Healthy Tidbits

So far any single food has not been proven to be a miracle food. Interesting article...

Açaí: The Ponzi Berry

Offers for açaí juice and supplements have flooded the nation’s email boxes and airwaves. Don’t get hoodwinked by the claims and "free trials."

Açaí berries are a dietary staple in Brazil and have also been used medicinally by Amazonian tribes. Açaí juice was introduced in the U.S. in 2001, and there are now dozens of food and drink products containing açaí. As a juice, pulp, powder, or capsule, açaí is marketed as a magic path to weight loss, a wrinkle remover, a way to cleanse the body of "toxins," and indeed just a plain old miracle cure.

On the Internet you’ll find a bouquet of endorsements for açaí from such celebrities as Oprah and Rachael Ray (the TV chef), plus statements by these same celebrities denying any such endorsement. You will also find a war of words among makers of açaí products, each one claiming safety and effectiveness for its particular formulation, and warning of scams by others.

Since açaí came on the market there have been a few studies pointing to potential benefits. Like many other fruits, açaí berries are high in antioxidants and other interesting compounds. But these were lab studies, and the results may not apply to humans. There is no scientific basis for weight-loss claims or any other health claims for açaí.

Consumer protection groups and the Better Business Bureau have now come out against açaí marketers. "If Bernard Madoff were in the food business," said one nutritionist, "he’d be offering 'free' trials of açaí-based weight-loss products." Online ads regularly promise a free trial of açaí, saying that all you have to pay is shipping and handling. The catch is that you must supply your credit card number, and you’ll automatically be signed up for $50 monthly shipments that will prove hard to cancel.

We urge you not to give your credit card number to anybody selling açaí products. Hundreds of complaints have been registered, and you may never get your money back.

There is no magic berry for weight loss or good health. Açaí berries are no doubt a good food, like other berries, but why pay a fortune for them or supplements containing them?
(Berkeley Wellness Alert-January 2010)

I do have a favorite fruit juice blend that is less expensive than the "Monavie" and that is Costco's "Fruitavie" and is delicious and half the price. It does keep my morning routine on schedule. But I believe it is good to mix it up with all your foods. Find what you like, we are spoiled with all our choices here in California.