Our Journey

As a physician I’ve always been skeptical of holistic medicine, home remedies, and folk medicine. I’m a scientist by training, needing clinical trials, documented results, and concrete reported data before I buy-in, endorse, and ultimately prescribe treatment plans for my patients. This is a responsibility that I hold in the highest regard, intertwined with the Hippocratic oath and my religious beliefs. As a physician, I’m given an unprecedented trust by patients as they present an open book of their deepest vulnerabilities. Shared decision making must be grounded in my knowledge of treatment strategies and proven results.

Breakthroughs in medicine are advancing exponentially in our current society. Death sentences 30 years ago have evolved into manageable disease with hopes of eradication in our near future. New procedures, treatment strategies, and medicines have changes both the quality and duration of life for millions of people. I am a strong proponent of modern medicine and its benefits for our society. Maybe it was the success of the complex, that made me blind to the obvious and simple? I believe that things happen for a reason and intertwined in every obstacle is an opportunity. This is a personal story of discovery, a personal pain that gave revelation of an age-old treatment strategy that was hidden in plain sight.

During the summer of 2022, my son and I volunteered to be part of a Mission Trip along the Amazon River Basin in Northern Brazil. We flew into Manaus , where “the waters meet” and the Amazon River is formed. It is here, on the Edge of the Amazon Rainforest where the waters of the Rio Negro and Solimoes meet, forming the majestic Amazon River. This is the gateway to the Amazon River Basin where thousands of miles of intrinsic, ever-changing waterways give way to a different world.  It’s estimated that up to 1.5 million people live dispersed through the lush rainforest and along the banks of the Amazon Basin tributaries. Our intentions were to go up river in a boat over 24hrs in order to provide medical care, supplies, and mission relief to the indigenous population. I saw this trip as an opportunity to serve and spend needed time with my teenage son. Little did I know that the rainforest and the locals had a gift that would change my life.

The indigenous people of the Amazon River Basin are a hard-working, culturally distinct population that are in-tune with nature, passing down traditions, rituals, and ways of life for thousands of years. They often refer to themselves as “The forgotten People’” cut off from society due to their remote location of residence. Common everyday practices and remedies to the indigenous people cultivated through thousands of years are unfortunately not translated into our society due to the remote nature of origin and limited communication. It was in a remote village, on the banks of the Amazon River where I encountered a local remedy that has greatly impacted my personal life. It was a very hot and humid day and we had seen a large number of patients at our makeshift clinic. Ailments ranged from the typical aches and pains to the complex elevated blood glucose or blood pressure. It was during a patient encounter with a local woman that I was introduced to Andiroba, a local oil used for a vast array of ailments. My interpreter, a Brazilian medical student assured me of medicinal properties and usage profile. The patient kindly offered to give me a vial that she had harvested. As a physician I had conflicting emotions of intrigue and skepticism. Later that night while on our boat, I consulted a local volunteer pharmacist that was studying for her PHD in Manaus. She confirmed the efficacy of Andiroba for fighting inflammation and wound healing, noting multiple studies had been performed. These triggered thoughts reminiscence of Sean Connery in the movie Medicine Man. What had I stumbled upon in this Amazon village?

As they say, “out of sight, out of mind,” so I packed away the small vial in my luggage, forgetting the Amazonian discovery upon my return to Texas and the daily demands of being a father, husband, and emergency physician. Weeks later, while unpacking my medical kit, I stumbled across the small unlabeled vial, bringing back memories of the encounter with the small woman and conversations with the local healthcare professionals. So, what do you think I did?........ I sat it on my nightstand, forgetting about it once again.

I’m in my 40’s and considered myself a fairly active individual. With my age and an active lifestyle, a person encounter standard aches and pains. It’s par for the course. I had injured my shoulder while bench pressing at the gym approximately 6 months prior. It was an agonizing injury, riddled with inflammation, limiting my range of motion, sleep pattern, and ability to exercise. After a night of restless sleep, I rolled over to rediscover the small vial of andiroba, sitting on the bedside table, hidden by my phone charging stand. It was then that it hit me, “maybe I should try this on my shoulder?” In less than a week, after religious daily application of the oil to my shoulder, I began to noticed marked relief. Was it a coincidence, or had the oil actually worked? What had I discovered, or better yet what had the village woman revealed? Medical literature research quickly confirmed what the Local Brazilian medical professionals and Amazon villagers had long known. Andiroba is a very potent treatment for inflammation, wound healing, and a vast array of other disorders. Was this my Sean Connery moment in the Amazon Basin?

In Western medicine is it postulated that 25% of all drugs are derived from rainforest plants. It is estimated that less than 5% of Amazon plant species have been studied. Global deforestation and pollution threaten the Amazon Basin which likely hold the key to treatments and cures for our world’s diseases and ailments. Fortunately, Andiroba comes from the tree Carapa guianensis, or crabwood that is endemic to the Amazon River Basin. It is fast growing, highly productive and has a vast array of uses. This tree, due to its fast-growing nature is actually being used in reforesting initiatives in the Amazon region.

Personal research and experimentation have allowed us to create a non-toxic, environmentally friendly emulsion delivery system that is a highly effective topical anti-inflammatory lotion and an exceptional moisturizer. The name Manifest means, “to hide in plain sight,” as the tree is highly abundant and like many other natural wonders, has uses and properties that we have yet to discover.

This is not my discovery, rather a revelation of what the villagers have known for centuries. Even with all of the modern-day advances of medical sciences, there is still a place for nature’s secrets. This is not my endorsement as a physician, but rather my chronicles as a person who is a believer. I encourage you to Try our product and provide feedback or personal stories of how you have been impacted.