The acai berry goes back centuries upon centuries in the deep rainforests of the Amazon. The peoples of these regions have been using the acai berry for longer than they can remember there own history. They have a legend about the acai berry that they tell however. There was a tribal chief by the name of Itaki and he had a daughter by the name of Iaca. The peoples of the tribes had grown too many and had depleted their sources of food, so in an attempt to fix the situation Chief Itaki made a decree to kill all the newborns. When his very daughter gave birth to a child it was killed as well, there was to be no exceptions to the rules made.

Iaca, was overwhelmed with grief for the loss of her baby and stayed in her home for many days. One night, when the moon was full Iaca thought she heard her baby crying and she went out in search of the crying child. Iaca thought she saw her baby daughter under a large palm tree covered in purple fruits. When she came closer, Iaca realized that these fruits would feed the tribes and save her daughter’s life – held onto her daughter and could not let go. In the morning tribe members went in search of the chief’s daughter Iaca, and when found she was holding on to the tree and looking up towards the fruit, however she had died.

The chief ordered the harvesting of the fruit and the lifting of the decree to kill the newborns as now there was food for all to eat. The chief then declared that the fruit from which they fed upon would be named in remembrance of the chief’s daughter who had given her life to showing the direction for sustaining food supplies. Acai is the backwards spelling of the chief’s daughter’s name Iaca. From this point onward the tribes of this area has since used acai berries as a source of food. As time progressed, the tribes realized that the acai berry could do more than satisfy hungry stomachs. They found that acai also helped with many ailments and sicknesses and also could be applied to heal wounds on a person’s body as well. Not only was this hidden gem kept secret but the remainder of the Brazilians have eaten acai for a long time.

It is actually used as a breakfast item most of the time and consumed also in a beverage form and as desserts. It was hidden from the outside world for a long time, but eventually it was discovered and made known through recognition by famous people and then through the research conducted on the acai berry. This research has opened the eyes of many individuals to the health benefits the acai berry has to offer. This has in turn, made acai available for sale by itself or in many products such as juices, desserts, smoothies and many more. Finding a product to try with acai in it is now very easy to find and enjoy.