Acai Versus Nopal Cactus Fruit Comparison

Acai Versus Nopal Cactus Fruit

With so many different “super foods” out there on the market claiming to aid with this health issue or that, it can be difficult to determine what is truth and what is fiction.  Two common fruits that are advertised as effective at reducing inflammation in the body are the Acai berry and the nopal cactus fruit.  In this article we are going to make a comparison between the two so you can determine if its worth adding a supplement containing them to your diet.

The History of Acai

The acai berry is an important food source to the tribes of Brazilian Amazon, particularly the Cabolco tribe. In fact, these berries have been shown to make up nearly 42% of their total food intake by weight, which is a huge percentage. I’d venture to say that this fact is probably what brought the idea of the acai berry as a nutrient rich super food that could be monetized to light and has lead to the creation of acai supplements.

Acai became a popular topic of discussion in the nutritional world in 2004, when Monavie introduced their acai berry fruit juice to market. Shortly following the new-founded popularity of the product, several other acai supplement companies cropped up to take their cut of the profits.

From 2004 until 2011, products containing acai berry were promoted as your answer for anything and everything – better skin, weight loss, and even things as outlandish as penis enlargement. Interestingly enough, there was absolutely no scientific evidence that supported these sorts of claims, and, to be honest, there STILL isn’t any evidence to support them.

What made the product take off the most, was that advertisers were stating that celebrities such as Rachael Ray, Oprah and Dr. Mehmet Oz were huge supporters of the berry and its health benefits. It wasn’t until 2008, when Oprah launched an investigation into the source of these false claims that advertisers finally got their advertising back in check. The fact that in 2009 she brought forth a lawsuit against 50 internet sellers of the product for the use of her image and name as a selling point resulted in a government “intervention” against supplement advertising and making false claims.

The True Health Benefits of Acai

The truth about acai berry is that though it does contain a variety of polyphenol called anthocyanin which does have antioxidant properties, the potency of that antioxidant within the acai berry scores less than that of acerola cherries, mango, grapes or even strawberries. That means, there truly is nothing special about the acai berry. Yes, it can be used as a food source and yes, it does have antioxidants in it, like any other fruit out there, but it does not meet the qualifications of a so called “super food”.

The History of Nopal Cactus Fruit

Like Acai, curiosity over the nopal cactus and its health benefits developed thanks to native tribes that utilize the plant as a food source. Indian tribes of the Sonoran Desert region used both the pads and the fruit of the nopal for both food and medicinal purposes for centuries. In fact, there is documented proof that use of this plant for those purposes dates back to the Aztecs as early as 900 A.D.

Supplements made from nopal cactus leaves and fruit started cropping up around 2008-2009 (based on my search for the earliest version), but it was TriVita’s introduction of Nopalea that has really propelled interest. (Television advertising goes a long way toward product notoriety!) Since then, just as with acai and Monavie’s success, there are other supplement providers beginning to emerge with their own nopal fruit supplement.

The Difference Between Nopal Cactus Fruit and Acai : Proof

What makes the nopal cactus fruit’s story vastly different from that of acai is that there IS scientific proof that supports the classification of the fruit as a “super food”. It’s been discovered, and documented, that the antioxidants in the nopal fruit, called betalains, do show some promise in reducing inflammation in the body.

The documentation can be found by searching the Pub Med library for the terms “Opuntia ficus indica”, “nopal cactus fruit”, or “betalains”.

This means that although no specific nopal cactus fruit supplement has been scientifically documented as a remedy for a specific health condition, there is hope that it may happen and that FDA approval may follow suit thereafter.

A Quick Note about Nopalea

Before closing this article, I did want to make a specific comment about Nopalea and the studies being done on it. As of right now, there are clinical studies being conducted geared toward proving the product an effective remedy for specific inflammatory conditions. Of course, these types of studies do take time, as it is important that the results be accurate.  Hopefully we will be hearing about the results soon!

Related posts:

1. The Nopal Cactus: Answer to Treatment of Inflammation and Disease?
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3. Nopal Cactus- One of the 7 Natural Wonders of the Nutritional World?