Acai Berry for Weight Loss - Separating Fact and Fiction
A Quick Recap on the "Amazing" Acai Berry
The acai berry grows in the acai palm trees of the Amazon rainforest. The acai berry is very high in antioxidants, healthy omega fats, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. Acai gained international recognition as one of the healthiest fruits in the world after Dr. Perricone named the acai berry as the "#1 superfood" on the Oprah Winfrey show. Acai has been featured on the Today Show, CBS Early Show, New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. It is important to point out that while the acai berry itself has been the subject of extensive news coverage, specific brands of acai were never endorsed by Oprah or Dr. Oz.Sine 2000, when acai was first introduced as juice and supplement in the USA, sales have been growing steadily. After Dr. Perricone named the acai berry the #1 superfood in 2004, sales started to take off. Acai berry juices, freeze dried acai supplements and acai smoothies became the "must have" exotic health tonic for many people.
Acai Berry Health Benefits Start to Take on Mythical Proportions
As use of acai berry supplements increased in 2005 and 2006, the stories of health benefits started to flood internet forums and websites. Users reported increased energy, better immune response, increase in libido, reduction in joint pain, better mood and more. Clearly, the very strong nutritional profile of the acai berry was producing incredibly positive benefits in many users.Starting in 2007, a new health benefit of the acai berry was starting to make its way around the internet - incredible weight loss! New companies started to pop-up on almost a daily basis with claims that the acai berry was a weight loss miracle and could help consumers burn away pounds with little to no effort.
Acai Berry and Weight Loss - A Match Made in Marketing Heaven
A search of PubMed for clinical studies on the acai berry and weight loss turns up no real results. An examination of the web sites making strong weight loss claims shows no clinical evidence to support their claims. A review of the mechanism of actions in the phytonutrients that make up the acai berry uncover no explanation as to how acai could help with rapid weight loss.In the end, it does appear that the claims of being able to lose 30 pounds in 30 days while using any acai product are untrue. Incredible claims of weight loss with acai are fictional and not based on the facts. In fact, many of the websites that make incredible weight loss claims have tiny print at the bottom of the page that says that rapid weight loss is not typical and the stories of the weight loss on the site are actually fictional.
When it Comes to Acai Berry and Weight Loss - It is Not All Bad News
The claims of rapid weight loss by just popping a few acai pills is a case of being "too good to be true." On the other hand, the theory behind acai increasing energy and helping people feel good is based on science. Studies show that the real key to long term weight loss is to exercise and reach a point where more calories are burned than consumed. The acai berry, with its ability to increase energy may help consumers exercise more and be more active, which can lead to real weight loss.Consumers looking for a quick fix to rapid weight loss will not find the solution in the acai berry. On the other hand, consumers looking for a healthy fruit that can help increase activity levels and exercise and in turn achieve some long term, realistic weight loss goals may want to consider the acai berry.
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