MOLOA‘A — Suffer from achy muscles or high blood pressure? Have a cut that won’t heal? According to local business owner, Steve Frailey of Hawaiian Health ‘Ohana, a relatively unknown super-fruit called noni may be exactly what nature’s doctor ordered.
MOLOA‘A — Suffer from achy muscles or high blood pressure? Have a cut that won’t heal?
According to local business owner, Steve Frailey of Hawaiian Health ‘Ohana, a relatively unknown super-fruit called noni may be exactly what nature’s doctor ordered.
At his farm in Moloa‘a, where the certified organic fruit flourishes, Frailey said he can help provide individuals with an all natural healing aid for nearly any ailment. He said the fruit has the ability to cure anything from burns to ulcers and is used either topically or internally.
Frailey said his business had a 15 percent increase in sales last year despite the economic doom and gloom. He said what makes his business unique is that he offers noni in an unfermented form, using a low-heat dehydration process which reportedly allows it to pack a much more powerful healing punch.
“We asked how it was used traditionally,” said Frailey, referring to his partner in business, Scott Jarvis. “We found it was picked right off the bush or tree and eaten. So, the next questions we asked are ‘How is it being processed to be put in a pill or a bottle or a package to put on a shelf?’ and ‘What’s the process doing to the fruit? How is it destroying it?’”
Frailey said when the fruit is fermented, which is how it is typically found in stores as a juice, the chemical profile changes and its natural potency is altered.
“We grow it, pick it and process it before it ferments,” he said.
Frailey added that they use a special technique for their dehydration process.
“What we do is actually classified as raw food,” he said. “We dry below 115 degrees.”
His partner found, after attending school in Oregon, that commercially made dehydrators dry at high heats, low humidity and high air volume and essentially “cook” the fruit.
“We could not buy a dehydrator that dries at low heats, so we had to make one,” he said, adding that it is essentially the low heat that keeps the nutrients locked inside.
There is one catch, however, to this powerful product and that’s the distinctive, potent, “cheesy” odor and taste. If an individual cannot tolerate the pure 100% Noni Fruit Leather in which it can be purchased, other options abound such as Lavender Noni Lotion and Noni Banana Fruit Leather. No matter which form is chosen, Hawaiian Health ‘Ohana boasts that their product will provide a person with higher rewards than its fermented counterpart.
“People pick up a 32 ounce bottle of juice and think it must be better because it’s bigger,” he said. “But the fruit leather lasts up to a month.”
Frailey claims that the main reason customers flock to his products are their pain relieving capabilities and Juliette LaFleur is just one of the recent converts.
“It’s great stuff, I’m a believer. I’m totally pain-free now,” she said after explaining that she used to suffer from whiplash and began using IcyHeat Lavender Noni Lotion three months ago. “Within a half hour of applying the IcyHeat, it just took all the pain anyway. It’s really good stuff.”
The IcyHeat Lotion is just one of the company’s homemade products created in Moloa‘a. This particular lotion adds menthol and camphor — the same elements used in Bengay which cause heat — and is made specifically for pain relief.
“The response time for deep-tissue healing and pain is quicker because menthol-camphor stimulates the blood and opens the pores up to let noni in and the noni heals the condition,” he said.
Noni has also been known to cure maladies such as staph infections and skin conditions like warts.
When asked if noni grew elsewhere, Frailey said it is found in many parts of the world, however, the medicinal variety is the only one which appears in Hawai‘i.
“There are pictorial references to noni by aborigines 30,000 years ago. Ayurvedic medicine in India, 3,000 years ago and Polynesia-Hawai‘i, over a 2,000 year history of use. It was the main medicine for Polynesians and Hawaiians,” he said, explaining the history of its appearance on the islands.
“In Hawai‘i, we only have one variety of noni, the medicinal variety. The reason we only have that variety here is that the Polynesians brought their best.
“If you go across the ocean for three months they’re going to take their best, they’re going to bring the best varieties.”
Hawaiian Health ‘Ohana will soon offer its products to animals as well and many owners have already discovered its natural healing capabilities after using it on their pets.
“When horses stand in water, they get a fungal problem called ‘fungal rot’ and get open lesions on their legs,” said Frailey. “After applying the Lavender Noni Lotion, in two days, it’s gone.”
Frailey also adds that his business has recently become more self-sustainable with the addition of two new windmills, trimming electricity bills dramatically, and their use of biodegradable packaging materials.
Hawaiian Health ‘Ohana’s products can be found throughout the islands, with several locations on Kaua‘i including Vim & Vigor in Lihu‘e, Kojima’s in Kapa‘a and Kaua‘i Kookie Kompany in Hanapepe.
For more information visit www.nonifruitleather.net or call 828-1123.
• Coco Zickos, business writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or czickos@kauaipubco.com
