Monavie fruit juice is a popular health drink featuring the Brazilian Acai berry as its key ingredient. Along with Acai berry, the juice blend includes 18 other fruits to form the Monavie acai juice. Mona Vie offers several similar health products including the original Monavie Drink, Monavie Active, Mona Vie Pulse, and Monavie EMV. Monavie active is similar to the original version, but it also includes some glucosamine for joint support benefits. Mona Vie Pulse is designed for heart health, maintain healthy cholesterol levels, and for cardiovascular health. Mona Vie EMV is a lightly carbonated energy drink that also provides the many health benefits of Acai berries juice blend.
Monavie Drink
The original Monavie drink is a blend of 19 fruit juices including: Açai, white grape, apple, acerola, aronia, purple grape, cranberry, passion fruit, prune, kiwi, blueberry, wolfberry, camu camu, pomegranate, lychee fruit, pear, banana, cupuaçu, and bilberry. The key ingredient is the Acai berry, which has numerous health benefits. Some of the health benefits of Mona Vie as stated on their official website are:
Offers potent antioxidant protection against free radicals.
Features a variety of key nutrients for optimal health.
Delivers the antioxidant capacity of approximately 13 servings of fruits and vegetables in just four ounces.
Provides nutritional benefits for all ages.
Contains antioxidant polyphenols, which studies suggest may play an important role in long-term health.
Mona Vie Active Drink
Mona
Vie Active is similar to the original Monavie; however it also contains glucosamine for joint support. Monavie Active also contains the 19 fruit juice blend including: Açai, white grape, apple, acerola, aronia, purple grape, cranberry, passion fruit, prune, kiwi, blueberry, bilberry, wolfberry, pomegranate, lychee fruit, camu camu, pear, banana, and cupuaçu.
The official Monavie website states Mona Vie Active to have the following health benefits:
Formulated to enhance your body's joint health by increasing mobility and flexibility.
Delivers the nutrition your body needs to help maintain a healthy range of motion.
Glucosamine encourages the production of glycoproteins, which are essential to making and maintaining healthy connective tissue and joint cartilage.
Helps you maintain a healthy and active lifestyle.
Mona Vie Ingredients - Acai Berry
Although Monavie drink contains a juice blend of 19 fruits, the main ingredient is the Acai Berry. Acai berries grow on acai palm trees in the amazon rain forest of brazil. The Acai berry is small and looks like a purple grape. The scientific name of Acai (pronounced "ah-sigh-ee") is Euterpe Oleracea. The berry it self contains a large seed and not much pulp. It has a unique tropical fruit flavor and is very rich in nutritional benefits such as high in anti oxidants, healthy fats, fiber, and much more.
Acai Berry Fruit Nutrition Values:
The powder preparation of freeze-dried acai fruit pulp and skin (Opti-acai) was reported to contain: (per 100 g of extract)
533.9 calories
52.2 g carbohydrates
44.2 g of fiber
8.1 g protein
32.5 g total fat
260 mg
calcium
4.4 mg iron
1002 U vitamin A
the amino acid content was 7.59% of total dry weight. Source: Wikipedia
At first glance, it may seem that Acai fruit is very high in fat, which it is, but the Acai berry has an exceptional content of fats, including oleic acid, palmitic acid, and linoleic acid. These also contain a high amount of beta sitosterol (shown to reduce blood levels of cholesterol).[1] Acai berry has many claimed health benefits including:
Increase energy levels and improve stamina
Anti inflammatory
Strong anti-oxidant
Supports stronger immune system
Reduce pain and soreness
Promoted better sleep and rest
Very high in fiber and other important nutrients
High in good fats
One of Acai berry's key benefits is its antioxidant properties. However, despite what you might read in advertising and promotional literature, studies have shown that Acai Berry only ranks in the middle of the road when it comes to anti-oxidant potency. In a study titled "Tropical fruits and pulps of frozen fruits: antioxidant activity, polyphenols and anthocyanins", the researchers ranked the anti oxidant potency of various fruit pulps, and in descending order of antioxidant capacity, they listed:
As you can see, fruits such as acerola, mango, strawberry, and grape, all have stronger antioxidant potency than Acai Berries.
There are numerous Acai berry studies demonstrating its antioxidant properties and health benefits. In an Acai Berry study titled: "Pharmacokinetics of anthocyanins and antioxidant effects after the consumption of anthocyanin-rich acai juice and pulp (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) in human healthy volunteers" [5], a 4 way crossover trial was performed with Acai pulp and Acai juice compared to applesauce, and a placebo non-antioxidant drink. 12 healthy volunteers consumed 7ml/kg of the beverages after a washout phase and an overnight fasting period. Their plasma was sampled repeated over a 12 hour period, and urine sampled over a 24 hour period after consuming the beverages. They found that plasma antioxidant capacity was significantly increased by the Acai juice and acai pulp, where the test subjects had an increase in plasma antioxidant capacity of up to 2.3 and 3 fold, respectively.
MonaVie Juice - Scientific Study
Clinical trials have also been done on Mona Vie acai juice drink. In a Canadian study titled: "In vitro and in vivo antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacities of an antioxidant-rich fruit and berry juice blend. Results of a pilot and randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover study",[3] Monavie Active was tested. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of MonaVie Active was studied. The study was a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover trial involving 12 healthy subjects. Blood samples at 1 and 2 hours following consumption of the Monavie Active juice blend as tested for antioxidant capacity.
The study found that the antioxidants in the Mona Vie Active juice blend penetrated and protected cells from oxidative damage. At both 1 and 2 hour intervals, they found that the subjects who took the Monavie Active juice blend showed an increase in serum antioxidants, and also inhibition of lipid peroxidation - Lipid peroxidation refers to the oxidative degradation of lipids. It is the process whereby free radicals "steal" electrons from the lipids in cell membranes, resulting in cell damage.[4]
Having been tested in clinical trials that are published in peer reviewed publications lends some credibility of the claims made by Monavie drink. However, Monavie Acai juice is certainly not cheap. One bottle of Monavie costs $35.00 and one bottle of Monavie Active costs $40.00. Not cheap by any standards.
2. Tropical sylvatic and of frozen fruit pulp: antioxidant activity, polyphenols and anthocyanins
Wild fruits and pulps of frozen fruits: antioxidant activity, polyphenols and anthocyanins
Marta Eugenia KUSKOSKI I, Agustín García Asuero II, Maria Teresa Morales II, III Roseane Fett
3. J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Sep 24;56(18):8326-33. Epub 2008 Aug 22.
In vitro and in vivo antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacities of an antioxidant-rich fruit and berry juice blend. Results of a pilot and randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover study.
Jensen GS, Wu X, Patterson KM, Barnes J, Carter SG, Scherwitz L, Beaman R, Endres JR, Schauss AG.
Holger NIS Inc., 601 13th Avenue N.E., Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2E 1C7.
5. J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Sep 10;56(17):7796-802. Epub 2008 Aug 12.
Pharmacokinetics of anthocyanins and antioxidant effects after the consumption of anthocyanin-rich acai juice and pulp (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) in human healthy volunteers.
Mertens-Talcott SU, Rios J, Jilma-Stohlawetz P, Pacheco-Palencia LA, Meibohm B, Talcott ST, Derendorf H.
