I liked the drinks, once I got used to the tang of Acai. It tastes like a combination between grape and cranberry, but stronger and thicker. Acai is a superfruit and very high in antioxidants and vitamins.

I’ve been using their new Daily Wellness Shot for a couple of weeks now. One shot – a 1 ounce serving – contains 100% of the recommended daily amount of ORAC. ORAC helps to protect the body from free radicals. Free radicals are able to enter the body through pollution and certain foods. They are believed to be a huge factor in aging. A daily dose of ORAC helps to defend your body against the free radicals.

Zola’s Acai Daily Wellness Shot works on the body in the following ways:

*Supports your Immune System
*Promotes a healthier heart
*Fights aging
*Boosts Energy and Stamina

I’m not sure if I’m more well, it’s not easy to measure something like that, but I figure that boosting my immunity cannot hurt. Taking a shot of the Zola Acai Daily Wellness is easy and it tastes pretty good, too.

Image credit: Michelle Smith

Post from: Blisstree

For Your Health – Zola Acai Wellness Shots

My family had the opportunity to try the Acai Original, Antioxidant Smoothie, Energy Smoothie, Immunity Smoothie, and Superfood Smoothie. My favorite was the Immunity Smoothie.  The Acai juice has that sweet-tart bite that is similar to the taste of cranberries. The smoothies are sweet, yummy, with a thick, creamy texture. My daughter Sarah, 10, said, “Mom these juices are actually very good. The best you’ve tested.”  I have to agree with her. These smoothies have the great taste of my favorite Jamba Juice smoothies, but there’s no brain-freeze side effect.

I have the opportunity to review a lot of great products. There have only been a few things that I did not like and I realize that taste is subjective. Many healthy juices have a sort of earthy almost dirt-like flavor to them. To get my kids to try them, I had to use them as a base for for frozen smoothies or employ some sort of bribery.  It’s hard to get kids to eat healthy foods if they don’t taste good. Zola juices do not have that dirt flavor. You will not have to bribe your kids to drink these juices. They will happily drink them on their own.

In addition, Zola created Project Zola to benefit the communities surrounding the area where they harvest the Acai berries. Handcrafted bracelets of dried Acai berries are strung together into beaded bracelets. Project Zola has been very successful and in 2007, they were able to completely fund the Escola Acaimu School. To purchase one of these stylish bohemian accessories, click here.

Image credit: Michelle Smith

Post from: Blisstree

Acai Superfruit Smoothies From Zola

“The CAA assay is a more biologically relevant method than the chemistry antioxidant activity assays as it accounts for uptake, metabolism, distribution and activity of antioxidant compounds within cells versus solely looking at antioxidant value,” said lead scientist Rui Hai Liu, PhD.

According to their findings, wild blueberries are the topnotchers in antioxidant activity based on these parameters (cultivated blueberries showed less antioxidant activity). Pomegranates, blackberries, raspberries and cranberries also got good scores. And while apples and strawberries aren’t that high in antioxidants, comparatively, they are the main source of antioxidants in a typical American diet, simply because of the volume they are consumed. Bananas and melons turned out low scores, and, surprise, surprise, those antioxidant fruit juice supplements being sold through MLM such as noni, acai ang goji? All under the radar, based on the test results.

My take on all these? Eat fruits. Doesn’t matter what, but lots of different fruits on a regular basis. I think you’d get your fair dose of antioxidants this way with the added bonus of treating your tastebuds to a variety of flavors, too!

Hat tip: Biotech Weblog, Photo Credit: Bien Stephenson via Flickr

Post from: Blisstree

Fruits with High Antioxidant Content

How did we pick? Our list is based a variety of factors, ranging from overall proven health benefits (through multiple peer-reviewed, valid scientific studies from around the world over many years), our own experience here at BrainReady using these foods regularly, general reports from consumers of these foods over the years, proven safety and lack of contraindications from these foods, and general availability/ease of incorporation of these foods by the most people in most countries.

And their Top 5 (not in order of priority):

1. Wild Salmon
2. Cacao Beans
3. Matcha (Tencha-grade green tea powder)
4. Acai berries & Blueberries (tie)
5. Coffee beans

Except for #3, I pretty much have covered the health benefits of these food items here at Eating Fabulous, although I have written a fair number of entries on green tea.

Go on, hope over to Brain Ready, and be sure to read until the last paragraphs. I can only agree when they mentioned that there is no such thing as anti-aging elixir. For functional foods to work, they have to be consumed regularly and consistently over a long period of time, and should be part of a healthy diet.

Post from: Blisstree

Top 5 Brain Foods

Call me a cynic but when something is labeled as a miracle-something, I can’t help but raise an eyebrow. Although preliminary data have indeed demonstrated that acai berries extracts show good activity against cancer cells in a model system, there are, as yet, no data on human trials. University of Florida researchers hope to conclude a study investigating the effects of acai’s antioxidants on healthy human subjects within the year. Until those results are out, I remain skeptical.

Post from: Blisstree

Anti-Cancer Effects of Acai Berries