Natural Products Expo West occured in May 2010. Here are three belated reviews by Barbara Platts

Caffeine Awareness Association

For the avid caffeine lovers out there, the Caffeine Awareness Association may scare you into consuming your very last cup of joe or dunking your final tea bag into water. Marina Kushner is the founder of the association and the writer of The Truth About Coffee and The Truth About Caffeine. She brings up some very interesting and solid points about the dangers of caffeine for one’s body and the addictive qualities of the drug. However, the presentation made me feel like I was listening about the dangers of drunk driving or the risks of getting hooked on meth. The tone was very dramatic and extreme for the topic, but did help to grab both others and my attention.

Bhaktiveda

Bhaktiveda is a new beauty line, the ingredients of which come straight from the base of the Himalayan Mountains. One of the goals of the company is to find a balance between one’s body and the environment. They do this through pure Ayurveda products. Ayurveda is a healing system created in India over five hundred years ago.

Laura Callegari, the president of Bhaktiveda, said the advantage to an Ayurveda beauty line is it makes the practice more accessible for people to get involved in.

“The products make Ayurveda more approachable,” Callegari said, because this method of medicine is not as well known and accessible in the United States as it is in South Asia.

Bhaktiveda is based in New Jersey. They hope to implement the beauty line in spas and health care stores in coming years. The presentation of the beauty products was simple and helped highlight the products and their Indian roots. Callegari was very passionate about the product, which helped sell it. “It’s such a nice system, it’s so pure and natural,” Callegari said when asked why she loved the product. “It just makes you feel better.”

 Juvo

For all of you raw food lovers, there is a company growing in popularity in the United States called Juvo. Originally started in Korea ten years ago, Juvo is an all-natural raw meal drink, which is also vegan, kosher, and organic. They provide different powders that one can mix to make shakes, smoothies, and even flavored milk.

Juvo has three main smoothie mixes. One of them is there Raw Smart Morning Smoothie, which is appetizing anytime of day. There is also a smoothie mix that is one hundred percent raw, and a smoothie mix called Juvo Slim, which is a berry flavor designed to suppress food cravings and keep the body healthy.

These smoothies are not only healthy they are very tasty. Juvo came over from Korea and started in California about five years ago. For more information on these products and others go to gojuvo.com.

Barbara Platts is a journalism student at Emerson College in Boston, but she grew up in Boulder, Colorado. She has always been very health conscience because she has grown up in an area with so many good food options. She has also recently started a health and fitness blog for college students at barbaraplattshealth.wordprss.com.