The Acai Berry Weight Loss Myth

Do acai berries really help you lose weight? Can acai berries help you burn fat more quickly?

The short answer is no.

There is no weight loss magic with acai berries. It's all a myth to get you to buy up acai berry pills, acai berry drink mixes, etc. However, acai berries are still healthy to eat, full of antioxidants, you just won't lose any weight with them.

So how come there so many acai berry products on the market now? It's because of hype. Back in 2008, Oprah Winfrey and her show's physician, Dr. Mehmet Oz, talked about the acai berry, but never said it had weight loss properties, nor did she ever endorse acai berries. Yet several companies selling acai berries used Winfrey as a spokesperson, and that's how acai berry bandwagon took off.

Since then, Oprah Winfrey has sued some 40 companies for falsely using her name as an endorsement.

But the damage has been done. Now we have major brands like V8 Juice and Haagen Dazs, selling acai berry flavored products. We have ads all over the Internet, such as that "1 weird trick to lose belly fat", that tries to sell you acai berry pills.

Let's look at some facts...

• 100gm of acai berries, which is about 3.5 ounces, contains 533 calories.


• 100 gm of strawberries, on the other hand, contains 32 calories.


• Acai berries are about 90% seed, 10% pulp.


• You cannot buy fresh acai berries, only powdered acai. Acai berries are very fatty, about 50% of the berry is fat, and goes rancid within a day after picking.


• Acai berries are rich in antioxidants, and are still a very healthy fruit to eat.


• But so are strawberries, still rich in antioxidants, but far less costly, and readily available at any grocery store.

	Acai Berry, 100gm powder serving	Strawberries, 100gm fresh fruit
Calories	533	32
Carbs	52gm	8gm
Fiber	44gm	2gm
Protein	8gm	1gm
Fat	33gm	0gm

Source: Wikipedia, USDA Nutrient Database

Acai berries do contain a lot of fiber, and fiber will help burn extra calories in that your digestive system will expend energy trying to break down fiber. But you're also gaining a lot of calories eating acai berry. You're better off spending your money on strawberries, you'll still get a lot of antioxidants, but you won't gain much in calories.

And strawberries won't cost you as much money as acai berry pills.

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