Supplement Detective

Summary: I see a lot of so-called Acai Berry benefits plastered all over the internet which made me wonder what all the fuss was about.  Acai berry is a Brazilian fruit that has been used for many years as a food product in that country.  Recently ‘discovered’ by the natural supplement market Acai Berry is touted as the newest superfood.  It is high in antioxidants, especially from it’s high anthocyanin content.  This grape size berry is high in nutrients but it’s true nutritional value is sometimes overstated by supplement manufacturers.

It’s official.  Just when you thought we had ‘discovered’ every possible superfood along comes an even greater superfood – acai berry.  And, even more amazing, is the doctors who claim it as a superfood just happen to have the best, most super-concentrated supplement currently available…

Of course, I’m saying that ‘tongue-in-cheek’ because, while it is a nutrient packed little fruit, supplement manufacturers have a way of over-touting their products and possibly making you even less healthy in the long run instead of focusing on the big picture.  But, over-hyped marketing aside I decided to take a look at what Acai Berry (pronounced “A-sigh-ee”) really is.  What is has to offer.  What claims are true and which are stretches.  And, if the supplement is worth your time and money.

Acai Berry Background

The Acai Berry (euterpe oleracea) is a small, grape-like fruit from a palm tree located primarily in Brazil.  There it is known as the “tree of life”.  And, maybe for good reason.  It is loaded with fiber, phytochemicals like antioxidants (primarily from it’s high anthocyanin content which gives it its rich color) and healthy omega fatty acids.  Also, it’s low in sodium, natural sugars and cholesterol.

Promoted Uses

Acai Berry has been primarily been promoted for use as a weight loss supplement.  There is also a great deal of promotion behind it’s high antioxidant activity (see section below).  Acai Berry has even been mentioned as a possible treatment for leukemia.  This likely came about as a result of a University of Florida study which showed that acai berry extract killed leukemia cells in a test tube.

It should be noted though that just because something happens in a test tube doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen in the body.

For example, you could probably kill Ebola in a test tube if you dumped bleach in it.  But would you want to inject bleach in your veins?  Of course not.  What it really comes down to is not mentioning concentrations of acai berry extract used in the lab.  I’m sure they are quite high.  They’ll do this initially in a lab to see if there is any ‘potential’.  If there is, they’ll continue to adjust to see if there is a future for human use.  But, in my opinion, making that jump, as so many natural supplement manufacturers like to do, is what gives good supplements a shady reputation.

Eating the Fruit

Unless you live in the Amazon region it will be difficult for you to eat the actual acai fruit because of its high fat content which causes it to become rancid quickly.  So, it’s often freeze dried for packaging and shipping or put in juices.

Avoid Juices

While juices may be considered by some to be a substitute for the fruit I’d recommend avoiding them.  Almost all fruit juice preparations are extremely high in sugars.  Leading to poor insulin control and insulin resistance as well as lowering the immune system.

How much of an effect this will have is questionable because you’ll still get a lot of the beneficial compounds of the fruit.

Secondly, most juice preparations I’ve seen are extremely expensive.  One product, MonaVie sells a 25.3 ounce bottle for $40.  The manufacturer recommends you drink two to four ounces a day.  At that rate the bottle will last you about a week.

Note: I received a spam email from a company trying to sell the MonaVie product.  This always puts me off.  If I had a BS detection checklist for any supplement or natural health company – sending out unsolicited emails would be on it.  I should note though, that in some cases the product company, in this case MonaVie, may not have any control over what their affiliates do or how they promote.

Antioxidant Activity

As far as antioxidant activity goes Acai Berry ranks high on the ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) scale.  But the ORAC can be a bit misleading because so many companies are now putting out ‘concentrated’ products that have “the highest ORAC” capacity without any scientific backing for their claims.

Secondly, the ORAC level is based on multiple factors and ’subsets’ of oxidants.  For example, they will measure different subsets of oxidative radical activity.  And presently there is a lot of arguing over which particular oxidative subset is more important and causes more damage.  For example, the purple variety of Acai Berry has shown excellent activity against peroxyl radicals, good activity against peroxynitrite and poor against hydroxyl radicals.

There have been other studies of Acai Berry antioxidant activity (with the frozen fruit pulp) which, out of 11 species tested, Acai placed fifth out of eleven.

My Recommendation:

There’s been a more popular trend lately to make little known or ‘foreign’ (read: exotic) fruits more advantageous that what they really are.  That’s not to say that Acai Berry isn’t a very nutritious fruit.  It is.  But, you could take a dangerous step in the wrong direction by focusing on only one fruit and ignoring the rest just because Acai is healthy.

Aside from missing out on the nutritional benefits of other fruits and vegetables it could also lead to things like allergies down the road from only eating one food – which I’ve seen happen.

While this synopsis of current Acai Berry information may seem a bit jaded that is really a result of the products on the marketplace which take a generally healthy fruit or food and turn it into another ‘miracle’ supplement or so forth.

I agree, if you can get some Acai Berry in your diet maybe give it a shot.  You’ll probably be limited to taking the freeze dried supplement form.  They are expensive so you may want to take it every second or third day.  Avoid the juices.  The sugar content is not worth it.  Also, they are exorbitantly expensive.  I know of products and companies who charge over $70 a month just for the Acai Berry.

In addition, I recently had a friend order an Acai Berry product from an ad where he only had to pay shipping and handling.  To make a long, agonizing story short – the company was pretty much a fly-by-night outfit and he spent over an hour on the phone with them trying to get a hold of someone and then ‘convincing’ them to cancel his order.

This was frustrating for him because their ad said they would cancel immediately ‘no questions asked’.

My friend researched online (after purchasing) and found out that there were many other customers who received the same kind of deceptive treatment.  Many of them claimed they had to eventually cancel their credit cards so the company could not keep charging them the monthly continuation fee.

Moral of the story: be vary wary of ordering any sort of Acai Berry product from TV or online that promises something to good to be true.  Actually, that goes for just about any supplement.  Always order from a trusted source.