-wee-sheen) a healer that works with medicinal plants, somebody who knows all the secrets of the rainforests. Uwishin, have a great deal of knowledge of medicinal plants and their cures, they learn from others, and through experiments from the plants themselves. One plant removes snakes venom from the body. It is the work of the uwishin to research and find solutions to illness.

The acai berry was discovered to have natural antioxidant properties, as well as being a natural cholesterol controller. When eaten it helps reduce the bad cholesterol in our blood and increases the good cholesterol. The tribes of the Amazon knew of these properties and found out that it helped build the immune system, fight infection, protect the heart, and control prostate enlargement (natures viagra). It was a great energy food for the tribes-people. The acai berry, which is a palm fruit, was traditionally pulped to make wine that was rich in minerals. The acai berry was also discovered to fight schistosomosis, which is transmitted by snails. Schistosomosis affecting more than 10 million Brazilians. The acaí berry is also used to produce an antibiotic that helps to fight against Staphylococcus aureus, a common infection contracted mainly in hospitals. A berry so useful but only known to the traditional tribes men and woman of the Amazon, a lost secret…

The acaí berry comes from a palm that has a long thin trunk up to 25m high with a group of branches at the top from which hangs ribbon-like leaves. Acaí berries hang from these branches in clusters that look like groups of bluebottles. Traditionally the acai berries would be picked by hand and the tribes men would shimmy up the tree and cut the branches from the top of the palm tree rich in acai berries. Now that the acai berry has been discovered as a highly sort after crop by the population of Brazil it is mass produced, as it only has a 24 hour life span in which the properties of the juice are still active. The acai berries must be loaded into baskets and onto boats soon after picking. To get it to the markets in Belems they would have to transport the acai berries over night.

Each acai palm tree produces round about 20 kg of fruit per year and the wine produced by this fruit has become the most important product in terms of finance after wood forest products. Belem in Brazil now employs over 30,000 people on a daily basis to keep up with its enormous demand.

So we know where it comes from, what about its recent history? After being introduced into the western world it was realised by the modern beach going Brazilian surfer as a natural way to regain energy. The acai berry was pulped and frozen to keep it fresh and became a natural additive to the smoothies drunk along the beaches of Brazil. It was known to help your prostate and was seen as a natural viagra for the boys of the beach. It soon became a drink for the trendy, for the sand and surf brigade.

The researches soon got hold of this magic acai berry and realised that it would be of great importance in the well-being and health of the western world, our diets are often over filled with fat and fast food, acai is naturally full with energy, it has a vibrant taste of berries with a hint of chocolate, is rich in proteins, fibre, vitamin E, minerals and essential Omega oils to reduce our bad cholesterol caused by our western diets. The acai berries fatty acid ratio resembles that of olive oil this is thought to be a contributing factor to low incidence of heart disease in Mediterranean populations. The acai berry contains similar properties as red wine in controlling fats in the blood and is a fair contributor to go up against the wine diets of the Mediterranean people.

Known as the miracle fruit, acai berries also helps in preventing cancer due to its antioxidant properties that are five times more potent than gingko biloba, a commonly used herbal therapy product.

Acai berry juice has been introduced into other products like bars and health snacks to be sold at gyms and health spars. Its history is important as by studying the effects that the berry has had on the tribesmen in the Amazon we have discovered that its traditional use as an energy booster for hunting and good libido has lead to acai berry juice to being a very commercially viable product.

Its most recent history is that it has been endorsed by such talk show hosts as Oprah Winfrey and has been seen as a feature on her show, a berry with star success. So lets say good bye to guranum and hello to the acai berry.

Todd Levering is the publisher of a website that provides no-nonsense information about the acai berry. To get more info about acai berry research and products that are made with the acai fruit, visit http://acaipro.com