There has been an explosion in the health world about the health benefits and nutritional profiles of exotic berries like the acai berry, goji berry and nonji berry. All three of these berries have been given the status of a ’superfruit’ or ’superberry’ because of their high antioxidant content. So lets take a look at them!

Goji Berry
The goji berry, also known as the wolfberry, is a fruit native to southeastern Europe  and Asia. As with many exotic berries, the goji berry is only available in the west as a juice or as a dried fruit because of the perish-ability of the raw fruit. Many of the ‘goji berry juices’ in the market are often mixed with a lot of other fruits juices and are often marketed or labelled disingenuously. Be sure to check labels thoroughly, if you want a 100% pure goji juice. The real deal is more expensive and comes at about $50 a bottle.

The nutritional profile of the goji berry is an impressive one. 100g of the dried fruit will provide you with 100% of the DRI (dietary reference intake) of vitamin B2, vitamin C and iron. It also contains 18 different amino acids and is a great source of  unsaturated fats such as linoleic acid and alpha-linoleic acid. What really raises the goji berry up to the title of a super fruit is its excellent content of antioxidant carotenoids. It contains some of the more well researched and powerful of carotenoids like beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, lycopene and cryptoxanthin.

Noni Berry
The noni berry is the newest on the health scene of the exotic super berries, even though it has been used as a staple healthy food in some pacific islands for 2000 years or more. Hawaii, Malaysia and Tahiti are among the main islands were the noni plant grows. Like the other exotic super berries, noni has been taken under the wing by marketers as a cure for just about every ailment, and is also marketed as an aid for weight loss. I am not so sure about all the hype it gets, but with its impressive array of antioxidants it is sure to help protect us from degenerative disease like cancer and heart disease.

The noni berry is a great source of vitamins and mineral such as vitamin C, potassium, niacin and  iron. It is also a good source of vitamin A and calcium. Its very impressive antioxidant phytochemical content includes lignans, catechins, iridoids, damnacanthals and alkaloids.

Acai Berry
The acai berry is the most famous and most popular (at least in regards to acai product sales) of the exotic berries. It is grown in the amazonian marsh lands were it is a popular high energy food for the locals. One of the unique factors of the acai berry is its exceptionally high content of healthy fats – for a fruit. To read more about the nutritional profile and antioxidants found in the acai berry visit acai berry juice .