Diabetes is increasingly becoming a problem in many affluent societies; approximately 18% (8.6 million) of Americans age 60 and older have diabetes. High levels of obesity combined with poor diet and a distinct lack of exercise mean that more and more people are suffering from this long-term (and largely incurable) disease. And it is not just Western societies that are falling under the sway of diabetes: as a middle class emerges in many large developing nations, so it brings with it changes in lifestyle and — particularly — diet. These changes introduce health problems of their own.

Diabetes is thankfully controllable, but it still represents a lot more than a mere inconvenience to those who have been diagnosed.

Preventing diabetes is still something we can all aspire to; we can all make a few minor changes to our lifestyles in order to improve our chances of evading its clutches. A good diet and proper exercise can significantly decrease the chance that a person will contract diabetes. Some dieting aids can help even further, and this is where the acai berry comes into its own.

There are a number of direct and indirect ways in which acai berry and acai berry products can help prevent the onset and effects of diabetes. Read on.

Appetite and diet
Acai berry contains a high concentration of fiber and omega fatty acids and a good dose of amino acids, carbohydrates and vitamins. In combination and alone, these nutrients have been shown to suppress the appetite and actively fight the fat that builds up around your body. Being able more accurately to control your appetite and your diet mean you are less vulnerable to overeating and bringing the problems associated diabetes.

Very low glycemic index
A food’s glycemic index (GI) is a way to describe the difference in the carbohydrates contained in that food by ranking them according to their effect on our blood glucose levels. Low GI foods produce only small fluctuations in our blood glucose and insulin levels, and this, according to reports, is the key to long lasting health. Naturally smaller fluctuations in glucose and insulin levels are good for our bodies, and essential for diabetes sufferers.

Anti-oxidants and nutrients
Anti-oxidants are the key to a long life. This point might not be directly aimed at diabetes sufferers — or those particularly susceptible to contracting the disease — but it’s an important factor in all our lives.

Increase in energy levels
The increases in energy levels that the acai berry promotes lead indirectly to a fitter, healthier lifestyle. If you’re fitter and healthier then the risk of diabetes is reduced; if you’ve already got diabetes then the effect of its symptoms are reduced. All around a good deal.

It is important that acai berry is not the silver bullet for diabetes: what it can do is significantly improve your chances of living a life without fear of diabetes. With the disease reaching so many people, it is sensible to make full use of all the help you can find.

Despite many articles in various newspapers that suggest evidence to the contrary, people really do want to get fit; unfortunately the vast majority of people just don’t go about it in the right way. Many people find themselves swayed by the short-term promises offered by makers of chemicals, drugs and supplements that just are not as good as they say they are. People can find themselves drinking a diet drink in the morning to help with their weight loss, taking vitamins to help get them through the day, and drinking an energy drink in the afternoon to get them over the hurdle presented by the fatigue of our hectic day to day life. This is a cocktail of potions that are shoved into the body; many don’t give the benefits they promise and nearly all are synthetically produced.

The new Acai Berry Functional Fusions range from Acai Zone takes away the need for you to fill yourself full of these temporary aids, many which can actually do more harm than good. Acai is a natural product and it can help all of us to lead healthier lives.

By drinking Acai Berry Functional Fusions on a daily basis you will start providing your body with what it needs to maintain good health, stay energized and feel awake and alert all day. Drinking these purees instead of taking numerous sources of chemically altered foods will provide you with better, healthier results in a natural way. You will also have more energy with which to burn off any excess calories. To top it all off, acai berry has been shown to have properties that mean it is an excellent appetite suppressant. Acai provides a lot of benefits to a lot of people.

The Acai Berry Functional Fusions range is made with acai berry puree; this is very different to the heavily diluted and over processed mixed acai juices other brands try to pass off. With Acai Berry Functional Fusions you are getting maximum benefit out of this impressive little berry. Plus, you will get to have all of this nutritional value in a drink that tastes great at the same time.

Who said you can’t have your cake and eat it?!

Your body’s immune system is essential: without it even the mildest cold or infection could be fatal. Anything you can do to boost the effectiveness of your body’s immune system is A Good Thing; this is where a sensible diet that includesacai berry can help.

Your immune system uses a combination of tools such as enzymes, good bacteria, proteins, cells, organs and tissues to protect against diseases, viruses, bad bacteria, tumors and parasites. If we are able to strengthen just one of these tools in our body’s biological ‘toolbox’ then that that tool will become more efficient at its job: greater efficiency means more effective protection. The million dollar question is how one goes about strengthening these tools.

Well actually, there is good news: scientists have been studying the immune system in humans and other organisms for nearly two and a half centuries. Now we are able accurately to identify those naturally occurring substances which can assist each of the tools in our toolbox. The way to help may be as simple as getting enough sleep or drinking the right amount of water every day. This article discusses 10 ways in which to boost your immune system, and none of them take much effort.

Other more difficult — but equally worthy — goals may be, for example, getting more antioxidants into the system; this is not ‘difficult’ in the sense of being hard to do, but difficult in the sense that your average person doesn’t know what an antioxidant looks like, nor where it could come from. The same goes for vitamins A and C, and other ‘invisible’ nutrients which help the body and its immune system in some vital way.

As noted in an article about the antioxidants in acai berry fighting cancer cells, antioxidants and anthocyanins (which are in fact a special type of antioxidant. Read more in this New Hope article) can be very useful things to have floating around your body. Antioxidants in your blood help to cancel out the effects of ‘free radicals’ (molecules arising from various wastes and pollutants that can damage your cells). A paper by Silvina B. Lotito and Balz Frei tells us that

Increased fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with a decreased incidence of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and other chronic diseases. The beneficial health effects of fruits and vegetables have been attributed, in part, to antioxidant flavonoids present in these foods.

Vegetables and fruit contain antioxidants; the acai berry contains a lot more than most.

Your skin is in itself an organ, and is a vital barrier against intrusion from the outside world. Keeping your skin healthy is one of the jobs of Vitamin A. Plenty of Vitamin A is a recipe for good, clear skin (in fact it is one of the best forms of attack against acne).

Vitamin C is equally vital to our health. Lack of vitamin C can result in scurvy and was of great concern to the sailors and pirates of yesteryear who spent a long time without fruit and vegetables. It was for this reason that British sailors transported — and ate — large volumes of limes; this particular predilection for citrus fruit was the genesis of the nickname ‘Limey’.

People who enjoy a sensible diet will generally find that they have most of the nutrients they need for a moderately effective immune system, but why stop there? Fruits, vegetables andsuperfoods like the acai berry can give your body a much needed boost in these, and many other, areas.

References

1. Can Acai Berries Really Help To Fight Cancer?, AcaiBerrySite.com. Source [retrieved Mar 04 2009]
2. Anisman-Reiner, 10 Ways to Boost Immune Health, naturalmedicine.suite101.com. Source [retrieved Mar 04 2009]
3. Sterling, Got Anthocyanins?, NewHope.com. Source [retrieved Mar 04 2009]
4. Lotito and Frei, Consumption of flavonoid-rich foods and increased plasma antioxidant capacity in humans: cause, consequence, or epiphenomenon?, Free Radical Biology And Medicine, [2006 Dec 15;41(12):1727-46. Epub 2006 Jun 3] Summary
   

Acai Berry has been complimented by a variety of people both famous and ordinary over the last year or two as the media attention for this small super fruit has gone off the charts. In TV shows, news broadcasts, magazines, newspapers and online the incredible benefits of the Acai berry have been displayed proudly. This small Brazilian palm berry has now been tested by a team of Texas AgriLife Researchers and the results made it into the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The study showed that the fruit is indeed absorbed into the body very effectively and since its jam packed with anti-oxidants and other great things like vitamins and minerals the Acai Berry has proven to be a highly effective and beneficial health food.

The recent scientific study involved 12 healthy volunteers and a single serving of pure Acai berry juice. The results of this study were clearly pointing towards more research necessary on this wonder fruit. With so many reported health benefits, testimonials and the encouraging news of this study it is more than warranted that in depth research needs to take place.

The Acai Berry is naturally low in sugar, high in antioxidants and a multitude of other things that really make this fruit a top contender in health foods.