Acai Palm #2- Anthocyanins and Free Radicals

Bring on the Nutrients!

We have all heard that red wine is great for your heart. Most of us don't really know why. The ingredient found in red wine that poses great health benefits is something called Anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are compounds that have potent antioxidant activity, allowing for the neutralization of potentially harmful free radicals.

Free Radicals will damage cells and are believed to accelerate the progression of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and age-related diseases. Sometimes free radicals come in to our bodies just by every day life. Sometimes our bodies purposefully create them to neutralize viruses and bacteria. Other times it is things in our environment like pollution, radiation, cigarette smoke, or herbicides that can spawn free radicals. Normally our bodies can handle free radicals, but if antioxidants are unavailable, free radicals can become excessive and be damaging to our bodies.

Taking something with antioxidants is a smart way to keep those free radicals OUT. Even though red wine does have anthocyanins in it, Acai Berries found in Jus have up to 30 times the anthocyanins levels than red wine! There are some drinks out that are made completely out of Acai Berries... and that is good if you are just looking for an antioxidant strong in anthocyanins. Unfortunately to give our body the complete nutrients it needs by adding a supplement, you would need more than just the Acai Berries. In the days to come we will look at each individual ingredient found in Jus- the newest antioxidant supplement. Click here for a video explaining more details about Jus.

Acai Palm #1- The History

Pronounced Ah-sci-EE, this Palm is native to Central and South America. Acai Palms grow mainly around floodplains and swamps. The meaning of "Acai" in Portuguese is "fruit that cries or expels water".

The Acai Palm has many useful qualities. The heart of the palm is often consumed in salads. The leaves are used to make hats, mats, baskets, brooms, and roof thatch for homes. The trunk is used for building construction because of its resistance to pests. The seeds are used to make a variety of jewelry and souvenirs. Some of the seeds are even ground up for livestock food or for additional nutrients in organic soil.

The Acai Berry itself is very small, round, and is a dark black-purple color. Its resemblance looks much like a grape or blueberry, but with a very large seed and a small amount of pulp. In Brazilian herbal medicine, the oil of the Acai fruit is used to treat diarrhea; an infusion of the grated fruit rind is used as a topical wash for skin ulcers; and the fruit seeds are crushed and prepared in an infusion for fevers. In the Peruvian Amazon, an infusion of the toasted crushed seeds are used for a fever. In Colombia, where the trees grow along the pacific coast line, it is called "Naidi" and the fruit is turned into a common and popular drink.


This leads us to the most common use for the Acai Palm. The Acai Palm was introduced to the western world in the 1990's. The juice created out of the Acai berry is extracted from the small round fruit by soaking the seeds in water to soften the thin outer shell and then squeezing and straining them to produce a tasty dense purple liquid. Most of the indigenous population will consume up to 2 liters per day of this juice. The amazing health benefits backed by scientific research on these small berry's is bound to surprise you.


The following post will explain more on the health qualities of the Acai Berry...