Tag Archives: Health & Fitness
A Brilliant Discovery by an Obscure Mexican Scientist
By Brooke Gazer
At the tender age of 26, a young chemical engineering student from Nayarit made an astonishing discovery while working on his doctoral thesis. This discovery placed the name of Luis Ernesto Miramontes Cárdenas into the American Inventors Hall of Fame, alongside Louis Pasteur, Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers, and Alexander Graham Bell. A group of Nobel laureates named his breakthrough discovery as one of the most important inventions of the last 2,000 years. However, unlike other important inventors who have become household names, his has drifted into obscurity. Continue reading A Brilliant Discovery by an Obscure Mexican Scientist
Oh Papaya!
By Julie Etra
Papaya (Carica papaya) is native to southern Mexico and Central America and has become naturalized throughout the Caribbean Islands, Florida and several countries in Africa. It is also cultivated in India, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, and the U.S. state of Hawaii. The Maradol variety of papaya was developed in Cuba between 1938 and 1956 by self-taught breeder Adolfo Rodríguez Rivera and his wife María Luisa Nodal Ochoa. The name of the cultivar resulted from joining parts of the names of its creators—“Mar,” from María, and “adol,” from Adolfo. The Maradol is grown in many states in Mexico, including Baja California, Campeche, Chiapas, Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, Nayarit, Michoacán, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, and throughout the Yucatán. Continue reading Oh Papaya!
The Ten Top Causes of Death in Mexico
By Marcia Chaiken and Jan Chaiken
Mexico is known throughout the world for fiestas. And fiestas are times for eating wonderful food, lots and lots of high-calorie food washed down by beer or supersized glasses of colas and other refrescos. Even without a fiesta, typical comida corridas (lunch on the run) consist of three courses including dessert and a large pitcher of delicious flavored sugary water. So it should be of little surprise that the number one cause of death in Mexico is diabetes. Among 172 nations included in the World Life Expectancy data, Mexico ranks ninth in deaths from diabetes; in comparison the U.S. ranks 122nd and Canada 140th. Continue reading The Ten Top Causes of Death in Mexico
Rattlesnakes and Scorpions
By Kary Vannice
While most think rattlesnakes and scorpions bring only pain and death, it might surprise you to know that their deadly venom is being touted for its curative and potentially life-saving properties. Continue reading Rattlesnakes and Scorpions
Miracle Moringa
By Julie Etra
Moringa is a tree originally from India or Asia and is the only genus in the family Moringaceae, all of which are trees that occur in tropical and subtropical climates. There are 13 species in the genus, but the most common and widely cultivated species is Moringa olifera, which is native to the foothills of the Himalayas in Northwestern India. It is being cultivated in Santa Maria Huatulco and is now locally available as a nutrient supplement, and is well adapted to the local climate. You can find capsules at Bioamigables next to Photo Conejos. Or venture out to the neighborhood of Erradura, on the outskirts of Santa Maria Huatulco, where you can buy products directly from the rancho. Continue reading Miracle Moringa
Maria Sabina and Magic Mushrooms
By Brooke Gazer
María Sabina Magdalena García was a Mazateca “curandera” (native shaman) who became an icon of “pop culture” in the late 1960’s. From childhood she was raised to heal the sick through a ceremony called the velada. This involved consuming mushrooms in order to open the gates of the mind, purify the soul and commune with the sacred. The eminent ethno-mycologist Gordon Wasson traveled to a remote region of Oaxaca in 1955 to learn about the mushrooms and to participate in the velada ceremonies. In May1957, Life magazine published his article “Seeking The Magic Mushroom”. Ultimately this innocent piece of journalism altered María Sabina’s life and the culture of the local Mexican people. Continue reading Maria Sabina and Magic Mushrooms
Pedal South
By Kary Vannice
Recently, two seemingly unrelated, and perhaps insignificant, events in my life came together to teach me a valuable and inspirational lesson.
Event One – I read excerpts from the Roman philosopher Seneca’s 2,000-year-old discourse On the Shortness of Life.
Event Two – I meet 4 men biking from Alaska to Argentina and interviewed them for The Eye.
After nearly 9 months of biking, the team from Pedal South arrived in Huatulco, admittedly, a little behind schedule; four young men of ambition, determination and vision, 3 American and 1 Mexican. Two filmmakers, one photographer and one writer. Continue reading Pedal South
Healing Dance
By Kary Vannice
Have you ever noticed how you feel when you dance? Happy…
light…free? You feel less burdened by the stresses of life, it puts a smile on your face, and the whole world seems- better somehow.
It’s that feeling we all experience, innately, when we move rhythmically (or even un-rhythmically) on which the entire foundation of dance therapy is based. Dance is being shown to heal both physical and emotional illness in dramatic ways. Continue reading Healing Dance
Living Green in an Eco Paradise
By Kary Vannice
What’s new in Huatulco? A movement.
A movement toward a cleaner, healthier life for Huautlco, its residents and the planet.
Thirty years ago, Huatulco was founded with a vision toward a better way to bring tourism to Mexico. Designed to be a “green resort” it was meant to give visitors the feel of connecting with nature and relaxing in the Pacific. A clear juxtaposition to the likes of Cancun, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas. A place to enjoy, not only the beach, but also the surrounding beauty of the Sierra Madre mountains and national park. Continue reading Living Green in an Eco Paradise
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