Can eating acai berries cause side effects?
You may have recently heard about acai berry, the fruit of the South American 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. Some 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.
Many who wonder about the potential for side effects may also be wondering if acai berry supplementation could cause an interaction with a drug they are taking. The answer is most likely no. The only fruit which has frequently been shown to cause interactions with certain drugs, namely statins, is grapefruit. If you're worried about drug interactions, consider that an acai berry is essentially about the same as a blueberry, so consider if you would be similarly worried about blueberries causing an interaction or side effects.
On the other hand, consuming acai berries can potentially be very beneficial. 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.
There are many other benefits of consuming acai berry, but the objective of this article is to clarify that no study has yet proven any risks of eating acai. With all of the hyper surrounding this supplement, one could easily assume that eating it could cause side effects, but that is not the case. Acai berry truly has no negatives unless you happen to not like the taste which is also unlikely!
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 - 17269
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.
Many who wonder about the potential for side effects may also be wondering if acai berry supplementation could cause an interaction with a drug they are taking. The answer is most likely no. The only fruit which has frequently been shown to cause interactions with certain drugs, namely statins, is grapefruit. If you're worried about drug interactions, consider that an acai berry is essentially about the same as a blueberry, so consider if you would be similarly worried about blueberries causing an interaction or side effects.
On the other hand, consuming acai berries can potentially be very beneficial. 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.
There are many other benefits of consuming acai berry, but the objective of this article is to clarify that no study has yet proven any risks of eating acai. With all of the hyper surrounding this supplement, one could easily assume that eating it could cause side effects, but that is not the case. Acai berry truly has no negatives unless you happen to not like the taste which is also unlikely!
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 - 17269
About the Author:
Mark Goodman is an acai berry lover and nutrition expert who has written several articles on the subject. Contact Mark if you need any more information about acai berry side effects.
posted by X - Men at
7:12 AM
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