Acai berry is a popular over-the-counter dietary supplement that food manufacturers claim may help curb your appetite, improving your weight loss efforts. Little scientific evidence supports these claims, but acai continues to be a popular weight loss supplement. Acai supplements are available in gel-caps, liquid drops, powders or juice, and acai is commonly blended with herbs or caffeine. Although acai berry is probably safe for healthy adults, talk with your health care provider before you begin a new diet regime.
Acai Berry
Acai is the name of a type of palm tree originating in South America. Berries of acai trees are often marketed for an array of medicinal purposes, including antioxidant benefits, high cholesterol treatment and improving weight loss, but research into these purported benefits is ongoing. You can enjoy acai berries raw, but usually they are made into juice, supplements or added to foods for weight-loss purposes. Food manufacturers and makers of dietary supplements often market acai berry as a way to help you lose weight, by curbing your appetite and keeping you full, resulting in rapid weight loss.
Effect on Weight
There is no solid scientific evidence to support claims that consuming acai or taking acai supplements results in weight loss, explains the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Little research exists about proper dosage, negative interactions with medications or how to handle an acai overdose. Since acai could interact negatively with medications or other supplements, do not use this product without direct supervision from a health care provider.
Effects on Metabolic Risk Factors
Certain metabolic risk factors, such as high cholesterol and elevated blood glucose, increase your risk for type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease and stroke. Research published in the "Nutrition Journal" in 2011 evaluated the effects of acai berry on metabolic risk factors in overweight adults. Research participants had a body mass index, or BMI, in the overweight range, between 25 and 30 kg/m2, and consumed 100 g of acai pulp twice a day for a month. At the end of the study, participants had reduced levels of fasting glucose and insulin. Researchers also observed improved cholesterol levels, including lower total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein, or LDL cholesterol, as well as a better ratio of "good" high-density lipoprotein, or HDL cholesterol. Consuming raw acai fruit may help improve metabolic risk factors if you are overweight, but this research is preliminary.
Acai in the Media
In 2011, the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, shut down several websites fraudulently reporting unsupported health claims of acai berry supplements. The FTC reported that certain websites used news logos to drive traffic to their site, which claimed that their acai supplements resulted in rapid weight loss. Acai supplements are not regulated by government agencies and supplement manufacturers must put a label on their product stating that claims have not been evaluated and approved. Since research does not support weight-loss claims of acai berry, manufacturers have to be careful with their wording and cannot be misleading.
References
- National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine; Acai; April 2011
- "Nutrtition Journal"; Effects of Açai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) Berry Preparation on Metabolic Parameters in a Healthy Overweight Population: A Pilot Study.; J.K. Udani, et al.; May 2011
- MedlinePlus; Acai; June 2011
- Federal Trade Commission; FTC Seeks to Halt 10 Operators of Fake News Sites from Making Deceptive Claims About Acai Berry Weight Loss Products; April 2011
- National Center for Biotechnology Information; Metabolic Syndrome; April 2010
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