Acai Berries: Juice, Berries or Capsules?
Acai berries by themselves seem pretty unimpressive: they are little, grape-like, and dark in color. Barely the raw material of the health food story that’s going around making this little berry out to be some variety of superhero among health foods. But the reality is, acai berries are surprisingly good for you! Weight control not withstanding, they raise your metabolism, make your skin and hair feel and look better, give you more energy and have tons of good things that make your body feel lighter, faster and better altogether.
The thing is, besides the natural berries themselves, there are heaps of other forms that you can get Acai extracts in. The debate that is all the rage at the moment though, is what’s best, juice, berry or capsule? Here 1 or 2 reasons for and against each of those forms, to help you decide what will work best for your lifestyle:
Juice:
Acai berry juice is so convenient and easy because you can just swap it for your breakfast glass of juice. It’s also a great way to rehydrate your body throughout the day. Juice also tastes good, and is sometimes mixed with other fruit juices which will give you the nutrition of more than one fruit all in one bottle. Nonetheless, some users say the added preservatives are not to their liking.
Berries:
The berries are easily available but also spoil easily. The benefit of purchasing the actual acai berry is that you can use it in recipes of your own (try this recipe), by mixing acai berries with other fruits in a salad, or making a more creative use of them in cupcakes, puddings, crepes, smoothies and breakfast cereal mixes. The issue with berries is they bruise easily and as said before, they spoil quickly also. Frozen berries are available though, should you want to try the fruit in its natural form.
Capsules:
Acai capsules are certainly convenient, as you can pop one no matter where you are. If you don’t like the taste of the berries (and there are some who don’t) or the juice, or want to bypass the preservatives in juice, then capsules are a nice option. Some capsules contain extra chemicals though, which if you do not want them, you should check what they are to avoid them. Pure acai berry extract capsules are available however if this option seems the best one for you.
The thing to make certain of is that the product you are buying, whether it’s in any of the forms noted above, is 100% pure acai. There are way too many folk who have found out that what they paid real money for isn’t really doing them any good. But if you stick to reputable sites and stores, with accreditation and some standing in the market, then you ought to be capable of finding a good source for all of your acai berry needs.
James Perron writes about diet and nutrition at Smoothies For Kids on topics such as How To Make A Smoothie.