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Antiox Brew Website for Proreduct Fermented Antioxidant nutritional supplement liquid beverages. 

History of Fermented Products

Related Fermented Products on the Market

Technical Info: Antioxidants, Oxidative Stress, Lab Tests

Label Information, including Supplement Facts

Storage, Suggested Use, Basic Information

Open Letter from My Heart to Visitors

How I Got Involved in This Whole Endeavor!

Sootheox Fermented Sea Salt

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About Me
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This is an educational and informational website about live-culture fermented antioxidant liquid nutritional supplement beverages which have been fermented with a very special cluster or consortium of organisms know as "Effective Microorganisms", or EM.  One of the auxiliary purposes of this website was, at one time, to also introduce my own line of Sootheox^TM and Quenchox^TM (aka Proreduct^TM) fermented antioxidant brews, as I (the creator of this site) experimented with playing the role a very small-scale custom micro-brewer of custom-designed fermented non-alcoholic liquid nutritional supplement brews for research purposes. The brews, now no longer offered for sale (see note below), had been researched, designed, developed and crafted by a researcher who is both a trained and degreed scientist as well as a mystic.  I still produce modest quantities of these brews for my own useage and for my own research purposes. All brews are crafted and nurtured in an alchemy-like process, and are also checked with modern scientific testing equipment to monitor the process and ensure quality, and are rich in antioxidants and nutrients.  When the Sotheox and Quenchox custom-brewed products were offered, they were marketed only as research products, and only to knowledgable consumers, and offered on a very limited direct-sale basis only, under the names Sootheox^TM, Quenchox^TM and Proreduct^TM.

If you wish to purchase EM fermented antioxidant brews, I recommend that you go to the SCD website at www.scdworld.com and peruse their offerings of EM fermented antioxidant products for human consumption.  They always offer the Fervita line plus EM-X, and will shortly be offering several other product lines, if they are not already doing so. Please feel free to use the discount code of VP2004 to get a 7% discount on all purchases!

The Sootheox^TM (formerly called Proreduct^TM) and Quenchox^TM Brew line, no longer marketed, were a series of fermented non-alcoholic liquid nutritional supplement brews which are:

• antioxidant-rich
• nutrient-rich
• mineral-rich

If you wish to purchase EM fermented antioxidant brews, I recommend that you go to the SCD website at www.scdworld.com and peruse their offerings of EM fermented antioxidant products for human consumption.  They always offer the Fervita line plus EM-X, and will shortly be offering several other product lines, if they are not already doing so. Please feel free to use the discount code of VP2004 to get a 7% discount on all purchases!
 
 

What Does the Name Sootheox  Mean?
The single most powerful feature of the Sootheox nutritional supplement beverages is the incredible array of antioxidants which they contain, all in “live-food” form as created by special fermentative microorganisms.  Antioxidants are also known as “reduction agents”, meaning that they can neutralize oxidative free radicals via a process known as “reduction”.  Hence the name for this product:

The Sootheox name indicates that these supplements soothe runaway oxidative processes, such as singlet oxygen and other reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as peroxides, superoxides, aldehydes, etc., thus helping to protect our bodies against the ravages of oxidizing free radicals.  See sections below for further details!

More on Antioxidants and Oxidative Stress
Biochemical processes in our bodies are a balance of oxidative and reducing (also called antioxidant) activities. Unfortunately, in our modern era, due to our environment, our lifestyles, our diets and the quality of our drinking water, the oxidative processes far overwhelm the reducing or antioxidant processes.  Oxidative stress has been shown to lead to disease and accelerated aging.  These oxidative substances enter our bodies via food, air and water, and are also formed in our bodies as by-products of metabolism.  These harmful oxidative substances are often called "free radicals" or "reactive oxygen species" (aka "ROS").

Antioxidants, such as the antioxidants found in Sootheox and Quenchox beverages, help to restore the balance of oxidative and reducing processes by neutralizing or disabling free radicals and restoring order and coherence to runaway oxidative processes in the body.  Sootheox is fermented in a special and powerful “reducing” (antioxidative) process by a special culture of microorganisms traceable to the acclaimed Effective Microorganisms fermentation culture (aka EM, EM1 and EM-1) developed by Dr. Teruo Higa in Japan and used with great success in numerous fields such as agriculture, health, livestock health and toxic waste remediation for the past 20 years.  Sootheox (aka Proreduct) contains a large number of  “live-food” antioxidants  and nutrients, a partial listing of which may be found below and elsewhere on this site.

If you wish to learn more about the antioxidants and nutrients found in brews made with Effective Microorganisms (EM or EM-1) in far more detail, you may wish to read an article on that topic on a page (on an off-site website) devoted to the uses of Effective Microorganisms, at http://www.rawpaleodiet.org/em/bokashiantiox1.html#Antioxidant

If you wish to learn about other human uses for various products made with  EM, you may wish to see another article and page on that same off-site website, at:
http://www.rawpaleodiet.org/em/variancehuman1.html#Human
 
 

As of August 13, 2003, the Sootheox (and Quenchox) products are no longer offered for sale, but this information is made available for educational purposes, as many folks have expressed interest in making such brews and elixirs on their own, and several existing vendors of nutritional products have expressed an interest in starting to brew and market their own line of such products. 

The Sootheox (aka Quenchox) product line consists of five fermented antioxidant-rich nutritional supplement liquids, all fermented via a lactic acid anaerobic reducing (an antioxidative, non-putrefying) process which produces large amounts of antioxidants and other nutrients. Sootheox products contain no significant amounts of alcohol (below 0.5%), and are naturally acidic as a result of lactic-acid fermentation, with an equilibrium pH of 3.7 or below.  Our brews are especially high in lactic acid, although some versions of our Golden Bran Kelp Brew may also contain significant and noticeable (to the taste) amounts of acetic acid (vinegar) as well (in reality, all of our brews contain at least a small amount of acetic acid, often undetectable to the taste.)

Please note that all wild bluebery juice concentrate, cherry juice concentrate and pomegranate juice concentrate used in our brews (for example, the Amber Molasses Mineral varieties) comes only from Brownwood Acres Farms. I recommend their juice concentrates highly! They also have some concentrates available in certified organic form as well.

Amber Molasses Mineral Brew
This is a relatively dark, mineral-rich, molasses-based version, with various sources of minerals and trace minerals added before brewing. This brew likely has highest concentration and stability of the culture of unique microorganisms. 

Golden Bran Kelp Brew
This brew has been fermented (for at least 70 days) for a longer time than the other brewed beverages in our line, and has been brewed with rural mountain well water, wheat bran, kelp, molasses, bentonite clay mineral sources, sea salt, barley malt extract (loaded with antioxidants of its own) and, at times, fruit juices or purees (usually white grape or orange). It has a dark golden yellow color, and usually has a far more acidic flavor than our Amber Molasses Mineral Brew or our Grape Plus Nectar Brew.  This is also our most potent and powerful brew, containing more nutrients per ounce than our other brews (however, not so much as our two elixirs, which are extremely concentrated.) However, it is usually (this depends upon batch and age) very tart and tangy, with a pronounced acidic taste, reminiscent of the vinegary taste of strong fermented apple cider.  

Grape Plus Nectar Brew
This brew has been fermented with grape juice and cherry juice concentrates or purees, and also at times with barley malt extract, blueberry or other fruit concentrates or pures as well.  Some of the ingredients going into this brew are rural mountain well water, molasses, grape juice concentrate, cherry juice concentrate, bentonite clay mineral sources and sea salt.  This brew has a dark purple color, with a very appealing and mild flavor. However, as it ages and ferments further, the color and the grape flavor largely fade, and are instead consumed and converted largely to antioxidants. So, with aging, this brew becomes more tasteless and colorless, but gains more antioxidants, and develops a tart, dry, sour and almost vinegary taste, like a Cabernet (which I hate...). 
Note: In early April 2003, I temporarily decided to suspend sales of this brew, simply because as time passed and fermentation continued, it tended to lose most of its purple color, and all of it's sweetness and flavor, and ends up developing a flavor much like a very dry and tart red wine, which I did not particularly find appealing. However, all of my friends and past customers responded, telling me that they loved that dry tart and sour (almost vinegary) flavor, and two friends told me that this is the same flavor for which they pay $300 to $600 per bottle of fine Cabernet wine to savor. So, I gave up on the moratorium in early May and once offered the Grape Nectar Brew, but I made sure that folks were forwewarned about the flavor...

Concentrated Vitality Elixir
This is a highly concentrated and potentized fermented elixir, created from highly concentrated nutrients, including algaes and superfood concentrates. 

Turmeric Elixir
At some point in March 2003, I started receiving intuitive guidance to create a concentrated fermented turmeric elixir.  The first batch was available for distribution in early April 2003. This is a highly concentrated fermented elixir, and the primary ingredients are turmeric and molasses,with some minerals from bentonite rock clays, along with a small amount of our Vitality Elixir (above.) The Turmeric Elixir is extremely concentrated, and was sold only in a 5 ounce clear glass ("hot sauce") bottle and a 12 ounce amber glass bottle. 

Vitamin C-B12 Elixir 
This is a concentrated and potentized fermented elixir, created from concentrated nutrients, including minerals, molasses, barley malt, and vitamin C and B12. The organisms in EM are well known for producing Vitamin C and B12 in live-food form -- along with dozens of other potent live food antioxidants -- while fermenting sugars and other foods already, and in this brew, the organisms have been fed (commercially available) vitamin C and B12 as well to increase the amounts even further... the organisms seem to potentiate these vitamins and convert them to live-food form.The elixir was sold only in a 5 ounce clear glass ("hot sauce") bottle and a 12 ounce amber glass bottle. 

Sootheox Fermented Sea Salt
This product is an unrefined, unfiltered and unbleached sea salt treated with an (EM-based) antioxidant fermentative culture, EM-X, EM ceramics, and added trace minerals, and then dried to moist state similar to that some some premium unrefined gray sea salts For more information on this fermented antioxidant sea salt product, please see the Sootheox Fermented Sea Salt page on  this website.

Sootheox Animal Feed-grade Brew (Fermented Antioxidant Nutritional Supplement)
By popular request, I have made available for my friends and fellow researchers an animal feed-grade fermented antioxidant nutritional supplement brew. This is made with an animal feed-grade blackstrap molasses (but nonetheless clean and free of additives), along with small amounts of granulated kelp, sea salt, and nutritional rock dust clay.  Due to the animal feed-grade molasses, this product therefore is suitable only for use with animals such as pets and livestock, or even for utility household or farm uses. I do not recommend this for human consumption. This product is somewhat "stronger" or more concentrated than normal Activated EM (AEM) as the ratio of molasses to water is more on the order of 1:15 (versus 1:20 to 1:60 for AEM) and it also contains kelp, sea salt and nutritional rock dust clays.

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Oops!  This section grew so large that it asked to be migrated to it's own page on this website! So, to learn more about the long history of fermented products in human culture, and about the antioxidants in them, please click here to visit the dedicated Related Fermented Antioxidant Products page on this website.
 

Oops!  This section grew so large that it asked to be migrated to it's own page on this website! So, to learn more about similar and related fermented antioxidant products on the market, such as Fervita, EM-X, Lanox Antioxidant Liquid, Hakko Ukon Cha fermented turmeric, and even good old basic EM1 (aka EM-1), please click here to visit the dedicated Related Fermented Antioxidant Products page on this website!

This section has been moved to the Technical Information page on this website, which you may find by clicking here.

As of August 13, 2003, the Sootheox (and Quenchox) products are no longer offered for sale, but this information is made available for educational purposes, as many folks have expressed interest in making such brews, elixirs and products on their own, and several existing vendors of nutritional products have expressed an interest in starting to brew and market their own lines of such products. 

If you wish to purchase EM fermented antioxidant brews, I recommend that you go to the SCD website at www.scdworld.com and peruse their offerings of EM fermented antioxidant products for human consumption.  They always offer the Fervita line plus EM-X, and will shortly be offering several other product lines, if they are not already doing so. Please feel free to use the discount code of VP2004 to get a 7% discount on all purchases!

Sootheox (aka Quenchox) brews and elixirs contain no significant amounts of alcohol, and are naturally acidic due to lactic acid fermentation; it is especially high in lactic acid, although some versions of the Golden Bran Kelp Brew may also contain significant and noticeable (to the taste) naturally-occurring fermentation-produced amounts of acetic acid (vinegar), although all of our products contain at least small amounts of acetic acid; often not noticeable to the taste.  No chemical acids are added at any time during brewing; all acids, such as lactic acid, acetic acid, citric acid or malic acid, are produced by the acid-forming bacteria and other microorganisms; the acids consist of primarily lactic acid, a very stable acid from the standpoint of food safety and food preservation.  Equilibrium pH at time of bottling of all our products is always 3.7 or below (usually 3.6 or lower) and will remain at that healthful acidic level for many years. ORP at time of bottling was below +145 (yes, at the low pH), yielding an rH score (hydrogen reducing power score, an antioxidative measure) in the range of 17.6 to 7.6 or even better – the lower the rH, the stronger the antioxidant (reducing) power.

The anaerobic microbial fermentation culture used in creating the Sootheox and Quenchox brews is derived from a customized proprietary parent culture which is traceable to Dr. Higa's Effective Microorganisms, aka EM or EM1 or EM-1. 

The traditional Dark Line of the three primary sootheox Brews are not filtered heavily, and thus contains numerous nutrients as well as the live fermentation organisms (they remain viable for 8 months after bottling date, while antioxidant activity lasts at least two years.)  Some folks feel that these live organisms, various lactic acid bacteria, yeasts and soil-based organisms, act as probiotics and inoculate our gut with beneficial organisms. 

All of our products contain at least a bit of residue or sediment at the bottom of each bottle, and this will be especially noticeable and significant in the Dark Line brews. All of our Dark Line brews (and, to a lesser extent, possibly our Light Line brews as well) continue to ferment slowly for at least a few months after bottling in the amber (or green) glass bottles; this is sometimes called "continuing fermentation in the bottle" or "bottle conditioned", and is done with some fine craft beers as well (although they do NOT use the reducing (antioxidative) microbial culture which we use, and rather use only yeast.)  This continuing anaerobic fermentation in our brews simply makes the brew even more acidic (as it lowers the pH even further due to lactic acid fermentation) and creates additional levels of antioxidants.  However, this ongoing fermentation will yield some offgassing, resulting in possible buildup of gas pressure in the bottles. For this reason, we have chosen to bottle our brews only in glass bottles specifically manufactured to withstand considerable gas pressure, such as amber glass (or green glass) champagne and beer bottles. We may, at some time in the future, consider also bottling in clear plastic PET high-pressure bottles of the type in which soda pop and seltzer water are sold in retail stores.

As a reminder, these products are no longer offered for sale, but this information is made available for educational purposes, as many folks have expressed interest in making such brews and elixirs on their own.

All information is presented for informational and educational purposes only.  Label, flyer and website information have not been reviewed nor approved by the FDA. 

No claims are made for ability of this product to prevent, heal or treat any disease state.
 

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Sootheox (aka Proreduct) Brews contain no significant amounts of alcohol, but do contain healthful lactic acid and are naturally acidic.  pH for all versions of Sootheox (Proreduct) Brews and Elixirs, at time of bottling, was 3.8 or below and will remain at that healthful acidic level for many years. ORP at time of bottling was below +145 at the low pH, yielding an rH (reducing power) in the range of 17.6 to 7.6 or even better (the lower the rH, the stronger the reducing power.)

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As of August 13, 2003, the Sootheox (and Quenchox) products are no longer offered for sale, but this information is made available for educational purposes, as many folks have expressed interest in making such brews, elixirs and products on their own, and several existing vendors of nutritional products have expressed an interest in starting to brew and market their own lines of such products. 

If you wish to purchase EM fermented antioxidant brews, I recommend that you go to the SCD website at www.scdworld.com and peruse their offerings of EM fermented antioxidant products for human consumption.  They always offer the Fervita line plus EM-X, and will shortly be offering several other product lines, if they are not already doing so. Please feel free to use the discount code of VP2004 to get a 7% discount on all purchases!

As of August 13, 2003, the Sootheox (and Quenchox) products are no longer offered for sale, but this information is made available for educational purposes, as many folks have expressed interest in making such brews, elixirs and products on their own, and several existing vendors of nutritional products have expressed an interest in starting to brew and market their own lines of such products. 

If you wish to purchase EM fermented antioxidant brews, I recommend that you go to the SCD website at www.scdworld.com and peruse their offerings of EM fermented antioxidant products for human consumption.  They always offer the Fervita line plus EM-X, and will shortly be offering several other product lines, if they are not already doing so. Please feel free to use the discount code of VP2004 to get a 7% discount on all purchases!

Which brew is highest in live culture? Which offers the most stable culture over time?
I had many folks ask me which of my brews wa highest in live culture, and the answer was that it was likely the Amber Molasses Mineral brew. 

Did you offer a brew containing large amounts of Vitamin C or B12 in live food form?
Yes, after a long period of tinkering and experimentation, I added an elixir known as the Vitamin C-B12 elixir.... The organisms used in this antioxidative fermentation are well known for producing Vitamin C and B12 in live-food form -- along with dozens of other potent live food antioxidants -- while fermenting sugars and other foods already, and in this brew, the organisms have been fed (commercially available) vitamin C and B12 as well to increase the amounts even further... the organisms seem to potentiate these vitamins and convert them to live-food form.

I am just starting to drink fermented antioxidant beverages -- what dosage should I start with?
I am contacted at least five times per day by folks all over the world who have brewed their own EM potions and who now want some advice as to dosage... so, here goes with my thoughts:
As far as dosage, when I first started taking EM brews, I was cautious, and I started with less than a teaspoon per dose, three times per day, and eventually built to a mugful (12 ounces) three or four or five times per day.  I have on occasion drank as much as 64 ounces of my (concentrated) EM brews (much stronger than Activated EM) in one day; I have friend who have drank at leat 2 liter per day, which is a half gallon.... Many folks start taking the brews at far higher dosages than did I initially, and some may start with one ounce three or four times per day....  I currently drink 1-3 ounces 3x/day, but peak at about 24 ounces per day.... 
Bottom line: For most folks, I recommend a suggested dosage of one tablespoon (1/2 ouncE) two or three times per day. 

How should I store my own homemade brews or yours once I have opened the bottle?
For most fermented antioxidant brews, I recommend storing them after opening between 46 degrees F and 75 degrees F, and try to exclude air as much as possible, even to the extent of decanting the contents of your bottle so smaller bottles as the original bottles develops airspace (more details on this below...). Further, if the contents of the opened bottle will not be consumed within three days of opening then I recommend storing the bottle in the refrigerator.  This will reduce the chance of stray local yeasts culturing the brew and producing odd flavors or increasing the alcohol content to as much as 1% (one percent.)

Should I store my brews in the fridge once I have opened them?
This question is very similar to the one in the section immediately above. I do caution folks that, once they have opened a bottle and started using the contents, if they will be using it only slowly, then it might be best to refrigerate it if it will not be used up within 3 days, unless you are storing it in some kind of collapsible container (see section above) which will exclude airspace and attendant oxygen above the brew as it is depleted. 

Can You Give me Some More Hints on How to Store My Brews (or yours) to Exclude Air After Oepning the Bottle?
More Info on Storing Brews, Once Opened, with Minimal Airspace, to Maintain Freshness...
I have recently answered questions posed by several folks about how to keep their homemade EM-fermented antoxidant brews; these folks had been storing their brews in pint and quart bottles and did not like the minor changes in taste and "feel" of the brew the bottle contents were depleted, which allowed  a greater airspace. It is true that if you open a bottle and use it only slowly, even if you reaseal the bottle between uses, it is likely that the remaining liquid in your bottle will change slightly once that the bottle has been opened and the airspace at top increases, thus decreasing the anoxygenic environment for the organisms.  This does happen and does seem to change the taste a bit, although it is my sense that this does not usually materially affect the useful properties of the brew.  You do have several options available to you to help manage this, although not all will address the problem fully:

• As the amount of liquid in your stock bottle decreases, pour the liquid into smaller bottles, so that only one is open at a time, and the volume of airspace at top (aka "headspace") is lessened. Be sure not to use glass bottles unless they are bottles made for high pressure, such as beer or champagne bottles, as fermented brews can continue to off-gas for a long time, building up pressure. 
• Developing on the above: You could consider decanting the brew after it is opened into smaller containers, using only the high-pressure clear plastic PET bottles in which soda and seltzer water are sold.  These bottles are collapsible, and as the contents are depleted, you can squeeze the bottle -- much as you would squeeze a toothpaste tube -- to eliminate most of the headspace before sealing the cap tightly.  Better, if the brew continues to off-gas, the bottle will slowly inflate, but at least the headspace will consist only of CO2 produced by the organisms, and be relatively devoid of oxygen which could harm the brew.
• Consider purchasing or storing your brews in one-quart or one-gallon Cubitainers. A Cubitainer is a soft plastic bladder-like bag, complete with spigot near the bottom, inside a rigid cubical cardboard box.  As the contents are used, the bag collapses, and thus there is no air (headspace) introduced until the liquid is very near the bottom of the Cubitainer.  I use Cubitainers here for storing and dispensing batches of my brews for human conspmption here, as well as my related fermented antoxidant products for agricultural and household use.
• You can purchase new, empty 1-quart, 1-gallon, 10-liter and 5-gallon Cubitaniers with spigots via any of a number of distributors, and then fill them yourself to your heart's content with EM1 stock inoculant or with your own AEM batches, or other EM brews.  One source is at http://www.ba-industrial.com/hedpak.htm. 
• If you wish to get really sophisticated, (beer and wine) homebrew supply shops also often sell various types of bottles and dispensers, from 1/2 gallon to 10 gallons, which allow dispensing liquids without allowing air into the headspace. Of course, some of these systems are pricey.... and many require you to purchase CO2 in either small soda-type canisters (aka "CO2 cartridges" or "CO2 bulbs"; available in 8 gram thru 15 gram sizes) or in larger tanks. 
• Developing the above theme of no-air dispensers from homebrew stores: One such non-CO2 system  is something called a "Party Pig", made and marketed by Quoin via homebrew stores. It comes in a 2.25 gallon size, looks like a large plastic bottle (PET) lying on its side in a cradle, with a valve (spigot) on the pig's nose, and dispenses the contents under pressure while keeping out all air and without having to purchase CO2 bottles or tanks. Instead,for each use, you will need to purchase a $3.50 non-reusable inflatable bladder which expands to force the liquid out of the bottle. Picture of the party pig and basic info at http://www.partypig.com/overview.html ; they sell for about $38.00....
• And another such bulk air-free liquid dispensing system sold in homebrew stores is the Tap-a-Draft system. I like the Tap-A-Draft (aka TAD) system, and it is a bit cheaper than the Party Pig, listed above, (comparing prices for a complete bottle/valve setup), and yes, it should work fine with these fermented antioxidant brews.  I have done a fair amount of research on the TAD system, and also interviewed large-volume homebrew suppliers, and I have a good feeling about it (and... as I noted above, it is somewhat cheaper than the Party Pig.)  I will likely get a 3-bottle starter kit (plus 2 extra valves) one of these days, but, for now, I am enjoying my newly arrived shipment of Cubitainers (a little less convenient but cheaper!)  BTW, most of the homebrew online vendors seem to sell the TAD at just about the $55 price mark...

As my fermented antioxidant brews age, even in a sealed bottle, they seem to become less sweet. Why is this?
Yes, as the brews get older, the sweetness largely disappears, and instead the flavor becomes a slightly sharp medley of various acidic flavors, mostly lactic acid, but with some acetic acid (vinegar) taste as well! This is because the lactic acid bacteria eventually consume all the sugars and then the other organisms convert them into antoixidants and other nutrients. 

Why do I keep hearing that the government regulatory agencies consider lactic acid fermented products which are acidic to be among the safest foods?
First, these fermented antioxidant brews and elixirs are all the product of lactic acid fermentation, and the final product is naturally high in lactic acid, with a final equilibrium pH below 3.7, and often quite a bit lower. The reson that many regulatory agencies consider naturally fermented lactic acid fermented products which are naturally high in lactic acid, and which have a pH below 4.4, to be extrmely safe is this: the vast majority of  harmful or "nasty" bacteria, which could produce illness or toxins (which then might produce illness), cannot live in a reductive (antioxidative) and acidic environment, thus making lactic-acid fermented foods the safest food category known to humankind. Most importantly, the nasty varieties of clostridium botulinum, which can cause botulinism, probably the most harmful kind of food posioning, cannot survive in acidic environments.  Most regulatory agencies consider a pH of 4.4 or 4.5 to be the cutoff point for safety of lactic acid fermented foods: if a food has a final equilibrium pH below 4.4, then it is considered to be in a very safe category of foods.  Our fermented antioxidant brews and elixirs all have a final equilibrium pH of below 3.7, and usually lower, so they more than meet that definition of lactic acid fermented foods which are naturally acidic. There are plenty of other beneficial organisms, including the lactic acid bacteria, yeasts, and PNSBs which make up the fermentative culture, which survive in the acidic environment quite well, however, and indeed, keep fermenting the stuff further...

I am very interested in getting more of “negative hydrogen ion” antioxidant in my diet, and I have heard that these brews are rich in this primitive hydrogen antioxidant.  Is this true?
The fermentation process employed to create these brews produces copious amounts of the primeval negative hydrogen ion antioxidant, also known as the hydride ion, "H-", "H-minus", or the  “H-minus ion”, the most primitive and basic ancient antioxidant found on Earth, which existed in the ancient “primordial soup” even before life evolved on Earth.  The copious presence of the negative hydrogen ion antioxidant in these nutritional supplement beverages has been demonstrated repeatedly by studies of the oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) of the fermenting brews. Further, the existence in the brews of large quantities of the primitive hydride ion antioxidants and also of higher-order biochemical antioxidant species derived from it have been confirmed by proprietary nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies conducted by a noted scientist who is a colleague of the author. The primeval hydride antioxidant, also known as the negative hydrogen ion, is also the same type of antioxidant found in so-called alkaline ionized water (aka electrolyzed reduced water, aka ERW) and in the commercially-available powerful antioxidant nutritional supplement known as Megahydrin and also marketed under the name Active H-, and “Active H minus”.

Why didn’t you state exact levels of most of the antioxidants and nutrients on your label, and why don't other vendors?
We tended to avoid listing specific quantities of specific live food antioxidants or minerals on the label for several, often-related reasons:
A) the quantity of the live-food antioxidants and minerals can vary from batch to batch, and also over time
B) testing by independent outside laboratories for the presence and quantities of specific antioxidants (e.g., vitamin C, vitamin E, alpha lipoic acid, COQ10, SOD, DMSO) is usually quite difficult very expensive. For example, a single test by an independent testing lab of just one sample from a batch for presence and quantity of just one antioxidant component such as vitamin C could cost from $250 to $2,600 per test
C) as shown above, testing even one sample from a single batch of a product for a number of antioxidants could be very expensive, on the order of $4,000 to $200,000, and testing samples from each batch would multiply that expense astronomically. Worse, many of these single-antioxidant quantitative tests are often notoriously unreliable or inaccurate, primarily because they either cannot detect or detect only poorly related antioxidant substances which are only slightly different than the substance the test was designed for, such as variant forms of vitamin E or vitamin C, which are still highly effective antioxidants. 

Well, have you considered stating a summary antioxidant activity score, such as the well-known ORAC score, on the labels for your fermented antioxidant brews?
Although this was a very small-scale, low-budget and low-profit operation, we considered stating a minimum antioxidant-power score on the label for each brew.  Unfortunately, the only really common and widely-used and accepted single-score “score” for antioxidant power of a food or liquid is one called the “ORAC” score, derived from an ORAC assay, or (the full name) the Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity (ORAC) Assay for Antioxidants. There are, however, advantages and also marked disadvantages to using or relying upon this ORAC score, and these will be examined on this site, along with some other measures. In fact, I eventually published minimum ORAC scores for my Amber Molasses Mineral brew; for more detail and information on this topic, please see the discussion on antioxidant measures on the Technical Information page on this website, which you may find by clicking here. 

Did you consider disclosing the amounts of minerals and trace elements on your label?
Yes, as that is quite reasonable and affordable.  This is a far easier task than disclosing exact amounts of antioxidants, because it is easier to control and manage the mineral content from batch to batch, and also because testing for all common minerals and elements, including trace elements, costs only about $90 per test, and each test delivers exact quantities (usually in parts per million) for over 80 elements. Thus, this is a very reasonable and affordable test, and the turnaround time is one week or less in most cases.
 

Do your brews contain ANY alcohol at all, even a trace?  Your site and labels simply say that they contain no significant amounts of alcohol.... I am on a very strict diet, largely for spiritual reasons but also for health reasons, and I try to avoid any trace of alcohol in my foods.
This is a frequently-asked question, and indeed, I recently had a caller from Europe ask me the same question. In brief, these brews may contain very small and insignificant amounts of alcohol, usually well below 0.3% volume, and always well below 0.5% by volume. Indeed, most of my brews and elixirs often test out at 0.1% alcohol (volume) or below. Under the regulatory guidelines in most countries, including the USA, this very low level allows a vendor to label the product “alcohol free” if they wish, since any alcohol concentration is below 0.5% by volume. However, allow me to present a meta-view -- a view from a larger perspective -- of this whole matter of hyper-concern about tiny amounts of alcohol in foods and supplements.

Meta-view of Extreme/Strict Concerns About Alcohol Content of Foodstuffs
For those who may have some kind of dietary goal to exclude ALL traces of alcohol from their diet for "nutritional" or spiritual reasons, and for all curious folks, I would like to point out the following:

• alcohol is a part of our bodies, and is found in small quantities in our GI tract and also in many of our cells; the same is true for almost all animals and some microorganisms as well
• tiny to small amounts of alcohol are often to be found in raw green leafy vegetables, sprouts, and fruit
• almost all natural traditional fermented foods, including vinegar, kim chee, yogurt, kefir, sourdough bread, kombucha, sauerkraut, and hundreds of other naturally fermented foods, will usually contain small amounts of alcohol. One study by a kefir trade group found that kefir usually contains from 0.06 to 3.0% alcohol, and other references show that yogurt is not far behind. Small amounts of alcohol can often be found in baked sourdough bread and similar products as well, including "normal" yeasted breads.
• alcohol can often be found in small concentrations in honey, molasses, maple syrup and barley malt syrup, especially in those batches which are higher in water content
• almost all sprouted grains, ripe fruits, fresh fruit juices, and unfermented apple cider contain small to moderate amounts of alcohol; this is even true of everyday orange juice
• since many of the folks who inquire about alcohol content of foods and who wish to avoid even the tiniest trace of alcohol in their diets are vegans or vegetarians, let me point out that numerous studies have shown that vegetarians and vegans produce, on average, far more alcohol in their GI tract than do folks who are largely eaters of meat and eggs; this is due to the fermentation in the GI tract of the simple carbs from the vegetarian food sources. 

Why Did You Bottle Your Brews in Amber Glass Beer Bottles?... Isn't This the Most Expensive Option, and Didn't This Raise Shipping and Handling Costs?

Yes, I chose to bottle almost all of my brews in amber glass beer bottles for quality and shelf life purposes, and yes, this did raise the shipping and handling and packing costs considerably over the scenario for using plastic bottles.In fact, I still bottle all brews for my personal use in such bottles.

As of August 13, 2003, the Sootheox (and Quenchox) products are no longer offered for sale, but this information is made available for educational purposes, as many folks have expressed interest in making such brews, elixirs and products on their own, and several existing vendors of nutritional products have expressed an interest in starting to brew and market their own lines of such products. 

If you wish to purchase EM fermented antioxidant brews, I recommend that you go to the SCD website at www.scdworld.com and peruse their offerings of EM fermented antioxidant products for human consumption.  They always offer the Fervita line plus EM-X, and will shortly be offering several other product lines, if they are not already doing so. Please feel free to use the discount code of VP2004 to get a 7% discount on all purchases!

Websites and Web Pages

EM Information Website at http://www.eminfo.info
The EM Information Website is a comprehensive website devoted to bringing to the web timely, useful and accurate information about Effective Microorganisms and the varied uses for them in agriculture and many other fields, including the realms of fermented antioxidant nutritional supplements for human and animal health.

EM-health group at Yahoo Groups
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EM-health/
This discussion group is devoted to the use of Effective Microorganisms (EM or EM-1) in human and animal health, and related topics such as their use in agriculture to produce food of higher quality, sometimes known as "beyond-organic" or "uber-organic".  There are already a number of EM fermented antioxidant nutritional supplements on the market, with more being developed every day.  We welcome beginners, "consumer users" and also serious researchers. This list is moderated by Vinny Pinto, a researcher in the fields of EM1 and nutritional antioxidants, and a peak health consultant/coach. Vinny is a scientist and health researcher who has devoted over 1,000 hours to research on EM and it's uses in health and healing, who has developed several human EM-fermented antioxidant nutritional supplements, and who networks with EM researchers around the world.  Vinny also serves as a consultant for several nutritional supplement vendors who are bringing EM-fermented products to the marketplace.
How this group got started:  I have been a researcher in the EM world since late last year, and I have received feedback from a number of folks in the EM world that, while there are already three excellent e-mail list groups devoted to EM-1 and varied uses (basic ag info [EM-Info-Share], primarily agricultural [EM-1] and white-gold/ormus [EM_WG]), there is no one list group devoted primarily to EM and its usage in human and animal health, which is a rapidly developing and evolving field.  While the live-foods list does have a number of members and posts devoted to health uses for EM, it still remains primarily a list group devoted to raw or partly-raw diets which include animal foods (aka Paleolithic or cavemen diets).  Hence, a number of folks have asked me over the past few months if there is, or could be, a list group devoted primarily to EM and health uses.  Therefore, I finally decided in August 2003 to start such a group at Yahoo Groups. 

EM-Farm-Ind group on Yahoo Groups
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EM-Farm-Ind/
Devoted to any and all uses of EM in agriculture, waste and odor management, and in industry. 

EM-Ormus group on Yahoo Groups
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EM-ormus/
A very specialized group devoted primarily to the apparent ability of EM organisms to convert elements and trace minerals in various substances (such as clays and rock dust) to a special form called the Ormus or monatomic form (aka m-state, super high spin, deformed nuclei, or manna elements), as discussed in a section above. 
I strongly suggest that you DO NOT join this group unless you know what this is all about, and sincerely want to learn more; this is a very specialized group.

Live-food group at Yahoo Groups
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/live-food/
This is a list group devoted solely to folks who eat largely raw diets which include raw animal foods (often called RVAF diets or Raw Palelithic Diets) and to fine-tuning and optimizing such diets. A number of members of the list group, including this author, have been experimenting with consuming EM and various EM products for health benefits. Thus, there are some posts regarding EM and it's uses in human nutrition. This group, like the above-mentioned group, is quite specialized; it is strongly recommended that you DO NOT join this group unless you know what this is all about, and sincerely want to learn more .   The list owner of  the Live-food list is the author of this curent page and website.

 

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No claims are made for ability of this product to prevent, heal or treat any disease state.

All information is presented for informational and educational purposes only.  Label, flyer and website information have not been reviewed nor approved by the FDA. 

"EM•1®", "EMRO USA Effective Microorganisms™", "ProEM-1®" and the logo(s) or symbol(s) appearing immediately below are trademarked names and symbols belonging to EMRO USA. 

EM-1® may be a trademarked name belonging to EM Research Organization Japan (EMRO Japan).

EM-X® may be a trademarked name belonging to EM Research Organization Japan (EMRO Japan) or Tropical Plant Research Institute (TPRI) in Okinawa.

"Biosa™", "Vita Biosa™", "Terra Biosa™", "Pet Biosa™" and the logo(s) or symbol(s) appearing immediately below are trademarked names and symbols belonging to Biosa Denmark.

"Fervita™" and the logo(s) or symbol(s) appearing immediately below are trademarked names and symbols belonging to Fervita™ Systems.

"Beneficial Microbes (BM)™" and "BM Ecology™" and any logo(s) or symbol(s) appearing below may be trademarked names belonging to Crown Biotech and Crown Organics in Australia.

"BM-Technology", "BIOAAB", "BIOPRIDE", "BIOVET", "BIOCONTROL" and any  logo(s) or symbol(s) appearing immediately below may be trademarked names and symbols belonging to Nature Farming Research & Development Foundation in Pakistan.

"Lanox™" and any  logo(s) or symbol(s) appearing immediately below are trademarked names and symbols belonging to Lanox-Korea and M21 Environmental Technology Inc., aka Fermented Antioxidants Research.

"Complex Fermented Microorganisms™", "Stuff for Food Dregs", "Time•X™", " Time-X™" and any  logo(s) or symbol(s) appearing immediately below are trademarked names and symbols belonging to Senong Co., Ltd.

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