If there ever was a "miracle" food substance with far reaching impact on health it may be the Acai Berry from Brazil. You may have been reading a lot of hooplah about it as an anti-oxidant "par-excellance", on Oprah and elsewhere.  Well, that hooplah may be well deserved because of the very high anti-oxidant activity of Acai.   The anti-oxidant properties of the acai berry is simply off the charts, and when combined with other anti-oxidant superfoods, the combination may be unbeatable.  An example of this, the MonaVie blend of super-berries, actually has some, albeit limited, "scientific research" under its belt.  While limited, it is more than most other juice mixtures have put forth.  An initial observational study, presented at the Fruits and Vegetables Health Conference, and subsequently published (J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Sep 24;56(18):8326-33. Epub 2008 Aug 22), described the antioxidant potential of the MonaVie blend per se, although the study sample was indeed small. 

The review you are reading was originally published last year. In keeping with our policy to keep up with evidence about what works and what doesn't, and in response to a rather childish irate reader's email, we decided to review what other scientific evidence there is for considering Acai and Monavie in particular as part of your diet.

 "An overwhelming body of research has now firmly established that the dietary intake of berry fruits has a positive and profound impact on human health, performance, and disease", noted an overview study worth reading and published out of UCLA (J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Feb 13;56(3):627-9).  There is also evidence that a pulpy thick Acai is higher in anti-oxidant capacity than thinner juice form (J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Sep 10;56(17):7796-802).

As far as anti-cancer and anti-dysplasia claims of berries with very high anti-oxidant activity, "Consumption of berries has been implicated with diverse health benefits, such as prevention of stroke, of age-related degenerative diseases and cancer. Some berry constituents have been proven to have cancer preventive actions on chemically induced tumors in vivo and cancer suppressive effects in in vitro studies"( Biofactors. 2005;23(4):207-11).  There are now quite an arm's length of studies which show anti-oxidants have direct and complementary anti-dysplasia (pre-cancer) anti-cancer properties.   Please note that what this means is that it is definitely NOT a replacement for cancer therapy (or even pre-cancer/dysplasia therapy), but is probably VERY useful to help you in optimizing your health and doing everything you can in your lifestyle (dietary pattern and exercise) to help prevent recurrence.  One important caveat is that during active treatment there has been concern that anti-oxidants may interfere with chemotherapy.....talk with your doctor about this.  The data are not very strong in support of this statement, and some studies suggest exactly the opposite, so that you may be able to take it even during treatment after discussing with your physician. 

In any event, there are many sources of acai berry extract (pills), juice and pulp.  Personally, I have a favorite that I use, after trying many. Specifically, this is a thick pulpy juice that certainly tastes very concentrated and is made using proprietary steps that may preserve anti-oxidant value (patient application in but pending).  I invite you to visit JustJuices.com Recommends Monavie for more information (please do not "signup" or order from that site as it is not setup for that reason and your requests are likely going to go un-noticed).  One downside is that the Acai per se is not too tasty and this juice seems to have a high concentration of it.  So, even though higher Acai concentration is what you want, it is not as tasty as some of the thinner and sugar "fortified" versions out there.  

You should also know that the company that owns Monavie blend makes some of its money on the basis of a multi-level business distributorship program. My family and I have  been  ineligible for this because we don't actively recruit within this business structure.  We merely stand by our perception of the quality of this pulpy thick Acai juice mix and buy enough for personal use per month, because unfortunately this is the only way to get this product at a reasonable price.  Of note, IF you decide that it is a good fit for you to enter the business model, we don't suggest in any way that you will make much money on the deal. The vast vast majority don't.  On the other hand, if you happen to have a large circle of family and friends who are friendly and outgoing and follow appropriate business practices, this is a way to have it literally "pay for itself" while enjoying everything about this Acai blend! There are not too many opportunities in this life which combine a great healthy lifestyle with a healthy business opportunity option. It's not for us, but it may be for you.

The Monavie blend has been noted to be "pricey" and a "ripoff".   Well, we also buy a thinner non-pulpy version of Acai juice from Costco to drink in larger quantities when we want a cool refreshing more tasty healthy drink, sometimes mixed with a little soda water. Ounce for ounce, and knowing how non-pulpy this latter juice is, it is definitely NOT a lot cheaper.  You have to try it to understand, but one can definitely tell the difference (e.g. pulp content)  between Acai products if you shop around.   Anyway, feel free to review the details on the website JustJuices.com  and make your own decisions.  There is much more information about Acai, other super-berries etc..    If you want to try another option and  different approach, consider this advertisement among offers that seem to stand out as above-board in representing quality.  There are many other options out there, just be careful in selecting and use discretion.