January 7, 2021

I first met Doug Wolkon when I was visiting Kauai and was convinced by big-wave surfer Laird Hamilton to go visit a favorite local farm of his called Kauai Farmacy. I was immediately blown away by the vast array of over 80 varieties of organic healing plants and food orchards…

…along with a team of incredibly knowledgeable herbalists and gardeners; a closed-loop vermiculture feeding system (worm compost farm), honeybees, butterflies, and other pollinators; wildfowl; environmentally-compatible farming (water-catchments, permaculture guilds, and more); and medicine-making systems (solar-dehydrators, low-temperature herb-curing, herbal teas, tinctures, hydrosols, salves, honey, capsules, and more).

Everything is done by hand at the Farmacy, including brewing homemade fertilizers from the plants they grow. They seed, propagate, plant, hand-harvest, artisanally-craft, and package all the herbal products they grow right on the farm. The fresh and pure nature of the herbs ensures high quality, potent, consistent, and effective plant medicine straight from the source.

Since that visit two years ago, if you've been following me on Instagram and elsewhere, you've seen me using ample amounts of Kauai Farmacy powders and tinctures in my recipes, along with products such as their salves and hydrosols for joint and skin health. Rooted in the wisdom of Hawaiian La’au lapa’au, Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, and the tribal indigenous, the potent herbal plant medicines harvested from the rich, volcanic soil of Kauai just seem to have a very unique and special energy.

After graduating from the University of Michigan, Doug pursued a ten-year career in private equity finance in Connecticut. Before moving his family to Hawaii in 2007, Doug published The New Game, an economic theory and strategy for sustainable communities.

Doug co-founded Kauai Farmacy in 2010 with his wife Genna, and they currently live there with their three kids. The Farmacy is a seed-to-cup tropical herbal oasis spanning four acres and consisting of what may be the most diverse collection of plant medicine in the western hemisphere.

After spending the last 10 years experiencing the power of fresh plant medicine for both himself and his family on a daily basis, Doug thrives on a high-fat, ketogenic, 100% raw-food diet. Doug believes Kauai Farmacy's vertically-integrated herbal medicine model is a budding example of what needs to be the future of a more sustainable, preventative-care-focused healthcare industry.

You can click here to shop Kauai Farmacy, and use code GREENFIELD15 to save 15% on any products on their site, including those you'll discover below.

During this discussion, you'll discover:

-Why cacao is the ultimate superfood…8:45

• Cacao Olena Olena is Hawaiian for turmeric
  • Helps with inflammation, metabolism
  • Freshness is key
  • Ingredients are yin and yang with the root family
  • Cacao is more of a fruit than the other ingredients (ginger and Olena)
• Dark chocolate is a good source of magnesium
• Cacao pods before they become chocolate are an intense experience
  • Elevates serotonin levels
  • High iron levels
• Trail mix is coming soon (not on the website yet)

-An herbal chew containing moringa…15:45

• Buzz Chew produced by Kauai Farmacy
• Dr. Thomas Cowan's Vegetable Powders
• Less, but more potent, is the trend in food
• Integrate these items into the lifestyle
• Curry Blend by Kauai Farmacy

-The fascinating story of Doug's Kauai Farmacy…20:30

• High school athlete; went into world of finance
• Left that world at age 31, overweight, unhealthy lifestyle
• Became disenchanted with western medicine and lifestyle after traveling the world
• Saw a need for real education on health and wellness in Western culture
• Settled in Kauai, began a “healing journey”
• Began planting and harvesting noni leaves
• Island of Kauai is unmatched in its beauty and potential for plant medicines
• Building the immune system is the best defense against disease
• Blockages between the head and the sacral

-How noni leaves heal lower back pain…28:25

• Kauai Farmacy has noni leaves in their salves
  • Beeswax
  • Coconut oil
• Noni Hydrosol (steamed distillation)
• Alkaloid Xeronine in noni
• Noni leaves grow wild all over the island of Kauai
• Cancer tumors are made up of acidic toxins
• Noni alkalinity chips away at the toxins left in the body from bad food
• Use caution when using noni at night due to its high circulatory effect in the bloodstream

-Techniques for growing a vast array of superfoods with minimal space…36:25

• Biodiversity is the key
• Feed the garden what is grown in the garden
• Vermiculture (worm composting)
• Worm poop is the healthiest manure possible
• Comfrey tea goes in the garden
• Hand-feed, harvest, cull, craft everything
• It's very labor-intensive (but that's what this society needs)
• Trenched farm, feeds into stream due to excessive rain on Kauai
• Freshness of water, exposure to minerals

-Comfrey and its effectiveness in healing joints…43:00

• Salve is the most convenient form
• Root is more potent than the leaf, but the leaf has qualities not found in the root
• Local beeswax added for additional medicinal benefits
• Lubrication is a way of “thanking” your body after strenuous exercise or work
• Cracked heels are a sign of things to come without any intervention
• Comfrey brings suppleness to the bones and joints
• Three main benefits of comfrey: stabilizes breath, hydrates, brings restoration

-Why Doug's ashwagandha is more potent than others from a libido standpoint…50:30

• Endurance Powder
• Love Potion Tea
• Farming techniques more in tune with nature produce a more efficacious product than you'll find at the local pharmacy
• Rhonda Patrick podcast on moringa and broccoli sprouts
• Moringa is one of the most iron-rich plants in the world
• You are what your soil eats

-Why turmeric needs to be an essential part of your diet…57:30

• Soil in Kauai is the best in the world for ginger and turmeric
• Kauai Farms Turmeric
• Here's the turmeric root photo Ben mentions
• Turmeric research:
  • Dietary curcumin could stall the spread of fat-tissue by inhibiting new blood vessel growth
  • Turmeric, the Golden Spice
  • Curcumin: a novel treatment for skin-related disorders
  • Potential Therapeutic Effects of Curcumin, the Anti-inflammatory Agent, Against Neurodegenerative, Cardiovascular, Pulmonary, Metabolic, Autoimmune and Neoplastic Diseases
  • Pre-administration of turmeric prevents methotrexate-induced liver toxicity and oxidative stress
  • Turmeric extracts containing curcuminoids prevent experimental rheumatoid arthritis
  • Bioactivity of Turmeric-Derived Curcuminoids and Related Metabolites in Breast Cancer
  • Turmeric: Reemerging of a neglected Asian traditional remedy
  • Topical Turmeric Microemulgel in the Management of Plaque Psoriasis; A Clinical Evaluation
  • Effect of Oral Curcuma Gel in Gingivitis Management – A Pilot Study

-Doug's unique high-fat, plant-based diet…1:01:15

• Coconuts
• Cacao
• Macadamia nuts
• Avocado
• Fruits and greens during the day (the darker the better)
• Moringa and spinach (raw)
• Keep clean and light
• Eat fatty foods in the evening
• Avoid processed foods
• Mashed, pureed, “slipper” foods

-How to visit and tour the Kauai Farmacy…1:06:30

-And much more!

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Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.

Resources from this episode:

– Doug Wolkon:

• The New Game
• Kauai Farmacy (use code GREENFIELD15 to save 15%)
  • Cacao Olena
  • Buzz Chew
  • Curry Blend
  • Noni Hydrosol
  • Comfrey Tea
  • Comfrey Salve
  • Endurance Powder
  • Love Potion Tea
  • Kauai Farms Turmeric

– Podcast:

• Anti-Aging, Homeschooling, Underwater Workouts, Pooping & More With Laird Hamilton & Gabby Reece

– Other resources:

• Dr. Thomas Cowan's Vegetable Powders (use code BEN to save 15%)
• Macadamia Nuts
• Rhonda Patrick podcast on moringa and broccoli sprouts
• Is Moringa as effective as sulforaphane? | Jed Fahey
• Rhonda Patrick podcast on moringa and broccoli sprouts
• Turmeric research:
  • Dietary curcumin could stall the spread of fat-tissue by inhibiting new blood vessel growth
  • Turmeric, the Golden Spice
  • Curcumin: a novel treatment for skin-related disorders
  • Potential Therapeutic Effects of Curcumin, the Anti-inflammatory Agent, Against Neurodegenerative, Cardiovascular, Pulmonary, Metabolic, Autoimmune and Neoplastic Diseases
  • Pre-administration of turmeric prevents methotrexate-induced liver toxicity and oxidative stress
  • Turmeric extracts containing curcuminoids prevent experimental rheumatoid arthritis
  • Bioactivity of Turmeric-Derived Curcuminoids and Related Metabolites in Breast Cancer
  • Turmeric: Reemerging of a neglected Asian traditional remedy
  • Topical Turmeric Microemulgel in the Management of Plaque Psoriasis; A Clinical Evaluation
  • Effect of Oral Curcuma Gel in Gingivitis Management – A Pilot Study

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Do you have questions, thoughts, or feedback for Doug Wolkon or me? Leave your comments below and one of us will reply!