Uses of the Acai Berry

While the use of the Acai berry in order to improve the health in general has been very well documented, it seems that some uses of the plant are not so well documented. First and foremost, the utilization of the acai berry is simplistically obvious, as the berry itself is a strong antioxidant and increases the health of the individual and reduces the effects of aging.

With so much attention being paid to the general health of individuals eating the food and utilizing the berry to make juice, it is easy to overlook the utilization of other materials for different products.

Naturally, when a product is so famous for being healthy, it is easy to overlook some of the other uses and consider it to be a one trick pony. This is not the case, as there are all manner of different types of uses for the entire plant, not just the berry itself.

The fruit itself is a small, round, blackish purple ball similar to a grape but with much less pulp and is produced on branches of around 700 to 900 fruit each. Two crops of the fruit are produced each year and provides a tremendous amount of income for the natives in the area. The outside of the fruit is a deep purple collar or green depending on the product and its maturity while the interior is pulpy and thin with a consistent thickness of 1 mm or slightly less. The seed is 80% or more of the fruit itself.

Naturally, the berries are harvested as food and sold throughout the world as a healthy product that can increase the health of the user. In the Amazon region in Brazil where they grow, the Acai berry fruit is utilized in almost 42% of all food, obviously very popular and utilized by many individuals.

Many foods made with acai, such as ice cream, granola, salt or sugar or other sweeteners give you Acai health benefits. With so much variety and the ubiquity of use, it seems only natural that the extremely popular product would increase its reach beyond the local area and into all sectors of the world as a frozen or freeze dried product. But the product itself has other commercial uses besides simple food and berries.

The plant itself is used for all manner of different types of products, while the berry is used mainly for food. The leaves are often made into hats, woven with extreme skill by natives in the area and sold on a regular basis to tourists and locals alike. The leaves can also form all manner of woven materials such as maps, brooms, roof thatch and even baskets. With this woven technique, there is no end of use for the leaves from the very popular plant. The trunk itself, Palm wood that is valued everywhere, is used in all manner of building construction and other types of suitable uses. Considering that is extremely resistant to insects, it only makes sense for this type of product to be utilized in the rain forest on a frequent and regular basis due to the high amount of insect infestation in the area.

The seeds are quite often ground up and used for food for livestock or as a component of soil for organically grown plants. Seeds are can also be used to grow new palm trees which will perform seedlings in a few months under the right growing conditions.