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Acai Berries: Superfood or Superscam?

Lee — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:55:56 +0000

Acai berries. Now there’s something that everyone knows about. Mostly everyone has either heard of acai being mentioned in the same breath as Superfood or Scam. Which is it really? Well it’s definitely a superfood, and in some limited cases it is also linked to a scam, too. I say ‘linked to a scam’, because I want to make it quite clear that the acai berry itself is not a scam, but the Free Trial Offers that offer customers cheap acai most definitely are. Read on and hopefully I can explain myself a little better.

Superfood?
Acai berries contain a lot of nutrients, amino acids, antioxidants and dietary goodness. One of the the reasons that it is so highly revered is that it contains much more bang per unit weight than any other known food. It helps in a wide variety of circumstances, too: from improved skin condition to reduction of cholesterol levels; from improved digestion to increased energy levels. It follows from this that even though adding acai products to your diet increases your calorie intake, the collateral benefits outweigh this small disadvantage enormously.

Superscam?
So if acai berries are so good, where does the ‘scam’ part come in? Well, as I mentioned it’s not the berry itself that is responsible, rather it is those that sell it to the unaware consumers.

The most common scam that we hear of is the Acai Berry Free Trial Offer. This ‘free’ offer isn’t really free at all. The scam lures you in by offering a free trial in return for you paying the shipping charges, but to pay the shipping charges you’re going to have to hand over your credit card details. Once they’ve got these they just will Not. Let. Go.

There have been many horror stories of people having to cancel credit cards just to stop these scam companies from charging them. Is it legal? Probably not, but who knows. Is it avoidable? Definitely, just don’t go for any free trial offers!

This scam is, fortunately, starting to become so widely known that people are slowly beginning to avoid it. Unfortunately the scam becoming common knowledge has meant that all acai products, sellers and distributors are getting tarred with the same brush and all acai is associated with dubious selling practices.

Acai Berry Does Not Equal Scam

Acai berries and their associated products are not necessarily scams. That some people choose to use acai as a basis for their scamming ways cannot be helped, but it is unfortunate that they take the majority of legitimate acai sellers with them. Acai is a superfood with super potential; avoid the scams and you’ll get on just fine.

The Little Fruits Taking The World By Storm: Acai Berries

Lee — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 21:44:02 +0000

Acai berries are something of a misunderstood quantity, and that’s putting it mildly. Depending on where you read about them, they can be somewhere between Satan’s own soft fruit, and the most beneficial and wonderful vegetable ever found. If Jesus had known about acai, then he would have forsaken the wine, fish and bread and made a bunch of these instead…etc etc. Of course the truth is somewhere in between.

Acai berries are a great health food, of this there is no doubt. They’re packed full of antioxidants and other essential nutrients that can all combine to get your body working to its full potential. If used alongside a sensible diet routine, acai can help you to lose weight by stimulating your metabolism, increasing your energy, and suppressing your hunger. Sound good? Yes, it is. They are arguably the most potent super food known.

If acai berries are all that, then why all the detractors? Unfortunately it’s not the berry itself that is the evil culprit, but a minority of the people and companies that favor dubious marketing techniques to persuade unknowing customers to part with their hard-earned cash. This is not to say that anyone selling acai berry is likely to try and scam you, but it will pay huge dividends to read around a little before you hand over your credit card details. Google for “Acai Berry Scam” and you’ll start to get some ideas of the marketing ‘tactics’ that you should be looking to avoid.

Acai berries cannot be held responsible for the actions of the people trying to sell them, naturally, but in the mind of those burned by these scams, the two are often inextricably entwined. Combine this often irrational and unfounded hatred of acai berry itself with the numerous court cases that are starting to crop up around the country – notably those brought by high-profile stars such as Oprah Winfrey – and you’ve got what could appear to be a bad apple. Or berry.

Acai berry is a super, super food. The good it does our health when combined with good diet and regular exercise should not – and cannot – be underestimated. All the acai industry needs to do now is to remove those rogue elements that spoil the party for everyone. Easier said than done, of course, but a bit of research on your behalf before you buy could start that push in the right direction.

Fresh, Frozen, or Dried Acai Berry â€“ Which Should Be Preferred?

admin — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:03:38 +0000

Acai Berry is a well-known substance for weight loss. But different available varieties leaves the user to the problem which form should he take to have the maximum benefits. Here you will find the details of different forms. As each one have different distinguished characteristics from others.
Fresh Acai Berry
Obviously the first preference of any fruit is the fresh form. But here the question comes how we can have the Acai Berry in the fresh form? The only possibility is that if somebody is living near the rain forests of Amazon. He should consider himself lucky as he can climb up the tree to have the fresh berries? Unfortunately most of us are not that lucky. It is important to note that it is ridiculous to import or export the fresh berries overseas, the reason being that around 30%-50% of berry has fat content. This fat content goes stale in no time. Consuming fresh Acai berry becomes something next to impossible.
Frozen Acai Berry
Now the question comes that what should a person do if he still wants to enjoy Acai Berry while he does not reside near the rain forests of Amazon. Good news is that Acai Berry producers have developed an Acai Pulp freezing process, the moment they are picked. It is because of the blessings of this process that now the frozen pulp of Acai Berry can be transported to other countries. Now the frozen berries can be easily consumed by blending it with juices, sweets, deserts and smoothies. There is still a problem as it is frozen it has to be kept in the cool place. Now the frozen berries can neither be kept in the bags nor are unlimited shops available for its purchase anywhere.
Dried Form
Luckily the Acai Berry producers have come up with a procedure to store the Acai Berry in the powdered dried form. For this they adopt the following procedure.

As this dehydrated pulp is in dry form it can be easily transformed into the capsules.

Summing-up it is not practically possible to have a basket and go in the rain forests of Amazon to pick the Acai Berries. Thanks to the innovation that has make possible the availability of such a healthy fruit all over the world. The dried and frozen forms are served in the marketplaces from where these can be conveniently purchased without the worry of them being rotten.

Is Acai a fruit, a berry, or what?

admin — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 09:22:01 +0000

The acai berry (ah-sigh-ee) grows in the Amazon rain forest and appears like a purple marble or grape. The berry grows in large palm trees, which reach up to 80 feet. The fruit grow in bunches, and each acai palm tree can yield three to eight bunches. The Acai berry is mostly seed pit and 10% pulp.
Acai fruit has a one-of-a-kind tropical fruit flavor and offers a high level of nutritional benefits. The acai fruit contains high levels of antioxidants called anthocyanins. It also contains Omega Fatty Acids (healthy fats), Amino Acids, Fiber, Iron and many other vitamins and minerals.
Acai has immense nutritional, health and wellness properties. It is an antioxidant, an antibacterial, an anti-inflammatory, an antimutagenic and also benefits the cardiovascular system.
Acai berries contain very high levels of essential fatty acids & omegas proven to decrease LDL & maintain HDL cholesterol levels. They also feature an impressive concentration of antioxidants to help combat free radicals and premature aging. Acai fruit is a source of a certain class of flavonoids called anthocyanins. The ORAC value of acai berry is higher than any other edible berry in the world! Acai is also an excellent source of dietary fiber!

All about the Acai Berry

admin — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 09:09:33 +0000

Perhaps youâ€™ve heard the buzz about the newly famous wonder food called the Acai Berry, and you arenâ€™t sure of much except that it is called an Acai Berry and it is supposed to be good for your health. Well, these are both true and both factual, so what else do you need to know? You should know a lot more things about the Acai Berry actually. For instance, the Acai is grown in South America, in the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil to be specific, and it is only available fresh when obtained there as it doesnâ€™t last long after harvesting. Also, the Acai Berry is a great source of Omega fats and other valuable nutrients that are amazing for the health of your mind and body.
The Acai Berry is known in the United States primarily for the supplements derived from the Acai Berry, these supplements are available in various forms and are being used more and more frequently by the American people as a daily energy boost as well as to keep their health in check and many doctors are rooting for the Acai Berry immensely. Knowing how terrible the average United States citizenâ€™s diet tends to be, doctors are more aware than anyone how important the use of supplements has become in our society. The Acai Berry is becoming the markets newest â€œsuper-foodâ€ and even being used by big name celebrities like Oprah who promoted use of the Acai Berry on her TV talk show.

Is there danger from too much Acai Berry?

admin — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 06:54:13 +0000

There is a lot of talk about super foods, and many people are recommending a lot of different products and foods as being ‘super’. What exactly is this ‘super’ suffix, though? What makes a particular food ‘super’? Quickly put, a super food is one that covers many of your mineral and nutrient requirements as possible.

The acai berry has become very popular as a super food of late. It has become very popular with good reason, as really it offers benefits in terms of instant delivery of amino acids and antioxidants that beat its nearest super food rivals by an order of magnitude. The acai berry is the super super food, if you like.

While there could conceivably be some danger in consuming a lot of one particular foodstuff, this level is likely to be basically unachievable with something natural like the acai berry. The locals that harvest the acai berry in the Amazon rain forest in Brazil (where it grows on tall trees) eat a lot of acai berry. The actual figure of acai berry consumed is not known but some early reports suggest that as much as 42% of their food intake consists of raw acai berries. How is that for a very impressive figure?