History of the Acai Berry

History of the Acai Berry

Acai berries may be fairly new to the diet and medical world of the northern hemisphere, but the people in the Amazon have long been using this amazing super food for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. Used mostly as a delicious addition to the native diet and to treat skin blemishes and promote digestive health, the acai berry is nothing new to the native tribes of Brazil and the Amazon rainforest.

Unfortunately, is has not been until fairly recently that people outside the Amazon became aware of the acai berry’s amazing abilities. In recent years the super food has been grown and exported from the Amazon at a phenomenal rate, which is only increasing as acai?s popularity grows. We are fast approaching the point where acai products can be purchased on the shelf of nearly any supermarket or grocery store? a far cry from just a few years ago when no one had even heard of the stuff.

The important thing to note about acai is its very short lifespan. From the moment the fruit is picked, you only have about 24 hours until it loses its beneficial properties, so until recently that limited acai?s consumption to a small radius around the area in which it was harvested.

Acai’s commercial popularity actually began with Brazilian surfers who used it as a smoothie additive to help regain their energy through a hard day of surfing. From there its popularity spread until acai smoothie stands peppered the beaches of Brazil, touting their product as a natural energy booster as well as its viagra like abilities.

From there researchers got a hold of the fruit and began testing the claims the surfers and local peoples made about its incredible properties. Lo and behold, most of them were not only true, but vastly understated! Those little purple berries, in addition to tasting great and being packed with energy, were also found to be absolutely bursting with vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and antioxidants, which can help fight and even prevent cancer.

As word spread about its incredible abilities, people began working out ways to preserve the acai berries for a longer shelf life so they could be enjoyed outside of the Amazon and Brazilian beaches. Now a days it can be found in many different forms, such as juices, pulps and purees, in addition to being used as an additive in candies, drinks and an almost infinite variety of dietary supplements. It is sold in grocery stores, health food stores, gyms and doctor?s offices, and has even been featured on Oprah. Quite a ride for something that just a few decades ago had never even been heard of outside remote areas of the Amazon.