The fruit of the Acai palm native to South America’s Amazon Basin, the Acai berry has got everyone talking. Long unavailable outside of the countries where it is grown, the fruit has made its way around the world and has met with massive popularity all over the globe for its health benefits, nutritional content and its wonderful flavor.

In Brazil, where most of the world’s Acai berries are grown, this fruit has long been an important part of the diet as well as considered to be a powerful traditional medicine. The Acai berry is used in smoothies, shakes and juices there as well as it is here and is also made into ice cream and of course, eaten fresh. However, the Acai berry has an extremely short shelf life and begins to spoil within hours of being picked, meaning that you are unlikely to see a fresh Acai berry anytime soon (if indeed ever) at your local grocery store or produce market.

Since the fresh Acai berry does not travel well enough to be exported as is, the berries are processed after picking. Frozen acai pulp is one type of Acai berry product you may see, as well as freeze dried Acai powder and even Acai extracts. The frozen pulp and freeze dried powder tend to contain most of the nutritional value of the fresh Acai berry.

This berry is known for packing a lot of nutritional value into a small package. Acai berries are usually about the size of a grape and are a good source of fiber, minerals, vitamins and potent antioxidant compounds which are believed to be helpful in stimulating the immune system to fight off disease, slow or discourage the growth of cancer cells and even help to slow down the physical effects of the aging process! That’s a lot for a little berry, for sure.

Another benefit of the Acai berry is that according to nutritionists, it actually helps your body to burn fat more efficiently! This property alone has made this berry sought out by many, since it helps people lose weight in a safe, gentle and natural way, unlike diet pills and other diet products out there.

Of course, the flavor of Acai is a good enough reason all by itself to add this powerful little berry to your diet. With a taste combining blueberry and chocolate, the Acai berry is a fruit which is easy to love and has already won over many fans. There are already many juices and other products which include Acai pulp and these are very popular – you may have already tried some of them yourself! Acai is also a great addition to smoothies, lending its delicious, exotic taste and wealth of nutrition to your diet.

With all of its nutritional and health benefits, wonderful flavor and ability to help you lose weight, it’s no wonder that this Brazilian marvel has been taking the world by storm. It hasn’t been available for long outside of its native South America, but you can count in starting to see this amazing little tropical fruit everywhere you look.