Acai berries take New York by storm

Acai berries are the hottest anti aging product around..

But you’ll only get them fresh if you move to the Amazon.  The fruit only last one day after they are harvested, so only Amazonian locals get to drink the acai berry juice like water - the rest of the world makes do with frozen Acai berry pulp as the basis for juices and smoothies or eaten just as it is - in dollops with yoghurt or muesli. 

It just might be worth considering a move to the Amazon - Acai berries are twice as potent as blueberries in the anti aging stakes, with an amazing concentration of antioxidants to help combat premature aging, relieve rheumatoid arthritis and prevent artery blockage. 

No wonder the Acai berry palms are know by the Amazonian locals as "the tree of life" and have become the latest must have anti aging health food for fashionable New Yorkers.

And if you’re thinking that something so good for you just has to taste awful and make you fat…apparently not.  The berries taste like blackberries with a hint of chocolate and they are low in calories too - a filling 50g serving has only 45 calories and 1 gram of fat.  And you can feel extra virtuous whilst you enjoy your new diet - according to environmentalists, the planting and propagation of Acai palms will help to save the rainforests.

Californian surfers the first to see the benefits of acai.. 

Acai (pronounced "ah-sah-yee") first hit the news a few years ago when the Californian surfing community adopted it as an energy boosting and delicious drink. 

Before that it had been a well kept secret of the Brazilians for whom it had almost become something of a national dish. 

Its not entirely clear where the buzz from acai comes from - but it definitely has brain stimulating qualities - described by aficionados as something like Red Bull but much, much better for you and infinitely more delicious in taste. 

Because of the fiber content a smoothie or granola muesli with acai is a fabulous start to the day and for most people will be enough to see them way past lunch.

Two hundred thousand liters a day and rising..

In the communities around the Amazon estuary where the Acai palms are grown the popularity of the acai berry has been a lifesaver of a different sort.  Many of the smaller farmers and growers have been saved from economic ruin and their families from starvation by the growth in the market. 

In these small communites, the Acai berry is picked, squeezed and drunk fresh - with every meal.  In the main town of the growing region a population of around 1.3 million people get through an amazing 200,000 litres of the purple liquid every single day.

Obviously, we can’t match that - but acai is now available from specialist importers as a frozen pulp for regular consumption. The whole world can now get some of the nutritional wonder that is the acai berry. 

 

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