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Acai Berry Diet: Miracle or Hype?

By T. Kallmyer

One of the newest so called "super foods" has found its way out of the deep, dark parts of the rain forest and now is available to work miracles for your health.

Well, with the recent hype about the acai berry, one would think this were true. So what are the facts concerning this little berry and what can be attributed to marketing hype? Hopefully this post will help you sort the fact from fiction.

The acai berry has been around for a little while, but once it was promoted by Oprah it has exploded on the health scene. In one of Oprah's show " 10 Foods for Age-Defying Beauty", they listed acai berry as the number one super food food saying,

This little berry is one of the most nutritious and powerful foods in the world. It can often be found in juice form in health food and gourmet stores.

Of course what ever Oprah says is gospel so this sent people on a mad frenzy to get their hands on this fruit, which also led to hundreds of websites starting up to capitalize on the 'acai berry diet'.

The Facts

The acai berry grows on a palm tree in Brazil and has been consumed by Brazilians for ages.
The acai berry is extremely high in anti-oxidants.
Some research has supported some of the health claims
Some dieters report decreased appetite and higher energy, but this isn't substantiated with sound research.

Misconceptions

One has to consume the juice and pulp to get all the health benefits, most products just offer the dried or the juice version.
Weight loss claims are not supported by research
Acai berries are not a quick fix, miracle berry, but part of a healthy eating plan.
The same amounts of anti-oxidants can be achieved by eating a variety of fresh dark fruits such as blueberries for much less money.
There is no true acai berry diet, but can be incorporated into any healthy diet.

Buyer Beware

Scams abound with the acai berry, so be careful that you order from a reputable source. The high quality pulp is expensive, so beware of sites that would offer it dirt cheap because that might just be what you are buying as it is often mixed with other things, containing a very low concentration of acai.

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38 Comments

Adam

Well, with the recent hype about the acai berry, one would think this were true. So what are the facts concerning this little berry and what can be attributed to marketing hype

Glen

The high quality pulp is expensive, so beware of sites that would offer it dirt cheap because that might just be what you are buying as it is often mixed with other things, containing a very low concentration of acai.

Cari from ditch diets

Ho hum....isn't it interesting how Oprah didn't even mention the word weight (at least not from what I can see here as I didn't watch this show myself), but so closely do people identify what she says with weight that they don't even hear age defying - they hear get thin! Reminds me of all the hype about Hoodia which the bushmen of Africa have been taking forever.

Kevin

Thanks DietBlog.com for posting this great article on Acai Berry. If your readers never heard of Acai Berry, it tastes great and is verry healthy for you. Here's an informational website on this powerful purple berry: http://www.acai-berry.com

Miroslav Nikoov

Oh, its not so great they say. It is just a small fruit. We have much of it here in Bulgaria. Of course it has benefits, but it is just as other fruits.

Oprah is not a specialist and I think it is not right to listen her. Much people think she is so great, but she is not.

If you think that taking acai berry and no dieting at all will bring you results, just forget it.
Remember that almost every diet that has name (acai berry diet, fish diet, fruit diet) does not work.

Names are very good way to sell something to people.

SCal

Hasn't Oprah lost all dieting credibility anyway?

Acai Diet

Acai really is a solid dietary supplement that works well in conjunction with a proper diet and exercise for weight loss. However like most supplements, you really have to be careful about the quality provided by the supplier.

sam

Check out this article about Acai and other super fruits..

http://skeptoid.com/episode.php?id=4086&comments=all

Sandra

This is truly a number one super food of are modern times from the rain forests of Brazil where so many more new medicines are being discovered all the time.
Acai berry and its many forms can only help our bodies to become healthier.

Sandra
http://www.acaiberryreporter.com

The Fit Dad

Thank you for posting this!

I'm getting sick and tired of people trying to tell me that the acai berry is some magical fruit that will cure anything and everything.

The only magical fruit i know of is beans and all they do is make you toot.

Sorry I couldn't resist throwing in that childish little tune after I mentioned magical fruit. That's the first thing that came to mind : )

In case you didn't "get it", I know beans aren't fruits...

acai berry diet pill scam

There are literally hundreds of complaints about the 'acai berry diet pill' scam concerning their 'free trial'. Buyer beware! Read their 'terms of service' (if they have any VERY CAREFULLY!

Renee

I call myself researching acai berry, well I didn't do a good job, I like a nut got caught up in that 4.95 free trial, do not fall for that, I said ok not really reading all the small print, they took the 4.95 from me and I NEVER receive the pills, so I contact them and told them only to be direct to an operator who does not or barely speak english, trying to cancel that mess out was a BATTLE itself, I emailed, I called, and emailed again telling them I DO NOT WANT IT, and I was no longer interested in it, they proceeded to tell me that they shipped it by then it was 20 days and no pills, it was like I was Talking to a brick wall, the woman proceeded to tell me that she was going to extend the 14 day trial for another 14 days, I told her again I do not want it if it come I will refuse it, all the while lying to me, I received a email telling me Oh Our Bad we never sent the product to you, and we're going to refund "78.00" back to your account, There a BUNCH OF SCAM ARTIST!! DO NOT FALL THIS MESS when they offer 4.95 free trial shipping DO NOT FALL FOR IT! trying to cancel them out is unheard of!!! Never once telling you how much there pills where going to cost no where mention on there website at ALL!!!!! Please BE AWARE of these scams..... You will be better off going to a health food store.....

Disappointed

There is no "free trial" of Acai Berry, and if they claim there is, then it's a scam. I foolishly signed up for the product and they charged me $80.

Mike H.

When trying to sift through the clever marketing of the acai crowd - we must be aware of the "in vitro" vs. "in vivo" distinction. Antioxidant potential is measured in what it does in a test-tube, not what it does in the body. Human digestion alters, and in most cases degrades original compounds.

Another point to ponder... acai, mangosteen, noni juice, etc. tend to use the ORAC scale as a be-all-end-all determinant of antioxidant capacity. Unfortunately, this method is non-specific - measuring antioxidant capacity of a solution. It therefore doesn't account for things like flavanol or phenolic content, which is limiting considering these components have been shown to have have a stronger link to disease prevention than antioxidants.

When various fruit drinks were compared using other testing methods - including polyphenol content, acai juice ranked a mere 7th (behind red wine, concord grape juice, blueberry juice).

If you are going to go the juice route, you would have to ask yourself: Should I be paying $40 a bottle for the protection I can get in a $4 bottle of grape juice? Or better still - is there any additional benefit when you are eating sufficient veggies and fruits?

Sandra

Acai is all the rage at the moment but some unscrupulous companies are scamming people for hidden costs in their free trials. When these free trials are taken out you are also signed up for membership and on going supplies.

Be careful

Sandra
http://www.healthreporterplus.com

Freda A Key

I had a similar problem with the Acai website from Oprah and CNN reports. I signed up for a special $1.95 trial offer and before I finished pushing the mouse button, my debit card was charged $41.85. This overdrew my account, (I was only planning to try the trial). Calls mean nothing, their que wait time is always 58 or more minutes. I e-mailed and go no response. I had to go to my bank and put in a dispute which Acai berry totally ignored, its still pending since Nov 16th and they charged my debit card another $39.95 on Xmas day. Merry xmas to me I guess. I now have cancel my card to get out of this mess. I am truly disenchanted with this company.

Liz

Thanks Miroslav. Out of all the comments, posts and answers I've seen regarding the acai berry, your response sounds like the most truthful. I was going to try the berry but have changed my mind because of your response.

Miroslav Nikolov

Of course you can try it Liz, but I don't think it alone will help you.

I suggest you to try some normal diet:
Reduce carbohydrates and increase protein intake. Do cardio 3 or more times per week. This is the best diet to lose fats and keep your muscles untouched.

This works for me and for much of the people. I am sure it will work for you.

By the way, if you are searching for supplements, go where fitness and bodybuilders buy their supplements. You can find them in almost every sports shop.

Ask for creatine, L-glutamine, L-carnitine, whey protein and so on...
:)

ronika

I totally agree with you Mr. Bulgaria! Habbit changeing is essential to real weight loss. This is just another scam to rip people off. Just because Ms. Oprah endorses it, it's so obvious that is doesn't work for her. She's clearly admitted that diet modifications and exercise is how she was able to lose the weight before. Back when I was weighing 250 I decided to workout twice a day and moderate dieting helped me lose 80 lbs in 6 months. No pills.

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