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The Benefits of the Acai Berry

What is a Brazilian Acai Berry?

The Brazilian Acai berry is rich in vitamins, fiber and protein, but these aren't the only health benefits of acai. This dark purple berry is also rich in antioxidants and the good omega fats that most of us don't get enough of in our diets. So let's take a look at why these are important.

Acai and Antioxidants

Like all richly colored fruits and vegetables, acai berry is loaded with antioxidants. Antioxidants are important for long term health because they counteract the effects of free radicals. And free radicals contribute to all kinds of diseases that shorten our longevity, particularly heard disease and cancer.

So it's important to get lots of antioxidants in your diet. You can do this by consuming plenty of brightly colored fruits and vegetables such as carrots, tomatoes and even red wine. What makes acai a particularly attractive addition to your diet is that the acai berry packs quite the antioxidant punch. This little pitted berry has twice as much antioxidant power as blueberries, one of the fruits that is well known as one of our best sources.

Acai and Essential Fatty Acids

Essential Fatty acids are what gets commonly referred to as the good fats. It's the stuff that raises your good cholesterol levels and lowers your bad cholesterol levels. The two main essential fatty acids (EFA) are omega-3 and omega-6. There is also omega-9 as well, but our bodies do produce some omega-9 on their own, so this is not considered an essential source to consume.

Of these EFAs, the one that most of us are deficient in is Omega-3. And deficiencies in essential fatty acids can contribute to cancer, depression, increased risk of heart attacks and other serious health conditions. This is where acai comes in. It is rich in all of the Omega fats, including Omega-3. So an acai supplement can definitely help increase our consumption of Omega-3.

Of course, antioxidants and EFAs aren't the only reason to consider adding some acai to your diet. Acai is also a great source of fiber, protein and vitamins, particularly the B vitamins. They even have plant sterols which recent research is showing is another health benefit we should try getting more of in our diets.

Since you can't buy raw acai berries (they don't ship well, so are processed at the source), the best way to add some to your diet is generally going to be as either a juice or a supplement in the form of a capsule or powder. You can read my review of my favorite acai berry capsule and then get yourself a free bottle to try it for yourself.

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