Darins Naturals » Sustainability http://darinsnaturals.com Leader in Superfood and Nutritional Applications Supporting Environmental and Indigenous Innovations Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:51:43 +0000 en hourly 1 On the Cacao Trail http://darinsnaturals.com/on-the-cacao-trail/ http://darinsnaturals.com/on-the-cacao-trail/#comments Sat, 25 Jun 2011 18:50:30 +0000 Miguel Berumen http://darinsnaturals.com/?p=1275 It had been a long 17 hour airplane ride from Los Angeles to Asia. Looking back on it, listening to a 40 year old going on about his immigration ordeal to bring his 20-year-old wife back to the United States made it worthwhile to be sitting in coach class. After landing in Manila and arriving at our hotel, we got a much-needed quick shower and enjoyed what the group assessed to be the most complete and overwhelming buffet ever. To our appeal, the options were endless and good, high-quality fresh and prepared foods were available. Although Philippines was a treat in many aspects, it lacked a certain something which is hard to articulate. It is a dynamic country, vibrant with culture, yet Darin and I travel to do more than take in the culture and sightseeing. We generally travel to evaluate potential new products and to validate or debunk already marketed products. Once in the region where these products originate, one can easily identify which products have a deep impact in those communities and which are revered for their nutritional/medicinal value. When out in the middle of “nowhere,” an hour’s drive from the nearest city in any direction, the magnificence of these products truly comes alive. In such a place, a cup of ginger tea with some coconut flower nectar changes from a treat of trivial importance to a medicine of the highest value.

Philippines quickly became a place where we saw much and learned a great deal, yet the significant discovery of the trip would be a three hour flight away. After leaving Philippines, we arrived in the beautiful mystical island of Bali, Indonesia. No member of our team was eager to jump on another plane after the initial long trip across the Pacific Ocean, yet we were all exited at the prospect of what Indonesia might hold. Our contact with our Indonesian friends was quite unusual and a last minute arrangement. Arriving on the island, we were surrounded by a thick air of devotion. As those who have visited this part of the world already know, Balinese people live for ceremonies and this significant part of the culture as well as other aspects of daily life were described to us by our local friend.  We were picked up at the airport at night, still a bit jet lagged, and uncomfortable from the constant movement and lack of rest.  Never-the-less, we were in Bali and we were there to make the most out of it! We were energized by the anticipation of what we might discover and learn in this truly unique location.  At this time all of us where suffering from AC syndrome, which is what happens when one is in a tropical country with 90 plus degree weather and 90% humidity outdoors, yet any car, store, or hotel you enter has the AC turned to the maximum, creating a difference in temperature of about 20 degrees.  This was true in Philippines, as is the norm in many tropical places, and Indonesia was no exception. The temperature extremes resulted in plenty of coughing and stuffed noses, but not enough to drive us off schedule.

The first place we visited was the Cacao fermentation, drying, and storing facilities of our contact.  It was , paradise in every sense of the word. As we were close to arriving at the facility, we could see the beach a couple hundred meters away from the road and Darin was quick to ask “Do they have stand up paddling here?”  We arrived to a group of people greeting us. This contact is sure to treat all employees very well and that positivity shined out from everyone we met, leaving quite an impression on me. A young woman, not older than 30, and a couple males of similar age came close to the vehicles to greet us with the already familiar, “Salamat.” Ben, our contact, and the employees at the cacao facility clearly had more of the relationship of family to one another than simply a boss-employee relationship and we were greeted with similar care as family or friend.

Ben gave an impeccable explanation of all the processes that go on at the facility. One might assume there is not much to it; receive product, sort, ferment, dry, package and store it. In reality there are literally dozens of micro-decisions which must be made and dozens of factors which can alter the processes towards a successful, high-quality end product or a spoiled one.  Ben explained with detail, while Darin and Seth took turns asking questions and we sure had lots of them! The more we asked, the more we learned. The more we realized the various layers of complexity surrounding cacao, the more we came to admire it.  We were each provided with a motorcycle, which was more like a scooter, and we headed up the road to visit a close by cacao plantation.

Once we arrived, Seth smirked and said “We should make a video solely on cacao, since it seems we encounter it wherever we go!¨ These simple words stuck in my mind.  He was right, cacao seems to have taken over any region where it can be cultivated, not to mention it has taken over the palates of billions of people around the world. One funny aspect of life I observe where I live in Argentina is that people often complain about the rise of cost of everything, yet nobody dares to utter a sound against the rise in the price of chocolate.  Such is the impact chocolate has on society, exponentially augmented by studies carried out around the world on its health benefits. In reality it is cacao, not chocolate, which lays claim to those positive effects on health. In fairness to chocolate it depends on the way it is made and the raw materials utilized in its creation which determines the health effects of the product.

Cacao is important not only due to the frequency it can be encountered around the world or its general health benefits, but because of the mystical and historical value of the crop. That is why this article is titled “On the Cacao Trail.” I would like to share some information on the history of cacao, which makes it an even more fascinating superfood, especially for all of you cocoa-holics.

There is still much debate as to whether, cacao, as we know it today, originated in southern Mexico-Central America and made its way down to the Amazon basin or if it traveled in the opposite direction.  In any event, it was the city-state ruled by the civilization we know as the Olmec, which dates back to around 900BC, who started using the product in food and trade and possibly were the first to cultivate it. Even more ancient, there are some documented uses of cacao stretching back a few hundred years before the Olmec empire developed.  Later on, cacao was adopted by the emerging civilizations of the Mayans, Zapotecs, Toltecs, Mixtecs, Totonacs and every other group extending from Meso-America down to the Orinico River and possibly even further down.

Cacao was used primarily as a food, but also as currency and medicine. The leaves were smoked and the white pulp surrounding the bean was used to make an alcoholic beverage.  Allegory tells the story of the plumed serpent God Quetzalcoatl, who decided one day to give wisdom to human beings, by providing them with the food of the Gods known as Cacahuatl (Bitter water).  As a result, he was banned from his land by the God Xpoc for introducing the sacred food of the Gods to men.  We can take this at face value and consider it a fun myth and nothing more, yet recent research has elucidated to the compounds found in cacao which benefit cognitive and emotional well being.  These particular benefits among the many others that Cacao offers to those who consume it and are responsible for why the name “food of the gods” goes beyond your typical botanist’s desire to name their research flora so extravagantly.

The Mayans even had their own deity who governed over kawkaw, as they called it.  His name is Ek Chuah and like the Aztecs,kawkaw was said to be a gift to humanity from the plumed serpent God Kukulkan when it was discovered by the Gods in a mountain along with other foods, worthy for the Mayans to consume. Nearly every household had a cacao tree growing in the back yard, as the fruit had a place in their daily lives as well as in their ceremonial lives.

When Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortez arrived in Mexico around 1519 he was somewhat familiar with the exotic fruit, as his sailor had come across large canoes in the Caribbean which transported cacao pods and other goods.  Upon arriving at the city of Tenochtitlan, he was received as what most believed was the reincarnation and return of their adored god, Quetzalcoatl, by which reason he was offered the same beverage which he brought to mankind, resulting in his expulsion.  This drink was Xcolatl, from where many believe the word “chocolate” is derived. While Cortez was more interested in other sources of wealth, he soon realized the benefits of Xcolatl.  He wrote back to the King of Spain, Charles V describing how drinking a cup of the beverage would give enough energy to his soldiers for them to work all day. So strong was the response and appreciation for the new drink that the Spanish consumed it constantly and it was renowned for it´s aphrodisiac, regenerative, and energetic benefits.  Hernan Cortez urged for European doctors not to come to Mexico since they believed the traditional medicine of the indigenous nations of the Americas to be at par or superior to European treatments.

Another aspect which is of extreme interest to the scientific community is the drink itself, as cacao was rarely consumed alone, it was always blended into foods and, of course, the drink Xcolatl.  There is more to it than simple culinary expression. It is understood that the PEA (Phenylethylamine), one of the many compounds found in cacao which is being revered and exalted by cacao enthusiasts is denatured in the gut by MAO enzymes, meaning the amount that gets into one’s system is minimal and no real effect occurs. The ancients were quite wise, however. They might not have been educated in biochemistry, but they knew of the alchemy that occurred when foods are blended. The blends they used to make Xcolatl as well as other foods and drinks is still found in mainstream dishes, though usually not prepared by the pre-hispanic methods. Of central importance is the compounds found in these other elements which were blended with cacao.  When analyzed they were found to have the MAO-inhibitors required to allow for the proper concentration and uptake of the PEA in to the body, thus allowing for its proper function once consumed.

The beverage gained popularity in Spain where nobles were exclusively consuming the newly discovered beverage, until smuggling and interception of Spanish ships by other European nations brought the knowledge of the cacao bean to these other nations. The cacao beverage began to be consumed in mass, creating a high demand, resulting in these countries growing the tree in their colonies to secure provisions.  This is the reason why the former Portuguese, British, and Dutch colonies we know to be Brazil, Ghana, Indonesia, and the Ivory Coast are among the primary bean producers in the world. At the time cacao was first being cultivated in these colonies, the cacao beverage was still not being consumed in mass by commoners in Spain.  From there it made a quick ascend to prominence and here we are today, enjoying all of the wonderful and some not so wonderful benefits of cacao and its byproducts. Our friend and colleague, Dr. Bernd Neugebauer, told us of a cacao tree he found in the Soconusco region in southern Mexico which probably dates back to pre-hispanic times and it is still giving fruit!

This trip was defined our experience with cacao so far and without a doubt many more stories will follow. Whichever tropical region we explore where there is a wide range of biodiversity, we will most likely find cacao again.  Cacao has become and will continue to be our silent partner around the world as we continue on and find the most amazing, healing, and holistic gifts from nature to share with all of you, our friends.  Blessings.

References

]]> http://darinsnaturals.com/on-the-cacao-trail/feed/ 0 Indispensable Kitchen Utensils ~ Part 1 of many! http://darinsnaturals.com/indispensable-kitchen-utensils-part-1-of-many/ http://darinsnaturals.com/indispensable-kitchen-utensils-part-1-of-many/#comments Sat, 25 Jun 2011 18:45:49 +0000 Miguel Berumen http://darinsnaturals.com/?p=1291 Here we introduce to you a multi-part series where we will discuss another tool which can help you to grow, clean, cook, and prepare healthy treats in your own kitchen.  Some of these items will sound familiar, while others you may be hearing about for the first time.  There is no need to be intimidated!  Gathering all the necessary components of a healthy kitchen can take time.  What is most important is that you an effort to fully learn how each new product can assist you in generating nutrient-rich, life-giving meals for yourself and your family!

Indispensable Kitchen Utensil 1: Sprouter

I always recommend starting with the most basic tool and avoiding spending unnecessary money on fancy, more complex automatic sprouters.  This can be achieved by using a simple glass jar, preferably a new one.  If you want to start with a used jar, make sure you sanitize it properly to ensure that you do not contaminate your seeds.  Proceed to find a ring which fits perfectly around the mouth of your jar as well as a cheese cloth.  You need one jar per variety of sprout, so in other words, if you are intending to sprout lentils and broccoli sprouts you would need two jars, each with its individual ring and cheese cloth.  I highly recommend if you are a single person to start with a quart-sized jar.   If you are preparing food for two or more, use a glass jar with at least a ½ gallon wide mouth. Depending on the variety of sprout and temperature of the region you live in the shelf life after sprouting could vary from a few days to a few weeks.  The best indicators of condition are smell and taste.  If sprouts appear soggy, dark, moldy, or smelly you are better off composting them.  I suggest http://www.sproutpeople.org.  The good people contributing to that site are truly passionate about providing you with everything you need to get started!



On their web page you will find absolutely everything to get you going, from the jars I spoke about to the cheese cloths, and, naturally, they also provide you with any known seed which can be sprouted.  As the great Dr. John Christopher used to say “Anything that can be sprouted, SHOULD be sprouted.”

This is my first recommendation as an indispensable kitchen tool to help you get fresh, bioactive, potent foods into your system all year round.  It is easy, inexpensive, and it is not time consuming.  Kids love sprouting and it´s a fun way for them to be part of the miracle of life, from seed to plate.  Sprouting can be a great family activity as well as an important step to improving household health and nutrition.  The joy of sprouting awaits!

]]> http://darinsnaturals.com/indispensable-kitchen-utensils-part-1-of-many/feed/ 1 Camu Camu to the rescue http://darinsnaturals.com/camu-camu-to-the-rescue/ http://darinsnaturals.com/camu-camu-to-the-rescue/#comments Fri, 11 Feb 2011 23:25:30 +0000 Miguel Berumen http://darinsnaturals.com/?p=433 Probably by now we are all very aware of the benefits that all vitamins bring to our existence, beyond the fact that they are essential and this in it self encompasses to clarify and bring to an end all the potential fuss nutritionist, doctors or any other expert can make on the matter.  Plane and simple they are indispensable in our lives, probably out of the wide array of known vitamins the one most of us can name or are more familiar with, is ascorbic acid or better known as vitamin C.    Most likely when the name is pronounced the first thing that comes to mind is an orange or some sort of citrus, no and I am not talking about starbursts or lemonheads these don´t fall under the category of citrus though they taste citrus like.   One peculiar aspect about vitamin C is the fact that it cannot be synthesized from any other raw material existing in the human body, thus it must be consumed directly from a natural source.

To understand vitamin C, we must understand some basics first of all the name Ascorbic Acid comes from the Latin A(no) Scorvutus (Scurvy) so basically you have simply an agent which helps to fight off scurvy as it was understood due to the constant scurvy epidemics which plagued sailors.  Later to be offset by the consumption of lemon juice which was brought on board in the form of whole lemons which where sucked on through out the day, simply put Ascorbic means against scurvy. It is also important to understand as stated before that since this important nutrient cannot be synthesized in the body, in contrast to various other life forms such as single cell organisms, most birds, reptiles, most fishes and most mammals can synthesize it either in their kidneys or liver via an intricate system which converts glucose to ascorbic acid mediated by the enzyme L-gulunolactone oxidase.   There was an important observation from a physicians on the reasoning for scavengers such as crows who live out of eating rotten meat yet have no side effects from doing so, and it came to be known that part of this reason is the high amounts of ascorbic acid that they can synthesize in their system to counter attack the nauseating effects that can come about through the ingestion of rotten meats.

Nobody can argue against a whole food source for our nutritional needs, it is the way we have been fulfilling our requirements and how our bodies have evolved for thousands of years, and vitamin C is no exception.    Oddly yet not strange enough scurvy was well known since ancient times, Hippocrates wrote about is 400BC and it was thought that it came about due to the lack of not eating enough fresh plant foods, now a day as it is the case with most nutrients it is being synthesized from glucose through a 2 step fermentation procedure.  It was known that certain sea captains where able to spare their sailors using the traditional methods of local indigenous groups through out the various regions of the world, such is the case of French explorer James Cartier.  While exploring the St. Lawrence river and having most of his crew struck with scurvy following the instruction of local medicine men he boiled the needles of some local trees which when later examined where shown to be highly rich in ascorbic acid.  Adding to the common knowledge that it is in whole food that we find the wisdom of nature and all of her gifts to give, maintains, strengthen and in some cases even come close to resuscitate life.  Here are the words of Dutch theologian, writer and scientist Johann Bachstrom ¨scurvy is solely owing to a total abstinence from fresh vegetable food, and greens, which is alone the primary cause of the disease.¨ this was said in 1734, we don´t need to proceed with explanations as to how important this nutrient is and how important it is to obtain it as close to it´s natural source as possible.  However it is quite interesting to evaluate the possibility of where these sources are from and what other potential important roles they can play in our well being.  Today it is well publicized the various ailment attacking us on a constant basis and since a bit over a decade ago there has been a culprit which seem to be condemned by every expert and individual, this being oxidation brought about by unbalanced molecules known as free radicals.  Which just seem to run rampant across our system creating all sorts of mayhem on their way, these nasty little molecules are being held as main players in the offset of various ailments from wrinkles to cancer and everything in between.  Though I am not here to make a case for them, much less defend or create a debate as to the legitimacy of the claims, we can all agree that the less we have of them the better off we can be.  As well as the more likely we will live long healthy lives, so now come the heroes which we have come to know quite well as antioxidants and we can´t seem to get enough of them in everything we drink, eat and even what we apply to our hair, face, skin etc.  These allies of ours in the fight against oxidation, are always being sought after and tried to be isolated and synthesized in the pursuit of the more effective of them all to try and sell us on the idea that we can basically come close to be disease free, though there is no magic bullet and no isolated or as I read on a wonderful book named ¨the life bridge¨ a naked molecule, can be completely relied upon for our health´s integrity.    Once again however we can all agree that by today´s standards and the toxic environments we are all subject too, having a wide range whole food antioxidants can´t hurt and is a wise decision.  Having discusses slightly the rampant fear we are being lead to believe of free radical oxidation, and how an ample natural supply of whole food source antioxidants is a great way to help offset the potential damages which could occur.  We can probably understand now why Vitamin C is such a ubiquitous known nutrient, as it has been proposed by such well respected scientist and doctors such as discoverer and nobel prize laureate Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, Dr. Matthias Rath and Dr. and master herbalist Dr. James Duke of the vital importance vitamin C has in various critical biological functions and how even going further more to proposing how it can even cure diseases.    The highly recognized and another nobel prize laureate Linus Pauling, proposed a methodical supplementation of vitamins in the body in his theories of what eventually came to be known as orthomolecular therapies.  One which I personally don´t identify myself with, yet respect and come to understand that these great luminaries of their respected fields understood the power of the elements which nature endowed in it´s infinite wisdom the foods we consume.

So now we understand a bit about vitamin C, now let´s look at the goldmines which nature has blessed us with regarding this very important nutrient.  As we already mentioned when we think vitamin C we think citrus immediately as a source of vitamin C, lately this has been changing as the world around is shrinks and more exotic and strange named fruits, nuts, seed, vegetables make their way in to the western mainstream we begin to understand that what we had believed we knew happened to be just the tip of the iceberg.  Especially when these wide arrange of foods make their way from rich biodiverse regions of the world like South America and Asia primarily.  Products such as Acerola (Malpighia emarginata), Aamla Berry, Rose Hip, Goji Berry, Guava and so forth, yet out of the ones mentiones no one comes close to the Camu Camu fruit (Myrciaria dúbia) this fruit is worthy of a Indiana Jones film all to it self.  As it grown exclusively along the river banks of the Amazon river, a small tree like which bears cherry size fruits with pinkish, reddish, purplish tones.  Darin and I had come to know this super vitamin C storehouse back a couple years ago when it was but a mystical fruit which peculiar name was thrown around yet nobody really was using it as the commercial aspect of the fruit was still in it´s infancy.  Upon our first visit to Peru we walked in to a local market, with the whole cultural colors and smells in full vibrancy.  Along side whole death chickens, pork heads, herbal mixtures with names you could not begin to pronounce and basically a blend for anything and everything under the sun, along side famed psychotropic concoctions of san pedro and ayahuasca there we found a vendor who specialized in Amazonian treats, one of them was camu camu.  So Darin and I felt like kids in a candy store and we purchased a bag full of all sort of fruits the more weird the more exited we where to try them, so off we went in to our hotel room and we could not get there fast enough.  We ripped open the plastic bag and started tasting the various fruits most where exquisite and we debated as to if what two American known fruits where to have a child it would taste like the Amazonian fruits we where eating.  Finally we tastes the camu camu and we have to say that you could not get any two known fruits to marry to get the taste of camu camu basically camu as we call it for short, is a super citrus on steroids A LOT OF THEM! The taste was so overwhelming it.  The closest thing I could assimilate it to was having a super citrus grenade go off in your mouth, so we knew there was extreme potential and every one in the market from the vendor to curious passers by told us what we already knew that camu was God´s vitamin C powerhouse.  Yet we knew we where not going to make many friends by providing the fresh fruit which we where not interested in or a pulp, as there where already tries to commercialize acerola which pales in comparison to the extreme taste of camu yet in it´s own right it is a powerful nutrient loaded fruit.  Acerola was being brought in to the states as a pulp, yet it was being saturated with so much sugar be it organic or what you  may still we believed it was diluting the real potential of the fruit.

Camu Camu like many other fruits has been consumed for thousands of years by local humans and animals alike, no real traditional documentation of alternate uses besides nutrition can be found.  Though the most common characteristic which makes camu camu so sought after is it´s above average vitamin C content, yet as more interest grows for this product more and more research is being carried out to understand this humble cherry like fruit.  Universities in Brazil and Peru have taken the task to further evaluate the chemical makeup and potential beyond vitamin C benefits which can be found in this fruit.  Needless to say the results up to now are nothing short of amazing.   The institute of biotechnology in La Molina University in Lima, Peru have uncovered the broad range benefits beyond the vitamin C and as a matter of fact a natural process was encountered which  makes complete sense due to the extreme humid and hot conditions natural of a rainforest such as the Amazon.  When the fruit is being created and through out it´s vegetative phase until it becomes ripe, it´s vitamin C content is at it´s highest preventing oxidation due to the extreme weather condition and the myriad of potential candidates from microorganisms to humans and everything in between which would want to consume it, the extreme acidity of the vitamin C would be intended to ward of potential consumers until it is fully ripe.  Once it is entering the final stages of ripening oddly enough the vitamin C content drops, paving the way for a tradeoff where other phenolic compounds are created such as anthocyanis, flavonols and flavanols.    With new research done in both Peru and Japan where the in vivo studies are being carried out to evaluate the potential benefits this could generate when consumed.  At the cardiovascular and renal medicine department of Saga university in Japan, in vivo studies where done on 20 male smoking adults to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory aspects of camu camu.  Camu Camu juice extracts where consumed by random chosen individuals while other where treated with a synthetic vitamin C dose, those who consumed the Camu camu after only 7 days showed great results in contrasts to their peers.  Oxidative stress markers and inflammatory markers where analyzed in both groups, both of these markers where reduced significantly while there was no change in the non-consuming group.  The Japanese scientist have yet to determine exactly what it is in camu camu that created these results, as the exactly same amount of vitamin C, from a synthetic source was given with no effect at all.  It is needless to say that it is in the wisdom of nature and the compatibility of whole food to the human body that generates the benefits in contrast to isolated ¨naked¨ molecules.

There is no doubt that more research is needed to understand more the potential of this still exotic and unknown fruit.  However given the results emitted from the Japanese university the prospective seem very positive, it has been our experience that unfortunately this fruit does not travel well, as it oxidizes quite easily.   Hence the reason you have not and probably will not see it fresh in your local farmers market, also the Amazonian conditions under which it grows make it very difficult to be grown in other tropical regions of the world, coupled with the biopiracy legislation that surrounds the fruit from being grown in other countries such as tropical Asian or African countries and rightfully so.  As a matter of fact it is our dear friend who is the head of biopiracy department in Peru, told us that it is in fact camu camu out of all the potential biopirated products which is being more zealously followed since already various cases of cultivation with out permission have sprung around the world.  This leaves us with the variants which up to right now are either pulps, juice concentrates or extracts or powders which have been making their way through out marketed as  ¨superfood¨.   Camu is with out a doubt a magical product which can provide many benefits, however be weary since the production is very scarce, always ask where the source of this product is coming from and request proper documentation to verify the claims.  It has been our experience that sometimes the product is watered down to increase profit, also poor local families who collect the fruit in hot humid mosquito filled river banks get paid close to nothing for their hard work so it is our duty to make sure this is not the case as well.  Not always a fair-trade certification is validation enough that these practices are not being carried out as the executives are not living with the communities 365 days a year and legislation and well as cultural practices are very different in most countries in comparison to the States.  Therefore again the question stand, is it worth looking in to Camu camu? You bet! I honestly think this is one of the most exiting fruits out there what we kind of know now is exiting enough what we still don´t know and might never know is even more exiting, yet again with any possibility especially to make money there are always dark spots to fill in.  Multinationals are already attempting to mass cultivate this marvelous crop, and Brazil in their haste to continue growing and becoming part of the global capitalist movement are lending a blind eye to this while Peru is doing a much better job as keeping this mass plantations still under control.  Yet nothing is certain and might never bee until you as the consumer start asking questions and demanding transparency we owe it to nature, to our fellow grower friends and to yourself.

So to finalize I would not recommend taking a bite off a camu camu fruit, unless you are in to the hardcore experience then go for it.  Try to evaluate and look at the reference below which will give you further detail in to the fruit and let your senses guide you to taking the decision if it´s worth trying this product or not, again the truth is simple to detect cause it makes sense.

Reference

Wilson, LG (1975). “The clinical definition of scurvy and the discovery of vitamin C.”. Journal of the history of medicine and allied sciences 30 (1): 40–60. PMID 1094060.

^ Armstrong, Alexander (1858). “Observation on Navel Hygiene and Scarvy, more particularly as the later appeared during the Polar Voyaje”. British and foreign medico-chirurgical review: or, Quarterly journal of practical medicine and surgery 22: 295–305. http://books.google.com/?id=7VJYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA295.

^ “Myrciaria dubia (Kunth) MCVAUGH – Myrtaceae”. Dr. Duke’s Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. http://sun.ars-grin.gov:8080/npgspub/xsql/duke/pl_act.xsql?taxon=1241. Retrieved 2009-09-21.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T6R-4XSTD9H-5&_user=10&_coverDate=06%2F15%2F2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=37e03fbe592b3ecf0339b2943c379dcc

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18922386

]]> http://darinsnaturals.com/camu-camu-to-the-rescue/feed/ 14 Water…be aware of the waste. http://darinsnaturals.com/water-be-aware-of-the-waste/ http://darinsnaturals.com/water-be-aware-of-the-waste/#comments Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:52:51 +0000 Darin Olien http://darinsnaturals.com/?p=315 This video is very informative on the effect bottle water has on the environment and makes a strong point.  I don’t necessarily agree about the quality of water of either tap water or bottled water.  Yes, most bottled water is no better and most is often worse then tap however, you also could not pay me to drink water from the tap.  So, where does that leave things..????   You either find a spring that is tested and far enough underground to where it it living, vibrant and naturally balance water full of monoatomic minerals or you make your own water.  How do you do that, you ask?  Distill your water from the tap, rain catch it (plus filter it) or generate your water from the atmosphere by an atmospheric water generator that pulls water out of the humidity in the air.  Of course you can by your own distilled water and add trace minerals/monoatomic minerals to it but again that is into to the transportation of and use of plastic again.

In the following days I will get into the quality of water and what that means and try and dispel some of the myths and expand on some of the truths about water.

There are SOLUTIONS, many SOLUTIONS!  From individuals to 3rd world nations!  And we have contacts in many fields to help get people one of the most precious resources…..WATER!  The Right Kind of Water!

What do you know about water?  Please comment

What would you like to know about water?  Please comment.

Be aware, generate health and create your life!

~Darin

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