Weight Loss with Acai Berry

Using Acai Berry for Weight Loss

Since the popularity of the Acai Berry products has been constantly increasing, it was quite rational to link all the society's major healthcare problems to it as a means to squeeze as much profit as possible. In spite of the fact that it is a natural product, the fruit of a palm tree that grows in the Amazonian rainforest throughout Brazil and Belize, different effects have been randomly attributed to it fact that led to several misconclusions. There is no question that for some Acai Berry might work as many things, including a diet nutritional supplement. Or that it might aid in fighting cancer, treating coronary artery disease, improving vision and sexual drive, yet the biochemical basis of this process is still unknown and thus is treated with circumspection by healthcare professionals.

It's probably not only the placebo when it comes to Acai Berry, though the increase of consciousness in the western population over the past few decades regarding healthy ways of living might sustain the placebo-only theory. Cromatographic analysis of Acai Berry extracts showed the presence of multiple chemical compounds that are either exactly the ones implied in several metabolic processes where they act as beneficial for the body, or at least part of the same class as the ones that do. The next step was to make inferences that the sole presence of the compounds within the fruit (although some are present in never yet observed concentrations) would be able to aid the body in fighting serious conditions.

As overweight tends to be a much general problem for the modern individual that mostly relies on fast-foods and snacks as means of achieving his caloric daily goal, a potential market segment of the Acai boom was the problem of losing weight. The general theory that combines Acai Berry and weight loss states that they act as a metabolism enhancer or booster, that fires up catabolism (powers burning of different resources in the body in order to produce heat or energy) and thus consumes the lipid mass of the patient.

The fruit itself consists mostly of the seed which is large compared to the juicy mass (skin and pulp) that only accounts for 10% of the mass. However the skin and pulp are the only parts implied in the Acai Berry as we know it (the deep purple part of the fruit). It is true that the natives used to cut down Acai palms much more often and employ them into several other uses like for example making roofs, hats or baskets from the leaves, or using the wood for furniture and construction. It seems that the increased demand on western markets for the fruit has not only led to decreased chopping down of the palm since the fruit-industry is much more profitable but also to serious replanting of the previous chopped grasslands. Today's main use of the palm is a nutritional one, but this however does not only imply the berries. Natives have been long acquainted to the existence of a juicy inner cylinder within the trunk, which they call the heart of the palm. This juicy, semi-solid mass is the base for a delicacy called "millionaire's salad". All these other potential uses might soon start to be put into profit by Acai distributers in the US, and millionaire's salad has been anyway long-time served in restaurants throughout Hawaii for example.

In the past few decades the classic view of the weight loss regimen has seriously changed, since nutritionists became much more aware of the fact that not the loss in weight is the one that really matters. Instead a healthy way of losing weight is much more important, since cases of denutrition, malacia, vitamin-deficiencies and metabolic disturbances were frequently observed following drastic diets. Thus the concept of weight loss now does not only include losing several pounds, but it supposes a healthy way of doing it, and in general a healthy way of life that is to be adopted in the post-decremental period. It then seems rational that since it is usually people that suffer from metabolic disturbances that get fat, to constantly look for better and more natural ways of enhancing metabolism, and bringing it to a constantly high level, in order for the diet's result to be long-lasting. It might be simpler to advise the individual not to eat unhealthy food for the rest of his life, yet his QoL (quality of life) index would seriously drop since he might be willing to undergo a diet as long as he is overweight and bothered by it, but this drive will wear out as soon as he drops a few pounds. As soon as he would walk-out on the diet he would then experience the long described yoyo effect (reset his constant weight at a level even higher than the one previous to starting the diet). The nutritional composition of the Acai Berry has led it to be called "the number one super-food in the world", majorly because of the “metabolic enhancer properties".

The fruit is extremely rich in sugar, having 52.2 grams of carbohydrates for 100 g of pure juicy pulp. Another 8.1 grams of proteins and 32.5 grams of total fat add up to a maximum of 533.9 calories when consuming 100 g of pure pulp. This seems to be incredibly much, at least since it is a fruit that we are talking about. Perhaps an amusing paradox is that although a fruit many describe its taste as being very similar to that of chocolate, and at the same time it does resemble the caloric potency of chocolate. Other contents of the berry include: 44.2 grams of fiber, little C vitamin, calcium and iron, but an important 1002 U of vitamin A that was later attributed to potential effects of improving quality of vision.

It is really worth mentioning a few aspects regarding the oil composition of the fruit. In spite of the really significant amount of oil being located in the seed and not in the pulp (as in any other plant), the qualitative aspects found within the seed seem to be copied inside the pulp. The most important of all is the good omerga-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio. That is the percentage of omega-3 fatty acids is higher than the percentage of omega-6 fatty acid; this balanced ratio has long been recognized to be of protective importance to the vascular endothelium, and atherosclerotic vascular disease. The explanation for this is that omega-6 fatty acids like for example arachidonic acid tend to turn into pro-inflammatory compounds as they reach the body (thromboxane, prostaglandins, leucotrienes) while omega-3 fatty acids like alpha-linolenic acid for example act as a counterpart generating anti-inflammatory chemical molecules inside the body that react against the pro-inflammatory ones. Since the atherosclerotic disease is currently viewed upon in the light of the inflammatory theory, it is estimated that a good omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ration will cut down inflammation on the vascular endothelium and thus slow down or perhaps even treat pre-existing atherosclerosis.

The phytosterols existent within the fruit (occurring basically in any kind of plant) are also important for cell membranes, since sterols are part of the lipid bi-layer structure of cell membrane. It seems that this will have effect especially on tissues that constantly experiencing either high pressure or drag: for example the skin, the digestive tract and others.

What should be well understood is that Acai Berry is neither a miracle in weight loss industry nor can it do the job by itself. That means that the Acai Berry diet by itself is completely useless unless combined with proper exercise, way of life and of course food. You should also take into consideration that it might have side effects. In case of weight loss we could question its enormous amount of sugar, and the important amount of fat, concluding that Acai by itself cannot be your main meal or your only meal. It is also true that a balanced diet must consist of 50-60% carbohydrate, 15% protein and 25-35% of fat. Yet this must be obtained as a result of composing several basic meals, and not only by consuming berries.

There was a recent dispute regarding to how much of Acai Berry can be consumed, or at least is advised to be consumed. Of course this varies according to individual size, energy intake need, appetite or available resources. For example sportsmen throughout Brazil make the berries part of their daily diet due to the high amount of energy that provide. Since the energy comes from sugars it means it is quickly accessible, being fit for individuals that undergo very intense physical effort in little time (judo fighters for example). The sugars might prove very tricky in case of diabetic patients (that might be quite numerous in the overweight population) and still, might lead to increasing weight in case some would consume more berries than necessary and then not put themselves through the necessary effort to burn the caloric intake.

Acai Berry distributers have agreed on a general 1000 to 4000 mg of Acai Berry extract per day, as means of reducing the consumption rate to a safety one; this is far less than the natives are used to eating daily, but at the same time Acai Berry is a rather new food in the US, and digestive immune tolerance might be rather low. Unauthorized sportsmen recommend that not more than 4 oz of fresh berries or puree should be consumed daily.

It was also postulated that the increased amount of fiber is one of the causes for losing weight. Indeed the fiber acts as a mechanical irritant of the intestine's wall, and increases peristaltic waves. This, combined with the sugar inside the berry that by osmosis will suck water inside the gut, will probably lead to a mild diarrhea and to decreased nutritional absorbing capacity of the intestinal mucosa than in time might promote weight loss (not necessarily in a healthy and desired way, but more often through cachexia).