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Noni -- A Gift from Paradise by John Fisher

Revered by French Polynesians as a gift from God for its healing benefits, morinda citrifolia or noni has been used for over 2000 years. Historically it was known as the queen of all the canoe plants--sacred plants that Polynesians were required to take when settling a new island.

Some canoe plants were used for clothing, some for shelter. Noni was used to treat health problems both minor and major. Its resilient leaves were used to wrap food during cooking, its dyes for clothing and its wood for strength and beauty.

In the past two years noni has become available commercially in North America. Noni can be obtained in many different forms such as extracts, dehydrated powder, and fruit juice. Just recently a process has been developed to extract precious noni oil from the seeds of the noni.

In French Polynesia, it is the fruit juice that was traditionally used. Noni fruit was picked green, allowed to ripen, and the juice extracted by a drip method after the skins were slit. A strong distinctively pungent odor is present when the fruit is fully ripe. In fact in Noni Valley the healthiest pigs were allowed to roam free where no one wanted to live because of the smell! In Hawaii, all noni trees were cut down because they were thought of as useless and smelly.

Now, thanks to the efforts of food scientists, people can enjoy noni in a form that is palatable and even pleasant and pure.

Since Tahitians were the foremost colonizers of the South Pacific. Evidence suggests it was they who settled the Hawaiian Islands to the north bringing with them the precious seeds there and to other isles of the South Pacific.

The morinda citrifolia is known by a different name in nearly every tropical climate. In Raratonga and Tahiti is it known as nono. In Fiji it is known as kura; in Guam, lada; in India, the Indian mulberry; in Malaysia, the mengkudo; in Southeast Asia, nhau; grand morinda in Vietnam; bumbo in Africa; cheesefruit in Australia; and Polynesian bush fruit or painkiller tree in the Caribbean -- just to name a few. In French Polynesia it grows in great abundance in the pristine coral and volcanic soils. There it is called noni.

Often mixed with other plants such as aloe and comfrey in preparations, the medicine healers also accompanied the administration of the sacred noni with traditional rituals and prayers. In many separate countries manuscripts have been handed down from generation to generation in meticulous detail outlining noni's usage and benefits.

French Polynesians of all ages were given noni to treat the following:

1. Bone and joint complaints like sprains, broken bones and arthritis
2. Chest problems such as cough, respiratory afflictions, asthma, tuberculosis.
3. Digestive system problems such as intestinal parasites, indigestion, diarrhea, stomach ulcers.
4. Skin problems such as abscesses, abrasions, wounds, infections, boils
5. Mouth and throat infections like a toothache, sore throat with a cough, gingivitis, thrush, inflamed, sore gums.
6. Internal disorders such as elevated blood pressure, blood sugar problems, kidney and bladder problems, headache, tumors and malignancies.
7. Female problems that included pregnancy and childbirth, menstrual cramps, regulation of menstral flow.

For example, a grandmother raising her grandchildren has received relief from the Lupis she has had to live with the last 20 years. Her asthma is greatly diminished and her fibromialigia is for the most part not a problem anymore.

A man was given last rights by the family priest on June 1. His wife began giving him noni on June 2. In a few days he was able to eat. Two weeks later he was still alive, improving and talking about attending a family reunion in July. He did attend the reunion. The week of October 23 he was on the roof putting up his Christmas lights. On December 12 his doctor informed him that his tests showed he was in remission.

Another man has reduced his blood pressure and his medication.

A mother with a bipolar disorder began taking noni several months ago and with her doctor's help slowly eliminated three out of four medications and is taking a third amount of that medication. She is sleeping regularly after she had been told a year earlier that she would never have normal sleep patterns again. She had energy and vitality this winter during the months she used to find dark and depressing.

Two teens in high school were able to finish a school project that took them all night to complete. They attended all their classes the next day and remained alert with stamina until a normal bedtime about 10:30 p.m. that evening.

One might ask why is it that we are just finding out about morinda citrifolia? It was known to South Pacific island medics during World War II, who successfully used the fruit and its juice. When western medicine was not available, they turned to the traditional remedies found in noni especially after the U.S. government placed noni on the G.R.A.S. (generally regarded as safe) list. Oranges, tomatoes, and grape juice, etc. are also found on this list.

While working for Dole Pineapple Company in Hawaii, Dr. Ralph Heinicke pioneered the research discovering the properties of the noni fruit and its similarities to pineapple. He found that proxeronine and proxeronase are abundant in the noni fruit. They combine in the large intestine to form xeronine. Xeronine is an alkaloid, which the body produces to activate enzymes so they can function properly. The absence of xeronine can cause many kinds of illnesses.

"Unfortunately, as we age our ability to produce xeronine diminishes, and many of our environmental poisons block the synthesis of the alkaloid as well. Noni, which is very high in proxeronine, can make up the difference," according to Heinicke.

In next issue: More research discoveries using noni throughout the world.

More information about Noni is available on the Internet at <http://www.livingbetter.org/noni.htm>.  Send e-mail to <noni4u@ocii.com> or phone 1-800-569-0936.