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What is an Acai berry?
Acai comes from the Acaizeiro palm tree that is indigenous and thrives in the Amazon basin of Brazil. The berries grow in large bunches at the top of the palm tree and are deep violet in colour and somewhat resemble a large blueberry. Many describe the taste as combining berries with an earthy- chocolaty flavour.
How was acai discovered as a super-fruit?
For centuries the berries have been harvested by locals of the Amazon basin and form the staple food in the diet of many communities, taking the place of rice, bread, and milk. Such is acai’s nutritional quality that it is an integral part of the nourishment, and well being of the people of the Amazon basin.
Açai’s popularity started when some enterprising Brazilians started freezing the fruit (thus preserving all its natural characteristics) and transporting it to Rio de Janeiro. Açai rapidly became the drink of choice for Brazil’s surfers, athletes, and the body conscious. By 1992 Açai was firmly part of Rio’s beach culture with every bar, gym, and beach stand doing a roaring trade.
Today, Açai is drunk throughout Brazil and its consumption is firmly part of Brazilian culture. Açai then gained popularity throughout the US and is now growing in Europe as its taste and amazing nutritional properties become increasingly well known.
How is acai’s popularity affecting the Amazon rainforest?
Açai’s popularity has started to curb deforestation as its commercial value has increased. It is abundant in primary forest and many landowners have realised that harvesting the naturally growing açai fruit is much more profitable than chopping down the forest and farming the land. Consequently açai production has soared and brought valuable work to many impoverished areas whilst maintaining the natural environment of the rainforest.
What is Acai’s nutritional content?
Açai is packed with energy and really is one of the world’s wonder fruits in terms of its nutritional properties. Açai berries contain many more antioxidants (anthocyanins) than pomegranates or blueberries. The ORAC value (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) of acai is higher than any other edible berry in the world.
It also contains high levels of Omega 6 and 9 fatty acids, valuable dietary fibers, amino acids, and minerals such as iron, magnesium, potassium, and calcium. It is the synergy of all these properties in one fruit that makes acai so sought after.
How does the quality of acai vary?
The vast majority of acai is wildly harvested and once picked is highly perishable and will spoil within 24 hours. Consequently, Acai must be immediately frozen in order to retain most of its natural characteristics and goodness. Over 90% of the acai berry is a seed with only 10% being the edible pulp.
This 10% of the fruit must be blended with water to make the acai into a useable and edible form. This is called ACAI PULP. ALL acai products on the market are produced from this frozen acai pulp, whether it is a bottled drink, juice, extract or powder. Consequently the way in which this pulp is used or processed determines the quality and nutritional values of the acai product (and this varies enormously).
Freeze Dried Acai Powder
The freeze drying process retains all the nutritional properties of acai through reducing the pulp into a fine powder at very low temperatures. Unlike extracts, freeze dried acai completely captures the unique synergy of nutritional benefits found in acai and is completely pure with no carrying agents.
We guarantee our freeze dried powder to be the very best quality and we back this up fully with our nutritional analysis. It is simply pure acai with nothing added and is excellent as a versatile ingredient.
Advantages of Pulpa Freeze Dried Acai
· The best quality acai available
· ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) Value of 491.6 units per gram. This is extremely high and really illustrates the antioxidant capacity of Pulpa acai. We also provide a breakdown of the TEAC value, levels of anthocyanins, and total polyphenols.
· 24 month shelf life
· 100% Pure – No carrying agents, additives or preservatives
· Made from the highest grade acai pulp available with a dry down ratio of 8.1.
· Made from Pasteurized Acai – For maximum retention of nutritional values and microbiological safety. Almost all Freeze dried acai in Brazil is not made from pasteurized acai
· Fully and independently tested for the full range of nutritional and antioxidant properties found in our acai.
The difference Between Freeze dried powder and extracts.
Extracts are normally made from spray dried acai powder and are often found in acai capsules. Spray drying is done at high temperatures and tends to loose over 40% of the nutritional qualities.
In addition they require large amounts of carrying agents (40-50%) such as starch or maltodextrin to help aid the shelf life. These products tend to contain less than half the amount of acai with a 4:1 ratio compared to the freeze dried versions that have over double this. In total, extracts are often 6-8 times less potent than the freeze dried versions and this can be reflected in the cheaper price.
ORAC Value of Pulpa Acai
Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) is a unit value assigned by researchers to determine the antioxidant value and potency of a given food. Foods with a high ORAC value are beneficial to the body by increasing plasma antioxidant levels, therefore helping protect the cells from damage by oxygen radicals.
Research suggests that the average person only gets about 1200 ORAC unit servings of fruit and vegetables daily. However 3000+ ORAC units are required on a daily basis to have a significant impact on plasma and tissue antioxidant capacity.
Pulpa Freeze Dried powder is independently tested as having extremely high ORAC levels with a 3g teaspoon providing 1500 units and a two teaspoon serving 3000 units. This comes from the highest quality acai with nothing added.
Please see below for a comparison of ORAC levels between different
Source; Brunswick Labs and USDA
Note; Whilst ORAC levels are very accurate they can still be affected and altered by seasonality, harvesting conditions and temperature
Nutritional Information FRUITS
ORAC Value per 100g
Pulpa Pure Freeze Dried Acai 49162
Prunes 5770 Pomegranates 3307
Blueberries 2400 Blackberries 2036
Cranberries 1750 Strawberries 1540
Raspberries 1220 Plums 940
Oranges 750
Kiwi 602 Banana 221
Apple 218 Peach 158
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