Definitely you’ve heard of the Acai Berry, even if you are not sure how to say the name. (It’s ah-sigh-EE.) The small purple Acai berries have been advertized for more healthful qualities than you’d think a simple berry could allow. Who’d have thought that this self-effacing product of Brazil’s Amazon rain forest could do everything from quick weight loss to proper sexual dysfunction — while boosting your immune system, too?
According to Spins, a market research and consulting firm for the natural products business, Americans spend more than $108 million on Acai Berry products in the 52 weeks ending Feb. 21, up from just over $62 million the year before.
That’s a lot of berries. But are buyers’ getting their money’s value? That depends on what they look forward to.
The Acai berry supplements have been highlighted as super foods on some prestigious TV shows — though not, Winfrey and Ray are quick to mention, endorsed by those celebs, despite the fact that many advertisements for the Acai berry products bear their pictures. Many health experts announced the Acai berries at the top of his list of 10 most healthful foods before backing off and saying they belong on that list, but maybe not on the top. Anyone with a Facebook or e-mail account has most likely seen ads for this supposed wonder Acai berry.
The delicate, highly perishable Acai berries don’t keep or travel well, so they are not available whole in these parts. But you can buy powdered or frozen Acai pulp to add to smoothies, bottled beverages featuring Acai juice, usually combined with other fruit or berry juices and dozens of nutritional supplements claiming to have key Acai berry compounds. You can use less than $10 on a bottle of 60 (supposedly) Acai berry-containing supplement pills or about $40 on a 25-ounce bottle of any Acai berry beverage. (Ray, who likely doesn’t have to pinch pennies, seemed astonished at the cost of MonaVie when a guest offered it on her talk show.)
Introduced to the United States in 2000 by brothers Jeremy and Ryan Black after Ryan and a friend learned about the Acai berries and their purported health benefits while visiting Brazil, Acai has blown past the Goji berry as the marvel fruit of the moment. (Goji berries, also touted for their health-promoting qualities, are still going quite strong, with sales topping $9.5 million in the past year, up from $8.3 million the year before, according to Spins.) The Blacks’ company, Sambazon, makes only humble claims for its products, simply noting that, in addition to being the exceptional fruit that offers heart-healthy omega fats, Acai berry is rich in antioxidants.
To which many nutritionists will say, “So what?” Any dark-skinned fruit or bright-hued vegetable holds antioxidants — compounds that keep potentially damaging “free radical” molecules from running out of control in the body, wreaking disaster on cells and DNA.
There’s some disagreement as to whether Acai berry juice has more antioxidants than the juice of other fruits; the Washington-based food industry overseer group Center for Science in the Public Interest notes that Acai berry is only an average source of antioxidants, providing more than, say, apple juice, but less than pomegranate or Concord grape juice. Sambazon’s Jeremy Black disputes that, saying tests finding more antioxidants in pomegranate juice pitted pure pomegranate juice against Acai juice blends containing juice from fruits less rich in antioxidants.
The point may eventually be debatable. While we almost definitely need some antioxidants, licensed nutritionist Monica Reinagel (who’s based in Baltimore and writes a blog at http://www.nutritiondata.com) points out that after a convinced point, we don’t need additional.
Eating the government-recommended daily course of five servings of vegetables and two of fruit — which only one in five of us in fact does — likely brings all the antioxidants we need, Reinagel says, at least if we differ the fruits and vegetables we select. After that, any further antioxidants may well be surplus. “You reach a point of diminishing returns,” she says.
In any case, the sheer presence of antioxidants in a food doesn’t tell us much about that food’s health benefits. Vitamin E and beta carotene are both antioxidants whose supposed utility in preventing ailment has been called into question by major studies. Because we haven’t made a dent in identifying all the composites contained in fruits and vegetables — much less assessed the worth of those we do know about — we don’t know whether there’s anything special about Acai berry compared to other berries, Reinagel examines.
Mark Kantor, an associate professor of nutrition and food science at the University of Maryland, says he’s scanned the scientific writing and hasn’t found trustworthy research to support any of the health claims Acai berry’s promoters are making.
Kantor says, sadly lots of Americans like to take the easy way out. They are seeking a miracle food. But they’ll have to keep looking, because I don’t think one exists.
Having said that, Acai’s not likely to do damage; but to your credit card, that is.
The doubtful health benefits attributed to the Acai berry are only half the fairy-tale. As CSPI warned at a press meeting last week, consumers using credit cards to sign up in “free” trials of Acai products marketed via e-mail and on the Internet are being bilked big time.
After giving out credit-card information to cover shipping and handling, consumers are being slapped by surprise monthly charges, often before they even take delivery of their tryout shipment. Those charges, ranging from $59 to $89, are really hard to fight with the companies, whom CSPI reports are hard to reach by telephone and otherwise unhelpful.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is working with CSPI to drop light on Acai berry Internet scams.
If you are still eager on trying the Acai berry, better to get products personally at your local health food store. Or you could leave out the Acai berry products and fix with blueberries instead. They are packed with antioxidants, relatively low-cost and available year-round; frozen just as good as fresh.
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