eXfuze Seven Plus Juice

Noni fruit is another fruit, similar to Acai in the fact that it does not taste very good right off the tree.  In fact, it is sometimes called “Starvation Fruit” since it is has been eaten in the past by people who have nothing else to eat.  It has a strong cheese smell to it, when ripe, and the taste is quite bitter.

The Noni tree survives in harsh conditions, such as drought, as well as in saline soils.  It is found in a variety of habitats around the world.  Mostly, it is found in Tahiti.  The tree is native to Southeast Asia.  One of the contributing factors to the spread of this fruit are fruit bats that are attracted to the smell of the fruit.  The bats eat the fruit, which contains many seeds, and then “drop” the seeds elsewhere.

Most of the nutrients from Noni are found in the pulp.  The pulp is rich in protein, low in fat, and a great source of fiber.  The juice from the fruit contains very little macronutrients.  Once again, although the pulp has high levels of many micronutrients, the juice only contains a high level of vitamin C.

A very intersting study of Tahitian Noni Juice reveals that there is nothing magical about the fruit.  In their words they stated, that, “… no evidence for special nutritional benefits of Tahitian Noni
juice which go beyond those of other fruit juices.”

I am guessing that eXfuze decided to add Noni to it’s mix of fruits found in Seven Plus Juice, not because it tasted good, nor because it added much nutritional value, but more just as a marketing strategy to piggy-back off the success of Tahitian Noni International.

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Unlike Acai, I have never experienced Gac in it’s natural form.  In fact, I hadn’t even heard of Gac until being introduced to Seven Plus fruit juice.  I have since gathered as much information as I could about this super fruit.

Gac is found is Southeast Asia, and even in some parts of Autralia.  It grows on a vine that is often used in landscaping, where it can be seen on trellaces or climbing on walls.

As you can see from the picture, it is bright orange and covered in spines.

The fruit grows seasonally and can only be found at the end of the year.

Allegedly Gac is loaded with phytonutrients.  It is also has a very high content of lycopene and beta-carotene.  In fact it has more about 70 times more lycopene than tomatoes, and 10 times the beta-carontene content than a carrot.  Most interesting was some research that suggests that Gac contains a protein that may inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells.

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In August, of 2008, I moved to Belem, Brazil where I was introduced to what became my favorite fruit… ACAI!

Like most people living in the United States in 2008, I had never heard of Acai.  Back then there were not companies that were adding it to their chocolate or juice products.  It was not yet used as a marketing tool to make common consumer goods seem mystical.

Anyway, since I averaged eating Acai once a week for two years, I consider myself somewhat of an authority on the subject.  With that stated, let me tell you a little about the fruit.

Acai grows on tall, thin palm-type trees in wet areas of the amazon.  The fruit itself grows in bunches, or clusters as can be seen in the picture.   Notice that the fruit is green when immature.  It turns dark purple when it is ripe.

Although it is referred to as a berry, it is nothing like a blueberry, for example.  It is not a juicy fruit with a soft inside.  In fact, the inside or center of the fruit is a big pit, or seed.  To give you an idea of how big this seed is; I would say that 90% of the fruit is the non-edible center.  The edible part is a thin purple shell on the outside of the seed.

Now, Acai is very hard and cannot be eaten right off the tree.  To eat this fruit, it must first be soaked in water for a long time to soften the outer shell.  It is then put into a canister with a mixing paddle, where the fruit is churned.  In the churning process the individual berries grind up against each other causing the edible part to detach from the center seed.  Below is a picture of this process.  While the Acai is being  churned water is poured on top of it.  The water rinses the pulp away from the seed and comes out the bottom of the little machine in a thick pudding-like form.

Now, thick Acai is much better and costs a lot more.  Keep in mind that when I say it cost a lot more I am refering to $5 Brazilian Reais compared to $3.  But, in a third-world part of Brazil, it makes a difference.

Some locals eat Acai every day as a part of their lunch.  They don’t drink it, but rather mix it with farinha.  Others mix it with Tapioca.  However, in my opinion, their is only one way to eat Acai, and that is with farinha and a TON of sugar!  Without sugar, Acai tastes like dirt.  With sugar Acai is amazing!  Like I mentioned before, while living in Northern Brazil for two years I would eat Acai as frequent as possible.  I love it!  I crave it!  and I miss it!

In ending, if you would like to experience what Acai actually tastes like, then there is only one product in the United States that tastes like real Acai, and that is Organic Acai Sorbet made by Sambazon.

Tchau!

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