The Acai Berry: Poor Tiny Helpless Berry (A GIVEAWAY POST)

Photo courtesy of: www.acaiberryfruits.net

I've often wondered about the Acai berry.

I've completely written it off because of the amount of spam I get regarding it.

That poor berry doesn't even have a chance with me because of all those obnoxious spam junkies trying to make money off it! The word "spam" and "scam" seem almost interchangeable when referring to this poor tiny little berry.

It really has no defense. I bet if it had a voice it would be pretty pissed that all those spammers and scammers have really tarnished its poor little berry name. I mean, I would be!

So right here, right now, I want to give this little berry a voice.

Starting with the pronunciation of its little berry name.

Acai is pronounced, "UH-sigh-ee". Not "Uh-KYE". Or "Uh-KAY." Or "Uh-SAY" all of which I'd say in rapid succession before I knew the actual pronunciation which is about 5 minutes ago.

The acai berry is a cute little berry, it is purple and it comes from the acai palm tree in Central and South America.

According to WebMD, the acai berry has great benefits of antioxidants, which help defend the body by neutralizing harmful free radicals (toxins produced by the body) and by helping to interfere with the aging process and diseases. However, according to WebMD, the studies have not yet proven how much better for you the acai berry is over other great antioxidant-carrying berries like the cranberry, blackberry, or blueberry (sorry, acai berry!)

There are claims that it helps to boost metabolism, but there is also not a whole lot out there to back up the weight-loss effects of the acai berry. However, everyone agrees that it is high in antioxidants and antioxidants are always good!! And it really does taste good! Unfortunately, you can't find the actual berry here in the United States, but you can find it in drinks and all sorts of other stuff.

So now you know, if you didn't before. The acai berry is a cute little berry with antioxidants and these are healthy. The jury is still out on weight-loss and all of that.

What does all this have to do with you?

Well I'll tell you.

I am always up for a good berry and some antioxidants so I was down in the dumps a few weeks ago with a cold in the summer and between feeling "woe is me" for having a cold in the summer and going shopping to find something to make me feel better, I was blinded by a label that had the word, "Elixir" on it because first of all, I love that word, but second of all I wanted to try what "Acai" tasted like and so I bought this drink by Sambazon. The Acai Blackberry Elixir.

It was a little pricey for an individual drink but most of the good-for-you berry drinks like "POM" are around the same price, in the $2-$3 range.

But it was delicious. It was not even the least bit thick, it was light, sweet and refreshing and delicious and only 70 calories. I felt great the next day but I'm not going to give the drink the whole credit, but I am sure that the vitamins definitely helped out, along with my massive amount of hydrating and taken all the medicines my doctor had ordered.  But I am pretty sure it helped!

Some of the other benefits of the drink include:

• 600% Daily Value Vitamin C
• Organic
• Blend of organic açaí, acerola, blackberry and botanical extracts
• Low in sugar

In sum, I really, really loved it. If there were ever a drink that deserved the sophisticated wonderfulness of the word, "elixir" this drink would be it.  Yum.

Above all, the drink had sparked my already inquisitive mind about the acai berry and I am glad that I got a chance to satisfy it by showcasing this little berry and his cuteness.

Sambazon, as it turns out, is a cool little company, too. It was founded in 2000 by a couple of guys who were celebrating the Millenium in Brazil and decided they wanted to bring the acai berry to the states. They've not only succeeded, but they continue to work to help preserve the Amazon and they get involved in the community throught their own programs like "Warrior Up," a campaign to recognize people who work to make the world a better place and to inspire others. They like people who do the right thing, and I like that kind of a company. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to know there are companies out there doing some good and making a difference.

Well I spoke to Sambazon and they want to share the love too to you! So they're offering up a little giftpack for one of you! And you get a few chances to win!

All you have to do is:

• Leave me a comment about whether or not you've tried acai before.
• Fan my facebook page right there on my sidebar.
• Go WARRIOR UP! On Facebook. Like Me. (See below!) It's really pretty funny. (Like my headdress? You can get pretty creative with it.)

• Finally, tweet, facebook or blog about this giveaway and leave a comment telling me so!

Yes, four chances to win! Please leave a comment for each entry. Contest ends at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, October 8th. Winner will be announced Saturday the 9th!

 ***

Disclosure: The opinions expressed in this post are mine and mine alone. I was not compensated for this review, I just really like the stuff. All on my own.