Acai berry, the fruit of the South American palm tree has recently been heavily promoted as a weight loss supplement. Since people often wonder about the potential side effects of such products when they first hear about them, of course they will probably wonder if the supplementation of acai berry will cause any problems. Perhaps they will think this because of the extract form acai berry so often comes in. There must be a similarity drawn between acai berry and something like ephedra in the individuals mind.
Supplementation with acai berry in any form, whether it be the whole berry, an extract or puree has not been shown 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.
If you are currently taking a statin drug, you may be wondering if acai berries could interact with it. The answer is probably not. While no studies have proven that acai berries interact with any specific pharmaceutical, anything is certainly possible. Although it possible, it is highly unlikely since the only fruit known to cause interactions with a wide array of drugs is grapefruit. Acai berry does not contain the substances which make grapefruit interact with certain drugs.
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
Supplementation with acai berry in any form, whether it be the whole berry, an extract or puree has not been shown 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.
If you are currently taking a statin drug, you may be wondering if acai berries could interact with it. The answer is probably not. While no studies have proven that acai berries interact with any specific pharmaceutical, anything is certainly possible. Although it possible, it is highly unlikely since the only fruit known to cause interactions with a wide array of drugs is grapefruit. Acai berry does not contain the substances which make grapefruit interact with certain drugs.
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 an acai berry lover and nutrition expert who has written several articles on the subject. Contact him if you have any more questions about acai berry side effects.
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