Jumping on the Acai Berry Bandwagon
March 18, 2008 by GiGi
Welcome back!
Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ve probably at least heard of the Acai (pronounced AH-sci-EE)Berry. This little Brazilian berry has been on Oprah, all the major morning shows, magazines, etc.
Touted as the best of the Superfoods, apparently it’s nothing short of a miracle.
But it wasn’t until a friend of mine started taking MonaVie and told me how much he was paying for it that I decided to explore it further.
$39 a bottle ($25 with a bulk purchase) – and a bottle only lasts about a week! Good grief!
Not only that, MonaVie is basically an MLM (multi level marketing) product.
So the quest was on. Find out what I could about this “miracle antioxidant” and see if other quality products are available for less.
First, the basics:
What is the Acai Berry and What Are the Benefits?
The acai berry growns in the Amazon Rain Forest and tastes like a berry with a chocolate aftertaste. Sounds great! It’s one of the highest in antioxidant properties – even beats the blueberry. The list of benefits include:
- Maintain the healthy function of bodily systems and organs
- Increase energy, libido and stamina
- Promote healthy, glowing skin and hair
- Support immune system
- Act as a powerful anti-inflammatory
- Help rejuvenate your mind, body and spirit
What Are Some of the Different Acai Berry Products?
You can buy it in many different formats, but the main 3 types are in juices, powders, and freeze-dried capsules.
JUICE
MonaVie comes in juice format and has to be refrigerated. Their acai juice is actually a blend of 19 different fruits. There’s no way of knowing exactly how much acai berry is in their formula.
If you prefer the juice blend, I’ve found another product for about half the price. If you scroll down their sales page, you’ll see a side-by-side comparison of their ingredient labels. Total Health at least prints the amount of acai berry they have in their juice. I find it amusing that they also claim to have more acai in their juice than the MonaVie product – how is that possible when nobody knows how much acai is in the MonaVie product?
Try the Total Health Acai Berry Juice for less than half the MLM product.
POWDER
The powders sure ran the gambit, but most of them are not all that pure in their ingredients. Even Dr. Perricone’s powder (made from extract) had all kinds of other fruit extracts and ingredients. So you can get Dr. Perricone’s Super Berry Powder with Acai for $60 for a month’s supply:
Or for less than half the price, you can get Berry Splash. It looks like about the same ingredients – at least they provide some ORAC values (that’s a way of measuring the antioxidants).
Freeze Dried Capsules
In this process, the berries are freeze dried and then processed as a powder or capsule. Most of the acai powders you see on the market are not actually freeze dried. They are usually made from a extract (which does not use the whole berry) or spray dried.
I think for the money, Perfect Acai is perhaps the purest grade of Acai available in an easy-to-take capsule form. I’m ordering it myself and will let you know how what I think of it.
P.S. I’d be curious to hear if any of you out there have tried an acai berry product – what were YOUR results?
For a really hilarious post about an acai berry product and how NOT to take it – read this: Awake Since Wednesday: Jamba Juice Acai Supercharger
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I actually enjoy a pomegranite/acai yogurt that is sold at Safeway. It tastes great but the amount of acai is unknown. I’ve purchased Sambazon at The Acai Store before as well.
Sambazon is a good brand from what I’ve read. At least on their label, it looks like they are only using freeze dried acai.
Just enjoy the taste of the yogurt – you don’t want to go reading the label on that one!
Gigi:
Good run down. You do not have to pay $39 (or full retail, $45) per bottle for MonaVie. There are alternaitives at a more reasonable cost.
Can I take acai supplements or products while breastfeeding? Is it really all natural?
Rachel,
Yes, most of the Acai products are all natural – (read the labels), however they all say to ask your physician if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. I think to be safe, you should NOT take the acai berry product without talking to your doctor.
GiGi
I’m considering taking supplements of this berry as a stimulant in my diet plan. I have read on numerous sites that it helps with weight loss. Does anyone know how true these claims are? I don’t want to spend the money if it won’t work… God knows we’re all scrapping to save our money in these economic times…
Jenn-Oh, I think using the Acai Berry for weight loss would really depend on the individual. I think it’s good for overall health benefits, and it may aid in your weight loss program, but only if your program already includes a good diet and exercise plan.
Perhaps someone else knows of some testing that was done. It would have to be tested on 2 groups following the same diet and exercise programs – one taking Acai Berry and one not taking it.
The acai is really amazing, if not a little over-hyped, that being said, there’s no reason not to give it a shot.
Sambazon Acai products are #1, i’ve tried them all and this brand of product is the purest/best for your buck. Go to http://www.sambazon.com, or if you live by a Whole Foods Market, go there and purchase what you need…they have a frozen smoothi pack, a powder, & capsules, all for a great price.
I wonder how long it will take for the scientists to confirm whether or not Acai berry is as effective as they claim it to be and if it really has any youth properties to it? For example if a product is recently discovered it could take up to 10 years to get the data from clinical trials? I am very interested in the long term benefits of Acai and reserveratrol.