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5 Great Reasons to Include Acai Berries in Your Diet for Better Health

Aug 26, 2024 By Kristina Cappetta

Acai is a reddish-purple fruit found on South American palm palms. While Europeans and North Americans only began selling acai, Indigenous people in the Amazon have been consuming it for thousands of years.

The medical community calls acai a "superfood" as it is high in vitamins or fibers. Acai pulp juice contains more antioxidants than cherries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries. Acai berry powder also boasts fiber, among other minerals and vitamins. There is no reliable scientific data to back up the assertions made about acai helping one lose weight or slowing down aging.

Nutritional Facts About Acai Berries

Acai is usually offered in the US as a frozen mush. On the label of the acai berry powder or solid product, you can see the correct nutritional values. For reference, an ounce of acai pulp juice or fruit, according to the FDA, has the following dietary count:

  • 5 g fat
  • 60 cal
  • 3 g fiber
  • 2 g protein
  • 40 mg calcium
  • 6 g carbs
  • 1,000 IU vitamin A
  • 9.6 mg vitamin C
  • 60 mg potassium

How to Eat Acai Berries

Acai bowls and smoothies are popular among its lovers. To make both, blend your selected herbs with frozen acai juice or acai berry sorbet. You can also take acai as a supplement, either acai berry powder, pill, or tablet.

Acai bowls and many other fruit meals originated with very simple smoothies. Above all, it is far more expensive. An acai pulp bowl can be made simply like this:

Ingredients

  • cup Greek yogurt
  • 1 banana
  • 8 oz frozen acai puree
  • cup blueberries
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 3 tbsp granola
  • 1 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes

Instructions

  • Pour some water into the frozen acai and let it melt.
  • In a mixer, toss banana, blueberries, acai pulp berry puree, yogurt, coconut flakes, granola, and honey.
  • Stop the blender and whisk a few times after the desired thickness is attained.
  • Slash the ingredients in a bowl.
  • Serve your bowl with the remaining fruit, oats, and nuts.

Benefits of Acai Berries

Maintains Skin Health

Skincare benefits from acai berries are well-known. They contain great concentrations of antioxidants, particularly anthocyanins, which protect the skin from free radical damage. Dark spots, fine lines, and wrinkles can all follow from this. One might hasten the aging process via free radicals. Moreover, acai berry benefits for skin also include improved hydration and elasticity.

Acai berries' great antioxidant value aids in the elimination of free radicals, therefore preventing additional damage and encouraging healthy skin. Vitamins A, C, and E abound in berries, all of which are beneficial for your skin. Collagen, a protein that gives skin its form and elasticity, is created from vitamin C. As one age, collagen synthesis declines, and lines result. So, after using acai, you can discover how acai berry benefits for skin and help reduce signs of aging.

Moreover, acai berries' vitamin E absorbs the harmful UV rays from the sun, shielding skin from damage. Eating acai berries or utilizing products with acai pulp extract can help your skin appear better. Also, the antioxidants included in the acai berry benefit the skin as they promote a radiant complexion

Anti-cancer Properties

Research suggests that acai berries could combat cancer. Acai berries' anthocyanins lower cancer risk. In animals, acai pulp reduces bladder and colon cancer risk. These results imply that a natural means of avoiding cancer might be acai berries.

Though additional study is required to grasp how they could fight cancer completely, initial findings seem favorable. Under pure acai pulp juice, 86% of leukemia cells destroyed themselves, according to a 2006 research.

This research indicates that acai berry powder or solid fruit could be able to kill cancer cells, thereby offering a rather helpful therapeutic advantage. Though these are very early results, acai berries might prevent and cure cancer. Additional research and clinical trials are required to provide further details on how effectively and safely acai berries fit in this scenario.

Brain Health Support

Some studies suggest that acai berries could benefit brain function. They have shown that they could prevent brain memory loss, a common occurrence as people age. Studies revealed that acai berry extract can prevent beta-amyloid accumulation, a protein connected to Alzheimer's disease.

This implies that acai berries can prevent neurological illness from starting. Acai berries also support autophagy, the brain's mechanism for clearing damaged cells and producing fresh ones. Acai berries aid autophagy, the brain's cell recycling process. It creates new neurons and strengthens cell connections, improving brain function. Other than that, acai berry powder can prevent neurodegenerative illnesses and boost brain function as well.

Heart Health Benefits

Many believe acai berries decrease cholesterol, which is healthy for the heart. Some studies suggest that acai pulp drinks and recipes can reduce LDL cholesterol, or "bad cholesterol." LAD loss increases heart disease risk. Vascular plaque narrows them, stopping blood flow. Acai berries can lessen this risk and LDL cholesterol, improving heart health.

In addition, acai berries' vitamins protect blood vessels from harmful stress, keeping them healthy and the heart free of inflammation. These berries reduce cholesterol and protect cells from free radical damage. Hence, consuming acai berries daily can prevent heart disease.

Risks of Acai Berries

Generally, consumers can safely eat acai products such as acai berry powder, frozen pulp, juice, and bowls. However, raw acai juice has been linked to Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis) and its symptoms. The Trypanosoma insect causes the fatal chronic Chagas disease. To ensure safety, you should, therefore, only consume acai pulp products that have been handled properly.

Moreover, consuming certain acai products could alter MRI test findings. If you have an MRI booked, you may want to avoid acai just before it. Also, certain acai dishessuch as acai pulp bowlshave a lot of added sugar. Other than that, many health problems like high blood sugar might result from a poor diet heavy in excess sugar. According to medical experts, daily sugar intake shouldn't be more than 10% of your overall calorie count. So, consume with moderation.

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