Preventing Obesity Starts With The Food We Eat

Natural Purple Pigments In Fruits, Vegetables And Berries, like the acai berry, could assist in preventing obesity as scientists in Arkansas are reporting new evidence that natural pigments responsible for the beautiful blue,purple, and reddish color qualities of certain fruits and vegetables may help in preventing obesity.

The scientist concluded through animal studies that the extract of the fruit is more effective than actually eating the fruit when it comes to weight loss.

Dr. Prior who is part of this research team stated that a compound found in these purple fruits known as anthocyanins, prevented obesity when tests were conducted on mice fed a diet high in fat.

The mice also were reported to show other healthy benefits from the fruit.  Anthocyanins are found in acai berries blackberries, purple corn, and many other purple based foods.

The mice were fed for two months a high calorie diet on top of drinking water and extracted anthocyanins from acai berry gained less weight and had a lower body fat level than the other mice.

Anthocyanins fed as the whole blueberry did not prevent and could have possibly increased obesity, the study found. However, feeding purified anthocyanins from blueberries or strawberries reduced obesity.

The article “Whole Berries versus Berry Anthocyanins: Interactions with Dietary Fat Levels in the C57BL/6J Mouse Model of Obesity” can be read in full in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Colorful pigments found in the skin of blueberries, strawberries and other fruits and vegetables may help prevent obesity, according to recent animal studies from the USDA Agricultural Research Service.