More Acai Berry Information
Amazon Acai Berry
Acai (ah-sigh-EE) is the high-energy berry of a special Amazon palm tree. Harvested in the rainforests of Brazil, acai tastes like a vibrant blend of berries and chocolate. Hidden within its royal purple pigment is the magic that makes it nature's perfect energy fruit. Acai is packed full of antioxidants, amino acids and essential fatty acids.
Everything is 100% organic and is processed and refined in quality controlled USDA organic certified facilities in Brazil. It is then imported into the US for individual packaging at USDA organic certified facilities. This is to ensure only the freshest and highest quality certified organic acai products.
Amazon Thunder has the only acai concentrate with no added sugar or caffeine.
Why acai?
Studies have shown that this little berry known as acai is one of the most nutritious and powerful foods in the world! Sure, there are other antioxidant wellness fruits such as Goji, Noni and Mangosteen; but, they simply do not compare to acai. Unlike acai, they do not contain the essential fatty acids known as Omega 3, 6 and 9. Also, 99% of these other fruits (as well as some acai fruits) are refined in China where they spray everything with harsh chemicals and preservatives and have the lowest form of quality control and have virtually no organic program.
Amazon Thunder™ contains:
Essential Fatty Acids, Omegas 3, 6 and 9: These are the "good" fats of the human body and are very important to our health. These are considered "essential" because our body does not manufacture large quantities of them, in spite of being substances involved in the vital functions of a human being, especially in building the structure of cell membranes and in the synthesis of prostaglandin, lecithin and melanin. These essential fatty acids play an important role in maintaining low levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, in the stabilization of the heart rhythm, in cleaning the arteries and to normalize arterial pressure. They regulate the hormone prostaglandin, which helps the body in cleansing the walls of the blood vessels and to diminish the formation of blood clots. Some scientists do not consider Omega 9 as essential, because our body can produce it in small quantities, either way, it is associated in the reduction of the arterioscleroses, reduces resistance to insulin, which balances the glucose. Essential Fatty Acids improve the immune system.
Anthocyanins and Polyphenols (Antioxidants): These antioxidants are the substances that protect the cells against the damage from oxidation caused by "free radical" molecules. These chemical products can damage you by splitting important cells, including proteins, damage membranes and to create mutations in the DNA. This cell deterioration, caused by the radicals, is a cause in the development of cancer, in the loss of mental capacity, loss of memory, degenerative illnesses and premature aging.
Essential Amino Acid: Muscle regeneration, giving strength and resistance.
Sterols (beta-sitosterol): These phytosterols have very special properties. Its formula is very similar to that of cholesterol and due to this it masks cholesterol and it avoids the body’s ability to absorb cholesterol. For many years it has been used for lowering the levels of cholesterol in the blood and for problems of the prostate, balancing the level of sugar and help to control type II diabetes (caused by aging). Also anti-mutagenic effects have been reported, along with the fortification of the immune system.
Vitamins A and C: These are antioxidant vitamins produced by nature. They fortify the immune system, the skin, eyesight and the formation of red blood cells. The absence of vitamin A produces blurry vision, bad nails, dry skin, and hair loss. The absence of vitamin C diminishes our defenses, causes premature wrinkles to appear, a delay in the healing of injuries, inflammation, bloody sores and sets a general abatement. If you suffer from one of these symptoms, it may be that your body does not have enough of these vitamins.
Acai has been reported as one of the top 10 superfoods because of its nutritional value.
Acai Berries and ORAC
Over the years, Acai berries have been gaining quite a reputation due to the many benefits associated with a high level of antioxidants. Through the consumption of antioxidant-rich foods, one may combat fatigue, illness, and disease, including heart ailments, cancer, and other degenerative concerns. To better understand the health benefits associated with Acai berries, it is important to become familiar with ORAC values.
What is ORAC?
The ability to control oxygen free radicals is expressed through an ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) number. Using test tube analysis, the ORAC number is assessed by the measurement of antioxidant activity for any given substance. Higher ORAC numbers means that a substance possesses stronger antioxidant powers. A variety of foods provide a high ORAC score, which includes Montgomery tart cherries, prunes, raisins, kale, spinach, cocoa, pomegranates, black raspberries, and Acai berries.
Benefits of High ORAC Values
The buzz regarding foods with high ORAC values, such as Acai berries, has centered on early findings that revealed the consumption of many fruits and vegetables with high ORAC scores may slow down the oxidation process linked to aging. It is a belief that antioxidant-rich foods possess the power to ease the detrimental changes concerning the body and brain that are caused by aging. Many middle-aged and younger individuals have started to increase the number of high-ORAC foods included in their diet in hopes of combating the diseases and illnesses associated with getting older.
Additional benefits connected to high ORAC values include the chance to combat long-term memory loss; slow down the deterioration of learning ability; boost brain cell activity; and prevent oxygen damage in different parts of the body, such as the capillaries (tiny blood vessels). The ORAC Number of Acai Berries
In order to reap the benefits of antioxidants, a diet high in foods showcasing a high ORAC number is suggested. Fruits and vegetables are often assigned a high ORAC number. The USDA suggests a daily intake of 3,000 to 5,000 ORAC units. Unfortunately, the typical person in the United States is only consuming less than 1,000 ORAC units per day. In actuality, the recommended "5-a-day" fruit and vegetable requirement established by the USDA generally delivers an ORAC score of 1,750 units.
Common fruit favorites, such as the apple and banana respectively provide an ORAC score of 218 and 221.The blueberry is considered one of the healthiest berries in the world and offers an ORAC score of 2,400. However, when it comes to fresh Acai, the fruit holds an impressive ORAC score of 5,500. If you are lucky enough to get your hands on freeze-dried organic Acai, you may take advantage of an ORAC value nearing 35,000 per 100 grams.
(Again I have no affiliation with this company nor do want to endorse them. However in my online research comparing apples to oranges they appear to have the best product I for the Acai berry I could find.) This product seems to be all organic and offers tremendous health benefits.