ACAI - DR PERRICONE’S NO. 1 SUPERFOOD

Dr. Perricone believes that adding the “10 Superfoods” to your diet will give you extraordinary health. Some of the benefits of Dr. Perricone’s 10 superfoods include:

# Prevent and reduce inflammation
# Regulate metabolism and burn body fat
# Lower cholesterol
# Lower blood pressure
# Prevent cancer
# Protection against heart disease
# Digestive Health

And at the top of this list of superfoods is Acai, a high energy berry from the Amazon.

Source: http://www.perriconemd.com/category/perricone+lifestyle/superfoods.do

WHAT IS ACAI

Harvested in the rainforests of Brazil, açaí tastes like a vibrant blend of berries and chocolate. Hidden within its royal purple pigment is the magic that makes it nature’s perfect energy fruit. Açaí is packed full of antioxidants, amino acids and essential fatty acids. Although açaí may not be available in your local supermarket, you can find it in several health food and gourmet stores (often in juice form). A new product featuring the unsweetened pulp is now also available, and I highly recommend that you choose this form of açaí.

Açaí pulp contains:

* A remarkable concentration of antioxidants that help combat premature aging, with 10 times more antioxidants than red grapes and 10 to 30 times the anthocyanins of red wine.
* A synergy of monounsaturated (healthy) fats, dietary fiber and phytosterols to help promote cardiovascular and digestive health.
* An almost perfect essential amino acid complex in conjunction with valuable trace minerals, vital to proper muscle contraction and regeneration.

The fatty acid content in açaí resembles that of olive oil, and is rich in monounsaturated oleic acid. Oleic acid is important for a number of reasons. It helps omega-3 fish oils penetrate the cell membrane; together they help make cell membranes more supple. By keeping the cell membrane supple, all hormones, neurotransmitter and insulin receptors function more efficiently. This is particularly important because high insulin levels create an inflammatory state, and we know, inflammation causes aging.

Source: http://www.oprah.com/article/health/nutrition/life_acai/1