Acai

Everyone’s got a miracle cure.  A few years ago the world was touting the miracle of soy, and I have to admit that eating a lot of soy made me feel pretty good for a while.  My cholesterol level was fabulous, and I actually liked the soy foods, like Luna Bars—they became my main breakfast food, and I probably ate one daily for at least two years.  I also love soy milk, which Flippy hates, and happily drank all my Starbucks beverages made with soy.  I truly did feel that soy helped my overall health levels, but I started to wonder if it was damaging my thyroid.  Fear of exacerbating my Hashimoto’s disease, combined with increasing lethargy, made me decide it was time to stop the daily soy.  I was sad, because I missed a lot of the foods I enjoyed, and I admit that I still have an occasional soy milk mocha at Starbucks as a treat.  I don’t eat soy on a regular basis anymore, though.

The next health miracle I was told to try was mangosteen juice, which was popularly marketed as Xango.  I found it rather intriguing that this miracle cure for so many ailments was only available to purchase via MLM schemes and/or at great expense.  Until I read more conclusive, mainstream evidence that mangosteen was effective, I wasn’t going to shell out $25 per bottle for Xango.  I eventually bought one bottle of cheap mangosteen juice, and it didn’t seem like much more than just juice.  I didn’t notice that it did anything special, but I liked the flavour so much that I’m now willing to make the sacrifice of ordering Mangosteen Madness smoothies at Smoothie King.

The latest and greatest natural miracle is supposed to be acai, a berry from Brazil with “powerful antioxident properties” and “anthocyanins”.  I first saw acai mentioned on a fibromyalgia support message board, but unfortunately the message was a spammy one, written by someone trying to sell stuff, and the same message was repeated word for word on other boards.  There was just no credibility.  I’ve seen websites which claim that acai will “give relief from the symptoms of fibromyalgia”, but that’s a pretty massive claim.  It’s hard to seriously consider adding daily doses of acai to my diet, given that all the people promoting just seem to be in it for the money.  The one acai product I will vouch for is Sambazon juice, just because I like the taste of it!  I’ve only had the “Protein Warrior Chocolate Smoothie”, but I think it’s delicious.  It’s very thick, sort of fruity and dark chocolatey, and a little odd but tasty.  Flippy despises it entirely and thinks it tastes like cardboard, so proceed at your own risk.

I wish there really was a miracle food out there.  It would be so nice to feel better from eating something which tastes good, rather than just popping pills all the time.

Posted by on 08/13 at 08:13 PM

  1. Ehhh. I’m a major skeptic about all this miracle food/supplement/pill stuff. One year something-or-other is the Thing Du Jour, then it gets debunked by a spate of studies showing it will actually increase heart attack rates. Or whatever.
    Look how maligned coffee has been over the years. Last week I half-heard some doctor on NPR saying it was HIGHER in some anti-oxidants than green tea. Woo hooo!!!
    Having said all that, I don’t much like milk, but have loved soy milk for ever. Now I get the calcium-fortified stuff. I’m not dead yet. wink
    Honestly, I think genetics trump about anything. I’m lucky enough to have ironclad healthy genes; my whole family does. I’m closing in fast on 50, everything works (well, apart from my brain haha), no health problems of note. Well I could be riddled with cancer and not know it, or destined to die in a car wreck tomorrow. Who knows.
    Anyway I say go with the stuff that feels and tastes good. The Sambazon juice looks...interesting. I like Odwalla Green Machine juice even though it looks very odd.

    Posted by Carinat  on  08/25  at  01:53 PM

  2. Dare I ask what Odwalla Green Machine juice tastes like?  I’ve seen it—it’s hard to forget it because of the colour!

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  08/31  at  11:06 PM

  3. I was doing a little research for my Acai information site, PowerOfTheAmazon.com, and ran into this discussion.  For what it’s worth, this site is non-sales and is not product-specific, although you *will* see Google ads and other links on the site. 

    I put it together because I’m an Internet professional and it’s very hard for people to get solid info on the Acai without knowing how to filter out all the sales sites.

    Can I tell you something that you might be missing?  There is solid research on the health-producing merits of the Acai Berry.

    Have you seen what the University of Florida discovered about the Acai?  It kills leukemia cells in lab studies.  (In fact, did you know that 70% of the world’s cancer-fighting drugs are derived from plants found in the Amazon).

    Acai really is a “miracle plant”.  Have you heard what Dr. Nicholas Perricone said about Acai?  He is a physician and best-selling author.  Surely he has nothing to gain by promoting Acai.  He says it is the World’s Number One Superfood For Age-Defying Beauty.  He says this because beauty comes from within, from good health and energy.

    How about what Dr. Alexander Schauss has to say about Acai?  He says that the natives along the Amazon who consume it daily have 1/9th the skin cancer rate of other people living in a similar tropical zone.  They look visibly different, younger, fresher, more alert.

    One South American study evaluated the seed from the Acai Berry to see if it could substitute for flour in the poverty-stricken populations.  That’s a resounding YES.  Cookies made from the seed supply an adult with 25% of their daily iron requirement, and fulfill a number of other daily needs, as well.

    Links to these articles can be found on my website.

    For a time, I collected testimonials of people who have benefitted from taking an Acai blend (of acai and many other health-producing fruits).  I do not publish the stories because I’m just one little soul and don’t have the legal resources to make sure I comply with FDA or whatever…

    But let me tell you, the stories are REMARKABLE… I even received stories from people with fibromyalgia.  One woman’s family wondered if she was drinking, she was pain-free and laughing again.  A friend of mine with multiple sclerosis had significant decreases in pain and increases in energy… and on and on…

    I have personally known a great many people who take Acai and will never give it up.  I, myself, had a severe migraine disorder that is GONE on Acai.

    I don’t care if you select any particular company—Just please don’t give up on Acai before you’ve even tried it.  If it has a chance of doing for you what it is now doing for hundreds of thousands of people, wouldn’t it be worth it?

    One final study:  This is not Acai, this is the famous KAME study.  People who take fruit pulp juices (this includes the skin and peel) were shown to reduce their risk of Alzheimers by 76%.

    I know about serious illness, I have been there.  Please do not languish under the burden of your condition.  Natural nutrition in all its many forms can be a potent healer.

    God bless you,

    Teresa Holladay

    Posted by Teresa Holladay  on  10/26  at  07:43 AM
    4. Page 1 of 1 pages

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