A recent University of Florida study has demonstrated the cancer fighting benefits of an extract from the acai berry. This extract has proven effective on cancer cells which have been unaffected by other therapies which have been tried. This is only the first of many planned studies on the effects of acai berries on cancer.
In this test, leukaemia cells were exposed to acai berry extract, with the surprising result that 86% of the cancer cells self-destructed. Acai berries were already known as one of the best sources of antioxidant compounds, but this study’s findings are truly extraordinary. An assistant professor at the University of Florida (in the Institute of Food and Agricultural Services) was able to confirm for us that this figure of 86% was indeed the case.
There may be other fruit-based antioxidants and other compounds which are effective against leukaemia and other cancers, but all of the research done so far is preliminary since there are many other factors which must be accounted for in these studies. The data from the University of Florida acai study, however, shows great promise thus far.
The Australian public has quickly gotten on the acai bandwagon, with great popularity present for a diet rich in tropical fruits such as acai, noni, goji and mangosteen. There are quite a large number of promotions ongoing for juice products made from these fruits. Many of these fruits have been found to be high in antioxidants.
A Brisbane, Australia study from March of this year (1998) studied the differences between antioxidant compounds found in fruits and fruit juices and those present in olive leaves. While this study concluded that olive leaves contain some antioxidant properties, the studies performed on acai berries have had far more conclusive results.
The most exciting of these studies on fruits are those which have focused on their effects on various forms of cancers, particularly leukaemia. Researchers both in the U.S. and in Australia have been working towards a cure for some time for this lethal cancer which is the largest killer of those aged under 20 in the world.
Because only basic research has been done up to a certain point, more studies are warranted. The acai berries have anywhere from 50 to 75 compounds that have not been established yet. The main reason the berries are so hard to study is that they are very perishable.
Acai berries are similar in size to a blueberry, when ripe are a dark purple colour, and have a seed inside. When they are picked, if they are not used immediately or frozen, they decompose. Because they come from the Amazon River floodplains the options for freezing them for a long journey are not as viable as the alternative.
To be imported all the way to Australia, acai powder works best. This is produced from acai berries by dehydrating and then freeze-drying acai pulp. Far easier and cheaper to export than are the ripe berries, this powder can then be used in all sorts of nutritional supplements and foods. The powder contains all of the same nutritional and health benefits of the fresh berries.
The research is still very much in its infancy, but the hope is there that someday leukaemia will meet its match in the form of a cure. Leukaemia is a disease which strikes more children than adults – and this is spurring the world to search especially hard for a cure to this form of cancer.
About the author: Mr Americo Tognetti is amazed by the acai berry because it provides so many benefits to everyone through the Acai Fruit Powder.
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