Say Good-bye to Acai

These purple bowls are the latest food trend that’s been sweeping social media.
They are often praised as a delicious and healthy food option, and have gained superfood status. But are they really?

Acai (ah-sigh-EE) bowls are gorgeous, to be sure: purple and brimming with toppings like kiwi, granola, and shredded coconut. You see people digging in with a spoon—and they're dubbed as a health food, but are they really?

According to the Mayo Clinic, acai berries are higher in antioxidants than other popular berries such as cranberries, blueberries, and strawberries. They are also high in fiber, calcium, and vitamin A. Acai berries have been widely marketed as a “superfood” due to their extremely high antioxidant and phytochemical content. However, the National Institutes of Health states that “very little research has been done in people on the health effects of acai products.”

On their own, these native South American berries taste bitter. This is why commercial bowl brands tend to add artificial syrups and sugar in the recipe to mask the taste or mix them with a large quantity of bananas. The mixture may also be blended with sweetened soy or almond milk, and fruit juice, which further increases the sugar levels. Add the natural sugars of the added fruit toppings you could be dangerously close to consuming anywhere from 21 – 62g of sugar per serving and approximately 1,000 calories per acai bowl! This makes the nutrient-dense acai bowl potentially a pitfall to sabotage your weight loss progress.

In addition, acai bowls contain puree and fruit that have been blended together, so the fibre is lost and you may not be as full as if you ate the fruit whole. This may result in overeating and consuming more calories than you can burn if you’re not careful!

When you consider that many people eat acai bowls for breakfast, the sugar content becomes even more concerning. Many people might think eating an acai bowl is a “healthy choice” that gives them license to indulge in junk food later in the day, exacerbating the problem. “You should really look at acai bowls as more of an occasional treat, not something you’d have as a meal,” Ilana Muhlstein, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist at UCLA. “Acai bowls can have 50 grams of sugar [the equivalent of 12 teaspoons], or double what the American Heart Association recommends for women for an entire day.”

Consuming too much sugar has been linked to obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other negative health outcomes. While acai bowls have a lot of good things inside them, their typical sky-high sugar total cannot be overlooked. Other dishes, such as steel-cut oats topped with fresh fruit, offer similar nutrients without the startling amount of sugar.

Much like the acai bowl, “smoothies enjoy a “health halo” that can be misleading,” says registered and licensed dietitian nutritionist, Sarah B. Krueger. “It’s very likely that you are getting more calories and sugar when you drink a smoothie than when eating whole fruits or vegetables.” This is because the fiber in whole fruit acts as a net to slow down the process by which the body turns sugar from food into blood sugar, and though the smoothie still contains fiber, it has been pulverized during the blending process. As a result you’re likely to feel hungrier again sooner after drinking the smoothie than you would have had you eaten the same fruits and vegetables whole. “But,” says Krueger, “the bottom line is quantity, and people are often consuming a 20- or 24-fluid-ounce smoothie. That’s a lot.”

Can you enjoy an acai bowl every once in a while? For sure. But you shouldn’t be eating them for breakfast or lunch several times per week. A smarter approach might involve replacing desserts like ice cream or frozen yogurt with an occasional acai bowl. You also have the option of making your own acai bowl, allowing you to better control the ingredients and sugar totals. So, if you were thinking about doing a smoothie or juice cleanse to “detox” your system this New Year’s - simply adding more whole fruits and veggies to your diet will be a better choice.

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