Ahh... Acai, if you haven’t tried it already you should! This superfruit has been rising in popularity across Australia, available for purchase as an ‘Acai Bowl with Granola’ or ‘Acai Smoothie’ at many local cafes. The acai berry benefits are something to be amazed by. Who knew so much goodness could be packed into a berry.

The acai berries themselves are little purple balls about 1 inch in size before they are processed. They grow in Central and South America on acai palm trees. Although they are referred to as berries, they are actually a drupe, similar to an olive or peach.

In South America, acai berries commonly accompany daily meals, even people who live in the Amazon rainforest rely on these berries as part of their diet staples. To get the acai berry benefits they traditionally soak and soften the berries then once the skin is soft enough, they mash it into a purple paste. When they are consumed in this way, they are described to be like cocoa and blackberries with a touch of an earthy taste.

Acai berries usually aren’t great at lasting a long amount of time after harvest, often needing to be frozen to preserve them for export from their home countries. You can purchase acai berries from some fruit shops frozen, as a juice or as a dried powder. Here at Happy Way, we have just launched our single ingredients packs including cacao, maca and best of all, acai berry powder!

To fully appreciate this ultra delicious and healthy summer treat, here are the acai berry benefits you need to know.

1. Plentiful with lots of nutrients.

What makes the Acai berry so unique is though it is a fruit, it is somehow low in sugar and high in fat. Healthy fat is important as it helps power your body and brain so you have the energy to live a healthy lifestyle.

The acai berry benefits are almost endless, they contain some traces of minerals such as zinc (great for skin and hair), iron, chromium, manganese, phosphorus potassium and magnesium. All of these essential vitamins to help keep you in top shape.

Nutritional breakdown of our 150g Acai Berry Powder

2. Packed with Antioxidants

50 grams of frozen acai berries contain an ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity score) of 7702.5. If you thought blueberries were the best source of antioxidants, you will be amazed to hear that acai berries have triple the amount or ORAC compared to blueberries.

Antioxidants are more important than you would think, they fight against free radicals within the body helping you to live happier and healthier. In more detail, free radicals are produced as a byproduct of your oxygen metabolism. Environmental and lifestyle factors such as smoking, drinking, stress, air pollution or junk food can significantly increase the number of free radicals in your body. Too many free radicals cause increased aging, the risk of inflammatory disease, cardiovascular disease, cataract and even cancer. To counteract against these nasty free radicals, you need to be consuming plenty of antioxidant-rich foods.

Because acai berries have such a high antioxidant content which is absorbed well by our digestive system, they are excellent to add into your daily diet.

3. Gives you brain power

The nutrients in acai not only can help your skin, but they also can help to look after your brain while you age. Because antioxidants from acai help reduce the effects of inflammation and the creation of free radicals in the brain, they may help to improve your learning and memory. If you ever experience brain fog and feel a little slow, it may be because your body isn’t getting enough antioxidants.

As your brain ages, it becomes less active and gets a little slower at processing functions. In a healthy body, the brain stays in an optimal state by constantly cleaning up free radical cells that no longer work and are toxic. Commonly referred to as autophagy, the brain cleans up all of these dead or bad cells so it can make space to form new nerves and new connections between brain cells.

By eating acai berries, you may be able to counteract the slowing down of your brain and keep it active and healthy for longer.

4. Amino Acids

Just when you thought there could be no more acai berry benefits, acai berries also contain lots of amino acids. Amino acids are amazing for giving you energy, looking after your muscles, strength and endurance.

Amino acids are essential for if you want to get fit and build lean muscle gains and help you with recovery after a workout.  They are also important for every function and process in your body.

How you can get the amazing acai berry benefits

The best way to get acai berry benefits is to eat the frozen variety or, consume the more potent acai berry powder as part of your daily protein smoothie ritual. 

At Happy Way, not only do we have single ingredient packs of acai powder available, but we also stock our very own ‘I love you berry much protein and acai berry powder’ which contains everything you need for a pre or post-workout protein shake. Packed with all of the good stuff including, whey protein, acai berry powder, superfood mix and many more amazing nutritious ingredients. You can even use this powder as an ingredient for protein balls. Check out the recipe in the video below!

To find Happy Way’s entire range of organic and nutritious protein powders, go to our Whey Protein Powder page. We also have an amazing range of kids snack bars, herbal teas, vegan protein powders and fat burners, to help you live a happy healthy life!

For inspiration on healthy snacks that you can easily prepare, check out our recipes or pinterest pages. Additionally, we also have heaps of recipes and fitness tips on our Youtube channel.