Monday, July 12, 2010

Acai Berry Health Benefits and Facts

The Acai fruit is believed to have many health benefits, and is therefore gaining prominence very quickly. Although many people are still learning about the health benefits of the Acai berry, the fact is, Central and South Americans have long known about these benefits.

The Acai berry fruit is commonly found in central and south American countries such as Peru and Brazil. They come from the Acai palm, which grows in swarm lands. Perhaps that's why they have been largely ignored by urban dwellers until now.

The berry itself is a small little fruit, the size of an ordinary grape. It is dark purple in color, and has a large seed. In fact, the seed is so large that it makes up 80% of the berry! But like all berries, the Acai berry is pulpy and juicy.

The Acai palm bears fruit twice and year, and the fruit is harvested by people as food. When consumed, the berry leaves a slight hint of bitter after taste, which resembles that of chocolate. It can be prepared in many different ways before consumption. Mostly, the Acai berry is prepared as drinks such as fruit sodas, fruit juices, smoothies, and so on. Therefore, it is very convenient for consumption.

When consumed on a regular basis, the Acai berry offers many health benefits. The Acai fruit is good for the body mainly because of its antioxidant properties. It is able to rid the body of harmful toxins in a relatively short period of time. The antioxidant process starts in about 2 hours after consumption of the Acai berry.

As a result, shortly after consumption of Acai berries, an individual may start to feel a boost in energy levels. Lethargy will be removed, leaving more energy for other daily activities. It improves mental clarity and promotes sound sleep. It even helps with digestive functions.

But perhaps the greatest benefit that has been given the most attention is that the Acai berry helps in the weight loss process. As you probably understand by now, the Acai berry helps improve the general health of the entire body by removing harmful toxins. Blood circulation is improved when the toxins are removed.

Improved blood circulation eventually leads to slowing down of the aging process. Skin will look healthier, and cholesterol levels are regulated. The heart, which is one of the most important muscle in the human body, also starts to become stronger. If the body is currently suffering from any physical injuries, the improved blood circulation and the strong heart will certainly help speed up the healing process.

Given such benefits, it would be a good idea to incorporate some Acai berries into our daily diet.


Antioxidants of the Acai Berry

Of all the benefits of the Acai berry, the antioxidant properties are given the most attention. Perhaps that's because most of the health benefits offered by the Acai berry are related to its antioxidant properties. Being antioxidant means that the berry is capable of getting rid of harmful toxins in the body.

Toxins may cause injuries or diseases in the human body. They may come from our daily diet, or from the environment. Everyday, we are exposed to harmful toxins in the environment. Such toxins come from pesticides, mold, heavy metals, chloroform (found in washing agents) and other substances.

In addition, some of the food that we consume may contain their own toxins. For instance, we may be unaware of pesticide on vegetables, or harmful toxins from certain type of fish. Sometimes, symptoms such as dizziness and headaches result from consuming such harmful toxins.

Of course, if the condition is severe, always seek professional medical help immediately. However, sometimes toxins may just be building up in the body, with no visible symptoms showing. This may lead to lethargy and listlessness. The affected individual may also feel sleepy. This is because blood circulation is impeded by the harmful toxins. And when blood circulation slows down, the brain receives less oxygen. Hence, this leads to drowsiness and a persistent lack of energy.

For sure, this is harmful to the individual because without energy, all aspects of the individual's life is affected. For example, the individual may find it hard to complete his work, which in turn affects his professional life. Or he may find himself unwilling to go out to socialize, which in turn affects his social life.

Fortunately, by eating the right food, such problems can be totally avoided. Acai berries antioxidant capabilities have been widely promoted by the media. Many health experts have used the fruit to help improve the general health of those they are trying to help. Some even consumer Acai berries on a regular basis to help them lose weight.

Anyone who has ever tried to lose weight know that they must exercise regularly to improve their metabolism rate. A higher metabolism rate means that the body is able to burn off excess fats automatically, which leads to loss of weight. Therefore, exercise is a must for any sustainable weight loss program. However, if an individual has a lot of harmful toxins in the body, which leads to energy loss, he may find himself unwilling to stick to a strict exercise program.

Even when taken without exercise, the Acai berry has the natural ability to help regulate cholesterol levels in the body. This helps with weight control.

When consumed regularly, the Acai berry helps to slow down the aging process, and may even help prevent cancer. No wonder thousands of health experts are heavily endorsing the Acai berry!


Healthy Benefits of Acai

The multitude of healthy benefits of Acai should not be underestimated. The Acai berry has a load of healthy benefits affecting the whole body. They have the highest nutritional composition of anything you can eat in the world and as a result it can give the body a large number of nutritional requirements that it is typically short on. Many people just don't learn that their body is able to perform under adverse conditions without the nutrition they require, only not in the way it really wants to.

The most significant health benefit of Acai berry is that it reintroduces nutritional elements that the bodies ought to have, but are typically just not present in our diet. Eating more of these nutrients aids the body in functioning the manner it's supposed to. This helps the body to reach a healthy equalibrium.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Acai Berry Juice - Recipes

The acai berry drink is a delicious way to enjoy all the many benefits that this small purple berry has to offer. You have probably heard that acai berry juice can give you a burst of energy (stronger than coffee and Redbull), promotes health skin and hair (it makes you look younger), and may help boost your immune system and protect against heart disease and cancer. If you haven’t heard about all these benefits you should check out this article about acai berry benefits to learn all about these and the many other reasons why acai may just be the healthiest food known to man.

There are three different ways to get your daily does of this berry; acai supplements, acai powder, or an acai berry drink. Since acai berry juice tastes so good, I usually describe it to friends as a mix between chocolate and berries, there really is no reason to not get your acai by drinking the juice. It also happens to be the best way to maximize the absorption of the antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Our bodies are supposed to get their nutrition from what we eat and drink, so it makes sense that this would be the best way to take acai.

After you order your first bottle of a quality acai berry drink you may be wondering what the best way to use it is. Well, that really comes down to personal preference. Since you made a wise decision and got the highest quality product out there, you will notice that the juice is a fairly thick juice. That is because the juice is 100% pure, and not diluted with other additions such as apple or grape juice. This means that it only takes one or two ounces a day to get to the daily recommended dosage.

The easiest, most convenient, way to get your daily dose is to break out a shot glass and throw back some acai pulp first thing in the morning. Don’t worry this acai berry shot is WAY healthier than what you usually drink out of that shot glass.

If you want to get more creative with your acai berry drinks, then smoothies are the perfect way to get the most out of this berry. There are literally thousands of different smoothies you can make using acai berry juice.

Here are a few of my favorite acai berry drink recipes:

Orange Berry Infusion

2oz Amazon Thunder Acai Pulp
1c orange juice
1/2c Yogurt (any flavor)
Handful frozen blueberries
Handful frozen strawberries
4-5 ice cubes

Not only is this smoothie incredibly healthy, but it tastes amazing! This is the perfect way to start of your day, or to re-energize yourself after a long day at work.

Weight Lifter’s Post Workout Acai Drink

2oz Acai Juice
1c Milk
1 Scoop Chocolate Flavored Whey Protein
1 Banana
Handful frozen strawberries
1tbs natural peanut butter
4-5 ice cubes

Acai berry juice is a great source for the amino acids that are the building blocks for our muscles. In fact, it contains all the essential amino acids. This makes it the perfect drink to add to your post workout routine.

Superfood Explosion

2oz Acai Juice
1c Yerba Mate Tea (pre brewed)
1/2c Yogurt
Handful goji berries
Handful cocao nibs
Handful frozen blueberries
Handful frozen strawberries
1 Banana

This is by far my favorite smoothie I have come up with. It pairs acai berry with many other superfoods and is packed full of nutritional benefits. I start each day out with one of these, and it gives me a boost of energy that makes coffee look like a mug of hot chocolate. If you are looking for a way to fill your daily diet with superfoods, there is not easier way than with a smoothie like this.

Acai juice can even be mixed with other juices and teas to create unique and delicious combination. I have even seen people mix it with vodka to create a great tasting acai drink. There really are limitless possibilities with this fruit, so go ahead and get as creative as you can with it.

The only requirement when mixing up an acai berry drink is that you need to get a high quality product. Make sure the product is 100% pure organic acai juice and is not full of fillers and added sugar like other acai drinks on the market. They get their pulp straight from the source and use processes that ensure it keeps all of its nutritional value.