/oss/taxonomy/term/605/all en /oss/article/food-health/acai-aye-aye-aye <p>The city of Belem in northern Brazil has a population of about 2,000,000.  It would be very interesting to find out if its inhabitants have an unusually low incidence of illnesses such as cancer, arteriosclerosis or Alzheimer’s disease.  Why?  Because the city is dotted with some 3000 “acai points” where people line up to purchase a slurry made from the pulp of the fruit of the acai (a-sigh-yee) palm tree.  Over 200,000 liters of the thick purple sludge are consumed every day, which is more than the amount of milk that is drunk in the city.  And, at least if you listen to some of the North </p> Wed, 17 Jul 2013 02:56:19 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1985 at /oss /oss/article/food-health/acai-hype <p>The city of Belem in northern Brazil has a population of about 2,000,000.  It would be very interesting to find out if its inhabitants have an unusually low incidence of illnesses such as cancer, arteriosclerosis or Alzheimer’disease.  Why?  Because the city is dotted with some 3000 “acai points” where people line up to purchase a slurry made from the pulp of the fruit of the acai (a-sigh-yee) palm tree.  Over 200,000 liters of the thick purple sludge are consumed every day, which is more than the amount of milk that is drunk in the city. </p> Fri, 10 Aug 2012 18:14:09 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1720 at /oss