The Original Acai Diet features a supplement with ingredients such as the acai berry from the Amazon rain forest. Product manufacturers claim that these products help you to lose weight with their antioxidant properties. Unfortunately, it seems that the claims are exaggerated and that the manufacturers are more interested in making your wallet slimmer than your waistline.
Features
The Original Acai Diet consists of pills that contain the acai berry. To follow the diet, you must take two of the pills, twice a day. To be most effective, you are supposed to combine this with a low-calorie, healthy eating plan and moderate exercise.
Expert Insight
You’ll often see the Original Acai Diet–and other products that contain acai berries–as being “approved” by celebrities, such as Oprah and Dr. Oz. These statements are true, but they are somewhat misleading. Dr. Oz did state that the acai berry was a “powerful antioxidant,” but he modified that statement by saying that it wasn’t a cure-all superfood. It’s no better than the many other healthy berries.
Considerations
If you follow the Original Acai Diet–including the recommendations for a low-calorie diet and exercise–you are likely to lose weight. However, the acai supplement does not play as big of a role in this as the manufacturer would have you believe. The weight loss is actually more a result of the change in your lifestyle habits than from taking acai supplements. Still, there’s nothing inherently unhealthy about taking the supplement and if taking it puts you into a healthy living mindset, then it could be worth the cost.
Cost
When you try to buy the Original Acai Diet, you can typically get a free two-week trial for a moderate shipping cost. After that, the pills will cost around $40 for a month’s supply, as of 2010. You can purchase alternative acai supplements from discount or vitamin stores, reducing the cost.
Warning
Automatic rebilling has occurred and been an issue with some consumers of the acai products. When you order the free trial online, you need to read the fine print, which usually includes some text about signing up for automatic shipments. If you don’t cancel during your trial–and many don’t–you’ll suddenly find yourself with high charges on your credit card bill. Consumers report great difficulty in canceling these programs. Additionally, you may be charged for other products, such as fitness websites. To avoid these unauthorized charges, it is best to purchase your acai supplements offline.
Photo Credit
- diet image by pershing from Fotolia.com
