The History of Acai Berry

The acai (ah-sigh-ee) berry has been around for thousands of years and not until the 1990's was it introduced to the western world. The acai berry was found to possess tremendous health properties. The acai berry was first used by the tribes of the Amazon jungle as a cure for various ailments. It is estimated that the indigenous tribes people routinely use up to 2,000 of the 3,000 known rainforest fruits for medicinal purposes. The Amazon borders eight different countries and has the world's largest river basin. Not only does the Amazon supply one fifth of the worlds freshwater, it has the highest diversity of birds and freshwater fish. The Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world where one third of all animal and plant species live. The acai berry is just one of these fruits that has been discovered in this vast region. The Shuar tribes are one of these Amazonian tribes that have for centuries, through tradition, kept the use of plants (acai berry) for medicinal purposes. Shuar medicine men or women are called uwishin (oo-wee- sheen') a healer that works with medicinal plants, somebody who knows all the secrets of the rainforests. Uwishin, have a great deal of knowledge of medicinal plants and their cures, they learn from others, and through experiments from the plants themselves. One plant removes snakes venom from the body. It is the work of the uwishin to research and find solutions to illness. The acai berry was discovered to have natural antioxidant properties, as well as being a natural cholesterol controller. When eaten it helps reduce the bad cholesterol in our blood and increases the good cholesterol. The tribes of the Amazon knew of these properties and found out that it helped build the immune system, fight infection, protect the heart, and control prostate enlargement (nature's viagra). It was a great energy food for the tribes-people. The acai berry, which is a palm fruit, was traditionally pulped to make wine that was rich in minerals. The acai berry was also discovered to fight schistosomosis, which is transmitted by snails. Schistosomosis affecting more than 10 million Brazilians. The aca¨ª berry is also used to produce an antibiotic that helps to fight against 'Staphylococcus aureus,' a common infection contracted mainly in hospitals. A berry so useful but only known to the traditional tribes men and woman of the Amazon, a lost secret. The aca¨ª berry comes from a palm that has a long thin trunk up to 25m high with a group of branches at the top from which hangs ribbon-like leaves. Aca¨ª berries hang from these branches in clusters that look like groups of bluebottles. Traditionally the acai berries would be picked by hand and the tribe's men would shimmy up the tree and cut the branches from the top of the palm tree rich in acai berries. Now that the acai berry has been discovered as a highly sort after crop by the population of Brazil it is mass produced, as it only has a 24 hour life span in which the properties of the juice are still active. The acai berries must be loaded into baskets and onto boats soon after picking. To get it to the markets in Belem's they would have to transport the acai berries over night. Each acai palm tree produces round about 20 kg of fruit per year and the wine produced by this fruit has become the most important product in terms of finance after wood forest products. Belem in Brazil now employs over 30,000 people on a daily basis to keep up with its enormous demand. So we know where it comes from, what about it's recent history? After being introduced into the western world it was realised by the modern beach going Brazilian surfer as a natural way to regain energy. The acai berry was pulped and frozen to keep it fresh and became a natural additive to the smoothies drunk along the beaches of Brazil. It was known to help your prostate and was seen as a natural viagra for the boys of the beach. It soon became a drink for the trendy, for the sand and surf brigade. The researches soon got hold of this magic acai berry and realised that it would be of great importance in the well-being and health of the western world, our diets are often over filled with fat and fast food, acai is naturally full with energy, it has a vibrant taste of berries with a hint of chocolate, is rich in proteins, fibre, vitamin E, minerals and essential Omega oils to reduce our bad cholesterol caused by our western diets. The acai berries fatty acid ratio resembles that of olive oil this is thought to be a contributing factor to low incidence of heart disease in Mediterranean populations. The acai berry contains similar properties as red wine in controlling fats in the blood and is a fair contributor to go up against the wine diets of the Mediterranean people. Known as the miracle fruit, acai berries also helps in preventing cancer due to it's antioxidant properties that are five times more potent than gingko biloba, a commonly used herbal therapy product. Acai berry juice has been introduced into other products like bars and health snacks to be sold at gyms and health spars. It's history is important as by studying the effects that the berry has had on the tribesmen in the Amazon we have discovered that it's traditional use as an energy booster for hunting and good libido has lead to acai berry juice to being a very commercially viable product. It's most recent history is that it has been endorsed by such talk show hosts as Oprah Winfrey and has been seen as a feature on her show, a berry with star success. So lets say good bye to guranum and hello to the acai berry. Todd Levering is a raw organic health food advocate and owner of several health clubs around Seattle, WA. He's mostly known for promoting the health benefits of the Acai berry for it's natural antioxidant properties and the powerful beverage Xocai, which contains Acai. To learn more from Todd about this amazing new beverage, please visit: http://acaipro.com   Read a review on a high quality acai product.           Desert Burn Hoodia Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Gentianales Family: Apocynaceae Subfamily: Asclepiadoideae Tribe: Stapeliae Genus: Hoodia …….. And now under Hoodia, there would be 13 different species, one of them actually being Hoodia Gordonii. I am quite certain, you will not be offended, if I do not mention the other twelve. What you just read above, is the scientific description of Hoodia. If you are a botanist, congratulations, it actually means something to you. If you are anything like me, you actually wish, never to see or hear all of this again. Ok, promise, we are done with Latin! If I would be asked what Hoodia is, I would tell you: It looks like a cactus – and because it grows in the desert, needs only little water and actually has stings – I would say it is a cactus! But what do I know! Science tells us (me), Hoodia is only a "cactiform", because it is so similar to a cactus, but it really is a stem succulent. Other specifics of the plant are: it can grow up to one meter and it has remarkably large flowers, some of them in flesh colour and with a very strong smell. Because of the flowers, some of the species are actually used and grown as garden-plants. They look nice, are easy to handle and you can grow them almost everywhere, from sandy ground to rocky gardens and they use just very little of water. In nature, you will find Hoodia mostly in deserts, especially in the Namib Desert, which ranges from Namibia to Angola, and in the Kalahari. Their preferred grounds are either plains or the rocky parts of the deserts. All thirteen species of Hoodia can be found in these areas and obviously they were there, long before the first scientist set foot into South Africa. Therefore we have other names for Hoodia, such as "Queen of the Namib" or "Bushman's Hat". And long before that, it was named by the bushmen "Xhoba" or "Ghaap". These bushmen were also the first, to actually use the Hoodia plants. They discovered that all Hoodia plants had some ingredients, which helped them to treat indigestion and small infections. But then there was amongst the thirteen Hoodia species one, which not only helped with the treatment of small inconveniences. The Bushmen found out very quickly that Hoodia Gordonii was useful even beyond that. As you can probably imagine, the biggest problem in the harsh life of the Bushmen, is food. This is not a big surprise when you look at the region they live in. The Namib Desert and the Kalahari are quite certain not the friendliest places on earth and the next McDonalds is, even nowadays, not just around the corner. In a hostile environment such as this, you taste everything, which is not clearly poisonous and Hoodia Gordonii was not. So, they gave it a try and soon it was clear, Hoodia Gordonii is not really "Food" in the actual meaning of the word, but they discovered one astonishing fact: whenever they consumed Hoodia Gordonii, it took them considerably longer, until they became hungry again! Now, in an environment, where you actually have to fight for each little piece of food, it comes quite handy when you find something that helps you, to survive longer on less food. Especially when you have to go on hunting trips, which might take some days and you either have to find your food on the way, or carry it with you. So with Hoodia Gordonii, it was possible for them to carry less with them and concentrate more on hunting. All this together made the hard life a little bit easier. This was hundreds of years ago and nobody was even thinking about weight loss, appetite suppression or similar things. But without knowing, the Bushmen had discovered the ideal weight loss product. (How it works and what it actually does in your body, is not part of this story. Let's just say that Hoodia contains a mixture of chemical ingredients, which help to digest the food slower.) So, to cut a long story short and to answer the question "What is Hoodia Gordonii?": Hoodia Gordonii is a plant, which grows in the deserts of South Africa. It grows to about I meter of height and to reach this, it takes between three or four years. For a long time it was of no use to us, except as a garden flower, but it helped the San-People, the Bushmen, to survive in the harsh environment. Today we grow Hoodia Gordonii in Farms, because what helped the Bushmen to survive on the hunting trips, is nowadays the easiest way to lose weight.       South African Hoodia Gordonii, Pure Kalahari Hoodia for weight loss South African Hoodia Gordonii, Pure Kalahari Hoodia weight loss aid. Benefits of using Hoodia Gordoniii as a weight loss Aid ... Hoodia Gordonii Weight Loss Consumer Alert Hoodia Gordonii - Hoodoba? Hoodia diet pills are guaranteed to work for you or it costs you absolutely nothing! Cactus plants side for pure slimming weight ... Hoodia Testimonials- Weight loss success stories-licensed African ... Millennium Health Supplements (Canada) Inc letter from our supplier Jen Cully attesting to the licensed authenticity of our Hoodia Gordonii.. 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