The Folklore of the Amazing Acai Berry
Posted on March 24, 2009
Filed Under Lose Weight | Leave a Comment
Are you looking for ways to improve your health through nutrition? Have you thought about looking in the Brazilian rainforest for the answer? You do not have to book a flight because a miracle fruit from this mystical region is now available to all of us in various acai berry products. You are going to love what this super fruit can do for your health!
To the natives in the region, acai (pronounced Ah-SIGH-ee) berries are nothing new. They have known about the amazing benefits of this beautiful purple berry that grows on a palm tree for centuries.
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.
Desperate and incredibly sad, Iaca mourned her child for days, weeping in her hut. Finally, she heard the cries of a newborn in the forest and raced to find what she hoped was her precious child. What she found was a palm tree that bore bright purple berries. She lay down at the base of the palm tree and died.
The tribe discovered Iaca and noticed that the new tree had purple berries plentiful enough and nutritious enough to sustain the entire tribe. The tribal chief said that the newborns would now be spared death and he named the berries Acai (Iaca spelled backwards) after his daughter.
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.
The antioxidant that gives acai berries their beautiful royal purple color is called anthocyanin. Anthocyanin is a super antioxidant able to slow or stop tumor growth. All antioxidants are capable of fighting and preventing cancer because of their ability to stop the cancer-causing actions of free radicals at the cellular level. They are also important for rebuilding and repairing damaged tissue.
Damage from free radicals is thought to be the source of aging, so acai berries are also good for preventing premature aging.
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).
Acai berries do not contain saturated fat, but they do contain the good fat, omega 3 fatty acids which can lower LDL (bad cholesterol)and raise HDL (good cholesterol) making them excellent (just like fish) in preventing cardiovascular disease.
If you are searching for ways to optimize your health, prevent disease and slow the aging process, there are many ways to incorporate acai berries into your diet. There are supplements made from natural acai berry extract, powders that can be blended in smoothies and pre-made smoothies.
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.
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