The hottest new superfood is probably one you’ve never heard of—and probably can’t pronounce. Açai (ah-sigh-eee) is a rich purple fruit that reportedly has 10 times the antioxidants of red grapes.
Tasting like a bitter hybrid of raspberries and chocolate, açai has been an energy-boosting staple in South America for years. Only recently, after an endorsement from Nicholas Perricone, MD, on the Oprah Winfrey Show, did food companies in the United States start scheming up products. Açai is now a multimillion dollar industry, and a simple Google search of the word brings up everything from pills to pulps—and it isn’t cheap! A 32-ounce bottle of açai puree will set you back $40.
Açai boasts impressive health benefits, including cancer prevention and even weight loss, that are backed up by limited research. A 2006 University of Florida study showed that extracts from açai berries destroyed cultured human cancer cells!
Plenty of nutritionists are still skeptical, though, including our resident dietitian Julie Upton. “Just because it has a lot of antioxidants doesn’t mean any of them get into your blood or tissues. They need to be absorbable,” she says.
So, while scientists are continuing to study the health benefits of açai, don’t waste your hard-earned money. Instead, consider a few cheaper ways to sample this popular fruit, without breaking the bank.
- Blue Bunny’s FrozFruit Superfruit Raspberry Açai bars. They’re nonfat, only 90 calories, and contain real pureed açai and raspberries. $4 for a package of six.
- Sambazon Organic Açai juice. This drink contains 50 calories per serving, 80% juice, and no added caffeine. $48 for a 12-pack.
- Tropicana Pure Raspberry Açai juice. Sip on this 100% juice drink for just 140 calories, 1 gram of fat, and no added sugars. $2.50 for a 12-ounce bottle.
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Comments (35)
I dont believe on this! I placed my order for Acai and have yet to receive it. It has been about 8 days. Also the free trial is for 14 days from the day you order so I am losing days to try this out. I am very disappointed with this. Plus you have to pay for the entire bottle after 14 days, thats about $80. The colon cleanser must be the same, but it cost way more. Iam losing time to try it for “FREE” You dont get anything for “FREE”.
Betsy, I am also living in Ann Arbor. Where to you shop for fresh “healthy foods”? I am inspired by your story.
I ordered a sample for $4.95 of acaipure supplements.
then looked online and saw complaints. Well I called the company and was told by one girl Roxy, to not bother to send back the bottle and I wouldnt be charged. Well now 1 month later, i am debited for $39.95 for the bottle; and was not planning that out of my account. So called and spoke to another girl who said i was responsible for reading the material and paying for the full price of the bottle. so be aware, you will have to pay $45.00 for this product in the end, unless you return it upon arrival!!!!
Seems like a scam to me, cuz u can get acai anywhere now.
WHERE DO YOU BUY TRIM MAXX TEA
I did find an excellent product for my bloat and fat belly; it is called Trim Maxx tea, and you drink about a half mug at night before bed. be ready to get up in the night to go to the toilet, but it is worth it !! My stomach is flatter than its been in years and I have lost about 2 sizes in under 2 months, and I still can eat enough all day to be happy. I also eat Tabatchnick natural soups for lunch which seem to really fill me up and are healthy.
I have be going back and forth with AcaiBerry on a trial offer that I received 10 days after ordering it. I counted the 14 days starting when I got the trail offer. I did not know that I would be charged $89.97 for not cancelling my first months order with in 14 days. I think this is unfair considering I only had 4 days in which to try their product. Hopefully someone can do something, in order for the public to be saved from being taken by this company. I have not felt any benefit from this product and want my money back. Please advise and helpppppppppppppppppppppppppp Thank You, Patricia Hoover
Who are you people and what do you use for an internet browser? “Acai” is a fancy, mystifying word for “Chinese Wolfberries.” These may be found for five or six bucks a pound at any Chinese grocery store or herb shop. They are much tastier than the nasty liquids I have sampled, and are without the interesting added ingredients in ice pops and candy whatzits.
Try the real thing and see how much better it is that the “value added” garbage you are being sold.
I found your “on the cheap” comments interesting. One product that I have looked into is Monavie which is about $40 per quart. However, you do NOT drink the entire quart at one time. I think a ’serving’ is about 1-1/2 oz and that would be (by my limited math) about $1.60/serving. So the Tropicana drink is really NOT cheaper. Nor do I think is the Blue Bunny product. The other comments about internet ordering seem to be valid. Our TV stations are featuring similar complaints about having unwanted debits on accounts of persons who have ordered these products. I am not a Monavie user or ‘pusher’. I too need more definite information on this “new and amazing” berry.
I think you all must have a different idea of what it takes to “break the bank”. $4 a bottle for the Sambazon Acai juice (BEFORE shipping charges) is not a value, nor is it affordable. What are you thinking?
THEY NEED TO START MAKING ACAI WINE!!!!!
I’m a believer in Acai.
The best place I’ve found for the product is at
thetotalhealthshop.com
they have organic acai juce in 32 oz. bottles for $24.95
Special give you 1 bottle free with the purchase of 5. That’s $15 a bottle cheaper than MonaVie.
Specials also have the product at $19.99 on occasion.
The shipping does take forever (3 weeks sometimes, but their products are great! I even received a holiday special of $16.95 per bottle. They also carry the other juices (mangosteen, goji, and a couple others). I have no affiliation with them. I did my research to find the best price.
The Sambazon drinks are total rip offs. Very little acai, and a hefty price for their designer bottles and very few ounces!
I sell shaklee, and Vivix is the way to go. It is a liquid and helps with so many things. Not cheap but you take 1 tsp a day. Lots of good testomonials.
Indeed, as many posters have noted, “free” trials/offers are never free. After reading a few pages of touting the all too amazing benefits of these previously unknown products, you’ll find that once you give your credit card # (for shipping & handling), you are now enrolled in an “auto-ship” program.
Getting out of it isn’t easy. Often a phone number with an incredibly long wait time is given for cancellation requests. They also count on you not returning the unexpected product since it’s such a hassle.
The headlines in these ads (often purporting to be medical articles) are huge, deep in the fine print is some small sentence about your “subscription”.
Not speaking of this product specifically, but in general:
1) Beware of “health” products that claim to treat anything from acne to cancer.
2) Generally these products are “discovered” by a “medical researcher” and do not have the endorsement of the medical establishment at large.
3) The shills will claim the reason for point 2 above is often given as something like “the medical industry doesn’t want you to know about this ‘miracle’ because it would harm their own vested interests” or similar.
4) “Auto-ships” are a cruel gimmick, not a convenience. If the product works, you’ll return for more on your own.
There is plenty of good natural stuff out there. I use a lot myself. This Acai berry no doubt has some merits, but probably falls short of the wilder and wilder promises that I see being made by proponents who don’t have to back up their claims at all.
That small blurb at the bottom of the page stating “These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.” covers even the most incredulous claims made by its marketers.
I tried the health food store’s acai juices after I saw how much MonaVie costs. They didn’t taste good and didn’t help my conditions much. I then tried MonaVie and am MUCH improved. My blood pressure is normal again and my migraines are much improved…almost completely gone. I just had a follow-up appointment with my arthritis doctor. The x-rays showed my arthritis is all gone except for one small area in my neck and my bone density test showed all bone loss reported last year has been reversed. My bones are totally restored. Then I found out that due to processing procedures of the acai berry, MonaVie is the ONLY company that is able to retain 100% of the nutritional value of the berry at production. Others lose 50-70% of their antioxidant power. No wonder I wasn’t feeling much difference with the health food store’s juice. I’d have to drink at least twice as much of it to get the same nutrition in MonaVie. That would end up costing me even more! Sometimes bargains aren’t bargains after all! I’m sticking with MonaVie!
Don’t order acai from real solutions labs,they require that if you cancel the product you must do so 14 days from the day your order was placed,by the time you receive it you only have about 5 days to try it out, then they charge you $70.00 for a months supply.When I contacted them about a return/refund they would only refund me $45.00 for the return of the acai,it’s a scam.
If you want a good product and they stand behind it , it is shaklee’s Vivix and it cost 90.00 for 3 bottles that last 3 weeks. But if you sign up to become a member of shaklee you can get it for 76.50 . My skin is so much brighter, I have some sun spots that have faded since I started to use it. , My joints are feeling so much better after being on it now for 3 months.
Thanks so much for your comments on Acai “free trial”
Saved me from falling into the scam of something for nothing….NOT SO!!
Still wondering how I can get back my money. I was taken for $89.97, Plus the free trial S&H $4.95. Any suggestions that I might be able to use to get my money back?
I ordered organic Acai capsules from iherb.com. Doctors Best (organic and vegetarian) will run you about $16 on sale right now. I get all my supplements from them they are great. One week on the Acai and I have more energy, less appetite! I do workout just needed a boost. Plus lost 3/4 of an inch from my waist. The only recourse you have on the ’scam site’ is to call your credit card company and protest the charge. Good luck.
I ordered one bottle of each and they have sent 2 bottles each and charged to my account over 128.00 in 10 days. I have been sick and have not started on the pills yet.
For each of us that have had an issue with this product, I think we should contact the Better Business Bureau to see if they can help us get our money back. P. Hoover If anyone has any other suggestions please post. Thank you.
If you ordered the free trial for only 4.95 from Central Coast Nutraceuticals, Inc., then you have just committed yourself to a monthly memembership fee that is automatically deducted without prior consent. If you try to send the product back and cancel the memebership, or get a refund, then you are out of luck.
I fell into the trap of Betsy’s story and ordered both. I glad I got on here today and read these feedback, because I was able to cancel both of these subscriptions and only lost the $10.00 for shipping. They both gave me a confirmation number and said that no more debits will come out of my account. I live in Columbus Ne and live about 35 minutes from Albion Ne and I work with 3 people from there and non of them even know of any Sanders that live in the area. It doesn’t say that she isn’t there but I have a feeling that this story is made up to sucker everybody into $70.00 a month. But if you did get your trial offer and liked the results check out Ebay. They have both the Acai berry and the Colon 700 for a fraction of the price you can get from these companies.
how did the company get the info on how to charge your account when ordering the “free” trial offer? i’ve received a second bottle of ultrslim that i didn’t order. this is exactly what i was afraid of!
Does any one know why Acai berries are so expensive?
They get your billing information from your shipping information and transfer that information to your banking account and they withdrawn the funds automatically. IT’S A RIP OFF !
AJ, Acai tends to be very expensive because the berries are only the size of blueberries and are actually 90% seed. It makes it really hard to get any juice out of them.
Once harvested from the palm trees that produce these berries, their nutritional value also rapidly deteriorates within a very short period (around 48 hours). Hence, they are immediately freeze-dried as a means to retain their nutritional value. The freeze-drying process varies depending on which company does it and each having differing success in preserving the original nutritional content. You do tend to see lots of products with ‘acai’ in them in today’s market; but the actual quality of the acai may be questionable. Some products may contain acai, and indeed they do, but how much of the nutritional value / antioxidants from the acai is in the final product is perhaps low to minimal.
I ordered both also, and did not rec. acai berry until after the 14 day trial period- which fell on a holiday. I called the next day and they were running me in circles. They could not cancel b/c the 14 days was over and I was already debited 80 something dollars. I asked to speak with someone in billing and the lady said that they could not transfer me, but I should rec. an e-mail from them regarding my concerns. I never got the e-mail and was charged. She said that it was shipped on the 8th and I should get it anyday b/c it was backordered. When I did get it, it was postmarked way after the 8th. I will contact the BBB and they should be able to help. I will also contact my credit/debit card and dispute this charge. They are usually helpful with this. Anyone who has been scammed by thes company’s should do the same.
I recently was caught up with the whole Acaiberry thing in the internet and boy did I run into a problem! They say free, but it takes a month to see any results and after 14 days, if you don’t call to cancel they charge your credit card $60-70! and enter you into a monthly auto ship program. So, it’s NOT free!!
I have called the companies that sent me the products and was able to cancel memberships and get charges refunded except one company who told me there is no return policy so I was stuck with it. I will be reporting this to my credit card company as I feel this is ludicrous! DON’T TRUST ANY COMPANIES TELLING YOU ABOUT FREE ACAI PRODUCTS. Places like GNC sells the same products for a whole lot less and their customer service is live and friendly. Health food stores will also have these products.
Very nice site!
I do not plan to order from these scam companies, but I am interested inknowing if the acai products and cleanse worked for anyone. Is it worth looking for them at the Health/Vitamin shops or on EBay? Does anyone have REAL results, not something created to sell a product for marketing or profit?
Super-Duper site! I am loving it!! Will come back again – taking you feeds also, Thanks.
badfrog-
What internet browser are you using?
I hate to break it to you, but Chinese Wolfberries are NOT acai berries, they are goji berries. Goji berries grow on a bush and acai berries grow on a type of palm native to only Central and South America. Two different berries from two different parts of the world.
You are right on one point, eating the berries themselves is much better that all that added junk they put in the products the industry tries to force feed us.
I am truley disappointed in myself for falling for this scam. I too ordered the bottle and waited, when I did receive it and called to cancel the girl told me to keep that bottle. Oh boy what an idiot I was, not only was I charged for the first I then received a send one and was charged for that one too! I am out over $90.00 and when I called back I was told that I did not receive the cancellation number so I have to pay it. I got my cancellation number now and I also got the phone number for the Better Business Bureau and I will be calling first thing in the morning. Thanks for nothing!!!!!
Boy am I sorry I didn’t read any of these comments before I fell into the trap of auto delivery. I returned the first auto delivery and never got a credit or response. As everyone else, calling them is
really a pain, but I finally got through. Said a credit would be coming….A second shipment was sent!
Called again after returning second shipment. They
said I would find a credit on my next statement. Yes,
I did, but not for second shipment. Everytime I call
they tell me they’ve already credited me. Getting no where and have learned a hard lesson. Will NEVER order anything like this again. And the stuff didn’t work either !!!