Açaí hits the mainstream…

March 13, 2009

Açaí hits the mainstream…

In this case, The New York Times. Some highlights:

Both Oprah Winfrey and Rachel Ray have posted disclaimers on their websites that they do not endorse any açaí product.
No studies have shown specific health benefits to eating açaí berries or products.
No studies have shown açaí helps in weight loss.
The Better Business Bureau has warned consumers “to be wary of online ads relying on celebrity endorsements of açaí-related weight loss products.”

I’m not sure why açaí reminds me of Ayds “appetite suppressant candy” from the 70s and 80s, but it does. This commercial is from the 80s:

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Dieting/WLS, News

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Living 400lbs

I blog about what it’s like to be live life at about 400lbs. :)

14 responses to “Açaí hits the mainstream…”

ShannonCC

March 13, 2009 at 6:28 am

Mmmmm . . . . Ayds. My mom used those. I used to sneak them like candy.

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Rachel

March 13, 2009 at 7:06 am

More than 100 people have commented on a blog post I wrote here about the acai berry diet scam sharing their experiences in being misled and ripped off. I feel bad for them, but as the saying goes… If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.

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1. living400lbs
  
  March 13, 2009 at 10:44 am
  
  I remember seeing posts on the diet scams! Thanks for linking. :)
  
  Reply
Eve

March 13, 2009 at 7:36 am

Yeah, I’ve heard about the supposed benefits of açaí. I’m sure it’s as good for you as other fruits are. I think it’s pretty yummy too.

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Bree

March 13, 2009 at 7:53 am

I remember Ayds and how it decreased in popularity because of the AIDS virus that really started to take effect in the 80s. I don’t remember if my mom or grandmother took them, but I remember wanting to try them because it was candy.

I’ve heard acai supposedly had antioxidant benefits, but if you start ordering it, you’re basically paying and getting it for life whether you want it or not.

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vesta44

March 13, 2009 at 8:46 am

I remember the Ayds candy too, my mom tried it (along with doctor-prescribed amphetamines) for weight loss back in the 60’s and 70’s. I snuck a few of them when she quit using them and hadn’t gotten around to throwing them out yet, and I can honestly say they didn’t do much to quell my appetite (I was a teenager back then). So any time some company comes out with a supplement/food that is supposed to trigger weight loss, I just go “Yeah, right, and I have ocean-front property right here in Minnesota.” The odds of both those statements (the company’s and mine) being true are slim and none, and slim just left town.

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living400lbs

March 13, 2009 at 10:45 am

Yup. My mom did the ayds & amphetamines combo too…

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Patsy Nevins

March 13, 2009 at 11:22 am

Oh, is acai how Rachael Ray, who has never actually been fat in her life, supposedly lost weight? Is that the one little ‘rule’ that these teaser ads on my computer tell me to follow? As for fruits, fine, fruits are good foods, but acai is no more a ‘miracle’ food for any reason than is pomegranate or any of the others.

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Regina530

March 13, 2009 at 11:59 pm

I could swear the announcer at the end of that AYDS commercial said “Try new peanut butter eggs”!! ha ha
Why yes…I think I WILL try the new peanut butter eggs, thank you!

The packages of AYDS my constantly dieting sister used never seemed to last very long because I would sneak into them like they were a box of chocolates. Funny….the appetite suppressant never suppressed my appetite enough to STOP SNEAKING THEM!

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buttercup

March 14, 2009 at 7:35 am

the whole thing kills me because the acai berry concept is based on the false idea that fatties don’t know when to stop shoving food in their face and hey, if we can make celery taste like creme brulee, eureka, no more fatties!

Also, my grandmother used to get those “ayds” candies. They tasted pretty good as I recall. Also I don’t recall them doing much against my 10 year old appetite either. My gram was a wonderful woman in many ways and I loved her very much, but she put me on diets from the time I was small. (we lived with her) She was always trying to lose weight too. She died of a heart attack at 58, probably a combination of amphetamines for weight loss and the pall-malls she smoked two packs of every day.

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1. living400lbs
  
  March 14, 2009 at 12:33 pm
  
  I remember trying one of the chocolate ones and being disappointed that it didn’t taste like chocolate to me. It could have been a “mouth feel” thing :)
  
  Reply
Lily

March 14, 2009 at 6:41 pm

AYDS is candy. just candy. possibly crappy candy, but still just candy.

if you eat a mini-snickers, or any other candy that has sugar and fat (and protein, if you have peanuts or milk in it) with a cup of hot tea half an hour before a meal, you won’t want as much of a meal, either.

duh.

works with cheese and crackers, or just about any food at all, too. or just plain hot tea, probably, for that matter.
(or weird tasting south American berries)

But if you call it something fancy and charge a medium chunk of money and have fancy ads trying to hypnotize all the dumb fat people, you can make serious cash for a few decades! yay capitalism!!

(by the way, the South Park episode where Jerod from Subway kept saying everyone should get AIDS (aides) for weightloss drove me crazy cause I don’t think they ever made the AYDS connection which was the first damn thing I thought of!)

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moxie3

March 15, 2009 at 7:05 pm

I remember my brother had to make a long road trip and I asked him how he stayed awake and he said he popped ayds candies! So I suppose they weren’t a stimulant.

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Food Hype « Living ~400lbs

July 19, 2009 at 9:42 pm

[…] think the reason they don’t is that caffeine is readily available – unlike, oh, açaí berries. Much less of a potential […]

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