Acai is a true superfood, but its reputation would benefit from less hype and more research
The New York Times recently ran a full-page story on the marketing hype surrounding the Amazonian berry known as acai. I agree with most nutrition-oriented physicians, such as Dr. Perricone, who is quoted in the article, that acai can be considered a “superfood”. Like many other dark berries, it’s highly concentrated in phytochemicals and therefore it likely offers greater health benefits than many other fruits and vegetables.
Acai is known to be especially rich in antioxidant plant chemicals called proanthocyanidins and anthocyanins, which are subclasses of the highly touted plant chemicals known as flavonoids. Because these subclasses of flavonoids have the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and to affect cell signaling pathways, anthocyanin-rich foods are currently being studied for their potential to help prevent or treat a number of chronic diseases, including Alzheimer’s, macular degeneration, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. And it’s highly likely researchers will find they do offer some therapeutic benefit in humans.
However, as the New York Times article stresses, the current acai marketing hype is over-the-top and, in some cases, actually criminal. This is especially true for the weight loss claims. There is absolutely no published clinical research supporting the claim that drinking acai juice or taking acai as a supplement will increase your chances of losing weight. In fact, there is still not any clinical research in humans showing that acai improves any health outcomes. The claims being made via sketchy marketing techniques that acai will cure health condition are false (not to mention illegal) based on current FDA dietary supplement regulations.
I am all for eating a diet high in phytonutrients and phytochemicals and I have no doubt acai, in addition to other fruits and vegetables with high phytochemical concentrations, is truly one of the world’s healthiest foods. Just don’t fall for the false and misleading hype. Unfortunately, it takes a lot more than a little acai every day to lose weight or cure a chronic disease that’s resulted from years of poor lifestyle choices.
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