Acai Guide

South America’s largest country, Brazil, is known for lots of things: excellent football skills, the Rio de Janeiro carnival and its heavenly tropical weather. In Brazil’s climate a vast array of fruits, vegetables and nuts can be cultivated, and are to great effect.

After China and India, Brazil is the third largest fruit exporter in the world. Its main importers are the Arabic countries of Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and UAE, whilst Europe also buys substantial quantities.

Commonly eaten fruits like apples make up the majority of Brazil’s production, although more exotic types like acai berry are becoming more well-known and well liked by the western population. Acai (pronounced ass-eye-ee) is a highly nutritious purple berry that is now used in a multitude of products, from acai berry juice to smoothies to cosmetic products. Acai contains antioxidants called anthocyanins, which help to fight against the effects of free radicals which can cause damage to cells [1].

Growing on the banks of the Amazon River, the acai tree benefits from being irrigated twice daily with nutrient rich waters. Its benefits have long been appreciated by the Amazonian people and today it still forms a staple part of their diet [3].

Another tasty and popular fruit grown by Brazil is the mango. Oval in shape, with a yellow coloured flesh and green to yellow coloured skin, mangoes are very sweet and have a lovely tropical taste. They also pack a high nutritional punch, benefiting from an array of health promoting components including Vitamins A, C and E, fibre and iron [4]. Their palatable flavour makes them ideal to eat in their natural state; however they are also a popular additive to products like smoothies and ice cream.

Papayas are another tasty fruit grown in Brazil. They have the consistency of butter and a divinely sweet, tropical flavour. Papayas contain lots of beneficial components such as B vitamins, flavonoids and papain: a digestive enzyme which is thought to have a soothing effect on the stomach [5].

[1] Fresh Plaza (20th April, 2010). Brazil’s fresh fruit imports to the Middle East rise 8.4%. http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=62218
[2] Cancer.About.com (2009). Antioxidants and Cancer. http://cancer.about.com/od/alternativetreatments/a/antioxidants.htm
[3] Astrology Zine (2009). Acai Berries for Cardio Health and Anti-Aging. http://www.astrologyzine.com/acai-berries.shtml
[4] I Love India (). Benefits of Mangoes. http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/benefits-of-mango-1428.html
[5] Diet and Health (2010). Papain. http://www.diet-and-health.net/Supplements/Papain.html

Haylee Hulme writes on a wide range of health related topics, particularly fruits, which make life more comfortable. This includes vitamins such as those found in acai berry.