One of my favorite health foods is acai. To quote Tropicana (tropicana.com), "Acai is considered a superfruit" and has a "chocolaty aftertaste." It is tasty and a great source of antioxidants, but it can also be pricey or used misleadingly.

If you look at the varieties of acai juice, acai is usually a minor ingredient. You generally have to pay more for a greater concentration of berries. Sambazon is the best, however I have found O.N.E. to be a decent alternative for its reduced price. I picked up a 1 liter bottle at Adam's for $2.99! However it contains acerola (Amazon cherry) so the taste isn't purely acai and it is a little harsh on the stomach.

There is one low-acai-content drink that I actually quite enjoy: Tropicana Pure's Raspberry Acai. It is like drinking a smoothie and is $3 for a large bottle (33 ounces). However I have only been able to find it at Walmart and they do not keep it stocked, so I haven't been able to purchase it in months. If you can find it it's definitely worth a try.

As for acai being used misleadingly, look at Snapple's Acai Blackberry beverage that has NO acai in it at all - which was good for laughs when I read the ingredients in the grocery store. Acai is becoming popular as a superfood, and people are trying to capitalize on it in any way they can - including naming their products after the berry without it even being in the ingredients.

Also, as for those acai weight loss products... I don't give them much credit. I think they might be "too much of a good thing" - acai is NOT the best thing since sliced bread (though I'd like to think it's better). I don't doubt that some of the products will help some people lose weight, and as far as my research goes there are no documented acai side effects (though I would love to know if anybody has knowledge to the contrary), but I think part of it might be a placebo effect. Furthermore, too many antioxidants can be just as harmful as too little, and I don't trust companies to keep their products "pure" per se.

I recommend that people enjoy acai in moderation if they like the taste and can afford it, but otherwise make sure to include plenty of fresh, whole foods (fruits, veggies...) in their diet. Also be sure to check the ingredients! Don't pay for high fructose corn syrup when you're looking for a healthy, antioxidant-filled beverage.

All I've been hearing about lately is this acai berry. Is it really that good? I can't trust an opinion that's actually a disguised marketing pitch. The only time I seem to hear about the acai berry is when it's in some kind of a "miracle" pill. What about the raw fruit?

Yeah! I also heard of this "Acai Berry" but never experienced it, is it that much good for health? It is an anti-oxidant, and will it help much to loose the body weight? an anybody explain in brief.

There are many scammy websites about acai, usually shaped as a fake blog about weight loss. This makes me wary about this product. I would like to try some fresh acai berries, just by themselves, but I am not sure they are easily available. Most sites are talking about pills, and I'm not going to buy pills.

It is a good fruit and good taste too. But i don't favor to have berry always. Sometimes occasionally i will have.

Can somebody post a pic and eplain when and where it is available ?

I've heard that the acai berry is from Brazil, but does anyone find it unusual that it's not available in grocery stores? I've never seen it in the produce section before. I would love to at least see what it tastes like.

acai berries aren't any better for you than any other berry. It is just "new and exotic" and people like it. berries in general are high in antioxidants, and whatever else everybody is raving about acai berries... i do like some of the acai drinks though, but yeah, nothing special.

I guess it's just in style, and everyone seems to have gotten caught up in this big craze to make money off people while businesses market the berry as a "superfood." I think it would do people more good to try and eat the berry rather than take a pill made from the berry. By the time it's in pill form, it's probably lost all of its natural nutrients.