In this series of featured articles living food nutrition expert Mark Ament will cover several aspects of the raw vegan food lifestyle on Bali, from raw superfoods to gourmet living food cuisine available on the island.
In the last article of this series we had a look at some of the gourmet treats that can be made with 100% raw vegetarian ingredients. Dishes like raw “burgers and fries,” “pizza,” “pasta” and “apple pie” are all part of the raw lifestyle – especially at the beginning.
Over time, what happens for many who eat a high percentage of raw foods is that complicated gourmet food loses much of its importance. The daily diet becomes simple and an interest in eating foods that contain high concentrations of nutrients develops.
This is where “superfoods” come in.
What Is A Superfood?
In broad terms, a superfood is considered to be one that contains a high level of phytonutrients when compared to other foods. Phytonutrients are organic components of plants that are thought to promote health. A few that you might have heard of are beta-carotene, flavonoids and lignans.
Some common superfoods include blueberries, flax seeds, bee pollen, green tea and spirulina. Most of these are available as imports in Bali. However there are several superfoods that grow right here in Bali. Here are a few.
4 Balinese Superfoods – And What They Can Do For You
Young Coconuts Flesh and Water
The water and flesh from young coconuts is one of the healthiest things we can eat. Coconuts contain the full range of B vitamins, with the exception of B6 and B12. B vitamins are essential for providing energy as they break carbohydrates and protein down. They also support nervous system function and, interestingly, the muscle tone of the stomach.
Young coconut water is also high minerals, particularly calcium (for bones), magnesium (for the heart) and potassium (for muscles). It is also very high in electrolytes – much higher than most sports drinks. This makes it a great choice for athletes and children who exercise a lot.
Finally, the flesh of an average young coconut provides 3 grams of dietary fiber, which helps proper digestion and elimination.
One interesting fact about young coconut water is that it is sterile and so close to the structure of human blood that it can be transfused directly.
Cold Pressed Coconut Oil
Eating and using oil pressed from mature coconut flesh has it’s own set of benefits, as documented extensively in Dr. Bruce Fife’s book, “The Coconut Oil Miracle.” Working with coconut oil in his practice for over 20 years, Dr. Fife found that coconut oil:
• stimulates the thyroid, and increases the metabolism, which can lead to weight loss
• is antimicrobial and antiseptic – good for mosquito bites and sunburns
• contains 40% lauric acid, which has the greatest anti-viral activity of any fatty acid. Lauric acid is so disease fighting that it is present in breast milk.
• lowers cholesterol to normal levels by promoting its conversion into pregnenolone
• lowers the rate at which aged, wrinkled skin develops
To use coconut oil either add 1-2 tablespoons to your food daily or place on your skin or hair as a moisturizer. Note: if you cook with oil, I recommend that you use only coconut oil, since it’s the most stable of all oils at high temperature.
Most coconut oil on Bali is produced using heat, which breaks down the nutritional properties of the oil. You can find sources of cold pressed coconut oil on the website listed at the bottom of this article.
Fresh Noni Fruit Or Juice
Noni is a green fruit the size of a large avocado the grows throughout the tropics. It has a long history as a traditional medicine throughout Asia and Polynesia, being used to treat everything from fever, to asthma, to infections.
Nutritionally Noni is high in vitamin C, niacin (vitamin B3), iron and potassium. 20 phytonutrients have been identified in Noni, including ones that act as antiseptics, bactericides, fungicides, laxatives, antioxidants, anesthetics, candidacide, cathartics, analgesics, and detoxicants. This helps explain why drinking the fruit juice can have positive effects on such a wide variety of ailments.
Over the past 20 years, Noni has gained popularity in the west as a curative juice supplement. Though serious research has yet to be done, some preliminary reports on the Pubmed database and anecdotal evidence suggest that fresh noni juice may be helpful in preventing cancer and tumors, lowering blood pressure, fighting infections and helping to heal asthma.
Fresh noni is best eaten as a juice and is most palatable when blended with a sweeter fruit. You can find noni in Bali at many markets.
One note of interest: in Java the bark of the tree is used to create a dark purple dye for batik.
Clove
While technically a spice and not a food, clove deserves mention as a Balinese superfood.
Cloves are the dried flower buds of evergreen clove tree that grows in tropical climates. And they have powerful medicinal properties that have been known for centuries. Here are a few of them:
Cloves are stimulating and have antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and antiseptic properties. This makes them ideal as a daily immune boosting supplement.
Cloves are extremely antiparasitic and can help in the elimination of various intestinal parasites.
Cloves are a natural anesthetic (due to eugenol oil) which is why they were often used for dental procedures in centuries past and are still used in some cultures to remedy toothache.
Cloves have traditionally been used to heal ailments of the digestive system and can actually help promote good digestion as well as metabolism.
Cloves act as a natural insect repellent.
To use cloves medicinally, you can regularly chew on them, add clove powder to your food or take capsules of ground clove powder. If you do use clove powder, freshly ground is the most potent. You can easily grind our own with a mortar and pestle or an electric coffer grinder.
Fresh clove is easy to find in most markets. I get mine at the organic market in Ubud on Saturdays.
In the next article we’ll have a look at 5 more foods that grow in Bali, their benefits and where you can get them. Until then, happy eating!!
Mark Ament is an expert on living food nutrition and internal cleansing. He is the author of three books on the subject. Contact Mark on mark@healingvibes.com. To find out what’s happening in the raw food world on Bali visit www.rawfoodbali.com
