Acai berries are small, inconspicuous, inkjet-coloured fruits, which hide inside a true wealth of the best nutritional values. They have become a promise of health and beauty ever since they started to be known in the world. What is more, it is not just a marketing scam, but a completely real promise, because acai berries have been on the top of the 10 Superfoods list for several years now.
What is acai berry?
Acai berries are the fruit of a palm tree called Euterpe badiocarpa. It is a tree that only grows in the tropics of South America. It reaches a height of about 15 metres and produces between 500 and 900 berries twice a year.
Acai look like chokeberry fruit, but have little flesh, with one relatively large stone inside. Acai berries in Brazil have been an important and valued food ingredient for centuries. It is particularly important for the inhabitants of small towns, as it accounts for 40% of their diet.
Acai is eaten there as fresh fruit and added to meat, fish and other dishes. They are usually found in the form of dried fruit, tablets, powder and juice in a glass or plastic bottles.
What are the advantages of acai berry?
These berries contain mostly antioxidants, unsaturated fatty acids from the Omega - 6 and - 9 group and vitamins from the group B.
Antioxidants
Antioxidants, i.e. substances that eliminate free radicals, are essential for health and beauty. Free radicals destroy cells and reduce their activity, thus accelerating the ageing process. Their excess is responsible for the deterioration of skin condition, wrinkles, loss of vitality and the feeling of fatigue. Free radicals attach themselves to molecules of genetic material, damaging them and exposing the body to various diseases.
Omega fatty acids
Antioxidants, on the other hand, destroy free radicals and protect cells from their harmful effects, and together with the unsaturated fatty acids Omega - 6 and - 9, allow you to enjoy a young and healthy appearance for a long time. In addition, they prevent the ageing process and the appearance of heart diseases; they ensure proper brain function and elastic, rough-free skin. They are also very helpful in slimming down because Omega-6 fatty acids accelerate metabolism.
Acai berries for health
It is noteworthy that in Brazil, acai berries (due to their high content of the above-mentioned substances and a large number of B vitamins, fibre and amino acids) are recommended by doctors to be included in the diet of already six-month-old children. Because acai berries, thanks to the content of so many valuable ingredients, strengthen the immune system and protect body cells from dangerous diseases, ensuring health and vitality.
The acai berries - although they have been known in South America for a century - only gained popularity in the 1990s. And their popularity started to grow extensively when Oprah Winfrey in 2008, talked about the extraordinary properties of this plant in her TV Show.
