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In addition to being delicious, açaí fruit helps prevent premature aging and gives energy

Resized image by Camila Neves Rodrigues da Silva, available on Wikipedia

Açaí is rich in minerals, essential amino acids and antioxidants that help fight mental fatigue, improve memory, prevent premature aging, among other benefits. But what is often asked is: does açaí make you fat? It's actually quite caloric, but its benefits are worth it. Understand:

• What are amino acids and what are they for
• Antioxidants: what are they and in what foods to find them

what is açaí

The açaí fruit grows on the açaí palm, a palm tree with a scientific name Euterpe oleracea, native to Central and South America. Being native to the Amazon region, it occurs mainly in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Guianas and Brazil (in the states of Amazonas, Amapá, Pará, Maranhão, Rondônia, Acre and Tocantins).

The states of Pará, Amazonas and Maranhão produce 85% of the world's açaí, which began to be introduced on the national market in 1980, but was already an important food for northerners in Brazil for a long time.

How is it prepared

The harvest of açaí fruit is all done by hand and the berries must be transported by boat quickly, as they run the risk of spoiling.

To be consumed, the açaí must first be pulped in a proper machine or kneaded manually (after being soaked in water), so that the pulp is released and, mixed with water, becomes a thick juice, also known as wine from açaí .

Açaí fruit is consumed in the form of juice, mush, jelly, sweets and ice cream. But the core of the açaizeiro tree provides the heart of palm, the seeds of the fruit provide the açaí oil and pieces for handicrafts, while the leaves give rise to hats, mats, baskets, brooms, roofs, among other objects.

Resized image by Lucas Law, available on Unsplash

In the Amazon, açaí is consumed with cassava flour or tapioca. But there are still those who prefer to make mush with flour and eat it with roasted fish or shrimp, or the juice with sugar. In the southeast of the country, açaí is mixed with sugar, guarana syrup and consumed mainly in the form of ice cream and juice.

• Cassava: know its nutritional advantages

Benefits of acai

Acai fruit contains essential amino acids, oleic acid, omega 3 fatty acids, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, manganese, iron, calcium, copper, zinc and vitamins C, A, B1, B2 and B3.

In addition, acai is very rich in antioxidants, which help fight mental fatigue and improve memory. Inflammation - which antioxidants help fight - is a major cause of mental fatigue.

The large amount of antioxidants present in açaí also helps to eliminate free radicals, which are compounds that cause cell damage and premature aging.

In addition, it is rich in anthocyanins - pigments responsible for the blue, violet and red colors of most fruits -, which help fight the development of various types of tumors, such as colon, breast, liver and others; in addition to protecting the cells of the nervous system against degeneration, helping to prevent diseases such as Alzheimer's.

• Antioxidants: what are they and in what foods to find them
• Anthocyanin present in red fruits brings benefits

Does acai make you fat?

Açaí is caloric and rich in fats, more specifically, saturated fatty acids, which are the same found in olive oil. This means that, if consumed in moderation, like olive oil, açaí provides benefits for the heart - ensuring, including the intake of fiber and protein. But if you are looking to lose weight, it is better not to overdo it.

Açaí and the economy in the Amazon

The extraction of açaí in the Amazon is a good example of how to make a "standing forest economy" viable. Fruit of palm trees from the Amazon, it has been used for centuries as food by indigenous populations and its extraction does not require any trees to be cut down. With abundant production, generally with more than 100 trees per hectare, the fruit became popular throughout the country in the 1990s and its consumption also expanded abroad.

• Researcher defends the açaí model in generating sustainable business

This process has firmly connected Amazon agroforestry farmers with global markets and production, collection and processing techniques. In addition to being an option that preserves the forest, being aligned with a smaller contribution to climate change.