Writing a past post, entitled ¨superfoods¨ in those moments of complete surrender to your highest inspiration, I came to express my concern for the loose utilization of the same term.   Finalizing in proposing the reader to think of the fact that ALL plants are the sum effect of condensed light, gas and water in the majority of their physiological make up.  Pretty amazing if you ask me and worthy of naming and most important treating all vegetation as ¨super¨ even if it serve no immediate or apparent purpose like; food, medicine, raw material etc.

In this new post I would like to touch on a very sensitive concept which again very few if any really consider and evaluate much less deal with it.  It is the concept of ENERGY, and I don´t simply mean energy as in calories, work, transport.  I mean the more subtle, equivalent and important energy behind the mechanical energy, in other words that energy of inspiration in contrast of the energy of perspiration.  At present we all in some form or another believe in the concept of energy, from a metaphysical stand point be it through the energy contained in prayer, reiki, or the more mundane radio, TV, satellite energies which travel in frequencies only to be pulled and translated by electrical apparatus.  Very simplistically put, we can describe it as a flow which sets things in motion.  We can go in depth as to the essence of energy or where it comes from, but we won´t go there, simply put the energy around, food which is what I am attempting to discuss here is where we will focus in this post. We can all agree in the fact that energy is the corner stone of all that is, that which with out it life will not be life, we can go as far as saying that life is energy and energy is life.  Now we are all aware of the mechanical energy surrounding us in it´s myriad of forms, I am requiring energy to move my fingers and type, this computer is requiring energy to stay on and function, you get the point.

In the realm of food, we think of the energy in it (biological, biochemical) and behind it (work, logistics) but rarely the energy around it.  This is the energy that in my believe truly nourishes us and as Michael Pollan expressed is the true common denominator as how our food choices eventually change the face of our planets landscape.  Most important when we elaborate more on this idea we will begin to notice how it also heavily influences; food security, environmental well being, flora and fauna health and biodiversity, social justice, better energy and resource management and cycling.   We can represent these 3 variations of food energy in the following manner

• In it can be represented in the question WHAT CAN I EXTRACT FROM IT?
• Behind it can be represented in the question WHAT WENT IN TO IT?
• The logical question to represent the energy around it, naturally should be HOW?

Now what do we mean when I say the energy around it? As we steadily have become more dependent on industry plant to plate control over our food.  We have not only delegated our responsibility over to them, but we have also been blind folded with ignorance as to the nature of the conditions under which our food has been treated and managed.  These conditions not only affecting the food and environment where these foods are grown, but also the people involved in this process.  Though it comes as no surprise and most of the people reading this will by this time, be aware of the dreadful deeds many multi-national money and power hungry induced companies are doing to your food. Thanks in mayor part to the effective and hard work done by independent journalist and documentaries exposing these scandals.  As we are more aware and conscious of the deplorable state of our food, visible in our societies and environmental health, most of us are prompted to rectify this problem by going alternative.  Organic, fair trade, kosher, biodynamical, guarantee of origin and any other certification or ecolabel we can observe on the labels of our foods of choice.  Serving as a source of relief and feeling of advocating through our purchase in favor of ¨good practices¨ in all sense of the word right?  Personally I was always convinced this was the way to go, yet eventually through working in the field eventually I was lead to start having doubt about the integrity of the whole concept.  As I started going deeper in to the whole industry, I started realizing the vast irony found in the information being presented to the general public and that the reality behind the propaganda.  That is when I realized, people had to know, this is what I mean by the energy around the foods we eat.  Distilled down to be acknowledge as the intent by which it is infused, as I further researched this concept with in my self as to create clarity with in me, to be able to present a clearer exposition of the same. The story of David and his friends, resounded in my memories   when they where selected by the King of Babylon´s court to become apprentices, upon entering the court of the king and sitting down for meal time.  They where troubled by the fact that the foods and drink they where about to drink was offered to ¨other gods¨ and they where compelled to reject the food.  The main idea to rescue out of this story and many others found all through out ancient sacred books, is the fact that a rejection of food took place under spiritual and moral justifications.  Further more we can agree that the energy by which these foods and drinks where infused through the intent was the central influence in the rejection.   Now then, this can very well be just a coincidence or isolated random event in history which just happened to find it self to the most read, sold and possibly controversial book in history.  But when there is a whole dietary law to be followed strictly, we are entering in to a whole different dimension.  Such is the case of the Kosher and Halal laws in Jewish and Muslim faiths. Though most religions have them, some more clear and others left to translate accordingly. The commonality among all them is the ¨fittingness¨ of the food.  According to the Sharia and Halakha the laws of these world religions, certain foods are fit to be consumed according to a list of origin, handling, processing, and preparation procedures and in a more mystical way how they are endowed.  This being of course by the prayers and rituals carried out to purify and bless the foods, rendering them fit to be consumed.

Again the central focus of this is not just the fact that these dietary practices have been employed for thousands of years or the practice or methodology behind it.   Rather is the essence which I focus on, we all in a way or another believe in a common spirit which we share with all of the creation, an energy which moves through and by us all.  The current practices being employed in most of the food industries including most of the alternative choices require a revision in many cases a sincere effort to amend them.  This in spite of the potential benign effort which some companies might lead us to believe, this I say given my personal experience and that shared by friends and colleagues working in the field.   Most important by personal testimonies of farmers, cooperative representatives, and families whom have spilled their concerns and fears behind the so called and presented to the consumers as ¨ethical, organic and fair trade businesses¨

Now with these references, I understood that all through out time including our present day as it is evident with the Kosher and Halal laws, great importance has been placed on the energy around the foods to be consumed.  A quote from the movie FOOD INC. where a farmer practicing polyculture and permaculture though he does not classify himself as one, says ¨we the consumer have adopted a consuming culture of HOW? How do we make this or that faster, bigger, cheaper, but we never question our selves and those who produce and market the foods BUT WHY? ¨ with these resounding words, it is that I challenge those reading this article to question those providing the foods you consume.  Regardless if they are conventional or organic certified those who have nothing to hide and whose intentions are clear.  Have a clear way to expose their true intentions through actions and results, via multimedia through their web sites or through other means.   Those of us presuming to be voting with our purchase need to get of our comfort zones and take the next step in the direction of repairing our severed connection to all that is, starting with our mother earth.  The old axiom which states that we never really know what we have until we loose it, takes effect on this day of age when the agro-businesses have been making things ever so easy and comfortable for us.  That most of us never get our hands dirty and understand the magic that happens when planting a seed a reaping the gift of nature to really appreciate the magnificence of the event, as such disparity is evident in the indifference we approach food one which is for mere thoughtless sustenance.  And it is because I believe that humans have the means and the resources to create a better world than we have today, it is because I am optimistic that I dare my self to write these words. I am a quiet radical, opting to create awareness through actions and teach through example rather than words, but it is in these words that I hope to stir a whirlwind with in you.  To lead you to introspect and meditate on the actual food situation, and question the current values which catalyze the intent of those responsible for providing us our foods.  The true invisible energy which infuses the food you consume, that is carried over as this energy of intent is irradiated towards the land, farmer, environment and all along to the final piece of the puzzle which is you.  The same energy which you are consuming and in a way supporting, we all want better quality, higher nutritious, less invasive, dangerous and polluting foods for a sustainable and bright future, yet when we really look past the PR, the marketing and the labels we find many discrepancies. It is the arduous and soulful work of such visionaries and true geniuses of our eras of the likes of Masanobu Fukuoka, Bill Mollison, Paul Stamet, Michael Pollan, Bernd Neugebauer, Geoff Lewton, P.A Yeomans, David Holmgren, Emilia Hazelip, David Blume,E.F Schumacher, David Wolfe, W.M A Albrecht, Teruo Higa, Pierre Rabhi and the scores of others whom I don´t know.  They have shown us that there are more effective ways of obtaining all of our requirements while giving as much or more back to the earth than we take.  Energy is eternal and ever present, it doesn´t matter if we care or not it is still there, when we consider and apply that which the wise ones from yesterday and today instruct us to pursue and apply.  We can begin to overcome conformity which eventually turns in to rigid paradigm, neutralizing the essence of humanity which is our creative capacity, the intent of humans to design our future for the best.  All of the options with regard to contrasting conventional work with and through nature is always a step in the right direction but approaching it with the same mentality, beyond and against conventional practices will imminently lead to a road block, especially when these practices are shrouded in secrecy, exclusivity, and competition.  We breath the same air are warmth by the same sun, bathed by the same stars and moon at night, walk the same earth in deed the elements are our family.  There is a better way, as stated by E.F Schumacher when presented with divergent problems the way to overcome this is trough transcending it, we have been given the options to transcend the present options for our food health and security, by the wise ones I have mentioned and countless more.  It if through love, information, transparency, wisdom,cooperation, sensibility, beauty and character that I believe we will ALL work towards a brighter future.  The energy that feeds us is well worth to rectify, weather you call it social responsibility or simply trust, we must take a creative expansive step towards restoration and expansion of our options.   As we trace back in our mind the many hands and processes which our food passes by and takes us back to it´s womb the seed, we can begin to envision the energy by which it is endowed, now I ask you do you believe in your heart for this food to be ¨fit¨?  is the worker and farmer being stimulated to use their abilities and be creative most important are they loved? Or simply used in a redundant, boring work? Regardless of being payed a fair salary as we are led to believe, in other words is the food we are consuming being offered to a ¨god¨ of love or one of competition, frustration and disdain?

Permaculturist proverb states that ¨there is a direct connection between the health of the soil, plant, animals, workers and you as the last part of the food chain¨ as our conscience expands we realize that health is not bordered by our skin neither is it bordered by our cells, it is the ever expanding and still elusive magic of the alchemy found in the balance of spirit, soul, mind, emotion and material.

I close this article with the wisdom of Abuelita Margarita, a Huichol curandera from Mexico.  Some food for thought

¨Grand father fire told me, your whole body and soul is filled with fire, he occupies the 100 percent inside of you, the air if the way you think and it ascends if you are light.  Water makes up more than 80% of your and it is also your feelings and it evaporates, while the earth makes around the 20%.  Happiness is so easy! It consists in respecting what we are, and we are earth, universe y the great spirit, I will also tell you what is worth while in this life, to look another in the eyes and you let him in and they let you in, that is true love and there you will never find boredom because it is forever.   We must understand that we are sacred and the earth is in deed our mother and the sun our father¨

REFERENCES

Bible reference for the story of David and the rejection of food from the Kings Numbers 6:1-4.

Lately I have once again been forced to confront the harsh but very realistic truth of spam mail.   This time around we have the new wonder superfood to come waltzing in from the furthest corner of the world to save the day.  This time around I got two separate ones one for Aronia (Chokeberry) and another one for Maqui, though one is a backyard berry found through out the eastern North America.  The other was a new one to me and one which, later on after talking to a Mapuche elder, I came to understand a bit more about he berry.  Given the mapuche nation has been wild harvesting this berries on both the present Chilean and Argentinean side of the Andes.    Given my curious nature as to what it was so interesting about these berries, I did my research time and time again the central; over used and exploited word was antioxidants. Though it has become a household everyday word and essential as these wonderful molecules are.  The over exploitation has made of the word practically lack any substance, worst yet is the common pervasive believe that these molecules are only and exclusively found in ¨super¨ berries.  I do believe there is a strong psychological component in eating, weather we acknowledge it or not, further more we can even expand to not only eating but any consumption of food or food like products.  Nobody will argue that if you don´t eat you will get weak, starve eventually get ill and consequently die.   This simple encoded information, with roots it self deep in to our genes for survival.  Has exploded in to a complex, elaborated, mind boggling array of theories, presuppositions, believes, and hypotheses from pseudoscientific to the scientific backed ones.

This psychology influences us to the degree as to which we have been educated upon.  Be it our parents, teachers, institutions they all take part in shaping our relation with food, our likes and dislikes, going beyond sustenance in certain times before the fast food era.  Food was a ritual, one where we socialized in the market place, prayed before our intake of food, connected with family and friends.   This psychology has never been put under such strain, leading to much confusion as in the present days.  We are told one day fat is your worst enemy, the next decade Ooops! No it wasn´t, then comes the long parade of funny named organic molecules that to save time and your tongues integrity they are given short abbreviations.   Things like Same, DHA, NADH, CoQ10, and so forth, one thing is true we are facing complicated times in which the quality of our environment is severely ill and declining.  A turn around of events is needed and we must put forth our best effort to make things happen.  This change can only happen amidst clarity and transparency, with this in mind and among the severe confusion brought about by personal irresponsibility and corporate negligence.  Information and creative driven approach to our lives coupled with common sense take precedence in providing us with the resources to live in balance.

Hereby to provide some information which I found very interesting, is a mouthful of a word protanthocyanidin also known as OPC´s or Pycnogenol™.  Though the later one is a trademark name for a proprietary extract from pine bark, for all intent and purpose and in essence we will call it protanthocyanidin.  Though this name might not ring a bell, products like Cacao, Green Tea and it´s variations, Açai and probably less known but eventually you will the already mentioned Chokeberry and Maqui.  As stated previously the claim to fame for these products is their extremely high ORAC (Oxygen radical absorbance capacity) levels, to which among the many antioxidants available in nature protantocyanidin and OPC´s (Oligomeric Protacyanidin) is among the key organic constituents active in the intermediate path interruption of oxidation.    To understand a bit more about the nature of this constituent, lets understand the composition a bit for one an alternate name is condensed tannin.   Condensed tannin is a non-hydrolysable meaning they are not cleaved by hydrogen particles as those present in water.  Previously thought to be anti-nutrients mainly do to their chemistry, which makes them indigestible.  A natural protective measure taken by plants against environmental stresses and dangers including being eaten, further more you can´t miss them since they are by the most part the plant flower, fruit and in most cases stem pigments.   The hydrolization state lead to the premature conclusion, that if they are non-hydrolysable they are non edible, later to be overturned and believed that to simply divide them depending on their hydrolyzation state and relate that to how they affect health by being consumed was overly simplistic.  The real benefit occurred in the variation of tannin being consumed and the amount, it was proposed in the 1930´s that this specific constituents where considered vitamins.  Proposed so by French professor Jacques Masquelier, naming his discovery vitamin P though the name was never accepted and neither was it officially accepted as a vitamin.  It is a Flavanol a polymeric chain of flavonoids, found all through out the plant kingdom and forming the most abundant form of phenol compounds in the human diet.   Some examples commonly known through the commercializing efforts of some companies are Catechins, Quercetins, Rutin, Epicatechins, Kaempferol, EGCG´s etc.  Note the difference is protantocyanidin and OPC´s is the a slight variation in chemical structure and predominance, given OPC´s are mainly found in the skin and seeds of main grapes, apples, coconuts and peanuts.  By the most part they variations in chemical structure are so minute they are considered one and the same.

It is widely accepted with in the scientific community that it is in fact the flavonoids present in medium to high amount in such products as Red Wine, certain teas (E.g Rooibos, Green), fruits (E.g Açai, Aronia, Cacao) which attribute to their health modulating benefits.  In fact they are referred to as ¨natures biological modulating agents¨ due to their strong evidence to modify the body´s response to antigens, anti-nutrients, pathogens and any other counter productive constituents found in our every day, which we are subjected too.  However we can´t over look the importance these products have served in the various cultures which they have been part of for millennia’s.  The case and probably the most consumed, culturally important and documented product is Red wine. Since time has been time and the ancients discovered the powers of fermentation in converting sweet grapes in to a tart elixir we now call wine.  Which took center stage in the study done on the Mediterranean diets where through a paradox in the eyes of most Americans, of how they consumed high amounts of saturated fat, flours, sweets, yet lived longer and more quality life´s?  An insult to those who have strained them selves to limit all these ¨evils¨ out of their every day only to find themselves no less healthier and no less happier.  Well the ¨French paradox¨ was coined which market as part of the eating habits the commonality shared amongst all Mediterranean cultures of wine drinking.  Studied up close, overlooking pseudo-sciences which the ancient Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, Georgians, Armenians, and countless other  cultures expanding the wide and narrow of this majestic land has attributed to this true elixir.  Believing in their own methods the present day Science found the cardio protective properties, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and a wide arrange of other believed and yet to expand on benefits.

In the southern Italian island of Sardinia, a group of longer than average living group was found in the hills of this island.  It was studied that an endemic wine they consumed quite copiously was extremely rich in OPC´s and proantocyanidins up to 5 times more than your average wine.   Great emphasis was made on the consumption of wine all through out these regions, other long lived communities sprang in ex-soviet Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, France where wine was an extremely important part of every day life.  Not to out do it self on the protantocyanidin and OPC´s later on Resveratrol came to the front line of the whole supplement arsenal against aging and fighting the ailments which wrongly accused, accompany aging.  Found in the skins of grapes and other fruits and vegetables, created as a secondary metabolite to counteract the damaging effects of fungus and bacteria.  When consumed it is believed though not yet certain, that it benefits mitochondrial functioning as well as increasing several fold the action of SOD2 in the neutralization of Superoxide by reducing to hydrogen peroxide.  Superoxide is believed to be an important oxidant intermediate which can lead to serious free radical chain reactions if not kept in check.   These are just 2 of many, many other chemical constituents found in just wine, now expand your vision to the wide arrange of just proantocyanidin rich foods is mind boggling.  Generally you will be able to recognize them because they are those with those extremely deep hues of color from deep red, yellow, to the purples and almost black.  Every where you look there they are, the other day I was very happy to see a billboard which stated ¨EAT COLORS¨ and there you had a wide variety of fruits and veggies looking very robust and healthy.  So yeah in essence you are eating colors and those colors serve more than just pure embellishment, when you consume them something will happen.   Proanthocyanidin is found to stabilize collagen and elastin, allowing for a prolonged healthy benefit on connective tissue which support organs, joints, blood vessels and muscles.

So we can make a list of potential benefits found in just one product, these was most elegantly exposed by the late Dr. Christopher when he said ¨we eat orange for obtain vitamin C, and Bioflavonoid yet as time comes we will realize it also contained vitamin Z and B20 there is just so much we DON´T know of the magical benefits found in the gifts of nature¨ yet the case I want to make is that of variety and over looking propaganda.  Generally we can discover what propaganda is and what a sincere effort to truly benefit you is. Were propaganda is that which primary aim is your wallet and it will utilize whatever means to influence your decision making abilities.  Spread your dietary habits to include all the color as possible don´t limit your self to just a couple and also don´t limit your self to one tone of this specific color.  You will see that yes violets are in deep violet and roses are in deed red yet they come in so many tones.  So eat colors and eat tones, there by you will be supplying your body with a wide arrange of not only these colors which in chemical terms we can name them polyphenols.  Of which OPC´s and proantocyanidin are but just one variation, but also you will be making available a wide arrange of vitamins, enzymes, minerals, trace elements, not to mention flavors, textures and over all it will be less likely for you to be bored of the same foods.  If you don´t like cooking or are not a fan of veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds as it might seem this article is pointing too.  There is always a wide variations of colors and tones all around us though I don´t advise you take a bite off your wall, you do find wide range of colors in animal products and by products; eggs, meats, organs, milk, yogurts, cream, cheese, etc.

The main focus of this article is in using common sense, our natural biological senses and blending these with a bit of cognitive function based on formulating our own personal decision as to what to consume.  Among a wide diversity of options, some might not be for our benefit and our liking.  Though nature does provide us with richly endowed food, surpassing sometimes 100 fold.  In comparison with other natural foods, in certain nutrients.  Which when studied promote a theory that it can save your life, and in some cases it can yet I make a strong case for isolating information and that information coming from isolated components of a whole.  I always make a point to what is considered exotic to us would be no more exotic to those people living in the regions where it comes as an apple would be to us.  Yet through researching Protentocyanidin, It was proposed that besides chokeberries, apples the common apple is up to 8 times richer in these constituents, than wine, the higher amounts found in granny smith and red delicious. Guess when they said ¨an apple a day; keep the doctor away¨ they really meant it. I finish this article with the most sound and intelligent words I have herd in a while;

¨The evidence is overwhelming in favor of plants and their positive effect on health, yet is NOT the ingredients in the plant IT´S THE PLANT, it´s not the beta carotene IT´S CARROT!¨

• ^ Harvard Health newsletter on CocoaVia
• ^ PMID: 17164979
• ^ PMID: 17609490
• ^ Eating chocolate can significantly protect the skin from UV light. Stefanie Williams, MD et al, Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, Volume 8 Issue 3, Pages 169 – 173, Published Online: 1 Sep 2009
• ^ Long-term ingestion of high flavanol cocoa provides photoprotection against UV-induced erythema and improves skin condition in women. Heinrich U et al. J Nutr. 2006 Jun;136(6):1565-9. PMID: 16702322
• ^ Muller-Harvey I, McAllan AB (1992). “Tannins: Their biochemistry and nutritional properties”. Adv. Plant Cell Biochem. And Biotechnol. 1: 151–217.
• ^ Schiavone A, Guo K, Tassone S, et al. (March 2008). “Effects of a natural extract of chestnut wood on digestibility, performance traits, and nitrogen balance of broiler chicks”. Poult. Sci. 87 (3): 521–7. doi:10.3382/ps.2007-00113. PMID 18281579. http://ps.fass.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=18281579.
• ^ Spencer, J. P. E. (May 2008). “Flavonoids: modulators of brain function?”. The British journal of nutrition 99 E Suppl 1: ES60–ES77. doi:10.1017/S0007114508965776. ISSN 0007-1145. PMID 18503736.  edit
• ^ “Therapeutic potential of inhibition of the NF-κB pathway in the treatment of inflammation and cancer”. Yamamoto and Gaynor 107 (2): 135 — Journal of Clinical Investigation. http://www.jci.org/cgi/content/full/107/2/135?ijkey=a1e09ce2dbca283cec170598f2410b15d5f4304f&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha.
• ^ Cushnie TPT, Lamb AJ (2005). “Antimicrobial activity of flavonoids”. International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents 26 (5): 343–356. doi:10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2005.09.002. PMID 16323269.
• ^ de Sousa RR, Queiroz KC, Souza AC, Gurgueira SA, Augusto AC, Miranda MA, Peppelenbosch MP, Ferreira CV, Aoyama H. (2007). “Phosphoprotein levels, MAPK activities and NFkappaB expression are affected by fisetin”. J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem 22 (4): 439–444. doi:10.1080/14756360601162063. PMID 17847710.

Félicien Breton (2008). “Health benefits of oligomeric proanthocyanidins”

^ Daglia, M.; A. Papetti, P. Grisoli, C. Aceti, C. Dacarro, and G. Gazzani (2007). “Antibacterial Activity of Red and White Wine against Oral Streptococci”. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 55 (13): 5038. doi:10.1021/jf070352q.

^ Robb EL, Page MM, Wiens BE, Stuart JA (March 2008). “Molecular mechanisms of oxidative stress resistance induced by resveratrol: Specific and progressive induction of MnSOD”. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 367 (2): 406–12. doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2007.12.138. PMID 18167310.

^ Corder, R.; W. Mullen, N. Q. Khan, S. C. Marks, E. G. Wood, M. J. Carrier and A. Crozier. “Oenology: Red wine procyanidins and vascular health”. Nature 444 (566): 566. doi:10.1038/444566a

^ Hammerstone JF, Lazarus SA, Schmitz HH (1 August 2000). “Procyanidin content and variation in some commonly consumed foods”. J. Nutr. 130 (8S Suppl): 2086S–92S. PMID 10917927. http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/130/8/2086S. “Figure 5″.

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/75/5/894

It is not uncommon for a friend to stop by and depending on what area of the province, state, nation or country you are in.  Most likely you will treat them to some sort of beverage generally cold in summer and warm in winter, though not always the case.  It is a timeless act of sharing and relating through a tradition which takes upon ritualistic proportions on certain parts of the globe, this completely intrigued me.   As I encountered and befriended friends from around the world taken in to their homes and presented with their customs.  I was always awed at the Persian tea times with dates, the Turkish, Ethiopian and Armenian strong coffees, Mexican café de hoya, or the ever popular Asian broad spectrum of teas.  Yet one in particular completely enchanted me like the sirens to Odysseus, for all the history, folklore, mysticism, and other attributes we will discuss this was the yerba mate.

Ilex paraguariensis as the Latin name indicates, is a tropical to sub-tropical shrub standing 12-15 meters tall covering the length of the Parana and Paraguay rivers basins.  In pre-colonial times, The leafs where chewed by native tribesmen which later on adopted an infusion type drink, to this groups the native name is Ka´a.  Later down the road which started to attract my attention was that from post-colonization times of 1595-1630 the sole possession of the dried plant was enough to sentence the possessor with severe penalties.   Given there was an extreme segregation between the different ethnic groups, indigenous infringers of the law where penalized with 100 lashes, while European infringers where penalized with a fine of 100 pesos this was in Paraguay while their southern neighbors in Argentina accepted in it´s capital state of Buenos Aires a similar penalization though this one omitted the lashes and opted only for a more financial contribution from those who broke the law.  In those times the name for the product was Paraguayan tea given that the highest volumes of raw material where produced from the country to which it mentions.  The export was prohibited; the mere action of crossing the yerbatales (wild plantations of the crop) was penalized.  This whole prohibition laws where implemented on the terms that the herb was ¨dangerously addictive¨, and cliché as it might be.  When something is prohibited it arouses the curiosity as to ¨why? ¨ thereby creating a whole underground culture of clandestine gatherings to drink the forbidden tea.  Sound like something familiar doesn´t it? Does a speakeasy ring a bell?  Well to make things even more common to the North American alcoholic prohibitions, as it was the custom to pour gallons of alcoholic beverages down the gutter.  Not to be outdone their South American counterparts where burning sacks filled with the ¨dangerously addictive¨ herb in the central plazas of Asuncion to get a point across.  It wasn´t until year later that the herb rights where granted to the Jesuits priest in the area, whom gifted and trained in botany as part of the curriculum for priesthood, this coupled with their relative close relation with the natives in their attempt to ¨convert¨ them.  Granted them a sort of ethnobotanist approach to the herb and where quick to not only explore the benefits, but also monopolize the cultivation and hence the sale of the same.  Note that until this right to work with the herb was granted by the Paraguayan government to the Jesuits, the herb was solely and exclusively wild collected often by mensues a term generally relating to a field worker in the tropics of northern Argentina and Paraguay.  Often these mensues where Guarani Indians who where pseudo-slaves, enticed by enganchadores (sort of recruitment agents) with promises of: upfront payments, higher wages, a better life, only to realize these promises could not be further from the truth.

After the great success by the Jesuits to domesticate and cultivate the crop, the expansion of the consumption was no surprise.   Expanding to cover most of Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay reaching to neighbors Chile, Bolivia and expanding to the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo the not only quick expansion but highly un-resisted assimilation in to the every day life was astounding.  This quick turn around of events. In such a prompt time frame from being completely scrutinized to highly accepted, appreciated to a level of reverence, across a landscape that surpassed borders, ages, religion, skin color or even social status in that time of age and still continues to do so was and is completely inspiring.  I don´t believe an herb at least in the whole of the Americas in it´s purest form meaning undenatured such as is not the case for Cacao, Tobacco, Vanilla, and a lot of other American originating herbs that we have all come to be familiar with their sub-products, faced such resistance only to inevitably have such resurgence.  No herb in this short list which can very well be expanded has become such an intrinsic part of the every day life, day in and day out and iconic representation of not only a national drink but personal identity.  I can be bold enough to certify that you can take away almost everything from an Argentinean, Uruguayan, Paraguayan; transplant them to another country, take away their accent, customs, believes but don´t dare touch their yerba mate, in the given event that any individual of these nationalities might find themselves with out their favorite drink.  A hard thing to accomplish given globalization and the high Diaspora found of these nationalities across the world, and ability to find a way to make sure they don´t go with out, either through improvisation of making sure half of their suit case is filled to the brim with the precious herb.  For all intent and purpose if this is the case of not having their favorite drink you can be assured that nothing will stimulate their memories, senses uplift their spirit and sooth their soul like a mate, you think teletransportation was only possible in star trek? If you want to be witness find a home sick, mate deprived individual from the nationalities mention and prepare yourself to be amazed.

For this reason Mate completely seduced me, a sucker for ethnic foods and drinks.  My first encounter with the drink was in Follow your heart a pillar in the organic, sustainable, local product movement in the San Fernando Valley.  Back in 98, when browsing through their ever expanding selection of products, I came across a small 1lb sack with the picture of an indigenous looking teenager.  I picked it up and quickly read the information provided, with out much thinking I brought it to the front counter for check out, the cashier redirected me to the gourd and bombilla (metal ¨straw¨) as it was the correct way to drink it. I took it home and ignorant and undirected as I was, I made what to me seemed as the logical way to drink the stuff…. By adding ½ a teaspoon of the herb in the gourd filling it with warm water and stirring with the bombilla which to my defense I had no Idea they made metal straws and the cashier girl also had no clue as to what it actually was.  Then to make things even more comical, I actually drank not only the infusion but the actual herb, chewing on the twigs, and here I was grinning and not certain how people in 3 whole countries could actually find this appealing.  Regardless I was trying to appreciate the moment and believe my self to be a sort of Ernest Hemingway, trying a lost drink of some sort as I knew at those times the drink was no where to be found in most of LA.  Well it wasn´t long before I found my self to be completely ridiculed by professionals as I encountered Argentineans and they where quick to be offended and at the same time completely submerged in a hysteria of laughter at how I prepared and drank their drink. So I was taken under their wings and showed how it´s really done, needless to say then I started to step in the right direction of a long journey to discover this amazing herb and it´s influence.

Later as I had the opportunity to travel to Argentina and no less the actual heart of at least this country yertabal center, in Posadas province of Misiones.  That is where I understood the real meaning of the herb, as it was clear to me the deep psychological and why not spiritual aspect it played in the mass collective of the whole country and adjacent ones.  It was quite comforting to know that I was not the only misfit, as I walked around LA fully equipped with my thermos, yerba, gourd and all traveling necessities, never the less the constant harassment by police officers and odd looks by passing bystanders deter me from limiting my drinking moments to in doors.  As I was surrounded to see legions of people starting from the cab driver to the old and young scattered in their front porches, parks, along the promenade parallel and fit to the contours of the magnificent Parana River.  Every where you looked you where sure to find some one drinking mate, and even more surprising willing to share some with you.  Then as I befriended some locals they where quick to introduce me to the pride of their nation Asado, Football, Women and Mate depending on the region you are in they are most likely to add this list but by the most part the these are common all across the geography of the nation.  Though passionate as they are about all of these sources of great price, none seemed to be to be part of their deeper than national pride as mate, for the simple fact that you could walk in to a heated debate about which football club has the most trophies and their merits to be called ¨the best¨, you can have arguments as to which women are more beautiful the dark haired ones or the blonds, and the Asados well lets just say that is not an every day occurrence, and given the immense physical strain of purchasing coal, building a fire, prepping the meat, cooking it, standing in the heat and so forth not to mention the cost it´s a weekend thing.  While you will ALWAYS find that in between these debates mate stand unassuming in the center of it all, there is even a whole silent language build around the cebado (preparation) temperature, water pouring, mixing of the herb, presentation, order of drinking, returning it to the one responsible for the preparation etc.  then comes the ingredients used when presented to you, to offer a quick example if the mate is offered with cinnamon it means ¨you occupy my thoughts¨, with coffee ¨they forgive you¨, with molasses ¨they are worried about your troubles¨, boiling hot ¨hate¨ so forth down the line.  To know more please click on the word mate language it will redirect you to a Spanish translation of the same.

Then comes all the do´s and don´t some depending on how traditional the person is taking on taboo features, if the mate is too hot where smoke is coming out you don´t blow, to blow on the bombilla is extremely rude, when finished drinking if passed to someone who was not responsible for the preparation the person who received it must kiss the butt of the gourd to avoid bad luck.  How drinking a rustic, to those un accustomed being foreigners unpleasant tasting herb developed such a vivid, complex yet elegant system so interwoven in the essence of whole nations can fall in to all sorts of speculation, even mystical proportions.   Even some of the propositions mention here could be considered by most actual Argentineans as classical, archaic or something done only on the small villages now a day.  Nobody can argue, that you won’t go to a friend’s house or friend of a friend with out being offered a mate, the proportion of the importance of the drink takes on a whole new dimension when you consider that a young boy is considered a man when he warms the water in the kettle and serves his own mate.  Most Argentinean, Uruguayan and Paraguayan males could probably pin point the exact time in their life they crossed this threshold.

Shunting a bit to the scientific cold facts tame is a unique natural cocktail of xhantines, a purine base organic compound.  Classification for most of our friends like caffeine, theobromine, and theophyllite these in mate are oddly found in such a way different to other plants containing caffeine.  Meaning that it doesn´t directly stimulate the central nervous system as we are well aware products like Guarana and Coffee do, rather it has an effect on muscle tissues.   Having a relaxing effect on smooth muscles tissue, hence it´s benefit as a mild to mildly strong laxative on people.  Contrasted with a stimulating effect on the myocardial (heart) muscles, other effects shown are diuretic, antioxidant, appetite suppressant.  It contains decent amounts of the minerals potassium, magnesium and manganese, while is safe to point out even while 3 whole nations of empirical data to back the many benefits of the herb.  Never the less there are always exceptions has I have found people who don´t like the drink, they can´t drink it because it can give extreme acidity, acid reflux, stomach aches, GI alterations.  Others tend to blame the drink for some long term occurrences yet it is safe to point out the culprit actually being our already known friend white refined sugar as it has been my experience that some people add way too much sugar in their mate coupled with ultra sweet pastries.  Given the already stated fact of myocardial stimulation people with heart problems should be careful upon drinking, though I have to say that every heart patient I know has not avoided or even considering eliminating it from their every day consumption.  Though always be careful and aware, given the high amount of xanthenes these also have the common tendency to convert to uric acid in the body so if you suffer or are prone to gout, kidney stones, and diabetes.  Again like I always state be self directed and come to your own personal conclusions beyond what the ¨experts¨ say.  If you have are following a lifestyle which brings you joy and feel you would like to try this drink feel free and try it.

Now as companies such as Guayaki, Kraus and others have made a sincere effort to bring the best of the craftsmanship and compromise of the yerbateros in the countries here mention and expand to every corner of the globe.  Comes in to question, the why? This whole story seemed very interesting and even inspiring, yet when you walk out your door most likely you won´t have the same scenario and you won´t feel compelled to drink day in and day out to what seems almost all day long as the saying goes in Argentina ¨estoy verde¨ meaning ¨I´m green¨ and no they are not converting to no superhero with powers as our childhood friend the hulk.  They simply mean they have had way to much mate, which usually translated to roughly about 1-2 Liters of water used for the preparation an a couple changes of the yerba to make room for a new round.  So with this in mind and knowing the custom is to have your express mate on the go, and assuming that about half of your friends are not mate aficionados you won´t commit to it like they do in south America.  So why even bother writing all this about it and it centralizes around the theme of the article ¨a warm gathering of friends¨ diluted it can translate to the Greek theory of Ataraxia. A state of robust tranquility , through a fulfilling life through surrounding one self with trustworthy and affectionate friends and most important being affectionate, trustworthy and virtuous your self.  We can most relate to a point in our life´s where we spend meaningful moment and a sense of coherence and belonging, usually it was in the presence of friends and or family and usually with food and drink in the middle or in some cases beginning, middle and end with maybe even dessert.  Analogous to the mate phenomenon could probably be the Moroccan mint tea, or the British tea maybe the Coffee in some regions yet the shared commonality is the reason rather than the event it self.  The drink serving as a bridge to connect two shores, in some cases it can even be a life raft meaning it serves as a common ground upon which to pay reverence to the miracles of communication, friendship, respect, love and even anger, dispute and indifference though maybe not the most desirable of sentiments yet they exist and must be acknowledge.   Mate in my personal experience is the embodiment of the power of nature over the power of man, and not in a subjugating form since nature never creates or destroys since it does not share the same ideologies as us but rather it transforms, this is what I mean by it´s power over ours.  The power to transform loneliness in to a party of two while sharing a mate is the essence of power, the power to transform a moment of silence in to a moment of reflection and contemplation is true alchemy of the soul.  So invite some friends over, over mate or over coffee what ever is your choice make it warm in spirit, cheers.

REFERENCES

• ^ Dellacassa, Cesio et al. Departamento de Farmacognosia, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Uruguay, Noviembre: 2007
• ^ http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/duke/chemical.pl?CAFFEINE
• ^ Vazquez, A, Moyna, P. Studies on mate drinking. J Ethnopharmacol 1986; 18:267-272
• ^ Does Yerba Mate Contain Caffeine or Mateine?
• ^ http://www.rain-tree.com/yerbamate.htm
• ^ Mundo Matero – Chemical Features
• ^ Martins F, Noso TM, Porto VB, Curiel A, Gambero A, Bastos DH, Ribeiro ML, Carvalho PD. Maté Tea Inhibits In Vitro Pancreatic Lipase Activity and Has Hypolipidemic Effect on High-fat Diet-induced Obese Mice: Obesity (Silver Spring). 2009 Jun 18.
• ^ Arçari DP, Bartchewsky W, Dos Santos TW, Oliveira KA, Funck A, Pedrazzoli J, de Souza MF, Saad MJ, Bastos DH, Gambero A, Carvalho PD, Ribeiro ML.Antiobesity Effects of yerba maté Extract (Ilex paraguariensis) in High-fat Diet-induced Obese Mice.Obesity (Silver Spring). 2009 May 14
• ^ de Morais EC, Stefanuto A, Klein GA, Boaventura BC, de Andrade F, Wazlawik E, Di Pietro PF, Maraschin M, da Silva EL.J Agric Food Chem. 2009 Sep 23;57(18):8316-24.
• ^ Görgen M, Turatti K, Medeiros AR, et al. (February 2005). “Aqueous

You might better know it by the name ¨Mesquite¨ the general common name given to basically any leguminous pod grown from any of the prosopis varieties which grow all along the Americas.  With an important presence in Southern United States, Mexico, Peru and Argentina.

Much is being done to propose the use of this generally considered ¨weed¨ given that it competes for moisture and water with range grasses for cattle and other herds. It has shown an extreme resiliency to counter actions against it´s complete removal from certain regions.  Primarily due to it´s long taproots which tend to extract water from deep water tables, while being able also to extract from top level water sources and it´s efficiency to switch between mechanisms of drawing water makes it extremely resistant to harsh desert conditions which it lives under.   The tree also can regenerate from a small piece of root left in the soil, making it´s complete removal quite dificult.

The importance of this food tree as a source of nutrition as been widely recogniced among desert dweling Native American groups such as the Pima, Tohono O´odham, Zuni, Raramuri, Mayo, Seri etc.  Further more the actual name by which we recognice this food, is a derivative of the original name given by the Aztecs ¨mizquitl¨ etymology of which I have still to find.  Yet understood by antropologists, to be offered possibly as a form of tax payment, maybe less so as a form of trade or offering by the northern nations living along the arid regions.  Presently communities living in the southern united states have started a revival of the consumption of the species prosopis glandulosa better known as honey mesquite.  Prosopis pubescens (screwbean), prosopis velutina (Velvet) prosopis juliflora

Wood, dye, medicine and other functions where given to the whole tree.  It has recenetly been used as a source of delicious mesquite honey.  The most important thing to note here is the difference it exists in the market, when hearing the word mesquite.  Not all mesquite a made equal and not all mesquite are actually mesquite.  The common most popular ¨mesquite¨ in the market is actual prosopis nigra, alba and pallida.  All of which come from South America the first two primarily out of Argentina and the later from Peru.  These where batized by the name ¨algarrobo¨, algarroba being the name for the actual fruit or pod which grew from the tree.  Sharing most of the same characteristics; desert to arid condition growing, leguminous, nitrogen fixer, source of food for native fauna and human colonies.  The name algarrobo came from the similarity of the fruit to the better known European Carob, what does all this mean.  I would like to shed some light on the facts, algarrobo though extremely similar is not mesquite.

Mezquitl in it self taste different given the ecological conditions though desert to desert like similar to the south american conditions has in it self a diference in it´s nutritional constitution.  The fact that one group finds it self enclosed in a circumference surrounding northern mexico to Utah in the United States, thousands of miles away from the Algarrobo varieties found in Peru, Chile and Argentina and the shallow to almost non existant prosopis varieties in Central America (Proposis Juliflora is found in central America but only due to recent introduction, please follow the link to validate this claim, it´s in spanish Juliflora) leads us to believe that a common ancestor might be shared among the genus, still it´s propagation and adaptation to different environments though arid, different never the less creates a slight to severe difference in the fruit of the tree it self.  Much like the Cacao (theobroma cacao L.) tree which has it made it´s way across the tropical Americas it´s morphology, bioquemistry, organoleptic proterties changes thus we can acknowledge the same for the prosopis varieties.  Evident in the shape (leaf, pod), taste, morphology (whole tree), taste, of the different varieties.

In short, the ideas is not to make out of South American Algarrobo varieties martyrs or indicate that they are inferior to the North American varieties.  Rather a clarification on the nomenclature being comercialized in the organic, whole food, functional food industries.

SUPERFOODS

Mother earth in her ever changing states, from pre historic times to the present has adapted to the myriad of fluctuations.  These fluctuations have severely influenced the flora and fauna, which exists in every corner of the planet.  Altering their properties and physiologies to a certain extent which are quite impressive.  This is the case for all of the known and unknown foods we supply our diets with.  A certain group of these foods have evolved to such an degree that they tend to metabolize with in their physical constitutions higher than average volume of nutrients (vitamins, minerals, proteins, enzymes, phytochemicals. Etc.) Given the unique circumstances which they might be exposed too, due to environment, location, topography, human manipulation/domestication etc.  These have been baptized by some as superfoods though no actual medical, nutritional references exist to accept the term.  Though there are actual references to citations in the Oxford English dictionary dating back to the 1915´s stating “a  food considered especially nutritious or otherwise beneficial to health and well-being,”

Though, it has become a household name do we really understand the meaning and is the meaning we are being offered mean anything at all?  Certainly we can make the case for extremely higher than normal, nutritional profiles and health benefits through a myriad of complex phytochemicals and other ¨mystical¨ power interactions with in the human body.  Under the basic common sense that their benefits are SUPERior to other foods, that makes sense as to why call a certain food a superfood.    But is that all there is to it?  Why does it always seem the most exotic looking and the place of origin, the more SUPER it makes it?  And what place do the non-superfoods have in our diet?  Should we just go for broke and spend our whole earning we would usually spend on ¨regular¨ food and spend them on superfoods, since we will get ¨all¨ the nutrients we will ever require? It all makes sense, at least superficially until you start thinking outside the lines the marketing of certain companies lead you to believe.

Some food for thought

As we stated earlier, the general idea of a super food is one packed with nutrients and that digests easy.  In earlier history such common products like vinegar, salt, wine, peanut butter, soy milk where consider along the lines of what we now think of a super foods.  Which I can recall today being marketed as the ¨fountain of youth¨, ¨youth from X place in the planet¨, ¨natures whole food multi vitamin¨etc.  Such products like Noni, Goji berries, Maca, Quinoa, and Açai just to name a few of the ever growing list of exotic super foods.

Contrary to popularized pretenses that they served as staples in the common diets of indigenous groups around the world, such claims are ill founded given that generally most of these cultures lived on a diversity of foods which we are just now beginning to uncover, historically some crops where lost due to being ¨un-holy¨ or of ¨lower nutritional value¨ as stated by European colonizers mainly in the Americas.  Also it is now known that most of these cultures lived on what by today standards would be quite unpleasant or unaccepted like dog, lizards, insects (including their eggs), worms, fungus, yeasts, plants, etc. how about that for a super food?  In extreme and seasonal times they would live almost exclusively out of certain foods given the circumstances.  Think most carried out no written records, most had no writing at all those that had hieroglyphs or other means of keeping records where wiped out along with any trace of what really happened in their societies including nutritious wise.  The depictions of what went on in the eating habits back then is just now being puzzled together, most of what we know are watered down versions. Also they commercialized them as being sacred to these cultures and thus known to be endowed with some sort of magical aura of hyper-nutrition.  Here the word sacred is loosely used as there is no vaguely similarity at least in the Native American languages for this word.  Rather a Christian European based introduction to depict the high reverence and respect the natives showed for their crops, their whole cultures depended on them yet given their high superstitious nature and lack of in-depth understanding of the chemical processes by today agronomical standards at work they tended to have a different relationship with these foods, almost spiritual.  Together with the mythological sometimes allegoric stories presented for some of these products, we have to understand most if not all of these culture had no actual written languages and believed in a energy which moved through all living things thus personalizing their foods no different than they personified all living and non living things around them, since in their Cosmo-vision there was no essential difference.

This is food for thought, so we are aware of the typical commercial tools being employed to make something more interesting and enticing.  Not intended to discredit any product, rather present a non bias opinion not on the actual products, rather on the superfood hype.

SO WHY BOTHER?

As stated earlier here the idea is not to slander any particular product or company.  We need to be clear and informed on the whole concept of superfoods, which tend to run loose and create a misconception of the up to date understood facts.  Then we can be creative and carry out personalized educated choices, out of our own free will not out of impulse to consume.

We need to rescue and expand that nature blesses us with it´s bounty and this bounty tends to adapt to certain extreme to abnormal natural conditions.  Creating a different nutritional profile, which tends to take shape in the most beautiful of ways to attract pollinators, protect it self from pests, environmental hazards, competition from other plants, etc. this in the form of pigmentations (colors) shapes, densities, etc. it is, it´s reason to be.  To give and propagate, we tend to pay attention to the main ones these being protein, minerals, vitamins, and recently lipids and quite over exaggerated antioxidants.  The late Dr. Christopher had a quote which I loved and he states:

¨we eat apples because of their vitamin A, and B and C but also we will find in time, their richness in vitamin W, Z and X the integrity of which is what provides the benefits¨

What this amazing man, tried to elegantly present to us is the fact that we are just barely scrapping the top of the surface in nutrition.  That the biological chemical constituents found in ordinary every day foods, have a potential to create and maintain health is incredible.    Though science is working at understanding metabolic pathways and how nutrients really work with in the body, the truth of the matter is the body is like the universe we will never understand it completely.  Further more most studies are carried out under isolated, reductive principles.  Taking in to consideration the vast and incrompehensible resiliency of the body, the way it disassembles and reassembles nutrients in innumerable ways is mind boggling.

Every product has it´s place and well worth appreciating it´s gift, being critical of the superfood hype is essential in order to be non-categorical regarding common more ordinary foods.  Implying there exists super foods, would also imply there are normal and sub-normal foods which is not the case.   Diversification of flora and fauna is critical for global well being; diversification in your diet is critical for your well being.  So introducing exotic foods is certainly not a bad thing,  a good thing; you could be helping a local economy, saving a potentially endangered species, saving a piece of a rainforest, a culture, way of living etc.  But don´t forget your local farmer at your famers market providing you with those wonderful products.

Certain European countries are actually enforcing laws, where companies are held accountable for naming a product ¨super¨ requiring them to provide insight as to what makes it super.  There is no denying the magnificent qualities of certain products, and here both companies and consumer are held responsible for their role in the commercializing and consumption of a product.

To sum things up, you will always have people to glorify and others to criticize a product.  So take both sides of the story in, don´t give in to the marketing propaganda on one side and don´t give in to the fear and reductive induce propaganda on the other.  Rather educate yourself, be sensitive to the product, try it out if you feel is worth it, give it some time and if you feel it works for you then great, incorporate it to complement  your life style and balanced nutrient intake,  If it doesn´t give thanks and move on.  Always listen to your body and what you require!   Most important erase the whole superfood concept out of your mind, when you think about the fact that plants are about 2-4% earth minerals and 96-98% condensed sunlight and gases you believe that all of the plant creation is super.

Visit this website for some good information on elemental nutritional brake down of some common fruits, above you will see links to vegetables, nuts and seeds to go and observe nutrient charts on some common and not so common ones. This is to give you a rough idea of your nutrient intake. Though I would make a very controversial point to not limit your nutrition to what the experts say, we have over the past 30 years shifted our focus from food to nutrients it seems now the actual food holds no value unless we get the biochemist, nutritionists, and other scientists to dissect the food we are about to eat.  Now it seems the antioxidants and fiber, protein and whole spectrum of macro and micro nutrients has the upper hand and it´s becoming quite confusing, not to mention expensive and unsustainable.  We but have to view the landscape: we have more food scientists, experts, gurus than ever before we have the most sophisticated instruments, the fastest way to send and receive information yet we have the ever soaring expenditure on health and our collective health on all areas (mental, spiritual, physical, emotional, connective) does not seem to optimistic on the short run.   So I propose to you, more so I dare you! to be in ¨the know¨, be ¨informed¨ but don´t exagerate to the point you are crunching numbers before your meals.  Refocus on food and the magnificence of nature and it´s gifts

http://www.healthalternatives2000.com/fruit-nutrition-chart.html

For reference on the bio and culinary diversity of the ancient cultures where most actual ¨superfoods¨ originate please visit the following links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_cuisine

http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodmaya.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_cuisine

http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/fruitscommon.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_Mesoamerica

http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11763&page=R5

http://crosstree.info/Documents/Veggies%20ID.pdf

http://www.crfg.org/pubs/frtfacts.html

http://crosstree.info/Documents/Fruit%20ID0.pdf

Bird food any one?

A fervent curious that I am, leads me to continuously search the internet and through word of mouth for herbs, nuts, seeds which are not well known or understood.  Constantly I´m drawn to other continents, to learn about locally consumed fruits, veggies and such which just by looking at them reminds of out of space movies, and walking through the markets depicted there.  However I discuss this with Darin on several occasions, and imagine how puzzled these people from other regions would look at our local varieties of natural foods.  Much more so at the actual foods the average westerner eats, they would question all together if we where natives of earth as a whole for eating dyed plastic as most of today´s food would seem.

Never the less, a simple common apple would seem just as exotic to an Amazonian as their local fruits would seem to us.  So, I fly off in my mind to distant lands just wondering of the vast untapped natural gifts available, and wonder at the diversity that this magnificent planet we live in provide us with.  That I sometimes forget to plant my feet on the earth and take advantage of what we already have, here and now.   Through discussing a potential mixture with Dr. Neugebauer, he brought to my attention Alpiste, I re called this name vaguely from my early years in Mexico.  Then as I typed the name on line, it came back with all this bird feed logos, and bird know how´s, then I realized the English name is canary seed Phalaris canariensis and it all made sense. Just the sheer idea of eating bird food, would seem out right preposterous maybe in an extreme circumstance, but I would not believe it would be on your shopping list any time soon.

I did remember, they would sell it toasted as a street snack in Mexico, and that in certain regions they would make atole a rich thick beverage dating back to pre-Hispanic times usually made from corn.  As well as being used as confection for sweets, and to make other foods, so the idea was not as unfounded and coming from Dr. Neugebauer It definitely was a serious proposal.  So I did my research and came up with some extremely interesting information, which I would like to share.

Canary seed is a grass native to the Mediterranean regions of Europe.  Where in ancient and not too ancient times, flour was milled and made in to bread.   Presently I have discovered that still in some parts of North Africa, Italy and the Canary Islands it is still a very much part of their diets as sunflower seeds might be to ours.  What we need to consider here before I proceed any further is that in the relation of the information being shared, we need to consider many factors before we run to our local bird store and purchase this seed.

Primarily I have started using the seed my self for over a month, no side effects have occurred so I can testify that is not harmful.  There is a secondary issue and that is the quality and origin of the seed in of the words making sure it´s organic.  Then comes the facts, since like with any other product out there, some one or some people take advantage of the hype and over exaggerate with not even the slightest trace of validity behind their claims.  Once I went through a hand full of web sited mainly out of Spain, glorifying canary seed as the next reincarnation of some deity.  I came upon a good website in Spanish which actually broke down the pseudo-science, and it started making more sense.

First Canary seed is believed to help in reducing weight, cholesterol, hypertension, triglycerides, balance blood sugar and help detoxify liver, kidneys and gall bladder.  Sounds good right? Well let´s take it a step at a time, first let´s look at the nutritional profile

It has been analyzed to contain 61.0% starch, 18.7% protein compared to 15.0% in wheat, and the proportions of prolamin and glutelin in the protein averaged 77.7%, exceeding that in the control wheat protein of 73.5%. Canary seed proteins were more deficient in lysine and threonine than wheat proteins but were very rich in cystine, tryptophan, and phenylalanine. For a cereal, canary seed groats were very high in crude fat, 8.7%, and purified total lipid, 11.0%, containing 55% linoleic, 29% oleic, 11% palmitic, and 2.5% linolenic acid, fibers ranged in the 8-12%. The composition of small granule starch and gluten-like proteins, rich in tryptophan, suggests unique functional and nutritional properties for canary seed. With high amounts of Iron 68mg/kg, phosphorus .55%, copper 7mg/kg and sodium 185mg/kg, Zinc 48mg/kg

Nutritionally is no powerhouse, we can admit that, never the less I would like to rescue the little if any importance we have given to Canary seed.  To find a larger range of foods we can consume if we choose to increase the digestive enzyme functions, given that eating a small diversity of foods tends to wear the enzymes required to digest and process these foods.  Take in to account the digestive system contains a range of any where from a couple hundred to probably a couple thousands enzymes.  So the greater the diversity, the best chance at being less nutritionally depleted given the millions of people consuming Canary seed in a wide diversity of forms, we can safely assume you won´t get ill from trying it.

Contrary to the many claims and promises of lowering your weight, blood pressure etc.  I NEVER, recommend diving in to anything with our first understanding what it is you are trying to do and understanding the component you are attempting to add to your diet (supplementation).  Second if your situation is chronic and you are taking medication consult with a competent nutritionist or MD. Also never depend on solely one product no matter how outrageous the claims, also incorporate in to your LIFE STYLE routine of which diet is but one component.

Now if you are some what curious of what this whole Canary seed is all about, I recommend the following.  First of all the ways the seed is consumed is always semi to completely process.  The most common forms of consuming and reaping the nutritional benefits of the seed is to Soak and sprout it, you can soak the seed 12-24 hours in the fridge other wise it starts fermenting a good thing but not what we are looking fore here.   Drain the water at least 1 time, then you have somewhat of a wheat berry like seeds ready to eat they become soft but watch out for the seed hull which tends to get stuck in your teeth.  I tend to soak then mix it with cinnamon, honey, sunflower seeds, and cashew nuts and then eat it like a muesli type.  Other forms to consume it is to sprout it and eat in a salad, the most famous form is to obtain an ¨enzyme milk¨ as is called in Spain, simply made out of the soaked seed and then blended with water or another liquid of choice  and strained.  You can sweeten with Yacon syrup, Agave, Honey or what ever suits you better, don´t like soy milk, almond milk too expensive? Try canary seed milk…..Now the mayor claims surround the idea that, the benefits of Canary seeds are found in the extremely rich enzyme diversity found in the seed.  This is believed to regenerate the pancreas, primarily due to assisting in taking part of the work load of it´s ¨shoulders¨, also this enzyme diversity are said to detoxify liver, gall bladder and kidneys and the list goes on.

As much, as I would love to believe all this information there is just so little actual validation and even less scientific information to back up all these claims. When it sounds too good to be true, it usually….. Rather I present the seed to my belief to be very similar to flax seed (though much lower in the omega-3 factor), eventually found to provide many benefits when used in a conscious form.  I do believe we can harness the nutritional benefits, from which the body in it´s wisdom will put to good use in creating and supporting health.  In a time when there is no lack of ¨food¨ we see mal-nutrition type symptoms, when food industries attempt to control our food supply, reducing the diversity to the minimum most profitable crops for them.  And where exotic diversity driven foods, tend to get expensive, it makes sense to me to complement your diet with a bit of bird food.  Maybe well grow wings, and that would not be a bad thing.

I close this article with a quote from Dr. Bernd Neugebauer

¨We tend to complicate our diets, and we forget to observe the diets of the worlds humblest populations, simple, diverse, non-processed, nutritious.  It´s the best¨

References

http://www.cropweek.com/presentations/2009/2009-jan12-canaryseed-patterson.pdf

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf970100x

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/anim3752?opendocument