Acai – Heart Friendly Nutrients

I always look for good products and superfoods to help my clients with their wellbeing. I find Acai berries to be fantastic. Of course there has been some negative publicity created by the usual MLM scammers out there trying to make false claims and so on. My advice, simply steer clear of anything MLM.

I recommned Riolife Acai. This is an Australian based company, NOT MLM at all. This is a great source of information about Acai as well and I am going to bring you regular articles from their team to help you understand more about Acai and it’s benefits for your wellbeing. I encourage you to visit Riolife at their website riolife.com.au for more information and to purchase the real, top quality Acai products. Here is today’s article from Riolife.

Heart friendly nutrients

We know that certain diets promote heart disease. And we also know that the proper diet can help reduce heart risk, even if you have risk factors which cannot change (such as age, genetics and family history of the disease). However, we also know that the lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise and smoking are modifiable!  That’s great news.

One of the key aspects of a heart friendly diet is the inclusion of fruits and vegetables and the replacement of saturated fat in the diet by unsaturated fats.

Numerous research studies have shown that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can reduce heart disease and stroke by 25%! So what about these foods that help reduce our risk?

It is believed that it’s the abundance of antioxidants. One way that antioxidants guard against heart disease is by protecting the LDL, or bad cholesterol from oxidizing – which is what forms plaque in our arteries and hence causes atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.

Acai is cholesterol-free. It is naturally cholesterol-free since cholesterol only comes from animal products! Why do we want to lower our cholesterol? This is because it is linked to heart disease. Açaí is not only cholesterol-free, but low in the heart-clogging saturated fat and high in the heart-friendly unsaturated fats and fibre. Together, these nutrients help reduce your cholesterol, making Açaí a heart-healthy fruit!

Let’s take a look at the types of fat in Açaí. There are three types of fats found in our foods. Saturated fat, polyunsaturated fay, and monounsaturated fat. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats tend to be liquid at room temperature (your vegetable oils, with the exception of coconut and palm which are mainly saturated).

Açaí is low in saturated fats. These are the fats that increase your cholesterol and clog up your arteries. Açaí contains the unsaturated fats omega-6 and omega-9 (a classification  of the type of unsaturated fats), which reduce LDL-cholesterol levels (think L = Low, so we want them to be low in our blood) when they replace saturated fats in our diet.

Açaí is richer in monounsaturated fats than polyunsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fats maintain the good HDL-cholesterol levels (think H = healthy, or you want it to be high) in our blood. Monounsaturated fats are less susceptible to oxidation than polyunsaturated oils. This makes monounsaturated fats a heart-healthy choice. These fatty acids maintain the cell membrane’s fluidity, which allows our hormones, neurotransmitters, and insulin receptors to function more efficiently. Other sources of monounsaturated fats include olive oil, macadamia oil and canola oil.

The berry’s synergy of monounsaturated (healthy) fats, dietary fibre, and antioxidants make it a heart friendly fruit!

Independent author: Flavia Fayet from http://www.nutriesca.com.au/- info@nutriesca.com.au
Flavia Fayet has completed her Masters of Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Sydney, and is currently working on her PHD. She is a respected Dietician and lecturer at Sydney University.
Copyright (c) Nutriesca 2006

Acai Sustained Energy

I always look for good products and superfoods to help my clients with their wellbeing. I find Acai berries to be fantastic. Of course there has been some negative publicity created by the usual MLM scammers out there trying to make false claims and so on. My advice, simply steer clear of anything MLM.

I recommned Riolife Acai. This is an Australian based company, NOT MLM at all. This is a great source of information about Acai as well and I am going to bring you regular articles from their team to help you understand more about Acai and it’s benefits for your wellbeing. I encourage you to visit Riolife at their website riolife.com.au for more information and to purchase the real, top quality Acai products. Here is today’s article from Riolife.

Sustained Energy

What can you eat that will give you sustained energy throughout the day? Açaí? Yes!

What does this exotic fruit have that gives you sustained energy throughout the day?

Carbohydrates and fibre. But not all carbohydrates give you sustained energy. Carbohydrates, when digested, release glucose, or sugar into our blood. Some carbohydrates cause the sugar to be released very quickly, whereas others cause it to be released more slowly. The measure of the extent of the sugar rise caused after a food is eaten is called the Glycemic Index (or GI). The lower the GI of a food, the slower the food is digested and absorbed, producing a gradual rather than quick rise in blood sugar levels. Foods such as white bread or jelly beans, when eaten, cause your blood sugar to rise very quickly. A blood sugar that is too high or too low is dangerous for our bodies. So when sugar rises, it stimulates our organ, the pancreas, to release insulin into the blood. Insulin tells all our cells to open up their “gates” and let sugar in. This then causes the blood sugar level to drop again. When we consume foods that release sugar quickly, our bodies tend to release too much insulin. Too much insulin means that too much sugar is taken up by our cells, and causes our sugar level to drop to under normal levels. This is what you usually feel after a sugar “rush”. It does not give you sustained energy and tends to make you feel tired and fatigued.

Açaí pulp has a glycemic load of 0.5. The glycemic load (GL) is a relatively new way to determine the impact of carbohydrate in our blood. It gives a fuller picture than GI alone, since it considers the amount of carbohydrate consumed. A GL of 10 or less is considered low, therefore helping control blood sugar levels and lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Açaí pulp has a glycemic load of 0.5, meaning that it gives you the sustained energy needs for today’s busy lifestyle.

The dietary fibre in Açaí acts like a sponge, mixes with all the digestive juices in our bodies, binds to the good we have eaten, and helps to slow down digestion. Instead of getting a sugar rush after a meal, the sugar is released slowly, giving you sustained energy! This also helps control appetite and delays hunger. Which means that it may help prevent weight gain and therefore your risk of obesity.

Unlike most juices, most of Açaí’s kilo joules come not from sugar but from the healthful unsaturated omega-6 and omega-9 fats. This is one juice you can fell good about drinking! It will fill you up due to its fibre content and at the same time five you sustained energy, unlike other fruit juices! Açaí is usually mixes with apple juice, which has a low GI- to give you the same sustained energy as a Açaí smoothie. So next time that you are looking for a pick-me-up, look for Açaí at your local health food store or order it online.

Independent author: Flavia Fayet from www.nutriesca.com.au – info@nutriesca.com.au
Flavia Fayet has completed her Masters of Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Sydney, and is currently working on her PHD. She is a respected Dietician and lecturer at Sydney University.
Copyright (c) Nutriesca 2006