29 | January | 2017 | Sagrada Coca Verde

COCA: “AND YET … it’s GOOD” …

Jan 29 2017

“And yet … it moves” … so claimed Galileo Galilei about the movement of the Earth around the Sun and the immobility of the star King, supporting the Copernican theory; he was accused of heresy, neglected by his contemporary society and he died alone, abandoned and nearly blind; however nowadays no one would ever contradict the confirmed hypothesis of Galileo.

Erythroxylum Coca is a shrub about one meter tall, with bright green thin oval shaped leaves, a creamy white flowers and reddish oval fruits similar to berries; it grows on the slopes of the Andes going down to the Amazon, between 600 and 2000 meters above sea level, where it is cultivated.

Jan 29 2017

CALORIES

COCA 306 kcal.

HONEY 308 kcal.

PROTEINS

COCA 18.9 g.

VEAL 20.7 g.

CARBOHYDRATES

COCA 46.2 g.

WHOLE WHEAT BREAD 48.5 g.

CHESTNUTS 44.2 g.

LENTILS 48 g.

Jan 29 2017

CALORIES (kcal.)

COCA 306

Amaranth 364

Bean 286

Lentils 314

Quinua 254

Tarwi raw 277

Tarwi flour 458

Wheat 347

Jan 29 2017

The nutritional value of green Coca, for 100 grams of leaves, stands at the level of the best known foods.

-CALORIESs: 306

-ORGANIC ACIDS: mg. 3.2

-CARBOHYDRATES: 46.2 g.

-FIBER: 14.2 g.

-FAT: 3.3 g.

-PROTEIN: 18.9 g.

-HUMIDITY: 7.2 g.

Jan 29 2017

Here the two sides of the medal of Coca:

GREEN:

Erythroxylum Coca: an alkaloids containing shrub of the Andean-Amazonian biodiversity.

Pijchu: bolus of leaves for traditional use of Coca, cultural and energizing.

Mate de Coca: infusion with Coca leaves, used as a natural medicine, digestive and remedy for altitude sickness.

Green products with Coca: aliments, sweets, drinks, liqueurs, creams, soaps, toothpastes, perfumes, ointments and other, processed with green Coca.

The USES of COCA

Jan 29 2017

ALL THE COCA LEAVES ARE EQUAL
THE PROBLEM LIES IN THE USE

The natural use is beneficial to the human body:
the whole leaf is introduced by oral way,
without any artificial chemical manipulation.

The artificial use is harmful to the human body:
the natural alkaloid cocaine is extracted from the Coca leaves, manipulated with chemicals additives
and introduced by respiratory or intravenous way.

The ALKALOIDS PLANTS in BIODIVERSITY

Jan 29 2017

To the Andean-Amazon ecosystem, privileged area of planetary biodiversity, belong about 80 of the 120 known systems, with incalculable regenerating potential for life’s processes, but also at risk of catastrophic disasters, in case of deterioration or destruction of the integrity of the vital balance.

The plant of Coca, for its potential beneficial uses, stands in the specific and promising area of alkaloids plants, botanical resources identified by the content of alkaloids, defined as nitrogen composed elements, present in different botanical species, with peculiar physiological and toxicological properties.

Jan 29 2017

The traditional use of Coca represents a ritual cornerstone of the cultural identity of the Andean-Amazonian rainforest.

First of all there is a short ceremony, which consists in choosing carefully the three sacred leaves, called Coca k’intu, from a shared amount of leaves on a small mat, called lliclla or awayu, hand-woven with wool and traditional colors, as part of ceremonies or social moments; the leaves are held in the hands like a small fan; in the much’ay, a reverential act that involves kissing Coca k ‘intu, they are elevate as an offer to the three worlds, hananpacha, kaypacha and uckupacha, to get into harmony with the cosmovision and all the magic, mythical and mysterious energies that govern Life.

Jan 29 2017

For at least 5000 years Coca represents a privileged emblem of the Andean culture: it’s considered a prodigious sacred plant, rich in many beneficial properties.

The Andean communities are strongly tied to cultural traditions and Coca is a protagonist in ancient ceremonies and rituals; many signs of reverence can be found everywhere; also important it’s the economical role Coca plays, binding the different climate zones from the Andes to the Amazon, through the dynamics of production and marketing, even in terms of exchange of raw material, on the basis of Andean cultural reciprocity, in benefit of all the population, without any unfavorable mediations.

Jan 29 2017

In all original cultures – and markedly in the Andean world – it remains solid along the centuries the concept of cosmovision, which is based on cosmogony, a mythological step about explanation of the world, namely the global vision of reality in all its forms and manifestations, whose ultimate goal in the harmony of any part, material or spiritual, individually or collectively, recognizing diversity and plurality as richness in unity.

Archive - January 29, 2017

COCA: “AND YET … it’s GOOD” …

NUTRITIONAL VALUE of COCA in COMPARISON with some foods of universal use, for 100 grams of leaves

NUTRITIONAL VALUE of COCA from Bolivian region of Yungas Coripata in COMPARISON with some traditional and common foods on the Andes, for 100 grams of leaves

IDENTIKIT of COCA

COCA: GREEN and WHITE

Read More

The USES of COCA

The ALKALOIDS PLANTS in BIODIVERSITY

The TRADITIONAL USE of COCA

The ANCESTRAL COCA

The ANDEAN COSMOVISION