Active Fresh Toothpaste from Nepal

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This healthy toothpaste came to me from the foot of the Himalaya Mountains - Kathmandu. The official population of that city in 2011 was just over a million people. Americans who have never been tend to think of it as the launching pad for expeditions up Mount Everest. That's true, but it's a very small part of what happens in Nepal's capital city.

My friend Jon Swanson journeyed to Nepal recently to serve people there by helping to set up an internet cafe - that will assist Nepalese people to do much more than just access the internet. (You'll have to read about his adventures on 300 Words a Day.) And Jon very kindly brought back a tube of a minty green toothpaste he purchased in the big city.

Himalaya Herbals is the manufacturer of Active Fresh. Interestingly, they do not list this toothpaste on their website. A similar paste on their site is "Mint Fresh." Also of interest is that Himalaya Herbals is located in the heart of Bangalore, India, which is 2,350 km (1,460 miles) from the Himalayas.

Active Fresh does indeed have a fresh taste. It's a light green gel - lighter than most American green gel pastes (with more yellow in the mix than blue). There's just a hint of citrus flavor in the mix. My favorite part of the label is the phrase, "Gum Expert." (In America, that would mean someone who is an expert in all things chewing gum.)

The ingredients include several things such as are common to most toothpastes - saccharin and sorbitol (sweeteners) and sodium lauryl sulphate (an organic cleaning chemical). It also does include some herbal ingredients, such as eugenia caryophyllus bud extract, otherwise known as clove.

The box touts its ability to provide 12-hour protection from germs. Brush everyday at 7 am and 7 pm, and you will never get sick! (The latter is my interpretation of what this toothpaste will provide.)

Unusual for most non-American internationally-oriented toothpastes, the only language on the box and tube is English.

Brush up today!

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Just as I was writing this, a huge earthquake took place in Nepal - killing hundreds. My hearts and my prayers go out for the families affected by this tragedy.

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