The skinny on acai berry

Posted by Joe on June 11th, 2009

Acai (pronounced a-sigh-EE) is a berry has come into the collective conscious of many dieters in the last few years. Proponents of the fruit, which is indigenous to Brazil, claim that this so-called "super food" can help dieters rapidly lose weight and fight any number of ailments.

But, according to the independent Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), acai is no more beneficial for you than produce you would find at your local supermarket. The CSPI's Johnny Bowden recently addressed the topic of acai in an interview with CNN:

"Virtually every berry — blueberry, strawberry, goji, acai — are anti-inflammatory and high in antioxidants," Bowden said. "This particular one is exotic. It's found in Brazil. It's been marketed to have more of a magic ingredient. It's been over-hyped and marketed to death. There are claims to curing cancer, curing baldness that is all over the place."

The claims and marketing tactics used by acai proponents have been so outlandish that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently began a review of the practices of many of the companies promoting these products.

The truth is that there is little or no clinical research explicitly showing that acai is any more beneficial than any number of other fruits with similar antioxidant properties. So, while acai may be considered as part of a overall diet regiment, it is by no means a silver bullet for weight loss.

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