You may have recently heard about acai berry, the fruit of the Brazilian acai palm. Since it has been so heavily marketed as a diet product, many individuals are wondering if supplementation involves the same risk of a regular diet supplement such as ephedrine or a pharmaceutical. Perhaps this thinking is due to the extract form it often comes in. Often times people must assume that eating the extract of a berry somehow makes it more conducive to side effects.
Consumption of acai berry in any form, whether it be the whole berry, an extract or puree has not been proven to cause side effects in any study. Considering an acai berry is not too different from a blueberry, this is not surprising. Have you ever heard of someone having severe side effects from blueberries? If you happen to have a rare allergy to them you may have a reaction, but otherwise you should be just fine.
One of the only fruits shown to cause interactions with a wide variety of drugs is grapefruit. Acai berry does not contain the chemical responsible for the reactions that grapefruit causes. People who are taking a statin drug or similar must surely be wondering if acai berry can cause an interaction. The answer is mostly likely no. Of course anything is possible, but no studies have yet shown that acai berry will cause an interaction with any specific pharmaceutical.
On the other hand, consuming acai berries can potentially have many benefits. As you may well know, they have been shown to have as much and even greater quantities of antioxidants than similar fruits such as black cherries and cranberries. This depends on the species of acai berry, as the white variety of acai doesn't contain as many antioxidants as the purple kind, but it unlikely that you will come across the white variety.
A very interesting benefit of acai berry supplementation is the potential for reduced inflammation. Inflammation has many negative effects on the body, so this potential is very interesting. A study done by AIMBR Life Sciences has shown that acai berry is a potential COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitor.[1] COX-1 and COX-2 are enzymes which are responsible for inflammation and pain, so anything which can inhibit it's activity is good news for those suffering from pain and inflammation.
Since acai berry has been so heavily promoted as a weight loss supplement, it would be easy to assume there must be some side effects. To be clear, no studies have yet shown that consuming acai berries will cause side effects in non-allergic individuals. Perhaps the only side effect you may have is that you do not like the taste, but even that is unlikely as it has a very sweet flavor.
Reference:
1. Schauss A, Xianli W, Prior R, Ou B, Huang D, Owens J, Agarwal A, Jensen G, Hart A, Shanbrom E. Antioxidant Capacity and Other Bioactivities of the Freeze-Dried Amazonian Palm Berry, Euterpe oleraceae Mart. (Acai). J Agric Food Chem 2006 Nov 1;54(22):8604-10. PMID: 17061840
Consumption of acai berry in any form, whether it be the whole berry, an extract or puree has not been proven to cause side effects in any study. Considering an acai berry is not too different from a blueberry, this is not surprising. Have you ever heard of someone having severe side effects from blueberries? If you happen to have a rare allergy to them you may have a reaction, but otherwise you should be just fine.
One of the only fruits shown to cause interactions with a wide variety of drugs is grapefruit. Acai berry does not contain the chemical responsible for the reactions that grapefruit causes. People who are taking a statin drug or similar must surely be wondering if acai berry can cause an interaction. The answer is mostly likely no. Of course anything is possible, but no studies have yet shown that acai berry will cause an interaction with any specific pharmaceutical.
On the other hand, consuming acai berries can potentially have many benefits. As you may well know, they have been shown to have as much and even greater quantities of antioxidants than similar fruits such as black cherries and cranberries. This depends on the species of acai berry, as the white variety of acai doesn't contain as many antioxidants as the purple kind, but it unlikely that you will come across the white variety.
A very interesting benefit of acai berry supplementation is the potential for reduced inflammation. Inflammation has many negative effects on the body, so this potential is very interesting. A study done by AIMBR Life Sciences has shown that acai berry is a potential COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitor.[1] COX-1 and COX-2 are enzymes which are responsible for inflammation and pain, so anything which can inhibit it's activity is good news for those suffering from pain and inflammation.
Since acai berry has been so heavily promoted as a weight loss supplement, it would be easy to assume there must be some side effects. To be clear, no studies have yet shown that consuming acai berries will cause side effects in non-allergic individuals. Perhaps the only side effect you may have is that you do not like the taste, but even that is unlikely as it has a very sweet flavor.
Reference:
1. Schauss A, Xianli W, Prior R, Ou B, Huang D, Owens J, Agarwal A, Jensen G, Hart A, Shanbrom E. Antioxidant Capacity and Other Bioactivities of the Freeze-Dried Amazonian Palm Berry, Euterpe oleraceae Mart. (Acai). J Agric Food Chem 2006 Nov 1;54(22):8604-10. PMID: 17061840
About the Author:
Mark Goodman is a nutrition expert and acai berry lover who has written several articles on the subject. Contact Mark if you need any more information about acai berry side effects.
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