Juice Comparison

A study recently conducted at the University of Florida in Gainesville on the properties of an extract of the acai berry produced some surprising results. When exposed to acai berry extract, cancer cells died. These were cancer cells which have proven to be resistant to other treatments. This was the first of many studies planned on the properties of the acai berry in cases of cancer.

When testing leukaemia cells with the extract from this berry, a staggering 86% of the cells self-destructed. Although the benefits of acai berries were already known as a great source of antioxidants, this has been an astounding discovery. An assistant professor at University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Services has confirmed that 86% in not an exaggeration.

There may be other fruit-based antioxidants and other compounds which are effective against leukaemia and other cancers, but all of the research done so far is preliminary since there are many other factors which must be accounted for in these studies. The data from the University of Florida acai study, however, shows great promise thus far.

The Australian public has quickly gotten on the acai bandwagon, with great popularity present for a diet rich in tropical fruits such as acai, noni, goji and mangosteen. There are quite a large number of promotions ongoing for juice products made from these fruits. Many of these fruits have been found to be high in antioxidants.

A study from March of this year in Brisbane, Australia focused on the differences between the antioxidants sourced from olive leaves and those occurring in these tropical fruits and juices. This study showed some antioxidant properties to be present in olive leaves, but those done on acai berries have been more conclusive in their results.

The most interesting of these studies are, of course, the ones which have been done on fruits and cancer. U.S. researchers are working tirelessly to find a cure for cancer, especially leukaemia. Australia is doing the same in regard to cancer research. Leukaemia is the top disease related cause of death in children aged 20 and younger worldwide. For this reason, leukaemia research is a priority for many nations around the globe.

The research done thus far is very rudimentary and more studies must yet be done to learn more about the properties of these fruits in fighting cancer cells. The acai berry alone contains somewhere between 50 and 75 compounds, many of which are relatively unknown. The acai berry is extremely perishable, which makes it a difficult subject for study.

Acai berries are similar in size to a blueberry, when ripe are a dark purple colour, and have a seed inside. When they are picked, if they are not used immediately or frozen, they decompose. Because they come from the Amazon River floodplains the options for freezing them for a long journey are not as viable as the alternative.

To be imported all the way to Australia, acai powder works best. This is produced from acai berries by dehydrating and then freeze-drying acai pulp. Far easier and cheaper to export than are the ripe berries, this powder can then be used in all sorts of nutritional supplements and foods. The powder contains all of the same nutritional and health benefits of the fresh berries.

While the research is still very much a work in progress, this and other newer therapies give researchers hope that someday there may be a cure developed for the scourge of leukaemia.

Author: Americo Tognetti is amazed by the acai berry because it supplies such a boost to all through the Acai Fruit Powder.