Have you ever seen beautiful purple flowers? How about a deep red grape or a bright red Fuji apple? If you answered yes (and if you said no - stop reading this article and go out and enjoy nature more!) then you have seen anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are flavonoid pigments that plants and fruits synthesize. Anthocyanins give plants and fruits their beautiful pigmentation - but it is not all about looks. Anthocyanins can acts as a sunscreen for plants and in fruits the bright color attracts animals which feast on the fruits and in the process disperse the seeds. However, the aspect of Anthocyanins that is of most interest in regard to the Acai fruit is their antioxidant properties.

Fruits (like the Acai Berry Fruit) that are exposed to strong sunlight face a tremendous amount of ultra violet light stress. This UV light triggers free radicals to form in the fruit. Fruits, such as the Acai berry, develop high levels of anthocyanins because they have very strong antioxidants properties and can quench the free radicals. Here is the interesting part - the antioxidant properties of anthocyanins are maintained even after they are eaten by another organism. This is why fruits with bright pigmentation tend to have the great ORAC values - they are loaded with anthocyanins! Yes, you guessed it - Acai berries have a tremendous concentration of anthocyanins.

The French Paradox and Anthocyanins

The French have a diet very rich in cheese, sugar, coffee, nicotine, sugar and white flour. With this type of diet you would expect the French to have a very high rate of heart disease, however, the exact opposite is true. The ability of the French to consume a heart clogging diet and yet have a very low rate of heart disease has been labeled the French Paradox.

Researchers now believe they have the reason for the "French Paradox" - anthocyanins! The French drink a significant amount of red wine and the the red wine grape, due to its anthocyanins is what is believed to be responsible for the very low incidence of heart disease. While red wine has a good quantity of anthocyanins, the Acai berry has over 30 times the anthocyanins as red wine.

Omega Fats - giving fat a good name

Let's face it - fat is not a pretty word. Most people would think that the phrase "fat and healthy" is an oxymoron. However, when you start talking about Omega fatty acids you realize that the right fats can be very healthy and beneficial.

The three most common forms of Omega Fatty Acids are Omega-3, Omega-6 and Omega-9. While it is beyond the scope of this article to go into the full chemistry of fatty acids (and we would certainly put ourselves to sleep just writing it), suffice to say that significant research has shown numerous health benefits to a diet high in unsaturated omega fatty acids. In fact, on September 8, 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave "qualified health claim" status to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) omega-3 fatty acids, stating that "supportive but not conclusive research shows that consumption of EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease." While that may not sound like much, for the FDA to allow any healthy claim on something that is not a drug is very impressive.

Why do you need to know what Omega fatty acids are? Because in our next article we will talk about the fact that Acai is an excellent source of Omega fatty acids and we just wanted you to know that is a good thing!