The Mystic History of Acai Berry
Posted by Caitin Ryan Web Hosting Friday 27 March 2009 4:00 pm
If you are looking for a miracle fruit that offers optimum health, beautiful skin and radiant hair, you might have to search a bit farther than the produce department. How about the Brazilian rainforest? Not a big fan of jungle critters? No worries, this super fruit called Acai berries is now available on this side of the equator.
Acai (pronounced Ah-SIGH-ee) berries have become quite popular in the past few years, but the people of the Brazilian rainforest have long revered this gorgeous purple fruit that grows on a palm tree.
Folklore tells the tale of an Amazon Indian girl named Iaca whose father was the tribal chief. The tribe had become too large and soon, there was not enough food to feed everyone. The tribal chief ordered that any child born needed to be sacrificed. His daughter was the first to give birth after this decree, but the chief showed no mercy for the sake of the whole tribe.
She mourned her child to the point of hearing the cries of a baby outside her hut. She desperately searched for what she thought was her newborn baby crying for her. Instead, she found a new palm tree growing in the midst of the Amazon rainforest. Terribly heartbroken, she lay beneath the palm tree and died.
When the villagers discovered her, they also discovered the palm, which bore berries plentiful enough to feed and sustain the entire village. The tribal chief was able to lift the decree and named the berries Acai berries after his dead daughter. Acai is Iaca spelled backward.
Folklore aside, modern science has discovered some truly magical qualities about the acai berry. Acai berries contain super antioxidants, essential amino acids and omega 3 fatty acids.
Antioxidants are all capable of fighting cancer by fighting free radicals that damage cells and are the prelude to cancer and the aging process. The super antioxidant in acai berries that gives the berries their royal purple color is called anthocyanin. This super antioxidant has been found to slow and stop the growth of tumors. Antioxidants are also necessary for repairing damaged cells and replenishing tissue.
Because free radicals are also responsible for the aging process, acai berries are also great for preventing premature aging and slowing the biological clock.
Essential amino acids are important for tissue structure. Though only animal protein contains a complete blend of essential amino acids, it also contains dangerous saturated fat. Acai berries contain a nearly complete blend of essential amino acids making them fabulous for maintaining tissue structure (i.e. collagen in skin cells).
Instead of saturated fat, acai berries contain omega 3 fatty acids, which have the remarkable ability to lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and raise good cholesterol (HDL). Fish and fish oil supplements contain omega 3 fatty acids.
Acai berries are able to improve your health, prevent disease and slow the aging process. Available in a number of ways, acai products can truly benefit your overall health and restore a more youthful appearance.
Read labels carefully and make sure that you are not purchasing an acai berry that is not pure or a juice that is mostly corn syrup with very little acai berries.
