Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, October 10, 2020

10

Mountain View News Saturday, October 10, 2020 


CHRISTOPHER Nyerges


WHAT IS MORINGA?

BE “DAZZLED”

No, she’s not a Las 
Vegas showgirl! 
She’s just a beautiful 
young soul who 
needs a forever 
home. But be 
prepared—she will 
definitely dazzle 
you when you learn 
how she has survived through a challenging situation, 
2 foster homes, and one adoption which turned into 
abandonment. For years, Dazzle lived by a freeway, but was fed daily by a kind woman. She 
finally went to a foster home where an adopter was then found. However, after just a few days, 
the adopter abandoned her at the vet’s office because Dazzle was ill. She is now at another foster 
home while she is recovering from a digestive sensitivity. We would love to find an adopter 
for her. Dazzle is understandably shy and will take some time to trust. However, she is easily 
held and plays with toys. You just want to take her in your arms and love and comfort her! 
Look at her beauty and ask yourself how it is that this precious girl has not yet found a home. 
Could your home be the one? She’s only age 3. See more pictures, adoption information and 
application on our website at the Special Needs (for now) page, www.lifelineforpets.org.


[Nyerges is an ethnobotanist who has been conducting field trips since 1974. He’s the 
author of “Guide to Wild Foods and Useful Plants,” “Foraging Edible Wild Plants of 
North America,” and other books. He can be reached at www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.
com.]

Ever heard of the moringa tree? 
Moringa (Moringa oleifera) is 
one of those plants that at-first 
seems shrouded in mystery 
and history. The nutritional and medicinal claims 
seem over-blown, and perhaps it does not help that 
the plant is also sold through multi-level marketing, 
bringing up past associations with spirulina and 
other exotic foods.

First, let’s take a close look at the tree, and examine 
the many ways in which it has been used historically, 
and still used today. Then, we’ll look at the nutritional 
analysis of the seeds and leaves of this tree.

Moringa is native to parts of African and Asia, where 
it has long been used for food for both people and 
animals. The tree is of the genus Moringa, of which 
there are a dozen other species, but Moringa oleifera 
is the most commonly cultivated and used species. 
It is believed to be native to the foothills of the Himalayas 
in northwestern India, and it’s most widely 
cultivated in India.

The word “moringa” comes from a Tamil word, “murungai,” which means “drumstick.” In many parts of 
the Tropics where the tree grows, it is called the drumstick tree, a reference to its three-sided elongated 
seed pods. But the tree is also known by many other names, such as the horseradish tree (the raw leaves 
are spicy), and even the “miracle” tree because of its high nutritional value and other uses.

The most nutritious part of the tree is from the leaves, either eaten fresh, or dried and used as a food 
supplement. The immature seed pods, called "drumsticks", are commonly consumed in South Asia. They 
are prepared by parboiling, and often cooked in a curry until soft. The seed pods, even when cooked by 
boiling, remain particularly high in vitamin C. The seeds, removed from the mature pods, can be eaten 
like peas or roasted like nuts. These contain high amounts of vitamin C and moderate amounts of B vitamins 
and dietary minerals.

LEAVES

The leaves are the most nutritious part of the plant, being a significant source of B vitamins, vitamin C, 
provitamin A as beta-carotene, vitamin K, manganese, and protein. When compared with common foods 
particularly high in certain nutrients per 100 grams of fresh weight, cooked moringa leaves are considerable 
sources of these same nutrients. The leaves are cooked and used like spinach, and are commonly dried 
and crushed into a powder used in soups and sauces. 

For long-term use and storage, moringa leaves are commonly dried and powdered. This preserves the 
nutrients and allows them to be used later. The leaf powder is then added to soups, sauces and smoothies. 

Because of the leaf’s high nutritional content, moringa leaf powder is also used as a dietary supplement, 
and used to enrich others food products, such as dairy products, like yogurt and cheese, bread and pastry 
products, pastas, etc.

Part of the appeal of the food from the moringa tree is the fact that is fast-growing, and can be grown in 
marginal or poor soil, and it’s very drought-tolerant. Just as a food alone, that makes this an attractive 
tree to grow. 

BUT DOES IT TASTE GOOD?

So, do the leaves and pods taste good? I enjoy fresh leaves, picked from my backyard tree, in my salads 
occasionally. I like the spicy flavor that’s reminiscent of horseradish. (My trees are not big enough to 
produce pods, so I have not yet tried those, though they are very popular in Asia).

Americans have been hearing about moringa for about the last two decades, but the acceptance of moringa 
as a food is lukewarm. Since Americans are so focused upon the flavor of a new food, as opposed to 
its nutritional value, moringa foods have not been extremely popular in the United States because there 
is the general opinion that the plant does not have a good flavor. I would agree that the dried powder 
requires an acquired taste. 

So, besides the fact that this tree is quick growing and drought tolerant, why would anyone eat it?

It turns out that eating moringa means you are eating your medicine. Eating the moringa in any form is 
like taking nutritional supplements, but apparently far better. Go on-line and look at the U SDA chart of 
the analysis of the moringa pods and leaves. A given amount of moringa has four times the calcium of 
milk, four times the Vitamin A of carrots, twice the protein of yogurt, three times the potassium of bananas, 
and seven times the vitamin C of oranges. 

IS IT EASY TO GROW MORINGA?

When the trees are grown commercially for the leaf, the leaves can be harvested many times a year, with 
the plant being cut down to two or three feet. If it’s being grown for the pods, the first harvest will be about 
six to eight months after planting. In commercial farms, the trees grown for the leaf can be much closer 
because there is regular harvesting of the leaf; the trees that are grown for the pods are spaced out a bit 
more. Still, for a small farmer or backyard gardener, the moringa tree can provide nearly a year-round 
food source.

The largest producer of moringa products in the world is India, which produces 1.2 million tons of the 
fruit annually.

SOURCE

GO TO AMAZON.

There is an overwhelming volume of Moringa products available when you search on Amazon, from the 
seeds, to the various powders. Most of the products are nutritional supplements based on the leaves, and I 
have tried only a fraction of them. My suggestion is to buy some seeds and see if you can grow some. Then 
you can try the fresh leaves for yourself.

Small packages of the seed are available from Survival Seeds, P.O. Box 41834, Los Angeles, CA 90041, for 
$5.

DAVID ASHLEY

Thanks to Amy McKenzie and David Ashley who provided nutritional data for this article. For more product 
information contact David at the following website link: https://da4health.isagenix.com/.

MORINGA FARMS

A good source for the products (seeds, etc.) and more information is www.moringafarms.com.


Pet of the Week

 
14-week-old Miel has come such a long way since she 
arrived at the shelter! At first, she was fearful of people 
and of her new environment. But our cat behavior staff has 
worked hard to gain her trust, and now she allows people to 
pet her. She has such a fun personality and loves to play – if 
you throw her a treat, she’ll bat it around and chase after it. 
She’s such a cutie! She’s done a great job at coming out of 
her shell, and just needs a patient adopter who can give her 
the time she needs to adjust to new people and a new home. 

This sweetie is worth it!

 

Miel is eligible for a 30-day adoption trial. Take her home for a month, get to know and love 
her, and we’ll provide all the supplies. At the end of 30 days, you can make your adoption 
official. Email foster@pasadenahumane.org to get your adoption trial started!

 The adoption fee for cats is $90. All cat adoptions include spay or neuter, microchip, and 
age-appropriate vaccines.

 New adopters will receive a complimentary health-and-wellness exam from VCA Animal 
Hospitals, as well as a goody bag filled with information about how to care for your pet.

 Pets may not be available for adoption and cannot be held for potential adopters by phone 
calls or email.


All Things By Jeff Brown

OUR TAX CODE!

As further proof that our tax system is broken, consider the recent revelation by reporters at 
Prorepublic.org. 

 If you're a member of the working poof-people who earn less than $20,000-you are nearly as 
likely to be audited as people whose earnings put them in the top 1 percent. It might seem foolish 
of the IRS to chase low-paid tax payers for a few hundred bucks rather than, say, a reality TV 
show host claiming a suspect business loss of $72.9 million. But years of withering budget cuts 
by congressional Republicans have left the IRS so stripped of experienced of-ficers that it can 
only audit 1.56 percent of the richest Americans' returns. Auditing the poor is simpler-they can't 
afford tax lawyers-and is thus "the most efficient use of the IRS's limited examination resources" 
the agency says. 

 As we've been reminded this past week the U.S. does not have one system, but two. once for 
the salaried schmucks whose income is reported directly to the government and who can enjoy 
precious few deductions or options for cheating. The other is for the self employed, owners of 
limited liability companies, hedge-fund manag-ers, and the very wealthy. For them, the tax code is 
like a Christmas tree laden with shiny baubles and surrounded by ribboned presents-deductions, 
tax-avoidance schemes and loopholes of all kinds.In the deep forest of a 400-page tax return, is 
easy to hide questionable claims, like classifying your daughter-an executive in the family firm-
as a "consultant" so you can right off her $747,622 salary as a business deduction. Fraud, the IRS 
estimate, will cost the government $7.5 trillion in taxes not paid over the next decade. 

 Every dollar that cheats do not pay, of course, is either paid by the "losers and suckers" or added 
the trillions in debt we are handing off to our chil-dren.Americans deserve a much fairer and 
simpler tax code, but we will not get one until we demand it. 

William Falk-Editor in Chief-“The Week”


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com