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notjustbacon · 7 years

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Updates From España (part uno)

Hola Amigos!!

Our time in Spain has literally flown by. Alex and I have enjoyed some lovely sun (with little humidity) and lots of delicious foods and cold bevies. We've taken several rounds of photos and even some videos, but have been slow to edit and post our work because we're savoring the sights and gifts of our travels - can you blame us?! I figured it was about time to give you some updates of our first month in Spain. The next update will come after hiking over 240 kilometers through Camino de Portuguese (the Coastal Way).

Don't worry we'll keep you aprised of all our adventures!!

A day in Zaragoza

Our day began with a train from France and an hour walk to our hotel. It was hot, sticky, and exhausting. Unfortunately, I managed to lose my humor about halfway to the hotel, Nothing a cold shower couldn't fix. The next few hours were spent with cameras in tow and walking around town. We were ecstatic to see the finishing glimpses of a gorgeous wedding, cathedrals, the town square and a fabulous photo exhibit. That evening we ordered agua sin gas to go with our tapas for dinner, and if looks could kill... I am fairly certain the bar keep thought we were a little off in not ordering any cervezas. We didn't care, we enjoyed our feast of 5 plates and went to bed early for our next travel day to Benasque.

Marvels in Benasque

We were so sad to have to leave our super comfy and lush bed from the fancy hotel but were also super thankful for such a restful nights sleep. Again we made the one hour trek back to the station but broke it up by stopping for coffees and breakfast pastries. Our meal was perfect and came in substantial portions! Soon after we arrived at the station and hopped on the bus to Benasque. The ride became increasingly more thrilling as the road grew slimmer and leaned toward a steep ravine on the left side. At one point Alex and I ditched our assigned seats for two open window seats on the left - our mouths hung open and our noses pressed the glass windows as we stared down in wonder. There were more than a few times we held our breath as thoughts of our bus plummeting to the river below seemed imminent. It was not really any different than the thrill one seeks when locked into an excellent roller coaster. Before we knew it we had arrived. We were deep in the mountains of the Pyrenees!

The next day we set out for a 12k hike that traversed up and through two other towns before looping back into Benasque. The hike reminded me of our home in the Pacific Northwest, it was the first time in months since we were actively trekking in less than 70° weather, plus there were trees and ferns and fields around most of our hike. Things that were unlike home include the wild horses running alongside traffic and the towns adorned with cobblestone and centuries of history.

Adventures in Valencia

Unfortunately, I had picked up a cold somewhere in my journey just in time for the event I had been looking forward to for the past year or so. The day before the La Tomatina, I made it my only goal to walk to the hotel, get food, and go to sleep. I was going to enjoy this event no matter what!

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The next morning my high spirits pulled me through. We woke up at 5:30 AM, got into our matching outfits, took a picture, got my Go Pro ready, ate breakfast and boarded the bus to Buñol!

We followed our tour bus leader out to Tomato Road and started our march down to the square. The streets were lined with food and drink vendors, people selling flip flops and hats and goggles on towels, as well as the vital port-a-potties. We continued down to the center of town past at least 5 check points: police officers, and security who wanted to make sure there were no selfie sticks or bottle caps on our person... because apparently these can be considered dangerous items when thrown... but cameras and phones were welcome? We discarded our water bottle caps and tucked away Alex's waterproof phone carrier under his shirt. It wasn't until we got home that we discovered the case was not so waterproof.

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What I immediately noticed when we neared the official entrance was that all the buildings were covered in various tarps and that the street seemed so clean. As people flooded in and manned their spots in the square we all became one community... Locals had a height advantage (given their terraces overlook the street) and started to drown us with buckets of water, we thought it was chilly and funny all at the same time. It wasn't long before participants wanted in on the fun and began dousing others with their sangria and cervezas... even with their coveted water bottles. At first, this seemed a little naughty, but before long I figured we were all going to be part of the same jar of tomato paste, so what was the harm? At 9 am the ham pole was hoisted up and nailed into place... This is when things went from interesting to messy to graphically dangerous.

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Like a natural disaster unfolding in front of me, I could not keep my tempting eyes away from the hundreds of attempts these people sought after. If they only worked together in a planned and orderly human pyramid way, I'm sure they would have won the ham. Instead, they pursued with a sloppy, greedy and impatient persistence where people toppled over and down any team efforts that were coming together. Even after 3 hours of trying, no one got the ham. There were still crowd favorites (amorously cheered on) followed by the villains (that were booed as their glory seeking moments trampled over any real progress that the rest made) going for the ham as the day moved forward.

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I was so invigorated by this social phenomenon that my recordings only ran up until minutes before the actual fight. It was then that my Go Pro proclaimed, "nonsufficient memory". Bummed feelings were pushed aside for the food fight of my life. Alex and I took our positions, nodded to our neighbors and cheered on the 6 overloaded dump trucks of tomatoes as they rolled toward us (see our last video called "Tomatina Start").

At times we were pelted, then covered with crushed raw juices and pulp. Our shoes became squishy. Our eyes burned. Our faces stretched with mile wide smiles and we enjoyed the fight. I mostly enjoyed taking revenge on the people inside the dump trucks, who had earlier pelted me with not even ripe white potato-like tomatoes. I learned to wait for the trucks to mostly pass before starting on my tomato barrage.

For that hour, thousands upon thousands of us were transformed back into mostly fun loving children. After the gun sounded the end of the fight people still continued. Some people laid in the red river of goo to pose for their much-revered selfies. Hoards of people waded through mush, taking any escape possible both calmly and with jovial spirits. As we exited we were hammered with water from fire hoses, garden hoses, sink spray hoses and buckets of less than tepid water. The brisk water was shocking and felt like a needed punishment towards renewal. Some people stood in long lines to be meticulously sprayed down while others stood to get the mercy of local garden hoses. It was after leaving this area that my husband discovered his phone was marinading in a quarter cup of water and also then that we realized that the case was not waterproof. So unfortunately, we the phone died and we did not get any before or after pictures... But I do have this video from before the fight called "Tomatina Get Ready".

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Everyone was laughing... probably everyone who had given up on the ham and chose a safe and fun fight. The 30-minute walk down to the square turned into a 45-minute walk back, partially because it was up hill, but mostly because the exhaustion took over. Alex and I ditched our 9€ shoes and walked barefoot up the gravel road to our bus, where we stripped away the majority of the remaining and protruding tomatoes. We slipped into our dry clothes and appeared in front of our bus driver for inspection. Luckily we passed, we were granted admission on board because we didn't drip tomatoes and we didn't appear to be in jeopardy of leaving any behind. This was great because it took the rest of my efforts to climb up the stairs and find a couple adjoined seats before I completely sunk into the bus and passed out. We were the first bus of the entire festival to leave the parking lot - yay, go us! This meant we got to the hotel faster and had a quick 5 minutes of hot water before all the hot water was gone. I didn't care, I stood in the shower watching streams of orange leave my scalp and skin in the ice cold shower for a good 15 minutes. I then siestaed like I never had before.

We skipped the after party because we are old fuddy duddy 30-year-olds who prefer rest and good food to the overcooked food and expensive bar drinks. Who knows if I had felt 100% if I would have gone. I did not regret that choice then and I didn't regret it the next day, even when I heard a bro say, "Dude! It was like a huge mansion party - with 6 bars!!" I was like,"Nah man. I got me some exceptional coconut macaroons, sushi, and Jon Oliver last night. You missed out." Okay, I didn't actually say this to him and he never told me about the party... I just overheard him sharing the experience with his new found friend right before they fist bumped and wished each other safe travels.

¡Adiós mi amigo!

I'm ending this here because it seems like the exact thing I want from you my friend: A fist bump and well wishes. In return, I thank you for your love and support and wish you well with your own adventures. More soon.

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dietpillswatchdog · 8 years

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Nature’s Pearl Investigation

Every so often, diet and health-conscious consumers will stumble across a product or ingredient that comes with some truly stunning promises. Instead of the usual claims attached to natural herbs or fruit (such as having antioxidant properties or being a good source of vitamins and minerals), some manufacturers have started to make far bolder claims. From these, perhaps the most eye-catching of all is the promise that was once made by Nature’s Pearl about Muscadine Grape: that their product can actually cure cancer.

Below, we take a look at Nature’s Pearl as a company, and give you the inside scoop as to whether muscadine grape extracts are as miraculous as the manufacturers have claimed.

What is Nature’s Pearl?

Nature’s Pearl was founded in 2005 by Jerry Smith, the founder and CEO of a bottled water company called Le Bleu. Already a successful businessman, Smith has ensured that Nature’s Pearl continues to have the financial muscle to compete in a crowded market by investing in schemes that have generated huge interest in the company.

Every product produced and marketed by Nature’s Pearl is connected in some way with Muscadine Grapes, a larger variant of the grapes you typically find in supermarkets and grocery shops. The company sells an oddly vast range of products containing this key ingredient, from the usual seed extracts and fruit juices, to stranger incarnations such as muscadine grape toothpaste.

Muscadine Grape: The Scientific Evidence

The reason for the company’s enthusiasm for muscadine grapes in particular (beyond the fact that they clearly have access to a profitable source of them) is that muscadine grapes have repeatedly been linked to some pretty impressive health benefits.

Numerous scientific studies have looked into the benefits of consuming muscadine grapes and the results have often been interesting. In a journal called Food and Function, researchers found that oil produced from muscadine grape seeds was particularly high in unsaturated fatty acids, and that the extract contained an unsaturated form of vitamin E. The research team theorised that these compounds could help to reduce fat formation in those who are already obese.

Various other studies have also shown that the high vitamin C content, high fibre content and high antioxidant content of muscadine grapes also help consumers to enjoy a range of minor health benefits. Dieters and health-conscious buyers will probably find a lot to enjoy about the grapes as a general health food.

More recently, other researchers have also begun opening up investigations as to whether these encouraging signs could help in the fight against fatal diseases. This is perhaps due to the repeated discovery that muscadine grapes have been found to contain ellagic acid, which has separately been linked with the inhibition of cancerous cells.

Here is where Nature’s Pearl steps in. Since 2009, the company has openly been funding research into some of the more dramatic effects of taking muscadine grapes. The company has made some huge financial donations to one particular research institution (Wake Forest University and the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Centre located on the University’s campus). The university have since conducted a number of studies into the health benefits of muscadine grapes. Although these studies make specific links with the grapes and with reducing cancer and cardiovascular problems, we and many others believe that these payments (sometimes reaching up to 20 million dollars) may be influencing the integrity of the results.

In an attempt to find a definitive link with muscadine grapes and the reduction of heart disease, a double blind study was conducted by Dr David Herrington (of Wake Forest University) in 2010 on people with a higher risk of cardiovascular complications. The study unfortunately did not find clear proof that the grapes could reduce cardiovascular disease, although they did find that it could widen a particular artery when resting.

Wake Forest University’s Gallagher and Tallant have also conducted a number of studies that suggest that Muscadine grapes inhibit the growth of human cancer cells (by up to 40–50%), helping to slow the spread of a number of cancers, including lung, colon, breast and more.

If all this is so impressive, then why have muscadine grapes not received wider attention? Because ultimately these studies are made worthless due to the fact that they were commissioned and paid for by a private company looking to make money based on the results.

Trouble With the FDA

With this in mind, the FDA decided to come down hard on Nature’s Pearl and their marketing practices in 2012. In a warning letter addressed and sent to the CEO, the FDA stated that Nature’s Pearl was illegally making false claims as to the medicinal properties of Muscadine grapes without seeking FDA approval. The company was instructed to change their advertising copy immediately or face further charges.

As of 2016, it is clear that this still hasn’t entirely happened. As Nature’s Pearl is largely marketed by an army of independent distributors running blogs and YouTube channels, dramatic health claims are still regularly made. One distributor even went as far as to acknowledge that he was not permitted to make specific health claims about Nature’s Pearl products, before spending the rest of his video failing to follow his own advice! The company does not sell medicines to treat actual diseases, and yet many of their distributors keep alluding to this. The most frustrating part of this is that the information about these studies quite likely came from the parent company, when training their new distributors.

The Multi-Level Marketing Connection

These independent distributors are part of a specific strategy employed by Nature’s Pearl and its current parent company, Youngevity. As multi-level marketing companies, these groups encourage ordinary members of the public to register as ‘distributors’, promising that they will make huge sums per week selling products on behalf of the company. As has been discussed numerous times on this site, this arrangement is often regarded as a scam due to its similarity to basic ‘pyramid schemes’; almost all distributors fail to make back the money they spend on stock and often devote significant portions of their lives to selling products to their friends and family.

The parent company, Youngevity, purchased Nature’s Pearl in 2016, and has suffered from controversy for most of its existence. The company has also been accused of shilling worthless products, before trying to back up their credentials with phoney scientific studies (their research team of choice can be found in Clemson University).

Youngevity has also been accused of overpricing their products, making provably false claims (including that their vitamin supplements were more easily ‘absorbed’ than competitors), and exploiting their distributors. The CEO of Youngevity, a veterinarian called Dr Joel Wallach, has also attracted controversy in the past by making bogus and bizarre claims that all Americans are seriously mineral deficient, which was said to be a leading cause of death in general. The solution, of course, was his own brand of mineral water.

The Nature’s Pearl Product Range

It is hard to find information on the Nature’s Pearl product range, as they can only be purchased through the Youngevity system. The product section on the website can only be accessed via a Youngevity distributor, and even when accessed, Nature’s Pearl does not offer important information on ingredient quantities, directions for use or the nutritional value of their juices.

The actual product range is fairly straightforward. Customers can buy grape seed extract in both capsule and liquid form and can drink muscadine grapes in the form of a fruit juice mix (although some customers have complained that buyers run the risk of encountering a ‘bad’ or rotten batch!)

Other products mix the muscadine grape ingredient with others for some variety. Customers looking for an energy boost can grab the energy shots (which are mainly muscadine grape mixed with green coffee bean) and slimmers can find the NP Pro Trim Body Shake (which mixes grape extract with a general superfood blend that can be mixed into a shake drink).

Nature’s Pearl also has a number of other innovative uses for muscadine grapes, mixing it into their own brands of skin lotion, shampoo, conditioner, lip balm, toothpaste and others.

The cost of these products is somewhat high, but by no means the highest we’ve seen from similar retailers. A bottle of shampoo or conditioner will cost $18 each, and a bundle of three skincare products will cost $96 altogether. The cost of the raw extract varies hugely by volume, with a single tub costing $30 all in all.

In Conclusion

Nature’s Pearl could well be selling an interesting product, but we feel that they have hugely compromised their own integrity and the existing scientific literature by their attempts to financially influence researchers. As it stands, it seems like the FDA’s decision to try and halt the company from making bold (and possibly incorrect) claims about the grape’s medicinal properties was wise, although we would still like to point out that many independent distributors still haven’t got the memo.

We generally advise readers to stay well away from MLMs at the best of times, as these companies aim to sucker in potential customers and turn them into exploitable distributors. Even if you are interested in the potential health benefits of muscadine grapes, we would still advise you to pick another retailer, and try not to get too caught up in the hype. If you’re suffering with a serious illness, solutions like this should never replace the advice and treatment given by fully qualified medical professionals.

The post Nature’s Pearl Investigation appeared first on Diet Pills Watchdog.

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