Acerola - Malpighia glabra

What if there were just one supplement you could take that would make you look and feel younger, help you lose weight, give you more energy, and make you smarter? 

Well, all the research published on acerola in the last 5-10 years shows that this tropical fruit might just do that!  No wonder acerola has gained so much popularity that it’s now available under so many different labels in America.  Who doesn’t want to be younger, skinner, smarter, and more active?  Now, remember, all of these documented actions are based on animal studies, but it all sounds very promising.  I doubt anyone will ever fund human trials to confirm these effects in people. There are just too many different products available to purchase that the cost of human trials could never be justified by one company alone. Maybe if we could get some universities interested in funding some research . . .

So, what everyone wants to hear first - based on three animal studies, acerola promoted weight-loss by signaling cells and chemicals in the hypothalamus to increase metabolism. (The hypothalamus is a key organ in the brain that controls the metabolism).  Acerola also interfered with the absorption and uptake of sugars and starches consumed (in lab rats fed a very high fat diet).  It also signaled cells to release the fat already stored in the cells.  In a different study, other researchers confirmed some of these same anti-obesity effects and reported that acerola also increased energy levels and athletic performance in lab animals.

Other animal studies showed that acerola could prevent brain cells from aging, reverse the effect of aging on brain cells in older rats, and increase memory.  In addition, acerola has been reported to be full of antioxidant chemicals, some never recorded before that are unique to acerola.  If you know about antioxidants, you know that they prevent the damage from free radicals which are responsible for the premature aging of all kinds of cells in the body including skin cells.  More about antioxidants and how they work is in my new book and in the Tropical Plant Database file for acerola.  

When I first published my book in 2006, there were virtually no research studies published on acerola.  All of its healthy benefits were related to the high amount of vitamin C (and it does contain a bunch of vitamin C; 4-5 times more than oranges!). The few studies published on acerola mostly pertained to its Vitamin C content and the biological activities for that important vitamin. When researching acerola to update my book, it took me two days to read over 70 different studies published on acerola to date. There is much more than just weight loss and better memory, so check out the new updated text on acerola in the Tropical Plant Database to learn more about all of the research on this tropical fruit. To make sure you don’t miss anything on acerola on the Raintree website, the new sitemap for acerola is available here.

When you’re ready to buy some acerola to see if it works for you, make sure to look for an organic product and a freeze-dried powdered juice product.  AND. . . and expect to pay a lot more for it.  There are plenty of cheap acerola products available to purchase now, but in my opinion, they aren’t worth the money you spend on them since they are mostly just sugar.  See why in the new text in my book and plant database under the “Current Practical Uses” section. 

You can find some of these freeze-dried products being sold on Amazon here, and when I checked, Ebay had some freeze dried powders that seemed to be less expensive.   You can always check google to find others.  I can’t control the paid ads that might show up on these these links, so make sure the product says it was freeze-dried before you buy it. 

Enjoy, and come back here to post how it worked for you after you’ve tried it!  That might be a good way to start documenting how it actually works in people in the absence of human studies.  Don't miss the new blog post on Hypothyroidism, Antioxidants and Acerola?