The acai berry shot to stardom over the past 5 years as a super fruit with many health benefits. Although the acai berry has been over hyped and over-marketed, don’t let that shy you away from this amazing fruit. There are definitely many low quality acai berry products being pushed and promoted but the high quality products really do provide some great health benefits.
The acai berry is loaded with nutrition. It contains many vitamins, minerals, healthy fats and is especially dense in antioxidant plant chemicals called anthocyanins. These anthocyanins are extremely potent at protecting our cells from the oxidative damage inflicted by unstable oxygen molecules called free radicals.
Free radicals are the natural byproduct of metabolic functions that go on within us all the time. They are also present in UV light and the pollution of our air and water systems. So these days it is important to ensure we have plenty of antioxidants in our diet to counteract all these free radicals in the environment! If we have more free radicals in out bodies than antioxidants then we are in a state of oxidative stress – a condition that greatly speeds up the aging process and can cause heart disease and cancer.
Anthocyanins are especially powerful at protecting our arteries from free radical damage that can lead to inflammation and the hardening of our artery walls. Such inflammation can lead to atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, stroke and heart attacks. Anthocyanins are also present in red wine and are believed to be a key ingredient of this alcoholic beverage that explains the ‘french paradox’. The ‘french paradox’ refers to the fact that the French have less incidence of heart disease than their American counterparts even though both countries eat a diet high in saturated fat. So it is good to know that the fresh acai berry contains 20 times the anthocyanins of red wine!
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