If you haven’t heard of the acai berry then you are in a very small variety. Whilst it was not too long ago that the acai berry — painstakingly harvested on the top of very tall trees in the depths of the Brazilian rain forest — was relatively unknown except in health food circles, the attention of the media and of one particular national heroine in particular has ensured that it is now known by — and enjoyed by — the world.

The heroine was Oprah Winfrey. In one her shows she featured a book by Dr. Perricone. Dr. Nicholas Perricone (MD) is a professor at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. Dr. Perricone’s research has revolved around the foods and natural products that can help our bodies. In his book — The Perricone Promise — Dr. Perricone compiled a list of the most potent ‘super foods’ that were readily available at that time. The acai berry came top of this list.

That the acai berry was at the top of the list of this erudite professor’s list was, unfortunately, not enough to show the benefits to the rest of the world. It took an Oprah Winfrey feature showing this book for it to really reach critical mass.