Mark Knopfler

It seems to be the common attitude that if something is a ‘drug’, if it causes hallucinations or highs of some kind, and if it brings pleasure to some people without being of detriment to others, then it must be A Bad Thing. This is a strange attitude, when you think about it logically, and one which doesn’t really make sense.

So it is that the public attitude towards Salvia is tainted. The public’s attitude towards those of us that buy Salvia is similarly tainted, and I sometimes feel alienated because I enjoy the spiritual feeling it gives me. Certainly I feel that I cannot buy Salvia openly in public, and I never admit to colleagues that I buy Salvia online.

The fact that I buy Salvia does not make me a monster. I am a good Christian, and I am a doctor. Why should the fact that I enjoy hallucinating and exploring my spiritual side mean that I should be outcast? There is a good reason that Salvia has remained legal for so long, and that is that it is not dangerous or harmful. Why is this never taken into consideration by those who want to see it banned?

Unless you are a resident of the Amazon basin in Brazil, getting actual acai berries will prove very difficult indeed. With the acai becoming an increasingly popular way to keep fit — acai diets booming in popularity lately — distributors are finding more and more impressive ways to get the acai to your door in as close to a natural state as possible. Here’s the good news: it has worked.

Acai preserves are generally acknowledged to be one of the purest ways to enable the acai to travel the world. When you consider that acai preserves contain around 99% pure acai fruit and have undergone minimal processing, you start to realize just what a good deal this is: you’re essentially getting a jar full of delicious acai berries.

And if there’s one thing that acai preserves are good at, it is being delicious. The acai preserves I have tasted taste like some kind of ingenious combination of fruit and chocolate syrup. I actually had a hard time acknowledging that something so delicious could be good for me. Put it this way: I’m glad it is good for me otherwise I would be in big trouble! Acai preserves might not make up 42% of my food by weight like it does for some in the depths of Brazil, but it would if I could find enough jars!

Dr. Perricone must have been thanking his lucky stars when no other than Oprah Winfrey featured his book — The Perricone Promise — on her TV show. Not only would the millions of people watching the show be tempted to go out and buy it, but it would quickly bring it to the attention of media outlets and broadcasters across the world. This was payday for Dr. Perricone.

It was also payday for the many produces or acai products: manufacturers and distributors of acai berry supplements, preserves, purees and juices must have jumped for joy at the news of the success of Dr. Perricone’s book. Acai, and by association acai supplements and the rest of the products, was named by Dr. Perricone as the world’s number one super food. Quite an accolade, I am sure you agree, and definitely one that helped to catapult sales of acai berry supplements to a level we have never seen before.

The problem with acai — if it is really a problem — is that the fruit degrades worryingly quickly once it has been harvested. This means that it is very difficult to store and transport. Processing the berry into acai supplements is a benefit that first solves this particular ‘problem’.

Scientists are quite literally crazy. Some of them, but not all, you understand. They’ve all got a very special mindset which chases problems just for the intellectual thrill. Many of history’s greatest discoveries though have come from what have apparently been purely intellectual pursuits from the start.

Salvia is a perfect example of what would appear to be an intellectual challenge without any real world applications. Scientists have known about Salvia for decades — perhaps longer — but they have never really studied it or its effect on the brain until very recently.

This research started in earnest a few years ago once talk of banning Salvia came to light — nothing like a catastrophe to focus the mind, is there? — and researchers are now wishing they had started much earlier.

There have been a few very, very exciting discoveries linked with Salvia. One is that research into the way the brain works under the influence of Salvia might just help us to understand how it works under the influence of Alzheimer’s. In this wonderfully interesting case there is no potential for Salvia to be the direct saviour, but it could assist the real saviours — the doctors — in finding a real cure to what is a real problem.

Nutritionists, doctors and scientists all agree that the acai berry can be good for your body. It adds amino acids and anti-oxidants into your system that build up your strength and even help your immune system. The berry comes from the depths of the Amazon basin in Brazil and it is impossible — due to the quick degradation that the acai suffers — to transport it in its natural form.

One of the most popular ways around this limitation is acai juice. This is essentially just crushed acai in a bottle.

Essentially, but not quite. Especially in the case of one of the products with, until recently, a sizeable market share. The Monavie acai juice enjoyed moderate success but has now been found to be lacking in some key area. One of the key areas that Monavie has been accused of falling short on is the fact that there is very little acai in their so called acai juice.

Two of the Monavie products contain ‘100% fruit juice from concentrate’, along with some powdered acai. The Monavie Pulse product contains reconstituted fruit juice blend along with — you guessed it — powdered acai.

There is no reason to pay more for Monavie acai when it is so lacking in such an essential ingredient.

A friend of mine convinced me to give acai juice a try. I’ve been impressed from the start, and now I’m absolutely convinced that it is doing me the world of good.

The acai berry is native to the Amazon basin in Brazil, and it makes up around 42% of the diet of the people that live in that region. These lucky souls are pretty much the only ones to even see it in its natural form, though, as the berry degrades so very quickly once it has been picked.

The best way the distributors have found to get it to my local health shop is to squash the berries to make a delicious acai juice. This acai juice is just so darn convenient that it’s difficult to not like it a lot. I tend to take my acai juice in the morning and then again in the afternoon. I’ve also managed to take my acai hit while I’m driving, while I’m at work and even while I am in the middle of my afternoon jog! Try doing that with actual berries! In some ways the acai juice is a better idea than the raw materials from which it comes!

I am really pleased that my friend convinced me to try acai juice. Good for her!

There has been plenty of discussion lately about the positive benefits of an acai diet. Acai is a wonderful little fruit from the Amazon region which has been widely billed as the newest — and most potent — super food.

The benefits of an acai diet are many fold: increase in energy, improved digestive system, assistance to your body’s immune system, and, most importantly, combating of the effects of aging. This latter reason is the most obvious fuel to the fire that is the massive increase in people taking up an acai diet. The simply fact is that people everywhere are searching for a ‘cure’ to the ‘problem’ of aging.

And an acai diet really can work. Not only does acai combat the physical effects of advancing age — increasing energy and allowing the skin to stay supple and wrinkle free — but it also does an excellent job of improving the mental health of those taking acai as part of their diet. Overall acai provides access to an overwhelming feeling of well being.

Oprah Winfrey raves about Acai as a weight loss supplement on her show, and lists it as the #1 superfood for age defying and other health benefits. The following quote can be found on her website “ This little berry is one of the most nutritious and powerful foods in the world!”

Of course it’s not just Oprah that is raving about Acai – its been featured on scores of tv shows like Rachel Ray, and are all over the internet in recent months. But just what are acai berries? This short article attempts to address this question that is on a lot of peoples’ lips.

Lose Weight with Acai Berry
Acai can be a great weight loss aid. The berry’s incredibly high levels of essential fatty acids, fiber, phytosterols and amino acids work together to help your body burn fat more efficiently, process food more quickly and shed the unwanted pounds that you’d like to lose.

Antioxidants
Acai berries have far more antioxidants than any other fruit – three times as much as blueberries, which is second. Besides that, the nutrients in acai berry help many other diseases, from diabetes to arthritis to blood clotting.

Fatty Acids
Did you know Acai Berries are the only fruit to contain appreciable amounts of fatty acids? Don’t be fooled by the terminology though, some fatty acids are good. Our bodies need essential fatty acids to maintain proper health. We are unable to produce Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. It just so happens that these fatty acids are plentiful in Acai berries. Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids help increase your metabolism. The are also very effective at inhibiting hunger. Both of which helps you to lose weight more quickly. In providing these Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, the Acai berry can help you shed those extra pounds.

Fiber
Acai contains a generous amount of fiber, which helps your digestive tract to move food through your body. In this way, excess food is eliminated rather than absorbed and turned into fat. Similar to the fatty acids mentioned above, fiber also helps to satiate hunger.

Amino Acids
The Acai berry is rich with amino acids, which are widely known as the building blocks of protein. Your muscles need these amino acids in order to operate properly, and to regenerate from resistance training trauma or other exercise stress. Since the fatty acids in Acai increase your metabolism and the amino acids build your muscles, we can say that the nutrients in Acai berries help your body burn fat and energy more efficiently, causing you to lose weight.

Phytosterols
These building blocks of cell membranes help fortify your digestive tract, moving waste materials out and absorbing nutrients more efficiently. Acai berries are an excellent source of Phytosterols.

Disease Fighting and other Health Benefits
Published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a study showed that extracts from acai berries triggered a self-destruct response in up to 86 percent of leukemia cells tested.

Acai berries are already considered one of the richest fruit sources of antioxidants,” said Stephen Talcott, an assistant professor with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. “This study was an important step toward learning what people may gain from using beverages, dietary supplements or other products made with the berries.

Why Use Acai ?
I personally enjoy the Acai Berry because of it’s antioxidant properties. In this day and age of phytoestrogens, chemicals, pesticides, and other nasty environmental toxins, we can’t get enough antioxidants. Others swear by it as a weight loss aid and energy booster. Less proven, but also important, are the disease fighting properties that are being subscribed to the wonder berry. Whatever your reason for interest in trying Acai Berry products, below are the 2 most common forms that you will find outside of Brazil.

Acai Berry Supplements
Supplements are the most convenient way to get your Acai Berry. But beware – there are some unscrupulous sellers who push garbage and dissappear tomorrow. In particular, stay far away from the “Free Trial” offers. They say you only need to pay some nominal amount for shipping, like $3.95. But they get your credit card number, then keep shipping you more product at exhorbitant amounts like $89. They hide the fact you signed up for a subscription, and make it very hard to contact someone to cancel. A huge rip-off. So, which should you try? The best we can recommend right now is Acai Pure. This is a 100% acai berry product is not gummed up with fillers or additives. It is not loaded with accessory supplements for marketing purposes. AcaiPure includes only the highest grade Acai powder available anywhere on the planet, and is America’s #1 anti-oxidant cleansing formula! You can find numerous polls around the web that rank Acai Pure higher than most other acai berry products. Acai Pure is always ranked in the top 3 and is often rated #1.

Acai Juice or Drinks
You can get acai juice products from various MLM companies like Monavie. You can also go to your local health food store, GNC, Vitamin World, etc… and get an acai juice product. Unfortunately, these Acai berry juice supplements are notoriously full of sugar or are diluted with other fruit juices so much that they are not even worth taking for the health benefits. The only one I have been able to find that is 100% Acai, with no water or other fruit juices mixed in is Amazon Thunder.

You know it’s not diluted as soon as you open the bottle and try to pour it out. I say “try” because its sometimes like pouring ketchup. It’s closer to a paste than a juice. This tells your right away you’ve got nothing but mashed acai berries. I must say, I found the taste a little strange at first, but am now totally addicted to it! I believe this is by far the most concentrated, undiluted, and intact form of Acai and the best way to get all the nutritional benefits from this wonder berry. The only problem is the convenience factor is not as great as a supplement form.

I am a bible reading, god fearing person, and, as the bible tells me, I should not envy. But I do, I really do! My friend has been running his own home based business for a few years now and it is really starting to pay off. He is enjoying shorter hours at work (work being situated in the spare bedroom at home, of course), a great income that goes directly to him, and a very, very short commute.

A few years ago my friend was in a fairly mundane job that didn’t pay so well and involved a long commute. He was a dreamer: cars, boats, nice house. He was convinced that some how, one day, he would make it big and hit the jackpot. He has done that now.

And in fact it was all down to hard work in the end. Good honest hard work is what is needed in a home based business just like in any other business.

As I said, I read the bible and I try not to be jealous, but my friend’s material possessions, his lifestyle and just his general happiness make me a little bit jealous. Jealous enough to feel that his path is one that I would like to take, too. Watch this space.