Acai berries have proven nutritive value. The fruit is a good source of antioxidants, fiber and fats that have cardiovascular benefit. A downside of acai berries is that the fruit spoils quickly. Within a day of harvesting, half of the nutritional benefit is already lost. This makes legitimate acai berry supplements and food products that capture these proven health benefits especially desirable.

However, there are numerous products on the market making other claims about the benefits of acai berries. For example, some of these supplements assert that their acai berry product can cleanse the body, detoxify their system and help users lose weight. Others tout their products as a source of energy. According to The Mayo Clinic’s website, MayoClinic.com, it is important for consumers to know that research on the health value of acai berries is still in progress and these claims have not been proven.

The main culprits in an acai berry cleanse scam look for their victims online. Hundreds of websites across the Internet selling acai berry cleanse products make claims that their product is endorsed by Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Oz. Winfrey rebuts the claims in a statement on her website, Oprah.com, pointing to a lawsuit she has filed against forty of these marketers.

Besides promoting products that cannot deliver on their promises, many of these sellers run an additional scam. Site visitors should know that companies offering so called ‘free trials’ may simply be trying to get their credit card information. It is important to review the ‘terms of service’ shoppers are required to approve before getting their ‘free trial’. By simply putting a check in the box agreeing to these terms without reading them, the customer is often unknowingly agreeing to purchase a monthly auto-shipment of the product. These supplements can cost between $30.00 and $60.00 a month. While many credit card companies will help their clients reverse and stop the unwanted charges, it is often a difficult, frustrating and time consuming process.

It is also advisable never to purchase acai berry cleanse products that make claims that seem too good to be true. Reputable acai supplements will list the proven benefits of the fruit, but never make claims to magically make users thinner and filled with boundless energy.