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Sunday, May 31, 2009

More About the Rachel Ray Acai Berry Hype

By Jane Moore

For all those you have internet or a TV, we know Rachel Ray loves Acai. Acai is the new superfood promoted by Rachel Ray, Oprah, Dr. Perricone and Dr. Oz. For those who haven't heard of it, the acai berry is dark purple or green in color. This berry grows naturally and without cultivation at the crown of fast growing palm trees which dominate the rain forests in the Amazon, particularly in parts of Brazil. Every six months, the local population harvests the berries and uses them to make a fruity pulp which flavors a variety of different foods. In its raw form this berry pulp has a short shelf life and needs to be used quickly. If not used immediately after harvest the pulp needs to be flash-frozen in order to prevent spoilage.

Acai berries are a significant source of anthocyanins which are a particular antioxidant nutrient. This nutrient is the same as that which provides red wine with it's health benefits. Acai are also a good source protein and fiber. Lastly, acai berries also provide a good quantity of vitamins and omega fatty acids. Acai Berries provide a remarkably powerful combination of many healthy nutritional benefits.

Since being introduced to us by Dr. Perricone, acai has garnered a lot of attention. The internet is now full of acai promotions. Acai Berry ranks among Dr. Perricone's top ten superfoods. These superfoods if consumed regularly are supposed to make us look significantly more youthful in a short period of time. Acai berry has captured the eye, attention and imagination of many television celebrities. Rachel Ray drinks a type of acai berry juice daily and claims it makes her feel great.

Healthy lifestyle information is becoming more common. We are regularly hearing that we should eat more foods rich in healthy oils and antioxidants.. It is commonly known that antioxidants are absolutely critical to enjoying good health. Antioxidants help us fight the ongoing threat of illness and disease and the deteriorating and debilitating effects of aging. Antioxidants are well recognized as an essential and critical part of a healthy lifestyle.

I think highly of Rachel Ray and her opinions on wellness, drink and food. As a science oriented person myself, I was interested in learning about Rachel Ray and acai berry. As you can imagine, I was thrilled to read that recently a team of researchers decided to investigate just how much antioxidant benefit was actually in commonly available acai juices. Three store bought and readily available acai juice blends containing unspecified and presumably varied concentrations of a?a? juice and/or acai pulp were compared for in vitro antioxidant capacity against other commonly known antioxidants including tea, six types of pure fruit juice, red wine and pomegranate juice. The results are surprising at first glance. The antioxidant capacity of the acai juice blends was approximately equal to that of black cherry or cranberry juice, and was higher than that of apple juice, tea and orange juice. The antioxidant capacity of the acai juice blends was actually ranked poorer than that of Concord grape juice, pomegranate juice, blueberry juice, and red wine. How does this make me feel about Rachel Ray and acai? Acai juice blends are significantly better for you than orange or apple juices, but not as good antioxidant-wise as either red wine or pomegranate juice. Simply put it still means that readily available acai juice blends provide a health benefit.

I have seen these blends and there is no telling whether they are 90% acai or simply apple juice with a splash of acai. The problem with this study is that it uses juices with unspecified quantities of acai. The above experiment was done on commercially available acai berry juices. In fairness to Rachel Ray and acai she promotes a specific type of acai juice which might have a greater concentration of acai. - 17273

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