14 Nov 09 Don’t Believe the Hype! The Acai Berry Diet Exposed

Why is it that I can not be on the internet these days for more than 10 minutes without coming across and ad, popup or banner for this magical new diet based on the acai berry? Can there be some legitimacy to all these fascinating claims or are we just looking at another current day snake-oil scam? Is this plain purple berry the nutritional powerhouse a lot of folks are declaring it is? Finally, and what many call the million dollar question; is fat loss attainable with a diet based on this little purple phenomenon?

Why is it that a purple berry, from the rainforest, that no one had heard of before the last couple of years, is now found in everything from beer, to shampoo to snack bars and beyond? Why are food manufactures scrambling around to come up with as many acai products as they feasibly can?

I have tossed out a lot of questions for you to mull over so before we begin getting to the answers, I must first answer the primary question and the focus of this article; does the acai berry diet work? YES and NO.

Now, do not adjust your screen or hit refresh; I in fact did say “yes and no” and I assure you that I will not leave it at that. By the time you have completed reading this article, you will understand exactly why I provided you with that answer and more importantly, you will be in a position to make an extremely knowledgeable decision.

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It is going to be very easy to speak about the “no” portion of my response so let’s get that out of the way first and then we can advance to the “yes” portion. In all my years and all my experiences, I have never seen a fruit based pill assist any individual lose weight when used on its own accord. I find it exceptionally scary that all over the internet I am coming across product pushers claiming that all it takes is a several of these magical pills each day and presto; the weight just disappears! Alas, it doesn’t work that way.

Let’s redirect now and look at why I said “yes” when I answered the original question from the beginning of the article. I have spent a innumerable amount of time researching and personally understanding the sort of results a person can expect to realize when they incorporate acai or an acai based product into their diet or weight reduction regimen. Before we carry on, please remember that I am not a medical doctor or some Masters or PhD scientist. So my research was not done in a lab and I am not examining this berry at a molecular level. My findings come from real world application. Application on myself and the statements I have obtained from dozens of people that have evaluated and incorporated different acai based products into their weight loss efforts.

After almost going blind from all the journal articles and lab results I have read over, I would be doing this little special berry no justice by simply stating that it contains an extraordinarily intricate array of nutritional properties. I was absolutely blown away by some of the findings I uncovered and what is even more amazing is that many of the leading minds feel it will probably be another few years before we can fully grasp the true nutritional abilities contained within that berry. Proper and superb nutrition is a key ingredient of any successful diet and nutrition plan and as you can imagine at this point, the acai berry is at the top of its class in this department.

So, what is it that makes this berry so special? Let’s start by taking a look at where it is found and go from there. The place it calls home is a significant factor in comprehending its nutritional supremacy. You can travel our globe all you want but I will save you the time and cost if you are looking to find where the acai berry grows and prospers. It is indigenous to solely one location and that is the Amazon Rainforest in the jungles of Brasil. This fact plays a central part in understanding why it is that on a nutritional level, this berry is such a powerhouse.

First and foremost, lack of urbanization and industrial development have kept this berry clean of so many of the impurities we come across in today’s fruits (impurities caused by things like pollution, insect killer, etc…). Second, because of where it grows, it literally needs to be resilient in order to endure many of the adversities nature throws its way; hardships like seasonal flooding, strong rays from the sun, and other fruits and vegetation competing for the resources that are needed to grow and blossom in that environment. This hardiness is found in the skin of this fruit and that is exactly where so much of the remarkable nutritional properties this fruit possess is stored. The acai berry grows far above the ground in a particular species of palm trees. When you compare apples to apples (no pun intended), the acai berry really has no known equivalent in the fruit or vegetable arena. Its nutritional properties and the levels of antioxidants that it has are off the charts. When the pulp and skin of the acai were analyzed, it was found that it contained an remarkable amount of amino acids, trace minerals and essential fatty acids.

Free radicals are not our allies but alas, a large amount of us are relentlessly exposed to them; day in and day out and our bodies are full of them. Fortunately for us, the levels of antioxidants found in this berry act as a great source of free radical killers.

Each and every time you walk around underneath the sun and take in a gulp of air, your body is taking in pollutants which aid in the formation of free radicals. Unless you propose on never leaving the confines of sealed chamber, don’t throw away your time in trying to invent a way to evade free radicals; it is a practical impossibility. An accumulation of free radicals is something you should fight at all costs. Not only will you seem more worn because of an acceleration in the aging process, you will also lower the potency of your immune system which leaves your body more prone to illness and disease.

I would like to give you a real world example so you can really comprehend what free radicals are doing to your body. Please go and grab an apple. Cut the apple in half and observe what happens. As it changes color, that process is known as oxidation. Free radicals do the same thing to your cells; they cause them to oxidize. More antioxidants equals less free radicals in your body… that is how you are going to overwhelm them. You need to ensure that your diet consists of foods that are rich in antioxidants. If you look in a book titled, ‘The Perricone Promise’ (or on Oprah’s website), you will observe that the author, Dr. Nicholas Perricone, lists the acai berry as his # 1 pick for superfoods in the world.

Please keep in mind that there are a great deal of advertisments and websites out on the internet today that are promoting the ‘Acai Berry Diet’ as Oprah’s new diet and this is a total fabrication of the truth. At the time of this article being written, there were no acai based weight loss products that she was endorsing or standing behind.

Now that we are done with the science lesson, let’s swing our focus back to losing weight. The secret is not to throw away time in search of that one almighty and all-powerful fruit or vegetable that is going to make it happen for you. Yes, the acai berry has many amazing properties and makes an first-rate add-on to most nutrition plans but if you want real weight loss success (in particular for the long haul), you need to make smart choices about all the food that is going into your body. It is of the highest importance that you take the time to comprehend which foods in reality help the fat burning process and more importantly, which foods hinder the process. There are a lot of impressive strategies out there like ‘calorie shifting’, which permit a person to use particular nutritional properties found in various foods to help boost your metabolism. This permits your body to generate a greater number of fat burning hormones which will, of course, help your body lose weight more swiftly.

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So now that we comprehend that free radicals are bad, antioxidants are good, and acai berries have lots of them (antioxidants); how do we include acai into our diet while avoiding all the scams we are reading about each day and what can we expect once we are using it? This is a long way from being a authentic science experiment but I did collect a noteworthy amount of testimonials from different people consuming acai based products and I have gone ahead and listed them below. One significant thing to note is that I have only listed items that myself and least 2 other people experienced or felt:

- Heightened energy levels
- Deeper and sustained sleep in the evenings
- Improvements in my skin and complexion
- Enhanced sexual drive and performance
- Better focus throughout the day
- Almost no occurrence of heart burn or indigestion
- Overall higher stamina

Put the car keys down! I don’t want you driving off to your local farmers market… not unless that market is located in the Brazilian rain forest or at a minimum, within a few hours of it. I am certain I just spoiled the idea you had for acai pancakes in the morning but it is exceedingly important that you understand this part. Upon being harvested from the palm in which it grows, the acai berry starts to lose its nutritional propensity just about immediately and inside of 24-36 hours, well… you might as well settle for some blueberry waffles.

I know that I have presented you with a lot of information to digest but this next part is going to be the most crucial and relevant portion of this article when it comes to acai, your diet and weight reduction. If you elect to include an acai based product into your diet, please take a lot of precaution in selecting a product and take extra care if you see the phrase ‘free trial’ in the offer or advertisement. Let me assist with the translation; ‘free trail’ is turning out to be another way of saying ‘scam’ with a large number of these offers (notice the words I used. Not ALL of them are scams).

Pills: check; powders: check; liquid form: check… I have evaluated just about all the different forms that acai based products come in and the one that gave me the most physical benefit came in a liquid form. The product name was MonaVie. They are a Utah based direct sales company and aside from the acai berry, their functional health beverage contains 18 other fruits known to contain tremendous levels of nutrition and antioxidants. This article is not intended to be a product promotion and that is why you are not going to find any links directing you to a distinct product. My goal is to share with you what functioned best for me, and for a substantial # of people I have spoken with. Even though this particular product is not an acai only product, from what I understand, it is the key ingredient in the blend and it also supports my belief in not focusing on just one ingredient to be the magic. If you want to concentrate on locating an acai only product to incorporate in to your diet, the key is to find one that preserves the nutritional integrity of the berry once it has been picked from the palm. So, with that being said, focus on acai that has been freeze dried in Brazil. If it is processed in the States, I doubt it made it to the processing facility within 24-36 hours of being picked. Also, confirm that they are processing the whole berry. Many facilities dispose of the skin and if you have read this whole article, you know exactly why that is a very poor idea.

On a final note, I have to highlight this one more time; please be very cautious with all these free trial offers that are floating around out there…. In particular, the ones using Oprah’s name. I’m sure some of these free trial offers are legitimate but I have spoken with a handful of folks that said they were charged a very small amount and before the product even arrived, they were charged a much larger amount. They then had a very arduous time trying to cancel the service. On top of all that, when they received the product, it was junk (their language, not mine). If you are considering one of these offers, take the time to understand the fine print within the terms and conditions and know what they plan on doing with your credit card #. Also take the time to find out what is being charged and when. One last bit of advice,  try contacting customer service before placing your order and see if you are actually able to speak with a human being.

A diet rich in antioxidants is very important if you want to maintain a healthy or healthier lifestyle and the acai berry is a great addition to just about any nutritional program. Alone, it is not going to shed the weight for you but properly integrated into your diet, it can help with the overall program by providing more energy, focus and drive. Items you certainly need to successfully lose weight.

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