Beware of the Hype on Acai Berries

Q. What have you heard about the acai berry? Will it really help me lose weight? Or is it all a gimmick?

A. The acai berry is the fruit of an Amazonian palm—today’s berry du jour. (Other hip berries that have had heydays in publicity include blueberries, cranberries and the berries—actually seeds—of the pomegranate.)

Like other newly-marketed exotic fruits, such as goji berries and mangosteen, little research has been conducted on the acai. A recent search on the “acai berry” within the MedLine database of medical and nutritional journals reveals only four studies. (Compare that to the blueberry, which yields 412 studies, and the cranberry at 443 studies.)

As a result, companies marketing acai products may take liberties when touting their benefits. Claims include the berry’s ability to help you lose weight, burn fat while you sleep, increase energy, and cleanse the body of toxins. Of course, substantiating research is difficult to find.