Açai berries - so good, yet so hard to find

[zambro]

I don't know if anyone here lives in an area with a large Brazilian population, but if you have ever eaten in a Brazilian restaurant, you have probably encoutered açai juice. Açai is a berry found in the Amazon, and it's highly perishable so you can generally only find it in the US in a frozen juice or pulp form.

What makes the açai berry cool is its high ORAC score. Depending on what exactly is being measured, the ORAC scores range from 3800 to 6000 (blueberries~2400, spinach~1300) - this in addition having a decent nutritional profile (http://www.amazonberry.com.au/the_acai_story.php). Basically, nutritionally the açai berry appears to be pretty awesome. Unfortunately, it's not easy to find and when you do find it it's often mixed with some added sugar. I had some this weekend in like a frozen berry mixture and it was delicious.

Researchers have only recently been looking at the berry, so there isn't a ton known about its benefits other than the ORAC thing yet, and there are plenty of other good high-ORAC foods (http://www.accuracyingenesis.com/antiage.html). Just thought I'd bring this to people's attention because I just really liked that frozen berry thing. Mmmm.

[emartin10]

Acai berries are amazing. They not only have more anti-oxidants than blueberries, but also are a rich source of Omega-3's. The downside is that they are linked to neck cancer with a lot of the Brazilians since they eat so many of them. The best way to find them right now is in shake form at pretty much any health food store. They are damn tasty!

E