Acai is a simple berry which has been in use as a traditional staple food of Amazon river basin tribes for centuries, and recently gained recognition as “super food” status in the western world. Nonetheless, this wonderful berry offers very good levels of anti-oxidants, minerals, and vitamins that would benefit overall health and are commonly found in many fruits fruits like mango, blueberry & pomegranate

Health benefits of acai berry

• Acai berry has High Levels of anti-oxidants, minerals, and vitamins that have health benefiting and disease preventing properties.
• Unlike other berries and fruits, acai has high healthy levels of calories and fats. 100 grams of berries provide about 80-250 calories depending up on the preparation and serving methods. In fact, fresh acai berry has been the staple nutritious diet of native Amazonian for centuries.
• Acai berry contains many polyphenolic anthocyanin compounds like resveratrol, cyanidin-3-galactoside, ferulic acid, delphinidin, petunidin as well as astringent pro-anthocyanidin tannins like epicatechin, protocatechuic acid and ellagic acid. Scientific studies suggest that these compounds are linked to as anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer functions by virtue of their anti-free radical fighting actions. In addition, tannins found to have anti-infective, anti-inflammatory, and anti-hemorrhagic properties.
• Primary research studies suggest that ellagic acid in acai has anti-proliferative properties by virtue of its ability to directly inhibit DNA binding of certain carcinogens (nitrosamine toxins) in the food.
• Acai berry is also rich in medium chain fatty acids like oleic acid (omega-9) and linoleic acid (omega-6). These compounds help reduce LDL-cholesterol level and raise good HDL-cholesterol levels in the body and thus help cut down heart disease risk. Additionally, the essential fats in acai help prevent skin dryness by maintaining adequate moisture in the skin.
• Acai pulp has good levels of dietary fiber. Adequate fiber in the diet helps clear cholesterol.
• ORAC value (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) of acai berry is thought to be at mid-level range for fruits, higher than that of oranges but less than pomegranate. USDA so far has not validated exact ORAC value for acai.
• Acai berries contain a good amount of minerals like potassium, manganese, copper, iron, and magnesium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese is utilized inside the human body as co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase.
• Further, they are rich in B-complex vitamins and vitamin-K. Niacin, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine) and riboflavin are found in adequate amounts in them. These vitamins are function as co-factors and help body in the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

【Reference】

http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/acai-berry.html