The world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon’s borders extend into eight countries. The Amazon River basin contains one fifth of the world’s fresh water supply and the area is teeming with wildlife of all sorts. One third of all animal and plant species on Earth may be found in the Amazon.

It is here that you will also find the acai berry. The people native to the Amazon basin use nearly 2,000 of the region’s native plants for medicinal purposes – and the acai berry is considered to be one of the most potent of these.

Despite its use in the treatment of ailments for thousands of years, the acai berry remained virtually unknown to the western world before around 1990. But at last, we too are able to tap into the amazing health benefits that the acai berry possesses.

The acai berry was found to be naturally high in antioxidants containing levels ten times higher than grapes and twice as high as blueberries. It also contains omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids which are immensely helpful in reducing levels of cholesterol in the blood. Add to this protein and dietary fibre and you can begin to understand just how this berry can benefit your daily health.

The acai berry has other nutritional benefits, especially their high anthocyanin levels. These are the same compounds which give red wine its health benefits. Acai berries have higher levels of these compounds than does wine and of course is free of the negative health impacts imparted by the presence of alcohol.

The benefits don’t stop there! The acai berry is listed as an effective anti-aging super food in health food circles and is actually believed to decelerate the aging process. This is presumed to be a joint effect of the anthocyanins and the antioxidants found in the berry.

Acai berries have been used in making wine with a higher nutritional value, to fight the disease schistosomosis (which is transmitted by snails) and in manufacturing an antibiotic to combat staph infections – this is a berry which has a wealth of nutritional benefits and a lot of different applications.

The acai berry is a little, round, black-purple drupe about 1 inch in diameter. There is a similarity between this and grapes in look and feel. Whilst the immense popularity of this fruit lies in the fact that it provides incredible health benefits the flavour is also simply superb. Perhaps the easiest way to enjoy the benefits of the acai berry is by drinking it as a juice or in smoothies.

About the author: Americo Tognetti promotes the acai berry because it has healing properties attainable in delicious Acai Fruit Powder.