Buah Merah
(Red Fruit)



It's red, and it's a fruit... they hit this one BANG ON!

Maybe you remember the post I did a while back on Ants' Nests?

Well, this remedy is even more celebrated... everyone in Papua has a buah merah story... I've heard about some pretty miraculous cures that I'm not quite ready to pass off as fiction.

Buah Merah is heralded as THE ultimate natural medicine, curing everything from cancer, to paralysis, to diabetes, to aids!? Can we please get some samples of this into the lab to study!?!?! I couldn't find any official data, but several sites claim to have information that buah merah contains all kinds of antioxidants, multivitamins, minerals and antiviral compounds, to which it attributes its ability to defeat many different diseases.

So I went in search of this miracle cure... thinking I really can't go wrong! And hoping to check for a slightly processed version (meaning, well-packaged) that would make it through customs and border security. Turns out it's not that hard to find in Sorong, nor is it very expensive... I walked into the market, asked, and was directed to an area full of ants' nests and red fruits!



Good luck getting that across the boarder!

Latin name: Pandanus Conoideus Lam.
Geographic Distribution: Endemic to the Papuan central mountains; 2000-3000 m alt.
Uses: food, traditional medicine for cancer, cholesterol, rheumatics, diabetes, hypertension, lung spots, hepatitis, coronary problems including stroke, vision care (including prevention of blindness!), immune system problems, intestinal worms, skin disease, low-metabolism, to osteoporosis and HIV Aids.

Traditionally, as a food, it is cooked using a process called a 'Bakar Batu' ceremony. As a medicine, the liquid-gold oil is extracted from the 'skin' of the fruit and consumed alone or as a tea.



I will be starting my buah merah regimen immediately (apparently one teaspoon is enough for eternal life (or something like that, I didn't read the fine print). And luckily, buah merah oil is sold in sealed containers, so I will be able bring it home without being detained at the border for questioning!