The acai berry is a newly-popular "superfood," high in the antioxidants that prevent premature aging, the amino acids that ensure proper muscle function and the essential fatty acids that promote promote digestive and cardiovascular health. While acai berry supplements are often touted as weight loss products, experts such as those at the Center for Science in the Public Interest and certified nutrition specialist and author Jonny Bowden have warned consumers that the acai berry has no magical weight-loss powers. You cannot peel off the pounds if you shovel in junk food while popping acai pills, but if you eat a balanced, healthy diet, acai berry pills can help to ensure your overall health and well-being.
Fish
Fish, particularly fatty varieties such as tuna, halibut, mackerel, sardines and salmon, is high in the omega-3 fatty acids essential to proper brain functioning as well as to cardiovascular health. Acai berry pills contain omega-3s too, but they also complement fish consumption in that they are high in the oleic acid, which helps the omega-3 fish oils to penetrate cell membranes more easily.
Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are an essential component of any diet meant to promote weight loss and overall good health. Many types of fruit, particularly berries, also contain antioxidants and vitamins similar to those found in the acai berry, and consumption of these fruits will help intensify any of the health benefits you'd receive from consuming the acai supplements alone.
High-Fiber Foods
The acai berry itself is high in fiber, but the small amounts of fiber contained in acai pills will work best if supplemented by additional fiber-rich foods in your diet. Foods such as wheat bran, whole grains and beans will allow you to to fill up without expending too much of your daily calorie allowance, and they will also help to promote regular bowel functioning, which will allow the acai berry to cleanse your body of toxins more efficiently.
Water
Drinking water is an important part of any weight-loss regimen, as it is not only essential to bodily health but can also help to decrease the appetite. Dr. Mara Z. Vitolins, assistant professor of public health sciences at Wake Forest University, recommends that dieters drink a glass of water each time they feel hungry, then wait 20 to 30 minutes to see if the hunger remains. She says that sometimes the body is unable to distinguish hunger from thirst, so satisfying your thirst may, in fact, take care of the hungry feeling as well. Water also helps to flush out the body, so drinking a sufficient amount of water each day (Vitolins suggests you divide your body weight by two, then consume that number of ounces of water per day) will allow the acai berry pills to perform their cleansing functioning more efficiently.
Member Comments