With loads of antioxidants, the Brazilian Acai berry (AH-sci-EE) is considered to have the best nutritional value of any fruit in the world. The reported health benefits are simply amazing. With the symmetry of a grape and the size of a giant blueberry, the Acai fruit tastes a bit like wild raspberry with a hint of grape. Most people have trouble putting their finger on the taste because it's so different. The Acai Berry is truly a wonderful plant. Acai Berries grow on an Amazon Heart of Palm Tree and have been prized for hundreds of years by Brazilian natives for its high nutritional content. Acai Berries are high in essential fatty acids & omegas -- 60% Oleic (omega 9) - a monounsaturated essential fatty acid. 12% Linoleic (omega 6) - a polyunsaturated essential fatty acid. Acai also contains many valuable Phytosterols. Sterols are compounds of plant cell membranes which provide numerous benefits to the human body.   The Acai Berry is a dense source of a particular class of flavonoids called anthocyanins. Acai Berry's ORAC value (a measure of its antioxidant properties), is higher than any other edible berry on the planet. The Acai Berry is also an excellent source of dietary fiber! The Acai Palm is a tall slender South American (concentrated in Brazil, Guyana, Suriname) palm grown for its fruit as well as for the "cabbage" (the cluster of new leaves more commonly called the "heart of palm"). It prefers swampy areas, and grows quickly. The fronds were (and still are) used for thatching and weaving. Each Acai palm tree produces small deep purple, almost black, fruit (berries) in groups of 3-8 per bunch. The fruit is edible, and its pulp is used in wines, liqueurs, as flavoring, as colorant, and on its own as a juice. Current (Western) Use - Acai is currently being tested not only for its health properties, but also as a dyeing or contrasting agent in the human body in preparation for MRI scans of the gastrointestinal tract.

 

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