Acai berry, a fruit from the tropics of Amazon offers several health benefits to your kids. Some of them include supply of essential amino acids, high dietary fiber which aids in digestion, provides antioxidants to counter free radicals and supplies essential fatty acids that are good for brain and eyesight development.
Acai berries come from Acai palm tree which is indigenous to Central and South American countries such as Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Brazil and Peru, etc. The fruit of Acai palm is known as Acai berry, which is a small, round 1 inch dark blue colored drupe. The berry resembles a grape but it is less fleshy and has a large seed, unlike a grape.
Acai berries have been consumed by the Brazilian Amazonians traditionally. About 40% of their diet comprised of Acai berries. In the recent times, Acai berries are a craze in the United States now.
|Nutrition||Value per 100 g||Nutrition||Value per 100 g|
|Energy||45 kcal||Water||88.4 g|
|Carbohydrate||10.9 g||Sugars||10.5 g|
|Calcium||1 mg||Iron||0.81 mg|
|Potassium||98 mg||Sodium||28 mg|
|Vitamin C||40.7 mg||Vitamin A||6 IU|
|Vitamin E||1.83 mg|
Can I give Acai berry to my kids?
Yes, you can give Acai berry to your kids. Acai berry does not contain any adverse allergens and is considered to be safe for most people, if taken in moderation. However, there can be exceptions. So, if your family has a history of berry allergies, consult your pediatrician before you give Acai berries to your child. Keep an eye for visible symptoms of allergic reactions. The right age for Acai berries to be given to your kids is 1 or 1 ½ years.
Health benefits of acai berries for kids
High in essential fatty acids: Acai berries are high in Omega 3 fatty acids. These fatty acids play an important role in your kids’ brain and eyesight development.
Good source of antioxidants: The amount of antioxidants found in Acai berries is high. These antioxidants are useful in controlling the free radical activity in the body. Free radicals are produced in everyone’s bodies and they can hijack and damage the cells. As more and more cells die, more and more free radicals are produced. Antioxidants help in neutralizing these free radicals.
Dietary fiber: Acai berries are high in dietary fiber. Dietary fiber helps in easy digestion and cleaning up of the lower intestines. Fiber absorbs lot of water. This adds bulk and smoothens the stool. Thus, constipation is reduced.
Supply of essential amino acids: Acai berry has a profile of essential amino acids. In other words, the protein found in Acai berry has those amino acids which cannot be synthesized by human body. (Wolfe, Superfoods: The Food and Medicine of the Future) (The Acai Berry).
Measures to be taken while giving Acai berries
Here are some of the measures to be taken while giving Acai berries to your children.
How to buy Acai berries: You can buy Acai berries from certified organic cultivators, local farms, etc. Avoid buying packaged Acai juice cartons as they might contain artificial acai flavorings, artificial colors, chemicals and possibly pesticides.
Clean Acai berries: It is also essential to clean your Acai berries that you’ve bought. Sometimes, pesticidal residue can remain on the skin. You wouldn’t want that for your child. So, to clean all the pesticidal residue, you need to put the berries under running water and rinse it thoroughly with hands.
Make Acai juice at home: Acai juice can be easily prepared at home. You could easily make it at home. A juicer with strainer is enough. As mentioned above, you can prefer homemade Acai juice over processed Acai juice for better results.