What is Acai Juice ? Is Acai Berry Juice for You?

Acai Juice has become a very popular health drink made from the acai (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) berry. It has become famous as a "super food" and a controversial weight loss aid. So where does it come from? What nutrients does it contain that classifies it as a "super food"? Is the juice as nutritious as the fruit pulp? And does it really help with weight loss?

The acai palm tree is native to central and southern America and found primarily in Brazil, Panama, Trinidad, Ecuador and French Guyana. It is in the flood plains of the Amazon River in Brazil where the trees are found in their greatest numbers. The trees are harvested bi-annually, with each tree supplying up to 20lbs of fruit per harvest. The difficult swampy terrain of the Amazon is the reason why the acai berry does not reach the rest of the world in its as 'fresh' state. Therefore in the rest of the world, it is commonly found as a powder or a packaged juice.

So is acai a super food? In regards to its antioxidant activity - yes! More than one study has shown that acai has the highest antioxidant effect on free radicals than any other fruit or vegetable! Acai is loaded with bio-available anthocyanins, powerful antioxidants of the flavonoid family. This high antioxidant profile is what helps prevent life threatening conditions like cancer and heart disease. A study undertaken by Professor Stephen Talcott and published in the 2006 Journal of Agricultural Food and Chemistry found the antioxidants in acai killed human leukemia cells. Up to 86% of the leukemia cells that were exposed to acai antioxidants self-destructed.

Scientific References:
Acai Polyphenolics in Their Glycoside and Aglycone Forms Induce Apoptosis of HL-60 Leukemia Cells.

The acai berry pulp contains a surprising amount of plant sterols, fatty acids, and amino acids for a fruit. So this adds to its status as a super food. The pulp only makes up about 10% of the whole berry, the other 90% is a large seed that sits at its center.

Plant Sterols are a plant's version of cholesterol and are very similar in chemistry to human cholesterol. Unlike some cholesterol, plant sterols don't have negative effects for heart health and actually help lower cholesterol. Since 1999, plant sterols have been added to margarine products and other products like yogurts. With research providing enough evidence that plant sterols reduce cholesterol, even the FDA validated the results. The validation allowed companies to legally market their products as heart healthy if they added plant sterols to them.

There are three kinds of plant sterols found in acai - sitosterol, stigmasterol and campesterol. These are the three most researched types of plant sterols, all of which have been attributed with cholesterol-lowering effects.

Fatty acids profile: Around 32% of the acai berry pulp is composed of fat, which is unusually high for a fruit (makes you wonder why it's a claimed weight loss aid). The majority of this fat is healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. This breaks down approximately into -

10% polyunsaturated fat - Linoleic Acid
60% monunsaturated fat - Oleic Acid
30% saturated fat - Palmitic Acid

Both linoleic acid and oleic acids are beneficial for health. In fact linoleic acid is actually essential for health. These fatty acids help to lower the risks of developing heart disease and help with inflammatory problems.

Amino Acids represent about 8% of the total make up of the acai berry fruit pulp. Yet again a surprising amount for a fruit. It contains a total of 19 amino acids which include - isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, valine, arginine, histidine, alanine, glycine, proline, serine, tyrosine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid.

Vitamins and minerals: The fresh acai berry, like other berries, contains vitamins A and C. Other vitamins in this berry include vitamins B1, B2 and B3. Acai contains an unusually high amount of copper for a fruit, and also supplies noticeable levels of potassium and calcium. Other minerals present include magnesium, zinc and iron.

Ok, so that's the make up of the fresh fruit pulp, but what about the juice that we buy.

References:
Wikipedia - Acai Nutritional Content

Ok - so even if acai is an excellent source of antioxidants, that is not always enough in terms of how the body uses those antioxidants. The body may only be able to digest and absorb a small percentage of the antioxidants in any given food source and put them to good use for combating free radical molecules that harm our cells. Alternatively, the antioxidants in a food my be highly bioavailable - meaning that the body can make good use of them.

Researchers Steven Talcott and his wife Susanne decided to test just how well the human body can make use of the antioxidants in acai pulp and acai juice. For this clinical study, individuals were given acai pulp and also acai juice that containes just half the concentration of the antioxidant anthocyanins as found in the pulp, and each of these were compared to control foods - a non-antioxidant beverage and apple sauce.

Urine and blood samples taken at 12 and then 24 hours following consumption demonstrated substantial increases in antioxidant based activity within the blood after consumption of both the applesauce and acai pulp. Both acai juice and acai pulp diplayed significant absorption of anthocyanins into the blood stream with potent antioxidant effects. In other words - the antioxidants in acai berries and their juice are well recieved by the body!

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081006112053.htm

Acai juice can either contain the actual pulp or come as a filtered clear juice. I highly recommend buying juice that contains the actual pulp, which is basically a smoothie! The pulp will always contain more nutrition than a clear juice for the simple reason that it is less processed. Of course, nothing is quite as nutritious as eating the berry right off the tree. However, acai pulp juices contain most of the nutrition of the fresh fruit when picked and packed away quickly.

I would recommend looking at companies that have an ethical approach to their acai products. Companies that support sustainability of the forests and the welfare of the farmers will always produce much better products and ensure the fruit holds its "good vibe".

As a further note - some acai juices actually have very little acai in them. These juices often contain other fruits which constitute the majority of their products, such as blueberry, pomegranate, and concord grapes. So check labels carefully, to ensure you get pure acai juice or at least a high percentage of actual acai juice.

Personally I don't buy into the acai weight loss phenomenon. Why not?

1) Every acai weight loss website I have seen up until now looks a bit spammy/scammy. These sites are often nothing more than one page of sensationalism followed by a product you can buy at the bottom. If anyone has seen anything different, please drop me a comment.

2) In Brazil, acai is not considered a weight loss aid by any means. In fact it is considered the absolute opposite! Ask a Brazilian about acai and they will tell you "it makes you fat". Acai is high in healthy fats!

So, at present I am unconvinced of acai's weight loss claims..

The native population where the acai berry grows use this fruit a herbal medicine for a number of health complaints. The Brazilian people use the oil from the Acai fruit for treating diarrhea; an infusion created from the grated rind of the berry is used topically as a wash for treating skin ulcers; and, the seeds of the fruit are crushed to make an infusion for alleviating fevers. In the Peruvian areas of the Amazon, the locals use an infusion of the crushed toasted seeds for treating fevers, too. In Colombia, where the acai palm tree grows along the coast line of the Pacific ocean, the tree is known as "naidí", the berry is most commonly made into a juice and used as a popular drink.

By far, the most prevalent use of the Acai berry by Amazonians is in its dark purple juice form. The juice can be used in a number of ways. It is served ice-cold and fresh with or without tapioca flour and sugar. It is also used to creat ice cream, mousses, liquor and sweets generally. Consumption of as much as 2 liters a day of this very nutritious juice is noted amongst native populations. Acai berry juice has been and continues to be, a very important aspect of northern native South American diets and has grown to be throughout every socio-economic levels.

The acai berry is not the tastiest fruit around. This is one of the reasons acai berry juice products are often made with added sugar or mixed with other fruits. Acai has a deep and earthy taste - something like a mix of chocolate and red wine - without the sweetness. Some will find it more palatable by adding other berries to the mix.