Where To Buy Acai Berries

January 13, 2009 · Filed Under Acai Berry, Weight Loss · Comment 

Acai berries come from the acai palm, a plant which is native to Central and South America. The acai berry is noted for its rich antioxidant content.Some of the reported health benefits of acai berry include aiding in weight loss and increasing your energy level.

But what about scientific studies?

According to the USDA website, studies on high antioxidant foods have shown to have some effect on slowing down the aging process:

“Studies at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston suggest that consuming fruits and vegetables with a high-ORAC value may help slow the aging process in both body and brain. ORAC–short for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity–measures the ability of foods, blood plasma, and just about any substance to subdue oxygen free radicals in the test tube.

Early evidence indicates that this antioxidant activity translates to animals, protecting cells and their components from oxidative damage. Getting plenty of the foods with a high-ORAC activity, such as spinach, strawberries, and blueberries, has so far:

  • raised the antioxidant power of human blood,
  • prevented some loss of long-term memory and learning ability in middle-aged rats,
  • maintained the ability of brain cells in middle-aged rats to respond to a chemical stimulus, and
  • protected rats’ tiny blood vessels—capillaries—against oxygen damage.

These results have prompted Ronald L. Prior to suggest that “the ORAC measure may help define the dietary conditions needed to prevent tissue damage.”

Prior is coordinating this research with Guohua (Howard) Cao, James Joseph, and Barbara Shukitt-Hale at the Boston center.

Science has long held that damage by oxygen free radicals is behind many of the maladies that come with aging, including cardiovascular disease and cancer. There’s firm evidence that a high intake of fruits and vegetables reduces risk of cancer and that a low intake raises risk. And recent evidence suggests that diminished brain function associated with aging and disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases may be due to increased vulnerability to free radicals, says Joseph, a neuroscientist.

Such evidence has spurred skyrocketing sales of antioxidant vitamin supplements in recent years.”

Further studies published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry have shown that acai berries have the highest antioxidant activity of any food:

“Tissue damage can be caused by a process known as oxidation. Compounds know as antioxidants are thought to help prevent tissue damage, and thus reduce disease states caused by oxidation. A fruit known as acai has been demonstrated to exhibit significantly high antioxidant capacity and, therefore, may have possible health benefits. In this study, the antioxidant capacities of freeze-dried acai fruit was evaluated and found to have the highest antioxidant activity of any food reported to date. These results suggest that this fruit would be an excellent food to study for potential disease prevention effects in the future.”

(Photo of acai berries courtesy of Breno Peck through Flickr.)

Many people who search online are looking for acai berries to help them lose weight. You will find many weight loss stories using the acai berry on the internet but please be careful to use your common sense.

It is extremely difficult to buy fresh acai berries because of its short shelf life. Most acai berry products you will find in the United States are foods that use it as one of the ingredients or freeze-dried in powder or capsule form. To find out more about acai berries you can take in capsule form, check out Acai Burn.

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Quick Diets With Low Calorie Diets

May 12, 2008 · Filed Under Weight Loss · Comment 

A low calorie diet is one that restricts the number of calories a person consumes per day to a very low number. There are several types of diets that provide this to you. This may be the right diet for you if you are trying to lose weight. As with any type of diet, it is best to consult your doctor before you start in order to know the potential health risks that you may face. Each person is different and no one can advise you better than your personal physician.

What’s the difference between a low calorie diet and a very low calorie diet?

A low calorie diet is one that requires a person to consume 1500 to 1800 calories per day. Compare this with the normal 2000 to 2400 calories that the average person consumes.

A very low calorie diet is much different. This is a very restricting diet for those that are severely obese. It requires that a person only consume a mere 800 calories or less per day. This is very limiting to the person, obviously.

In most cases, you will sign on to a low calorie (especially a very low calorie diet) for a short amount of time. For example, this can only be done for three to six months at the most for those on a very low calorie diet. If it was done longer than this, you can risk some severe complications to your health, including nutritional depletion.

Is this the right diet for you?

A word of caution is needed here. Teenagers and children should never be on a low calorie diet. When you are still growing, you need the full range of nutrients for your body. Pregnant women and those who are not good health should also avoid it.

If you are considering a low calorie diet, especially one that requires less than 1000 calories per day, you should consult your doctor before you start. Because this diet does require so few calories, you will need to monitor every single calorie that you take for nutritional value. If that calorie is not worth the nutritional needs you have, it can’t be consumed. For those that have the ability and doctor approval, this diet plan can be an ideal choice.

Additional resource:

Make Your Calories Count (US FDA)

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All Natural Weight Loss Plan

May 11, 2008 · Filed Under Weight Loss · Comment 

healthy saladDo you need to lose some weight without resorting to the pills and so-called diet supplements? Actually, the basics of maintaining a healthy weight is not all that complicated. There are two main components - eating right and exercise. In fact, it is a good bet that most people know pretty well what is best. Therefore, creating an all natural weight loss plan should not be a problem at all.

One reasonable approach for losing weight naturally is to stick to a diet that is high in complex carbohydrates, high in fiber, moderate in protein, and low in fat.

Here’s an example of how you can incorporate the good while avoiding the bad. Let’s start with a complex carbohydrate: a baked potato. You should avoid or minimize the sour cream or butter which contains a lot of fat. Fiber can be found in vegetables. Fat is the oil you should not fry them in. Protein is a lean cut of meat. Fat is the gravy you should not pour over it.

Moreover, health experts say that dietary fat promotes weight gain because it is a very dense source of calories. Also, when you consume excess calories from dietary fat, you store those calories as body fat more efficiently than excess calories from other sources.

On the other hand, it can also help you lose weight naturally if you will not fall into the so-called “fat-free” trap. Manufacturers keep coming out with low-fat or fat-free versions of their best-selling foods, but Americans keep getting fatter anyway.

One of the greatest delusions of the 1990s is that “no fat” means “non-fattening.” The truth is, you are often getting just as many calories from the non-fat version, even if the calories are not coming from fat.

The term fat-free can be misleading.  It doesn’t mean that you can eat a lot of food labeled fat-free and not gain weight.

Another area to pay attention to is snacking. Health experts say it would be better to try eating every three to four hours, which may mean a nutritious low-fat snack between lunch and dinner.

When you feel the urge to snack, try going for something healthy such as a slice of whole-grain toasted bread rather than cookies or chips. Do not use snacks in place of your regular meal.

Losing weight naturally is a process and not a fad. It requires self discipline and motivation for you to achieve success.

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