Recent years have seen the media overrun with details about the Acai Berry and its benefits. But less talked about is the background of this elusive fruit, and how its benefits have actually been utilised by others for thousands of years.

The Acai Berry (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) grows on a tree from the palm family and can reach heights as high as 25m. The berries themselves grow in large groups above the trees huge slim trunk.

Sources state that the fruits were first of all ingested by Amazon tribes thousands of years ago. It needed a skilled tribesman to climb towards the tops of these trees and obtain the fruits.

Despite zero scientific facts, the tribe’s habitual use of the fruit resulted in an excellent understanding of its health giving attributes. They believed that the fruit helped to safeguard the heart, fight illness, extend the lifespan and even enhance sex. Most of this has today, by means of official experimentation, been shown to be true.

Over the last twenty or so years the berries properties as a health food started to catch on to other areas of the planet. The Brazilian surfer community used the Acai Berry in order to recover energy after time within the ocean, and the berry is typically added in as an ingredient in smoothies that are available along the shorelines of Brazil.

It was close to this time that scientific scientists caught onto the probable features of the Acai Berry, and began research into the actual components of the berry. Many analyses validated the berry as a rich source of essential vitamins and minerals, as well as being full of fibre and filled with the essential Omega oils that humans need for a healthy heart.

In spite of hefty marketing, it is most likely Oprah Winfrey who can be thanked for the Acai Berries renowned reputation as a slimming food. Oprah’s opinions were highly regarded by much of the population as a result of her fame as a serial dieter. It is since that time, that slimmers just about everywhere are looking to the Acai Berry for the additional boost they need.

Recent years have witnessed the berry utilised not just as a weightloss supplement, but also as a detox food and as an active ingredient in energy bars and healthy snacks. Energy bars and beverages infused with the Acai Berry can now often be found for sale in gyms and health clubs. The fruits effectiveness as a source of energy can be proven using the information that Amazonian tribes also employed the berry to boost their energy when hunting.

So what does the near future have in store for the Acai Berry? We can only speculate, but if analysis into the fruit continues and peoples concern and awareness for their health keeps increasing, it’s likely that the sales of Acai Berries will increase. All being well, unlike the usual effect of supply and demand where costs rise, an increased demand will result in increased production – subsequently causing the price of the berry to decrease.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 6th, 2011 at 12:59 am and is filed under Diet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.