Infographic: How To Reduce The Risk Of Acai Berry Side Effects
Most acai berry products today are gaining popularity for their health benefits. However, as we saw, these berries and their products may also cause certain adverse effects. Does this mean you have to stop consuming them altogether? Maybe not. There are a few ways to reduce the risk of side effects due to acai berries and we discuss the same in the infographic below. Check it out.
Illustration: StyleCraze Design Team
Acai berries have been used to prepare medications that treat skin and digestive disorders. The benefits of acai berries are numerous. However, acai berry supplements may cause some side effects. Excess consumption may lead to the buildup of plaque and toxins in the body, severe bleeding, liver injury, allergic reactions, hypotension, jaundice, and mouth swelling. Hence, consume these berries in moderation, in their original form, to avoid their adverse effects.
Beware ‘free’ Trials Of Acai Weight Loss Products
Not only has acai not been proven to have the weight loss powers claimed in some of the ads, consumer groups warn that people who sign up for a “free” trial of acai diet products can get burned.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a food and nutrition watchdog group, recently issued a warning that many companies offering free trials of acai diet products actually end up charging customers. Customers are asked to supply credit card information for shipping of the “free” sample, and some have immediately been hit with monthly charges of $80-$90.
The Better Business Bureau of Northern Indiana offered a similar warning against online ads for acai weight loss products.
Acai Berry Cleanse Fat Burn Cleanse
Today I want to provide some information on Amazons choice product in the Acai Berry Cleanse category.
I will be reviewing the Applied Nutrition 14-day Acai Berry Cleanse and it is paired with their 14-Day Fat Burn Cleanse. I was curious why these were sold together as a set.
In this review, I will cover who Applied Nutrition is, what the 14-day acai berry cleanse is, what the 14-day fat burn cleanse is, the ingredients and benefits of each, what I like about them, and what I do not like about them. The information I will provide should be enough for you to decide if this is the right product for you or not.
Product: Applied Nutrition 14-Day Acai Berry Cleanse + 14-Day Fat Burn Cleanse
Where to buy: The best price is on
My Rating: 8.5 out of 10
You May Like: Fresh Start 21 Day Cleanse
Can Mask Other Health Concerns
You may have seen before-and-after photos of users of this cleanse claiming that it reduces bloating. And while this supplement may relieve a bloated belly temporarily, Supan points out that this may not be a good thing.
Its like putting a Band-Aid on a wound but not addressing whats causing it.Any chronic bloating that youre having could actually be due to a certain food intolerance. In other words, you may be sensitive to something like gluten or dairy. Supan recommends working with your healthcare provider or nutritionist to figure out which foods are triggering any symptoms.
May Disrupt Gut Health
Since açaí cleanses contain the stimulant laxative cascara sagrada, they arent intended for long-term use.
Long-term use of stimulant laxatives is associated with fluid loss and dehydration. This may harm your colon, increasing your risk of colon cancer .
Furthermore, these laxatives may disrupt the balance of good bacteria in your gut, which may harm your immune health .
One product recommends taking at least a 30-day break between açaí cleanse use cycles to support natural bowel regularity .
You May Like: Cvs Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser
Acai Berry Complex Health Benefits
Acai is said to promote cardiovascular and digestive health as a result of an amazing combination of healthy fats , phytosterols and dietary fiber.
It contains vitamin A, C, E, B1, B2 and B3 along with potassium, calcium magnesium, copper and zinc. The acai berry is rich in protein and has just as much as an egg. This wonder berry also is rich in healthy fats such as the omega 3, omega 6 and omega 9. The acai berry is a one-stop-shop for health supplies.
Linked To Restrictive Dieting
If you decide to do an açaí cleanse, you may be forgoing healthier and more nutritious foods at the expense of a dubious weight loss supplement.
For instance, the Garden Greens açaí detox suggests that you limit food intake to simple grains, fruits, and vegetables for the best detox results .
However, diets and supplements that promote rapid weight loss and encourage many dietary restrictions are unsustainable, as lost weight may be regained. In addition, these supplements may pose long-term health risks like bone loss (
21 ):
- Eat whole fruit. Dietary fiber has been shown to support weight loss. Açaí fruit is rich in fiber, but aaí supplements and cleanses lack this nutrient.
- Stay hydrated. Drink a glass of water with each meal and replace sugary beverages with water for sustainable weight loss.
- Eat slowly.Eating slowly reduces food intake, boosts weight reducing hormones, and helps you to feel full.
- Choose whole grains. A higher whole grain intake has been associated with a lower risk of weight gain. Thus, try to replace refined carbs with whole grains.
- Get quality sleep. Poor sleep is associated with weight gain. Adults 18 years and older should aim for a minimum of 7 hours of sleep per night.
Summary
Alternatives for açaí berry cleanse for sustainable weight loss include eating whole fruit, drinking water as your primary beverage, eating slowly, choosing whole grains, and getting high quality sleep.
Also Check: Best Cleanser For Oily Acne Prone Skin
Healthy Ways To Lose Weight
The hard truth is, there arent any shortcuts to losing weight. A lot of it depends on many factors like your metabolism and health history. But Supan says that small steps can make a big difference.I encourage everyone to figure out two simple changes you could make to help improve your diet. Start from there and then build on that. Its going to be a slower weight loss, but its going to be a more sustainable one.
There are plenty of healthier alternatives to losing weight, including:
- Switching to healthy snacks. Opt for some baby carrots at snack time rather than a high-sugar granola or candy bar. Sometimes, its not the radical steps that make a difference, but rather the small, incremental ones.
- Trying a more Mediterranean-style diet. If you want an easy blueprint for including more healthy foods into your meals, this diet is highly recommended by doctors. It includes a good balance of lean proteins, whole grains and vegetables that keep your weight balanced and other parts of your body healthy.
- Keeping a light exercise routine. While exercise is just a piece of the puzzle to losing weight, it can be beneficial to stay active for multiple reasons. Try to go for about 150 minutes of cardiovascular exercise per week . A quick walk or bike ride with a friend each day can do the trick.
Ingredients And Benefits Of The 14
- Green tea extract 50% ECGC this is a powerful flavonoid found in green tea
- Kelp powder provides iodine and other minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients, amino acids, omega-3 fats, and fiber. These have been linked to protecting against cancer and radiation, detoxing and supporting normal brain development, and helping to maintain healthy eyes, skin, and hair.
- Psyllium powder this is a bulk-forming fiber laxative that absorbs liquids in the intestines. Can be used to help with constipation or to regulate bowel movements. It may help with lowering cholesterol.
- Dandelion extract has a wide variety of health-related benefits including weight loss, stomach disorders, muscle pain, urinary disorders, and liver disorders.
- Milk Thistle extract uses include lowering cholesterol levels, liver problems, and decreasing sugar levels in the blood.
- Sweet Fennel is an anti-inflammatory, analgesic, expectorant, and laxative. This can help improve digestion, reduce bloating and gas, loosen mucus to aid with congestion, and can relieve aching muscles.
Don’t Miss: Cetaphil Deep Cleansing Bar Antibacterial
History And Interesting Facts About The Acai Berry Cleanse
Why exactly has the acai berry cleanse become such a big deal? This is due, in part, to the obsession with cleanses and detoxes that began with the ancient Egyptians. The people of Egypt, and later those of Greece, introduced the concept of colon cleansing. Their theory was that food on the inside of the body, like on the outside, had begun to rot by the time it reached the colon. The process of colon detoxification focused on cleaning out the rotted food as quickly as possible.
Even as recently as the late 1800s, the practice of detoxing was recommended in many popular medical journals. A few physicians even went as far as recommending the removal of the colon altogether to avoid the toxins in the colon from entering back into the body.
Acai berries do contain nutrients that aid in digestion, helping the colon efficiently eliminate waste. They also contain high levels of fiber. Based on this, supplement companies have developed various products around the acai berry, which unfortunately contain many ingredients that are not necessarily published or understood in addition to actual acai.
About 10 years ago, Oprah interviewed Dr. Mehmet Oz on her television show regarding the hype around the acai berry. This interview, now unavailable anywhere online, sparked a huge legal battle in which Oprah and Dr. Oz sued over 40 companies for using their names, faces and false quotes to sell their miracle diet tool: the acai berry cleanse.
Final Thoughts on Acai Berry Cleanse
How Can I Detox My Body And Benefit From An Acai Berry Cleanse
While it may sound like Im completely anti-detoxing, thats not true. I want to make sure that when you choose to detoxify and cleanse your colon, you do it in a way thats healthy and proven to be effective. It can definitely be necessary for certain people constipation, bloating, gas and headaches are just a few symptoms of toxic overload that can be treated by a healthy cleanse.
The absolute best way to detox is known as the Daniel fast. Daniel, a character in the Bible, requested a diet of only water and vegetables when training alongside King Nebuchadnezzars army because the foods the other soldiers ate went against Jewish dietary customs. The story goes that Daniel and his three friends looked healthier at the end of 10 days on this diet than the rest of the soldiers fed meat and wines from the kings table.
Today, people participate in Daniel fasts for a number of reasons, including physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. One of the best physical results of a Daniel fast is an overall detox of your digestive system.
Because Daniel fasts include only fruits, vegetables, pure fruit and vegetable juices, and water, acai berries are an incredibly welcome addition to this diet. Along with other wholesome foods, acai offers you a huge load of antioxidants and other nutrients, including fiber, that work to clean out your system.
You May Like: Best Juice Cleanse Recipes To Lose Weight
What Is The 14 Day Acai Cleanse For
This is a cleanse that uses the power of the acai berry to help remove the unwanted build-up of sludge and toxins in the digestive system.
Applied Nutrition claims that this product will increase regularity, reduce bloating, and help to flatten your belly in just days. This can be done by cleaning out the excess weight in your colon.
The claims are supported by over 60 reviews on Amazon. Many are very favorable, while others were not. Keep in mind, when it comes to supplements, there is no one product that will be right for everyone. We are all created differently and our bodies will respond in different ways to different products.
What Are Acai Berries
Acai berries are small, deeply purple-colored berries that grow on the acai palm tree . The acai tree is a species of palm tree in the Arecaceae plant family that is native to Central and South America, especially Brazil where they grow in parts of the Amazonian rain forest.
Acai palm trees have sustained traditional Brazilian and Amazonian populations, including the Caboclo tribe, with nutrients and calories for hundreds of years.
In fact, some records show that Caboclo people ate enough acai during certain parts of the year to make up more than 40 percent of the total calories they consumed! Supposedly they were able to hunt and gather food for many hours without becoming hungry, tired or weak, which many have attributed to all the phytonutrients and fiber they were obtaining.
While we dont often hear about the differences between various types of acai berries, there are actually believed to be seven distinct. All grow from the plant called Euterpe, which is a type of tropical, tall palm tree that produces clusters of small berries that are a bit smaller than most grapes.
These tall acai trees are now being harvested more than ever in tropical parts of the world in order for growers to pick, dry, preserve and ship this nutrient-packed fruit all around the world.
You May Like: Best Pore Cleanser For Men
What Is The Acai Berry
Grown in the Amazon River basin in Brazil, acai is a deep purple berry that tastes like a combination of wild berries and chocolate.
The berry’s anthocyanin content gives it its rich purple color. Anthocyanins are powerful antioxidants that may protect the body against cancer, inflammation, diabetes, aging, neurological diseases, and bacterial infections.
A 4-ounce serving of pure acai contains about 100 calories, iron, calcium, fiber, vitamin A, and 6 grams of fat — but because the berries do not transport well, most food products sold commercially use only a small amount of pure acai. Acai is available in capsules, powdered, as frozen pulp, and in bottled smoothies and other drinks.
If you’re considering buying acai products, read the labels, because the drinks may contain lots of added sugars and calories. And, be prepared for sticker shock at the grocery store, as most acai products carry a hefty price.
“Products made from acai are expensive because 95% of the berry is seed, and only 5% is the skin used to make food and beverages,” says Grotto.
Keep in mind that you can get similarly antioxidant-rich whole fruits and vegetables for a fraction of the cost of acai, and in their natural form . Blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries are more economical choices that deliver similar health benefits, says Grotto.
Is An Acai Berry Cleanse Good For You Or Bad For You
Spend any time at all searching for ways to lose weight fast, and youre bound to find information about so-called cleanses and detoxes. Youve got to admit its an intriguing option. Take a pill or down a glass of something that probably tastes gross, and just watch the fat drain off your body!
While its an exciting notion and theres truly a great benefit to be found by ridding your body of toxins and heavy metals, the quick-fix detoxes you see online are often nothing more than scams that have laxative effects on your system. Sure, you might reduce bloating temporarily and notice a change in your, ahem, bathroom habits, but no food or cleanse product actually forces your body to burn fat any more than another.
Much of the information regarding acai berry cleanse products refers to claims that it jump-starts a weight loss program by detoxifying the body and therefore is recommended to people who are changing their diets as a way to start fresh. There are also claims of weight loss up to 450 percent higher than by diet and exercise alone, none of which are backed by any scientific evidence.
The truth about detoxing or cleansing is that your body naturally detoxifies itself regularly if you feed it with whole, real foods. But more on that in a moment.
Also Check: What Do Cleanses Do For Your Body
Ingredients And Benefits Of The Acai Berry Cleanse
- Acai Berry a superfruit, a powerful antioxidant that protects your digestive tract. Has one of the highest ORAC values found in fruit.
- Blueberry is a superfood that is rich in vitamins c, k, and manganese. Low in calories and a super-antioxidant.
- Mangosteen- has been used for diarrhea, urinary tract infections, menstrual disorders, and intestinal infections. It can also stimulate the immune system. Further scientific studies need to be done.
- Pomegranate is loaded with antioxidants, such as tannins and anthocyanins. They may improve blood flow and stop plaque from building up in blood vessels. May help lower cholesterol and may slow prostate cancer growth.
- Lychee relieves coughing, gastralgia, and tumors, and may help relieve discomforts associated with ulcers. Currently, be used in cancer research.
- Cascara sagrada known as a laxative, this herb has been used in several over-the-counter products. In rare cases, long-term use in high amounts has caused liver problems, but it is still considered safe to use.
- Slippery elm used to protect the skin and intestinal membranes, ulcers, and toothaches. The tannins help to draw out toxins from the irritants. This can stimulate the nerves in the GI tract and help relieve many issues such as constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, and expel tapeworms.
- Ginger helps to relieve a variety of stomach discomforts
Acai Berry: 6 Proven Benefits Including Clear Skin And Weight Loss
Anti-inflammatory, high-antioxidant foods keep you healthy and, if sick, can bring you back to good health. Berries certainly fit the bill, and the trendy berry of the moment with major anti-aging benefits is the acai berry.
Theres a reason health food stores are now pumping out more acai bowls than ever. What is acai berry good for? Perhaps more than any other type of fruit, acai berries have become synonymous with slowing down signs of aging and promoting good health.
Health benefits of acai are due to its valuable phytonutrients, especially anthocyanins, in addition to vitamin C, vitamin A and dietary fiber.
Some studies show that acai is even richer in protective antioxidants than cranberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries or the goji berry. On top of providing many antioxidants just like other varieties of berries do, acai berries are also believed to help control your appetite, increase energy, help with many metabolic functions, and more.
Read Also: Dr Barbara Sturm Cleanser Review