Can consuming acai berries cause side effects?

You may have recently heard about acai berry, the fruit of the South American acai palm. Since it has been so heavily marketed as a diet supplement, many individuals are wondering if supplementation involves the same risk of a regular diet supplement such as ephedrine or a pharmaceutical. Perhaps this thinking is due to the extract form it often comes in. Often times people must assume that eating the extract of a berry somehow makes it more conducive to side effects.
Have you ever heard of someone having a negative reaction to a blueberry? Probably not. Considering that an acai berry is not too different from a blueberry, you most likely do not need to worry about any side effects. Similarly, no study has ever proven that acai berry causes side effects in non-allergic individuals. No matter if the extract form of acai you're taking is more potent than a puree or the whole berry, you should only experience beneficial effects.
One of the only fruits shown to cause interactions with a wide variety of drugs is grapefruit. Acai berry does not contain the chemical responsible for the reactions that grapefruit causes. People who are taking a statin drug or similar must surely be wondering if acai berry can cause an interaction. The answer is mostly likely no. Of course anything is possible, but no studies have yet shown that acai berry will cause an interaction with any specific drug.
Consuming acai berries may actually have many benefits which outweighs any possible, yet unlikely risk of side effects. One of the benefits is their extremely high levels of antioxidants which help to protect the body from free radical damage. The antioxidant concentration depends on the species of acai berry with the purple variety having the highest and the white variety having the lowest. It is unlikely that you will find the white variety however.
A very interesting benefit of acai berry supplementation is the potential for reduced inflammation. Inflammation has many negative effects on the body, so this potential is very interesting. A study done by AIMBR Life Sciences has shown that acai berry is a potential COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitor.[1] COX-1 and COX-2 are enzymes which are responsible for inflammation and pain, so anything which can inhibit it's activity is good news for those suffering from pain and inflammation.
Since acai berry has been so heavily promoted as a weight loss supplement, it would be easy to assume there must be some side effects. To be clear, no studies have yet shown that consuming acai berries will cause side effects in non-allergic individuals. Perhaps the only side effect you may have is that you do not like the taste, but even that is unlikely as it has a very sweet flavor.
Reference:
1. Schauss A, Xianli W, Prior R, Ou B, Huang D, Owens J, Agarwal A, Jensen G, Hart A, Shanbrom E. Antioxidant Capacity and Other Bioactivities of the Freeze-Dried Amazonian Palm Berry, Euterpe oleraceae Mart. (Acai). J Agric Food Chem 2006 Nov 1;54(22):8604-10. PMID: 17061840

Article Source: http://www.lowcarbdietarticles.com

Mark Goodman is an acai berry lover and nutrition expert who has written several articles on the subject. Contact him if you have any more questions about acai berry side effects.

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