Acai N Banana Smoothie

2 bananas
50g of Acai puree (or powder or fresh ones if you are lucky)
1 cup plain yogurt

Peel bananas, slice and in blender. Add berries to blender. Pour in yogurt. Blend until smooth. Pour into glass and serve

Acai Berry Pictures

A lot of talk about Acai Berries but what do they look like. Here are some pictures of Acai berries for you

Acai and its essential fatty acids

Açaí is a good source of essential fatty acids, why is this important I hear you ask

Essential Fatty acids are beneficial in aiding in the transport and absorption of various fat-soluble vitamins i.e. Vitamins A, E, D, and K.

Here are the percentages in Açaí berries

• 60% Oleic acid (Omega 9) which is a monounsaturated, essential fatty acid, Oleic acid can help lower LDL  while maintaining HDL levels.

• 12% Linoleic acid (Omega 6) which is a polyunsaturated, essential fatty acid, has been found to lower both LDL and HDL levels .

High cholesterol levels particularly the LDL are a major health risk particularly in western cultures, luckily as you can see Açaí berries have a positive effect on aiding the reduction of these levels

Acai nutritional information

Most of the research up to this point in time on the açaí has focused on a particular freeze-dried variant called  Opti-açaí.

This preparation of freeze dried açaí fruit pulp and skin was reported to contain the following (per 100 g of extract)

533.9 calories
52.2 g carbohydrates
8.1 g protein
32.5 g total fat.

The carbohydrate portion included 44.2 g of fiber.

The powder was also shown to contain (per 100 g):

260 mg calcium
4.4 mg iron
1002 U vitamin A

aspartic acid and glutamic acid

the amino acid content was 7.59% of total dry weight.

The fat content of açaí consists of

oleic acid (56.2%)
palmitic acid (24.1%)
linoleic acid (12.5%).[2]

Açaí also contains beta-sitosterol (78–91% of total sterols).

The oil compartments in açaí fruit contain polyphenols such as procyanidin oligmers and vanillic acid, syringic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, protocatechuic acid, and ferulic acid, which were shown to degrade substantially during storage or exposure to heat. This is why the Acai is commonly available frozen to preserve the goodness.

What is Acai?

Acai is a palm tree that grows in  Central and South America but mainly in Northern Brazil, the acai berry is the fruit which is harvested from this tree. Each tree produces branches with between 700 and 900 fruit per branch. The tree is also capable of producing fruit twice a year.

The acai berry has been used for centuries by native South Americans to keep up their health and prevent aging, more latterly acai has become a favorite in the west due to the publicity it has recieved.

The recent rush in fame for the acai berry is a consequence of reports that have shown the acai berry to be an astounding source of antioxidants .

It has rightly been called a superfood due to the high levels of antioxidants, vitamins and othe nutrients.