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Acai berry offers many health benefits, especially if taken on a regular basis. It has a high level of antioxidants that help fight free radicals to provide protection from cancer, control blood sugar, pressure and cholesterol levels, helps in weight loss and even makes your skin look younger and thus, reduce your aging process. Acai berry is also known to improve one’s sexual drive, giving an additional reason for the increased popularity for this number one super food of the world.
Looking at the many health benefits offered by the Acai berry, many health freaks wonder if it is possible to buy an Acai berry tree or Acai berry plant to plant in their own yard or garden. However unfortunately, the answer to this query is no, unless the person lives in a tropical climate.
Where does Acai grow?
The reason is better understood if you first find out where does Acai grow. Acai berries grow on the Acai berry plant in the Amazon region of Brazil. Acai berries grow in clusters, similar to grape clusters in the Acai berry plant; only thing is that they are slightly larger in size. These clusters of berries hang from the top of the Acai berry tree like ribbon like leaves.
This Acai berry tree is a palm tree that grows to a height of 15 to 30 meters. This is why it makes harvesting of an Acai berry tree rather difficult. Moreover, the trunk of the palm is so smooth; it has to be climbed only by skilled Acai berry harvesters for picking Acai berries.
Tradition of picking Acai berries
The Acai berry has been a great source of nutrition and energy to the locals of the Amazon region for centuries. However it was only recently that the western world got to know about this super food.
Acai berry was first used by locals of Amazon jungle to cure different health problems. In fact, so useful is this fruit to the locals that they routinely use about 2,500 fruits for medicinal purposes. The Shuar tribe is one of the many tribes that have been using these berries for centuries.
According to tradition, Acacia berries are picked by hand by tribe’s men who climb up the Acai berry plant to cut off its branches found at the top of the tree. However now that the Acai berry is highly sought after in the western world, and because the berry has only a 24 hour life span after picking, things have changed.
Now the berries are loaded into buckets and boats immediately after picking. They are then taken to Belem in Brazil to process into Acai berry suppelements, juices, pills and powder to export to the western world.
A typical Acai berry plant produces about 20 kg of Acai berries a year. Besides all these supplements, it is also possible to make Acai berry wine with Acai berry. Today, acai berry wine from the acai berry tree is considered to be the most important source of finance for the country next to wood forest products.
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