Many fruits and vegetables are rich in polyphenols (antioxidants), anthocyanins (the darker pigment in foods), and tannins (ability to tan). Why are the antioxidant properties of Acai so much higher than the what tests find in any other common food?
When considering how plants use up energy to produce antioxidant compounds in the first place the answer becomes quite obvious.
Plants produce and use antioxidants to handle stress. Then one asks, what kind of powerful forms of stress does a berry like the one from an Acai palm endure, especially the kinds that give it such an unusually high antioxidant capacity? The Amazonian Acai Palm grows to an exceedingly tall height all along the Amazon River basin and its rivulets and tributaries, very close to the Earth's equator. In fact, the only time this palm needs shade is during it's early growth stage. Once the Acai plant matures and starts to grow it can then begin to constantly endure the sun's intense ultraviolet radiation.
As the Acai palm attains it's maximum height of nearly 100 feet or more, it becomes an integral portion of the forest canopy, or roof. The development of astonishing antioxidant characteristics of plant by-products is particularly evident in the low areas, near rivers and their tributaries, such as along Brazil's coastal swamps, for example. Keep in mind that extended periods of seasonal flooding occurs in swamps.
Typically, if a food crop like corn remains under water for more than a few days, it will always die. This is a condition called anoxia, or "lack of oxygen", which is responsible for these plants dying off so quickly. Anoxia is clearly an example of a stressful condition, which can easily kill a plant when it happens for even a short time.
Now most plants cannot survive without oxygen very long, but the Acai palm can last for weeks and even months during anoxia caused by flooding. It's thought that this survival mechanism is possible as oxygen transfer takes place from it's leaves (above the water) into the roots (under water). Amazingly, the Acai berry palm has also developed the capacity to create energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in its cells without the presence of oxygen.
As the root system in the Acai palm is transferring oxygen, other forms of non-oxygen dependent growth and processing is occurring at the same time. Rice is another example of this type of plant that also carries on this type of metabolizing. This is why rice is able to grow under water in paddies. Hence, Acai is not just another ordinary palm tree, but one that has evolved over time to be able to handle all sorts of severe climates, geologic challenges and the enviromnental stresses caused by flooding.
This type of resilient adaptation and the building up of antioxidants to handle these stresses ends up in the products the plant grows - Acai berries. These Acai Berries loaded with Antioxidants are undoubtedly beneficial to those that consume them.
You can get the most from Acai, but only as Freeze Dried Acai.