Projo Fitness Blog

Antioxidants in foods are important to maintaining wellness, but "The term 'antioxidant' has become a sales tool," according to the Berkeley Wellness Letter in a piece about the much touted açaí berry. The internet and many magazines are loaded with all kinds of health claims, including weight loss and age-reversing properties of the South American fruit.

"Since açaí came on the market there have been a few studies pointing to potential benefits," write the newsletter's editors. "Like many other fruits, açaí berries are high in antioxidants (molecules that quell cell-damaging free radicals) 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 such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Better Business Bureau have now come out against açaí marketers. 'If Bernard Madoff were in the food business," said a CSPI nutritionist, 'He'd be offering 'free' trials of açaí-based weight-loss products."

If you want to try açaí for yourself, it's available in many health-food stores, some large drug stores and supermarkets.Be wary on online sources, the Berkeley newsletter warns: "Online ads regularly promise a free trial, 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."

 Tags  antioxidants Berkeley berries weight loss

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