The Myth of Baobab

Baobab-Colada made by Shaka Zulu's Bar Manager , Tony Safqi (photo by George Torode)

I've been invited to a lovely event celebrating the Baobab tree - the source of natural wellbeing and general health. Aduna, an Africa-inspired premium health and beauty brand, is now bringing the vibrancy of Africa to the rest of the world. Its first ‘Feel Good Fruit’ range allows everyone to enjoy the benefits of baobab as part of their daily diet.  

At a fabulous London venue, Shaka Zulu, we discovered how Aduna has made this pure, nutritious fruit pulp available as a loose powder or as convenient single-serve stick packs; ideal for adding to foods such as smoothies, juices, yogurts or cereal. Capsules are also available for on-the-go.  

With one of the highest antioxidant capacities of any fruit in the world1, it’s easy to see why Africa’s iconic baobab is being hailed as the next big super fruit. It contains over twice the antioxidants per gram of goji berries and more than blueberries and pomegranates combined.

Aduna’s goal is to establish baobab as a world-famous superfruit and drive the creation of a new industry for rural Africa, which experts estimate at a potential $1 billion. Ten per cent of Aduna’s profits will be invested in social innovation projects via the Aduna Foundation.

If you are interested to know more about Baobab, see Aduna's co-founder Andrew Hunt's speech at IHT Luxury 2012:

Forest Fit - The Sumptuous Boot Camp

Darlings, if you cannot reach me during mid October, it is because I am relaxing, detoxing and shaping myself at the Forest Fit bootcamp at Lime Wood's award winning spa: Herb House. 

Forest Fit is a traditional boot camp with a twist.  It isn’t a 3-day military regime, more a collaboration between all the five star elements that Lime Wood and Herb House have to offer. The 3 days of physical and mental invigoration incorporate the natural setting of the new forest and the luxury of Herb House spa.

There is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach but far more a personalised bespoke approach appreciating that every woman’s health and fitness needs are different.  Following the pre-consultation the team will devise a carefully scripted fitness programme to suit my individual needs. 

The key elements of any fitness programme should focus on cardio respiratory fitness; structural strength and body conditioning; nutrition and rest and recovery.  These key components will be incorporated into each tailor-made fitness programme during Forest Fit. The first Forest Fit boot camp is from Sunday 14^th – Wednesday 17^th October and next is Sunday 18^th – Wednesday 21^st November.

ONCA trial results

Darlings, I promised I would tell you how I got on with ONCA. And since yours truly always delivers, here goes..

The thing with ONCA, though, is that it's very difficult to measure. I didn't loose inches, run a marathon, or grow my hair past my knees. What I did notice, however, was a feeling of extreme well-being. Things that I hadn't noticed before suddenly became noticable by their absense. I no longer felt the constant ache of fatigue, for example, My nails felt stronger (or was that just my imagination?!), and the inevitable 4pm bloat never came.

ONCA is the sort of supplement that could happily co-exist in your daily life, along-side any other supplements you choose to take. It is not as concentrated or as results-driven as a detox, but the anti-oxidant benefits are similar.

I really think seeing (or indeed feeling, in this case) is believing - give it a go, darlings. Think of it like Berocca, but without the fluorescent wee..

And if you don't see results, at least you can say you've been one of 3,000 try-ees..