If you have recently heard about acai berry, the fruit which comes from the South American palm tree, you may be wondering what possible side effects it may cause. Usually when one hears about a new product being promoted as a weight loss product they think about the possible negatives as well as the positives. Although the acai berry is a fruit and not a pharmaceutical, when considering their health, certain people may not take into account this difference. The extract form the acai berry often comes in may also be a cause of this confusion. Have you ever heard of someone having a negative reaction to a blueberry? Probably not. Considering that an acai berry is not too different from a blueberry, you most likely do not need to worry about any negative effects. Similarly, no study has ever proven that acai berry causes side effects in non-allergic individuals. Even if the extract form of acai you're taking is more potent than a puree or the whole berry, you should only experience positive effects. One of the only fruits shown to cause interactions with a wide variety of drugs is grapefruit. Acai berry does not contain the chemical responsible for the reactions that grapefruit causes. People who are taking a statin drug or similar must surely be wondering if acai berry can cause an interaction. The answer is mostly likely no. Of course anything is possible, but no studies have yet shown that acai berry will cause an interaction with any specific pharmaceutical. You will find the potential benefits outweigh the risk of any unlikely side effects. Acai berries contain the highest levels of antioxidants found in almost any fruit. The most common purple variety contains the highest concentration while the white variety contains the lowest. It is unlikely that you will find the white variety in North America however. Acai berries contain more free radical-scavenging antioxidants than either cranberries or black cherries. A very interesting benefit of acai berry supplementation is the potential for reduced inflammation. Inflammation has many negative effects on the body, so this potential is very interesting. A study done by AIMBR Life Sciences has shown that acai berry is a potential COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitor.[1] COX-1 and COX-2 are enzymes which are responsible for inflammation and pain, so anything which can inhibit it's activity is good news for those suffering from pain and inflammation. There are many other benefits of consuming acai berry, but the objective of this article is to clarify that no study has yet proven any risks of eating acai. With all of the hyper surrounding this supplement, one could easily assume that eating it could cause side effects, but that is not the case. Acai berry truly has no negatives unless you happen to not like the taste which is also unlikely! Reference: 1. Schauss A, Xianli W, Prior R, Ou B, Huang D, Owens J, Agarwal A, Jensen G, Hart A, Shanbrom E. Antioxidant Capacity and Other Bioactivities of the Freeze-Dried Amazonian Palm Berry, Euterpe oleraceae Mart. (Acai). J Agric Food Chem 2006 Nov 1;54(22):8604-10. PMID: 17061840
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