Saturday, May 25, 2013

Blueberry or Acai Berry

Per bought some cups of Greek yogurt at Sam's Club. The box contained two flavors: blueberry and superfruit (açai). If superfruit is based on flavor then I'd say it's  the blueberry because it isn't in the yogurt with anything else (açai is also with pomegranate and raspberry.) Perhaps açai doesn't taste good on its own (like the blueberry) and has to be paired with another flavor to make it palatable.

I just read about açai on Wikipedia and the açai berry comes from the açai palm. (The same tree from which hearts of palm are harvested.) The açai berry is mostly pit, which is ground into a pulp. (No wonder it doesn't taste good - we're eating pulp not berry!) Claims have been made about the fruit's antioxidant properties, but no claims have been scientifically proven. Studies have shown that açai has more potency than than cranberry, orange or apple, but not as much as pomegranate or blueberry. Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia: 

The medical watchdog website Quackwatch noted that "açai juice has only middling levels of antioxidants - less than that of Concord grape, blueberry, and black cherry juices, but more than cranberry, orange and apple juices." The extent to which polyphenols as dietary antioxidants may promote health is unknown, as no credible evidence indicates any antioxidant role for polyphenols in vivo.

I think the açai berry is a fad. Many companies use it in false advertising. Based on what I just read, the blueberry is definitely still the superfruit.

No comments: