Page 7 - aruba-today-20230802

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local Wednesday 2 august 2023

Lessons from our elders:

Plants and fruits for medicinal use

(Oranjestad)—Though ders have passed on to us said that this tea can also
western medicine is now over the years. be drank after an opera-
widely used for common tion on the ovaries or uter- arrowroot powder and round on the island. Relat-
illnesses and to keep our Pineapple us. This gets rid of irritation make a “shalup” (porridge) ed to potato and tomato,
bodies healthy and happy, Pineapple has more uses and inflammation. for stomach pain or when eggplants are good to
it is still very common in than topping it on your you’re feeling weak. You calm nerves. It can also be
every household in Aruba Christmas ham. According When the fruit is unripe and can make it with milk too, used to lower blood pres-
(and around the world) to to elders, the skin of a pine- green, this can be used to but it is advised to best sure, by steeping its leaves
have staple home rem- apple is great to use to re- stimulate menstruation flow use just water. You can in boiled water and drink-
edies that is passed on fresh your body. Clean the in women. This also stimu- also add prunes for a bit of ing it. You can also make
through generations. Here skin thoroughly and make lates the passing kidney sweetness. Arrowroot sha- eggplant juice to help puri-
are some tips that our el- tea or warapa* with it. It is stones. When ripe, the fruit lup is also good to treat an fy your blood. However, do
can be used for poisoning unhealthy gut or for diar- make sure to drink slowly;
in the gut and can help rhea. let it mix with your spit and
treat rheumatic diseases, then swallow.
like arthritis. To make arrowroot shalup,
boil a bit of water and add Eggplant kataplan* can
However, breastfeeding one tablespoon of arrow- also be used to treat skin
women who cannot pro- root powder and stir con- tumors, abscesses and
duce much milk are ad- tinuously until you reach hemorrhoids. Eggplant kat-
vised not to consume too porridge consistency. If you aplan can also be used ex-
pineapple, and people make a shalup with milk, ternally to treat arthritis.
with acid reflux are recom- add a pinch of salt. Raw
mended to not consume arrowroot powder can be *warapa: term referring to
any pineapple at all. used to powder babies. a water and sugar solution,
a.k.a simple syrup.
Arrowroot Eggplant/Aubergine *kataplan: porridge-like
Arrowroot is native to tropi- Eggplants, or aubergines, mixture used externally
cal America and can be are easy to find in super- for wounds or parts of the
sold as a powder or whole. markets around the world body that are painful or
It is said that you can take and can be grown all year swollen. q

Prohibited by law: leaving the island with

seashells, white sand or corals

(Oranjestad)—Often times, and amount of sand con- give nature the respect it
the customs department at fiscated is very strange and deserves by protecting our
the airport intercepts many it is suspected that our own environment. Stop collect-
tourists leaving the island locals are the ones selling ing seashells, white sand
with seashells, white sand these to the tourists, which and corals from our shores
and/or corals as souvenirs. is unacceptable. and stop buying or accept-
Upon confiscation at the ing these from local sellers
Conforming to the inter- airport, you can also face or companies.
national treaty of CITES a fine that they have to
and our local law which pay before leaving. This is We want our future gener-
protects our Flora & Fau- surely not a pleasant ex- ations and visitors to enjoy
na, it is absolutely prohib- perience for the tourist. This the beauty of our beaches,
ited to take any seashell, also leads to a negative re- shells and corals in a sus-
sand and coral outside action which can put our tainable way, without de-
of Aruba. This is to protect tourism in a negative light. stroying or disrupting the
our environment. The high Though we love to accom- Aruban ecosystem. Help us
number of seashells, coral modate our visitors, let’s all protect what is ours! q