Being an herbalist, someone is always telling me about a new juice I should try and why. There is Noni, Pomegranate, blueberry, Gac, Mangosteen and I have tried them all. Don’t get me wrong, they all have their health benefits, and I try and rotate the juices, so that my family is either drinking one or the other.
Acai (pronounced ah-sigh-EE) is one of the latest, hot new health food findings from the Amazon rainforest and asserts that it possesses remarkable qualifications as a source of omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids, vitamin A, C, and E. It additionally boasts 50 other antioxidants, in particular anthocyanin—the powerhouse pigment located in blueberries and wine.
Acai is, in point of fact, the purplish fruit of Euterpe oleracea, which is a short palm located in great quantities in Brazil. Supporters of the fruit state that this healthful food lowers bad cholesterol and boosts the good, enhances the immune system, combats infections, safeguards the heart, and may control prostate enlargement.
In one particular study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, they are looking to add battling cancer to the list of attributes for the acai fruit. The study, which was performed at the University of Florida, used the pure juice—minus any lipids (EFA’s) and the cellulose material and was utilized on HL-60 human leukemia cells in vitro. They also tested five other extracts or “parts” of the fruit, which have different mixtures of antioxidants, for their effect on leukemia cells. What they discovered was that the extracts “reduce cell proliferation from 56-86 percent”. This was probably accomplished by damaging the cells to the point where it instigated their self-destruction (apoptosis).
I wish I could tell you that you can run right down to the grocery store and purchase the fruit, but unfortunately, it is too delicate to export. The good news is that the juice is available—if not at your local health food store, then on the internet. I have tried two different kinds, which I will share with you. The first is manufactured by a company called Bossa Nova Beverage and my favorite flavor is passion fruit. And for all of us that are environmentally conscious, Bossa Nova Beverage and the Rain Forest Alliance promise that for every bottle you drink, a rainforest tree will be saved. The second I purchased from a company called Amazon Thunder and the acai was pure, so I simply used one ounce a day for the benefits. I like them both; however, Bossa Nova was more of a beverage.
Why doesn’t Bossa Nova indicate the percentage of juice in its bottle? It’s required by law in the U.S.
Comment by LIZ — February 2, 2006 @ 10:11 am
I was very interested in finding out the answer to your question as well, so I picked up the phone and called the Bossa Nova people. A very nice man explained to me that he was pretty sure that the reason they do not disclose the percentage of one juice versus the others on their bottle is because it is proprietary. In other words, they don’t want the competition to knock them off with the same taste. He did say, however, that if you want a more concentrated acai in your drink, then their original recipe is what you should be drinking. Even though it states that it has agave in it, the amount is negligible. In regard to the what the law dictates surrounding the breakdown, I have no idea what that would be. I hope that helps.
Comment by Judy Phillips — February 7, 2006 @ 5:27 pm
Great blog!
Comment by Hoodia Oprah — May 8, 2007 @ 6:05 pm
Healthy Lifestyle Features
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article, but it sounds interesting
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