You might have wondered about what acai is when you passed them in places such as cafes and supermarkets. There are some great reasons acai is considered a superfood.
Having fruits in your diet is one of the essential components when it comes to maintaining positive well-being. However, fruits may not be the only things you need to consume for a healthy diet, but numerous and important nutrients are contained in fruits that we need. So, having fruits in your daily diet is crucial to keeping a healthy and balanced lifestyle. One of the amazing fruit to have in your diet is acai berries. There are various reasons acai is considered a superfood and would benefit you in numerous ways.
You may have times when you knew that fruit is essential in your diet but wanted more diverse choices. Although different fruits provide certain nutrients and benefits, exploring other new options wouldn’t be bad to make things a bit more exciting. Acai can be a unique option and is filled with rich nutrition to provide numerous benefits such as heart and digestive health improvement. They are considered a superfood, making them a fantastic choice for your overall health.
What Are Acai Berries?
Acai berries are grown in clusters under broad leaves on the acai palm tree and belong to the berry family. It looks quite similar to grapes, having purple skin and yellow flesh but a large-sized seed inside them. Although the seed covers around 80% of the fruit, there are rich nutrients within the remaining 20%, consisting of skin and flesh.
In terms of taste, they generally have a tropical and naturally sweet flavour but are pretty versatile, making them compatible with various other ingredients. Acai berries are often unable to be obtained fresh and transported in powder or bronze forms. One simple reason is they usually have a short shelf life unless you are in a location where acai palm trees are grown.
Beneficial Reasons Acai Is Considered A Superfood
There are some beneficial reasons acai is considered a superfood with the rich nutrients they contain for your overall health.
1. Acai Berries Are Rich With Antioxidants
You may have heard various berries are filled with high levels of antioxidants playing a significant role in stopping or slowing the damage caused in our body by free radicals. Acai berries are also known to have an abundance of antioxidants, even richer than some other berries such as blueberries, strawberries and raspberries.
Generally, having efficient amounts of antioxidants in your diet helps strengthen your body, supporting them to combat harmful effects caused by numerous factors like stress or the environment. Antioxidants may improve your immune system and can help in reducing inflammation you have throughout the body.
2. Acai Berries Could Improve Digestive Health
Acai berries are rich in fibre and consist of various antioxidants. Fibres can help to cleanse your colon and other intestines, allowing your body to stay optimal. A balanced diet with fibres supports your digestive system to work more smother and reduce possible digestive issues such as bloating. Whereas antioxidants, particularly polyphenol antioxidants, maybe more helpful for supporting the beneficial bacteria in your guts. Generally, good gut bacteria help break down food and reduce the overgrowth of harmful bacteria that may cause digestive problems.
3. Acai Berries May Support Cognitive Function
Diet rich in antioxidants can help improve brain function by potentially reducing the effects of brain ageing and, in turn, boost cognitive function. Also, antioxidants could help to protect your brain cells from oxidative stress and inflammation. In particular, one of the antioxidants called anthocyanin may support you in improving and enhancing memories. Anthocyanin not only promotes positive brain health, but they are known to help in autophagy function. It is a process used by the brain to regulate damaged or dead brain cells and promotes new cells.
4. Acai Berries May Improve Heart Health
The antioxidant called anthocyanin, often found in plants, is thought to be linked with reducing LDL cholesterol, also known as bad cholesterol. Additionally, acai’s fibre and healthy fats may reduce LDL cholesterol while promoting HDL cholesterol, known as good cholesterol. In particular, fibre is also thought to be associated with a lower occurrence of cardiovascular diseases and even reducing the speed of disease progression. Generally, the rich compounds in acai berries may help regulate blood sugar levels and cholesterol.
5. Acai Berries Could Have Anti-Cancerous Properties
Although there might not be concrete research conducted on acai berries yet, acai consists of anthocyanin, an antioxidant. Anthocyanin is known to have potentially anti-cancerous properties. It is thought to promote cancer cell death, have anti-inflammatory effects and activate detoxifying enzymes. However, more research might be required to know better how acai berries or anthocyanin may have anti-cancerous properties.
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Where You Can Use Acai
Although you may not be able to get fresh acai, you can obtain acai berries in powdered form or frozen. However, it would be best to check if the product you are trying to get doesn’t have added sugar which could stimulate the generation of radicals. For instance, this Amazonia Raw Acai Freeze Dried Powder doesn’t contain added sugar which can be used for acai smoothies and bowls.
• Acai Smoothie
You can add your acai product, whether in powder or puree form, with milk, water and other substances you might enjoy. Also, add your favourite ingredients such as banana, strawberries and blueberries and blend to make a smoothie. Depending on the ingredients you may add to the smoothie, you can have numerous combinations of nutrients.
• Acai Bowl
You might have wondered what acai bowl is if you heard or seen them in places like cafes or supermarkets. Generally, you could think an acai bowl is a smoothie in a bowl with a slight difference. Although you could blend everything, this would mean you basically made a smoothie. You can first make an acai base like the smoothie stage with water or other substances and put it in a bowl for an acai bowl. However after, instead of blending all your favourite ingredients, you can add them to the bowl like other berries, oats or granola and sliced bananas. You can enjoy various rich, nutrition-filled acai bowls to your liking.
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Having fruit in your diet can be crucial for your overall health, and adding them daily for a healthy lifestyle. After all, fruits, among others, are one of the vital sources of nutrients that we need for various benefits. So, to make things a bit more exciting, it would be wrong to explore numerous options, and acai berries are one of the great choices. Not only are acai berries unique, but there are some reasons acai is considered a superfood.
Acai berries consist of rich nutrients like fibre and antioxidants that provide numerous benefits not limited to boosting your brain function and improving digestive and heart health. Furthermore, acai berries can be pretty utile and versatile, allowing them to be compatible with other ingredients, such as smoothies or acai bowls. Mixing with other ingredients can provide you with numerous combinations of nutrients. Therefore, consider adding acai berries to your diet; who knows, it may surprise you.