NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE

REGARDING HENRY
By Henrylito D. Tacio


NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE


Remember Pollyanna Whittier? The perennially optimistic lead character of Eleanor H. Porter's novel is so good that some readers find her exasperating.

Most people facing her adversities would become suicidal or a homicidal maniac: Not Pollyanna. Her answer to life's miseries is the 'Glad Game.' She always finds something to be glad about.

She melts the hearts f the heartless; finds a home for Jimmy Bean, an orphan she found in the street; is a marriage counselor and full-time social worker. Then, she is run over by a car. Her optimism is not daunted, even when she overhears a doctor say she will never walk again. Wrong. She gets right up and walks into the novel's sequel.

"Look at the sunny side of everything," Christian D. Larsen once reminded. "Think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best. Be as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your won. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give everyone a smile. Spend so much time improving yourself that you have no time left to criticize others. Be too big for worry and too noble for anger."

And that was what Bill Eaton did when he lost his house. Here's what had happened, according to Dr. Harold J. Sala: "It all started following several wrecks of drenching rain, when California took on the appearance of an Asian monsoon. The rains finally softened the earth beneath Bill and Lee Eaton's family home, and a massive hole began to swallow up their four-bedroom house, which had been home for twenty-three years. That home was full of memories, too. Here, their family grew up. Christmases and birthdays, a wedding and scores of good memories were all associated with the pale green house."

To make matters worse, a wrecking crew got the wrong address and punched massive holes in the roof before they discovered they were tearing down the wrong house.

"It's not a disaster; it's an adventure!" That was what Bill could say. Talk about optimism. And what his wife felt about it? "It looks ominous to me right now," she was quoted as saying, "but it's not an impossible situation."

In his book, 'Heroes: People Who Made a Difference in Our World,' Dr. Sala asked: "How do people stay so positive when insurance won't cover the loss and they are not exactly rich?"

It's too hard to be optimistic if you are facing a disaster. But like Pollyanna and the Eatons, there are people who are optimists. From history, I could think of: Napoleon Bonaparte ("Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools"), George Eliot ("Nothing is so good as it seems beforehand"), Duke Ellington ("Gray skies are just clouds passing over"), Ralph Waldo Emerson ("Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year"), Anne Frank ("I don't think of all the misery, but of all the beauty that still remains"), and Benjamin Franklin ("Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight").

The other side of optimism is pessimism. The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds," says James Branch Cabell, "and the pessimist fears this is true." Albert Schweitzer differentiates: "An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere, while a pessimist sees only the red stoplight. The truly wise person is color-blind."

What is the difference of the two? At one time, a famous businessman came to Frederick Ebright and told him his solution for those off-days. "When I am feeling particularly blue," he told him, "I sit down and write a letter to a friend telling him all my troubles. But I do not mail that letter. Instead, I begin a second letter to the same person in which I carefully omit any mention of those misfortunes, but substitute for each one a bit of good news, no matter how small, which has come my way. By the time this second letter is written, a miracle has taken place. I actually do feel better. And, since a cheerful letter begets a cheerful reply, I have accomplished a two-fold purpose."

In other words, to quote the words of American author Joe Karbo, "The pessimist sees the bottle as half empty. The optimist sees it as half full."

The pessimist allows a disappointment in one area of his life to pervade the rest. For instance, he's laid off from work. The pessimist not only feels bad about losing his job, but he also starts to worry that his marriage is in trouble and his kids are out of control. On the other hand, the optimist doesn't let one setback contaminate his whole life. He may say: "So at the moment I don't have a job. My wife and I are still close, and my kids made the honor roll."

Yes, there are always two sides of a coin. You either look at the brighter side or the darker side. B.A. Botkin shares an anecdote which happened during a war and the Army was drafting young men by the thousands.

A young farmer walked down the street right in front of the draft board office. A neighbor told him, "You had better stay away; you might get drafted into the army." The boy, who had actually not even heard of the war, did not understand what it was all about. So, the neighbor explained the situation.

Hearing the explanation, the boy replied, "Well, I always figure I have two chances: I might get drafted and I might not. And even if I get drafted, I still have two chances: I might pass and I might not. And if I pass, I still have two chances: I might go overseas or I might not. And even if I go overseas, I still have two chances: I might get short and I might not. And even if I got shot, I still have two chances: I might die or I might not. And even if I die, I still have two chances."

I think I like the advice of Bob Losure. He said, " People have been wonderful to me in the good times and the bad, and I've come to believe that you do indeed reap what you sow. For those who constantly gripe about life, I turn and walk away. For those who speak negatively about people behind their backs, I move on."

Good advice, indeed.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS FAILURE!

REGARDING HENRY

By Henrylito D. Tacio



THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS FAILURE!



THE chorus of a popular song goes this way: "Now I understand / What you tried to say to me; / How you suffered for your sanity, / How you tried to set them free; / They would not listen / They didn't not know how, / Perhaps they'll listen now."



The song was written by Don McLean as a tribute to Vincent Willem van Gogh, one of the Netherland's greatest painters. He produced more than 2,000 works, including around 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches, during the last ten years of his life. Most of his best-known works were produced in the final two years of his life.



In his book, 'Heroes: People Who Made a Difference in Our World,' Dr. Harold J. Sala noted: "Today, one of his paintings sells for tens of millions of dollars, yet in his lifetime he sold only one painting, for the equivalent of about a hundred dollars. For most of his life, he had to depend on the charity of his brother (Theo) for survival. If ever a man's great talents were unrecognized in his day, Van Gogh was that person."



As a kid, he had trouble relating with other people. His comment on his early years was: "My youth was gloomy and cold and sterile…" He wanted to become a preacher like his father so much so that he entered a theological seminary in Brussels. But for reasons not known until now, he was kicked out from the seminary reportedly for being "overly zealous," according to one biographer.



Friendless and outcast even to his own family, he decided to become a painter. He studied the impressionists but he didn't strive to be one of them. He wanted to be himself, and he painted his own way. Don McLean croons: "Starry, starry night, / Paint your palette blue and gray, / Look out on a summer's day / With eyes that know the darkness in my soul. / Catch the breeze and the winter chills / In colors on the snowy linen land."



Most of Van Gogh's best-known works were produced in the final two years of his life, during which time he cut off part of his left ear following a breakdown in his friendship with Paul Gauguin. After this he suffered recurrent bouts of mental illness.



At the age of 37, he walked into the fields and shot himself in the chest with a revolver. Without realizing that he was fatally wounded he returned to the inn where he was staying and there died in his bed two days later. His brother Theo hastened to be at his side and reported his brother's last words were: "La tristesse durera toujours" (French for "the sadness will last forever").



"All his life, he considered himself to be a failure," wrote Dr. Sala in his book. "Was he really a failure? Your answer depends on how you look at life. Today, a massive museum in Amsterdam houses his nearly priceless works of art. He is recognized the world over as a great artist."



John B. Johnson reminds, "People do not inadvertently stumble into failure. They think their way into it." And William A. Ward said it succinctly: "Man swims in the sea of self-satisfaction, nibbles at the bait of procrastination, swallows the hook of mediocrity, and ends up in the net of failure."



Failure is always a part of being successful. As Emmett LeCompte puts it: "He who has never failed has never tried." In other words, "Failures can be divided into those who thought and never did, and those who did and never thought," to quote the words of W.A. Nance.



Charles Kettering admonishes, "You fail because your ideas aren't right. You should be afraid to fail, but you should learn to fail intelligently. But that I mean, when you fail, find out why you failed, and each time you fail it will bring you up nearer to the goal."



This reminds us the story of Thomas Alva Edison. This American inventor had only three months of formal schooling. And yet, history records show that he knew more failures than successes. For 13 months, Edison kept on searching for a filament that would stand the stress of electric current. As he pondered whether he would be able to discover the elusive thing, he got a note from people backing his experiment that they would no longer be giving additional funds for what he was then doing.



News like that may bring a person to quit, but not Edison. In fact, it did not deter him from continuing his work. He refused to admit defeat and worked without sleep for two more days and nights. Eventually, he managed to insert one of the crude carbonized threads into a vacuum-sealed bulb. "When we turned on the current," he recalled, "the sight we had so long desired finally met our eyes!"



Before that, however, Edison had to endure a string of failures. "What a waste! We have tried no less than 700 experiments and nothing has worked. We are not a bit better off than when we started," a couple of men who were working alongside him said. He just shrugged this comment, telling them, "Oh yes, we are! We now know 700 things that won't work. We're closer than we've ever been before."



Howard W. Newton points out, "When a man blames others for his failures, it's a good idea to credit others with his successes." In fact, some people, however, can dismiss failures humorously. Comedian actor W.C. Fields once said: "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no use being a damn fool about it."



If you're facing a string of failures, don't be discouraged. Don't plan to quit. An unknown poet advises: "When things go wrong as they sometimes will, when the road you're trudging seems all uphill, when the funds are low and the debts are high, and you want to smile, but you have to sigh;



"When care is pressing you down a bit, rest if you must, but don't you quit. Life is queer with its twists and turns, as every one of us sometimes learns, and many a failure turns about when he might have won had he stuck it out.



"Don't give up though the pace seems slow – you may succeed with another blow. Success is failure turned inside out – the silver tint of the clouds of doubt, and you never can tell just how close you are, it may be near when it seems so far."



The final line said it all: "So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit – it's when things seem worst that you must not quit."

SO, YOU WANT TO GIVE?

REGARDING HENRY

By Henrylito D. Tacio



SO, YOU WANT TO GIVE?



RECENTLY, I got a copy of 'Heroes: People Who Made a Difference in Our World" by Dr. Harold J. Sala.



Though the book, I came to know Ann Scheiber, "a lonely little woman who pretty much stayed to herself." Dr. Sala further gave this information about her: "She lived in a tiny little apartment with paint peeling off the walls and badly in need of repairs. A product of the Depression, Ann was of the old school, who lived on a small pension and a government stipend. She never spent money on clothes. Without close friends, she seemed to be a real loner. In her years of government service, she was never promoted and in her lifetime received only a token pay increase."



Most of her neighbors knew that she visited the local library every day without fail. There, she read a financial daily, 'The Wall Street Journal,' from cover to cover. Only the librarian knew this. And there was only one person who knew that she was very rich – her stock broker who saw her nominal investment of US$5,000 grew into a fortune of over US$22 million.



"At her death, she left her entire estate to a local Jewish university she neither attended nor had ever visited," wrote Dr. Sala, the president and founder of Guidelines International. "She became her benefactor because she wanted others of the same ethnic background to be possibly spared the discrimination that she had felt in her lifetime."



After reading what Ann had done, people wondered how she managed to amass such fortune! The answer was that she invested in blue chip companies and major corporations, never living on her interest and profits. She plowed her dividend back into the purchase of more stock. "But those who ask only how she was so successful making money have missed the whole point of her sad life," Dr. Sala observed.



The stock broker explained: "She was obviously very intelligent and very unhappy. It would have been so much happier for her if she had done it (given the money while she was living) so she could see the benefits accrue to others."



This reminds me of the words of a sage, "Do your giving while you're living so you know where it's going." Not bad advice. Yes, not bad at all.



And that's what Chinese superstar Jackie Chan is doing. As a little boy growing up in poverty in Hong Kong, Jackie Chan lived in an orphanage. In one of his visits to the Philippines, he told the press: "We received help from the Red Cross every month. One day, I went up to the priest from Red Cross to say thank you. He said, 'I'm just the deliverer. When you grow up, show your appreciation by giving to others.'"



Those words stuck in his mind. So much so that after he became a bankable actor, he founded the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation in 1988. Among its objectives include helping the elderly and movie workers injured on the job, and giving scholarships to poor children who wish to pursue careers in the sciences or performing arts.



What Jackie Chan is doing reminds me of the words of Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes. He wrote: "The gratification of wealth is not found in mere possession or in lavish expenditure, but in its wise application."



English politician and writer Joseph Addison states: "I have somewhere met with the epitaph on a charitable man which has pleased me very much. I cannot recollect the words, but here is the sense of it: What I spent I lost; what I possessed is left to others; what I gave away remains with me."



Unknowingly, giving sometimes is a miracle healer. This was proven in a story which appeared in Frank Mihalic's 'The Next 500 Stories.' Read it and ponder:



The Rolls Royce drove into the cemetery. The driver told the man at the entrance house, "Would you come out to see the lady in the car? She is too till to walk."



Waiting in the car was a frail, elderly woman. She introduced herself and said, "Every week, for the last two years, I have been sending you five dollars to spend on flowers for my son's grave. But the doctors told me I don't have much longer to live, and I've come to thank you for taking care of the flowers."



The caretaker blinked at her and replied, "You know, ma'am, I'm sorry that you kept sending the money for the flowers." The lady wondered, "Sorry?"



"Yes," he explained, "because dead people never see them." The lady, very hurt by what she heard, answered back, "Do you know what you are saying?"



"Oh, indeed, I do. I belong to a visiting society: insane asylum, state hospitals, and the like. People in those places dearly love flowers. They can see them and smell them. Lady, there are living people in places like that."



The lady sat silent for a moment, and then signaled her driver to drive on.



Some months later, the same lady came back – but now completely different: she's sort of much younger and driving the car herself. "I take the flowers to the people myself," she explained with a friendly smile. "You were right: it does make them happy. And it makes me happy, too. The doctors don't know what is making me well. But I do: I have something to live for."



"From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life," says Arthur Ashe, a prominent African American tennis player who is well remembered for his efforts to further social causes.



And remember, God has given us life through His Son. As a gift to mankind, he allowed his Son to be crucified. John 3:16 states: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE: HOPE ON THE HORIZON?

ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE: HOPE ON THE HORIZON?



By Henrylito D. Tacio


They say memory is the first thing to go. More precisely, it's the first thing doctors consider in an evaluation. For 65-year-old Charito, memory impairment is indeed in the earliest stages. She has trouble with words and, sometimes, simple physical tasks such as preparing the table for dinner. Her memory troubles come and go. "There are times when I don't have any problem," she says. "But there are also instances that I don't know what I was doing at all."



Charito has been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment and told she has an 80-percent chance of developing Alzheimer's disease. Her mother, at age 72, died of the disease. "Of course, I have fears that I may follow what my mother had gone through," she says. "I hope that that medical science can do something about this disease."



Actually, Alzheimer's disease has a gradual onset. Generally, it starts with subtle changes in memory function. "What comes first gets out last with the most recent memory getting lost first," explains Dr. Simeon Marasigan, associate professor at the department of neurology and psychiatry of the University of Santo Tomas.



In some instances, the patient may exhibit abnormal behavior. "People suffering from Alzheimer's may be unreasonable," explains Dr. Victor Chong, a neurologist with special interest in dementia from the University Malaya Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur. "For example, a husband with Alzheimer disease may often accuse the wife of infidelity."



But as the disease progresses, language skills diminish, along with the ability to perform calculations or planning activities. A person who used to be very good at giving his opinions on certain topics, solving problems, and painting, may not be capable of doing them now.



Unlike in the past, doctors can now diagnose the disease with 90% accuracy, but proof can only be obtained by examining the brain of the patient after death. Unfortunately, many other disease processes can mimic Alzheimer's such as thyroid imbalances, vitamin B12 deficiency, brain injuries, tumors, and depression.



More than 26 million people now have the brain-wasting disease and this number will quadruple, to 106 million, by 2050. "By 2050, 1 in 85 persons worldwide will have Alzheimer's disease," said Dr. Ron Brookmeyer of Johns Hopkins University, who led the study on how many people have the disease.



The biggest jump is projected for densely populated Asia, home of almost half of today's Alzheimer's cases, 12.6 million. By 2050, Asia will have 62.8 million of the world's 106 million Alzheimer's patients. Currently, the Philippines has about 90,000 people having the disease.



For over 50 years, however, the symptoms of Alzheimer's were thought to be a normal part of aging, and a true disease only in people who had it before age 65. "However, here is an increase prevalence of Alzheimer's disease as one gets older," explains Dr. Marcos Ong, a neurologist and psychiatrist at the Brokenshire Hospital in Davao City.



"About 5 percent of men and 6 percent of women over 60 years of age are affected with Alzheimer's," says Dr. Wang Xiangdong, adviser of the mental health and control substance abuse program of the regional office of World Health Organization (WHO). "With the ageing of populations, this figure is projected to increase rapidly over the next 20 years."



Since the disease has been described by Dr Lois Alzheimer in 1907, it continues to baffle medical science. Until now, the cause of Alzheimer's disease remains a mystery. "Alzheimer's is one of the hottest areas of scientific research," declares Dr. Marasigan.



Science, however, has discovered that the gradual loss of brain function that characterizes Alzheimer's is due to two proteins, beta-amyloid and tau. "These two are the possible culprits," says Professor Edmund Chiu, a psychiatrist at St. George's Hospital in Melbourne University.



Beta-amyloid protein accumulates in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease, activating immune cells that try unsuccessfully to remove it. That triggers the release of poisons that ultimately kill nerve cells, leaving behind a trail of plaques and tangles – the remains of nerve cells and fibers, clogged up with beta-amyloid.



Many of the nerve cells that are destined to die show abnormal deposits of a protein called tau, which is assumed to be toxic to nerves. Tau formation is related to the severity of disease. "The more severe the disease, the more tau is found within the brain," informs Dr. Adrian Tan, a neurologist who works at the Paragon Medical Centre and the Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre in Singapore.



Alzheimer's has also been connected to a reduction of acetylcholine in the brain. Acetylcholine is a substance in the body that allows messages to travel from one nerve to another. For example, a person who decides to pick up a pen can act on the thought only when the hand receives the message from the brain. Studies have shown that Alzheimer's patients have a severe drop, sometimes 90 percent, of acetylcholine.



But despite all these discoveries, there is still no cure, or way to prevent the onset of the disease. Professor Simon Lovestone, chairman of the Alzheimer's Research Trust's scientific advisory board, is optimistic that the disease will soon be curable. "In our lifetime, some level of cure is possible," he said.



Dr. Patricio F. Reyes, a neurologist and neuropathologist who directs the Alzheimer's Disease and Cognitive Disorders of the Neuropathology Research Laboratory at Barrow Neurological Institute in Arizona, agrees. "I believe that if research continues its pace and focus we would have a major breakthrough within 5-10 years."



However, Dr. Reyes admitted that Alzheimer's disease is "multifactorial" hence its prevention and treatment will involve the combination of drugs which may include pills and/or a vaccine, changes in current lifestyle to reduce or prevent risks factors such high cholesterol, diabetes, head trauma and hypertension, and limit people's exposure to noxious agents in the environment.



Researchers around the world have found more than 30 different compounds that can retard, halt or prevent amyloid buildup in mice or else speed up its clearance. "Since most of these are still experimental and limited to animal studies, it is very difficult to predict results among human beings," says Dr Eleanor Ong, a neurologist at the Davao Doctor's Hospital.



In Canada, a University of Toronto team recently announced a promising new agent. A compound called cyclohexanehexol, or AZD-103, stopped beta amyloid accumulation in mice and reduced their symptoms. The compound is in Phase I of clinical trials.



Others are in Phase II. In Phase II a treatment's effectiveness is tested in groups of 100 to 300 people. Then, if it still holds promise, it will move to Phase III clinical trials on up to 3,000 patients with a control group. Neither patients nor clinical researchers will know who is getting the treatment until the end of the trial.



"It will take a couple of years for results," says Dr. Paul Fraser, professor of medical biophysics at the University of Toronto, "but these Phase III findings are going to come out one after another, and we will see what is best."



In the United States, Dr. Reyes reported that their institute has just finished working on the development of a skin patch for Alzheimer's disease which the US Food and Drug Authority has approved. "It is the only one available and it took us more than 4 years," he says. "It would avoid many the gastro-intestinal side-effects of medications such Exelon, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor."



"The reality may seem bleak but there is hope," says Dr. Xiangdong. "Recent researches have been discovering new facets of the disease. Better understanding of risk factors may lead the way to postpone the onset and reduce incidence. And with the dedication of some scientists, physicians, and epidemiologists, we will witness more promising new therapies."



And as Dr. Manolete Renato Guerrero, chairman of the Department of Nuerosciences at the Davao Medical School Foundation, puts it: "There will come a time when Alzheimer's disease will become a thing of the past." -- ###

THE DAY JESUS CHRIST WAS BORN

REGARDING HENRY
By Henrylito D. Tacio


THE DAY JESUS CHRIST WAS BORN


December 25 is the day Jesus Christ – the Messiah and our Savior – was supposed to be born. Whether He was born on the said day or not, the big news is that He came into this world to die for our sins (check John 3:16 for that).



Let us celebrate Christmas not because of the merry-making it brings, but because the Son of God did live with us. As George Mathew Adams reminds: "Let us remember that the Christmas heart is a giving heart, a wide open heart that thinks of others first. The birth of the baby Jesus stands as the most significant event in all history, because it has meant the pouring into a sick world of the healing medicine of love which has transformed all manner of hearts for almost two thousand years. Underneath all the bulging bundles is this beating Christmas heart."



Yesterday, when I opened my e-mail, I was surprised to receive a message from a friend. Actually, it is a forwarded message and I read it several times. The message is clear: we celebrate Christmas because of gifts, foods, mirth, reunion, and bonuses.



Where is Jesus Christ in the picture? Do we still pay homage to the One who sustain all of us through these years? Who do we go to when we are lonely? Who do we call when we are down? Who do you think comfort us when all things go wrong?



Now, here's the message which started all this thought. Please listen to His words as we celebrate this year's Christmas season:



"As you well know, we are getting closer to my birthday. Every year there is a celebration in my honor and I think that this year the celebration will be repeated. During this time there are many people shopping for gifts, there are many radio announcements, TV commercials, and in every part of the world everyone is talking that my birthday is getting closer and closer.



"It is really very nice to know, that at least once a year, some people think of me. As you know, the celebration of my birthday began many years ago. At first people seemed to understand and be thankful of all that I did for them, but in these times, no one seems to know the reason for the celebration. Family and friends get together and have a lot of fun, but they don't know the meaning of the celebration.



"I remember that last year there was a great feast in my honor. The dinner table was full of delicious foods, pastries, fruits, assorted nuts and chocolates. The decorations were exquisite and there were many, many beautifully wrapped gifts. But, do you want to know something? I wasn't invited. I was the guest of honor and they didn't remember to send me an invitation.



"The party was for me, but when that great day came, I was left outside, they closed the door in my face – and I wanted to be with them and share their table. In truth, that didn't surprise me because in the last few years all close their doors to me.



"Since I was not invited, I decided to enter the party without making any noise. I went in and stood in a corner. They were all drinking; there were some who were drunk and telling jokes and laughing at everything. They were having a great time. To top it all, this big fat man all dressed in red wearing a long white beard entered the room yelling Ho-Ho-Ho! He seemed drunk. He sat on the sofa and all the children ran to him, saying: 'Santa Claus, Santa Claus' – as if the party were in his honor!



"At 12 midnight all the people began to hug each other; I extended my arms waiting for someone to hug me. And do you know what? No one hugged me. Suddenly they all began to share gifts. They opened them one by one with great expectation. When all had been opened, I looked to see if, maybe, there was one for me.



"What would you feel if on your birthday everybody shared gifts and you did not get one? I then understood that I was unwanted at that party and quietly left. Every year it gets worse. People only remember to eat and drink, the gifts, the parties and nobody remembers me. I would like this Christmas that you allow me to enter into your life. I would like that you recognize the fact that almost two thousand years ago I came to this world to give my life for you, on the cross, to save you. Today, I only want that you believe this with all your heart.



"I want to share something with you. As many didn't invite me to their party, I will have my own celebration, a grandiose party that no one has ever imagined, a spectacular party. I'm still making the final arrangements. Today I am sending out many invitations and there is an invitation for you. I want to know if you wish to attend and I will make a reservation for you and write your name with golden letters in my great guest book. Only those on the guest list will be invited to the party. Those who don't answer the invitation will be left outside.



" Do you know how you can answer this invitation? It is by extending it to others whom you care for. I'll be waiting for all of you to attend my party this year. See you soon and I love you!"



This reminds me of the words of American film actor and comedian Bob Hope when he was still alive. He said, "My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?"



Charles Dickens, the English author of 'A Christmas Carol,' once penned: "I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year."



I think more than Christmas, I will honor Christ in my heart.

THOSE BRAIN-DAMAGING HABITS

REGARDING HENRY

By Henrylito D. Tacio

THOSE BRAIN-DAMAGING HABITS

If there is a human organ that is more complicated than any other parts of the body, it is the 1.3 kilogram wrinkled lump of grey matter called brain (Greek for "in the skull"). It is the boss of our body and runs the whole show.

Brains can be extremely complex. For example, the human brain contains more than 100 billion neurons, each linked to as many as 10,000 other neurons (those electrically active brain cells that process information).

The brain's functions are both mysterious and remarkable. As the second edition of 'The Merck Manual of Medical Information' puts it: "From the brain come all thoughts, beliefs, memories, behaviors, and moods. The brain is the site of thinking and the control center for the rest of the body. The brain coordinates the abilities to move, touch, smell, taste, hear, and see. It enables people to form words, understand and manipulate numbers, compose and appreciate music, recognize and understand geometric shapes, communicate with others, plan ahead, and even fantasize."

According to medical experts, the brain reviews all stimuli – from the internal organs, surface of the body, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. It then reacts to these stimuli by correcting the position of the body, the movement of limbs, and the rate at which the internal organs function. The brain can also adjust mood and levels of consciousness and alertness.

Until now, no computer has come close to matching the capabilities of the human brain. "However, this sophistication comes with a price," the Merck manual notes. "The brain needs constant nourishment; it demands an extremely high and continuous flow of blood and oxygen – about 20 percent of the blood flow from the heart."

If you will ask doctors who are assigned in the emergency room, they will tell you this: A loss of blood flow to the brain for more than about 10 seconds can cause loss of consciousness. Experts estimate that once the heart stops, there is a window of four to six minutes to restore circulation before brain cells begin to die.

Yes, we have to protect our brain. But without knowing it, some of us are destroying them. Recently, I received an e-mail from a physician friend enumerating ten brain-damaging habits. I am not sure if there are studies conducted to most of them but there are more truths to them than fiction.

1. Not eating breakfast. Most people who are in a hurry miss eating this most important meal of the day and instead eat a big lunch. But studies have shown that people who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. "Abnormally low sugar level in the blood," the Merck manual states, "can cause the brain to malfunction within minutes." This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.

2. Eating too much. Experts call this gluttony – and it's a deadly sin! More often than not, gluttony leads to obesity. Overeating causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.

3. Smoking. On the average, Filipinos consume about 4.2 sticks of cigarette per day. Official data show that 20,000 die each year from tobacco-related diseases, mostly from lung cancer. What most people don't know that smoking also causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to brain-snatching Alzheimer's disease.

4. Consuming too much sugar. Our body needs sugar but too much of it, experts claim, interrupts the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition, which may interfere with brain development.

5. Breathing polluted air. Air pollution is now a common reality, even in developing countries like the Philippines. The most common forms of air pollutants – most of them come from vehicles, industry and power plants – are suspended particulate matter, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, ozone, and lead. The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.


6. Not sleeping well. According to studies from Wrigth State University in Dayton, Ohio, at least one third of adults have significant sleep loss (six hours or less of sleep a night). Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep accelerates the death of brain cells.

7. Covering your head while sleeping. If you're doing this habit, take note. Health experts claim that sleeping with the head covered increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.

8. Working your brain during illness. Generally, doctors recommend to those who are sick to take a rest. In the stressful world we are living now, some sick people who are beating deadlines or facing final examinations, rest is far from their vocabulary. Unfortunately, working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.

9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts. You are what you think, so goes a popular saying. Thinking is the best way to train our brain and lacking in brain stimulation thoughts, some experts believe, may cause brain shrinkage. Use your brain by doing challenging activities, such as puzzles, reading, playing music, making art, or anything else that gives your brain a workout!

10. Talking rarely. If you are the type of person who is shy or does not contribute to the discussion during a meeting, you better watch out. Intellectual conversations promote brain efficiency while not using your mind just waste your brain away.

Yes, these ten brain-damaging habits are no-brainer. – ###

DREAMING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS?

DREAMING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS?

By Henrylito D. Tacio


"To people used to living in the tropics, snow is good to look at and to feel the first time around. When I was a small boy I had only admiration and wonder beholding those Christmas cards showing those beautiful winter scenes of rooftops and treetops laden with virgin snow and of fields all covered with pure white snow." That was what my friend Mar Patalinjug, who now lives in New York, wrote me some years back.

Well, most Filipinos have not experienced winter or have not touch snow (although they may have seen it in the movies, pictures and television). And yes, I had the opportunity of touching the real thing several times already!

The first time was in 2000, when I went to New York to talk with multi-awarded environmental journalist Don Hinrichsen about a paper we would present in Washington, D.C. a year later. It was December when I arrived and the air was very, very cold. It was good that I had a winter jacket (which I won when I attended a media conference in Bangkok, Thailand).

One Saturday morning, Dr. James W. Hansen (a close friend and former colleague at a non-governmental organization where I work) and his wife Merlie (the former Pagbilao and also a friend) and daughter picked me at the hotel where I was staying. The Hansen couple works at the Columbia University in New York but lives in nearby New Jersey.

When I arrived at their house (where I stayed for two days), there was still no snow in their backyard. As we slept, snow fell down and when I woke up the following day, I saw snow right in front of my window. I went out from my room and touched the snow for the first time in my life!

The words of Christina Rossetti came into my mind: "In the bleak midwinter Frosty wind made moan, / Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone; / Snow had fallen, snow on snow, / Snow on snow, / In the bleak midwinter, Long ago."

More than not, now, I knew what the Bible meant when it said: Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). White bond papers, white shirts, and white paints these are not pure white at all. Not until you have seen snow, you cant tell what pure white really is!

Being a tropical country, the Philippines has only two seasons: dry and wet. In the United States and in other temperate countries, there are four seasons: spring, summer, fall (also known as autumn) and winter. The latter is the season with the shortest days and the lowest temperatures. In areas further away from the equator, winter is often marked by snow. This was the reason why when I was in Durban, South Africa some years back, despite it was winter season, I never saw any snow.

Depending on place and culture, what is considered to be the start and end of winter vary. Contemporary meteorology takes winter to be the months of December, January, and February in the Northern Hemisphere and June, July, and August in the Southern Hemisphere. However, many cultures in Europe and East Asia consider winter to begin in November.

Astronomically, winter starts with the winter solstice (around December 21) in the Northern Hemisphere and June 21 in the Southern Hemisphere), and ends with the spring equinox (around March 21 in the Northern Hemisphere and September 21 in the Southern Hemisphere). In meteorology, winter is by convention counted instead as the whole months of June, July and August in the Southern Hemisphere and December, January and February in the Northern Hemisphere.

What happen during winter time? Frances Theodora Parsons shares: "During the winter I am content--or try to think I am--to make my head-quarters in town and to get fresh air and a broader outlook at intervals that are frequent, but still at intervals. Perhaps, the walk or drive out to the frozen lake among the hills for an afternoon's skating is the more keenly relished because of a busy week elsewhere. For all practical purposes nature is at a standstill. . . .

"There is a wonderful joy in leaving behind the noisy city streets and starting out along the white road that leads across the hills. With each breath of the sharp, reviving air one seems to inhale new life. A peace as evident as the sunshine on the fields takes possession of one's inner being. The trivial cares which fretted like a swarm of mosquitoes are driven away by the first sweep of wind that comes straight from the mountains…

"The intense silence that broods over the snow-bound land is a conscious blessing. The deep blue of the sky and the purple shadows cast by the trees and plants are a feast to the eye. The crunch of the snow-rind beneath our feet and the varied hum of the telegraph wires overhead are music to our ears."

A lot of famous authors and prominent people have written or spoken something about winter. George Herbert wrote: "Every mile is two in winter." Victor Hugo quipped: "Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face." Rudyard Kipling noted: "No one thinks of winter when the grass is green."

"Winter is not a season, it's an occupation," said Sinclair Lewis. "Perhaps I am a bear, or some hibernating animal underneath, for the instinct to be half asleep all winter is so strong in me," argued Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

Oftentimes, winter is often equated with old age, sadness, and death. Charles Kingsley wrote: "Every winter, when the great sun has turned his face away, the earth goes down into a vale of grief, and fasts, and weeps, and shrouds herself in sables, leaving her wedding-garlands to decay. Then it heaps in spring to his returning kisses."

Agustin Gomez-Arcos agreed: "Often in winter the end of the day is like the final metaphor in a poem celebrating death: there is no way out."

Advices abound winter abound. Robert Schuller reminds: "Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come."

Chinese philosopher Chuang Tzu said, "We cling to our own point of view, as though everything depended on it. Yet our opinions have no permanence; like autumn and winter, they gradually pass away."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe compares: "Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that those branches would turn green again and blossom, but we hope it, we know it."

The second time I experienced winter was in December 2002 when I returned to present the paper in Washington, D.C. Then, when my sister and her family transferred to Livingston, Montana, I also visited them during winter time in 2003. After attending a conference for science journalists in Montreal, Canada in October 2004, I decided to visit my sister again and stayed there until January 8.

Now that I had experienced winter four times in my life, all I can stay is that I still prefer summer better. As Josh Billings points out: "If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."

Yes, it's good to be back in my native Philippines! -- ###

THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS

REGARDING HENRY
By Henrylito D. Tacio

THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS

"I do come home at Christmas," Charles Dickens – the man who wrote 'A Christmas Carol' -- once said. "We all do, or we all should. We all come home, or ought to come home, for a short holiday -- the longer, the better -- from the great boarding school where we are forever working at our arithmetical slates, to take, and give a rest."

But what do you tell your children about Christmas? What do you understand about Christmas? Is Christmas all about giving and receiving presents? Or is it about Christmas trees and Santa Claus?

Why am I asking those questions? Well, I received an email from a friend. I am not sure if he wrote it or the story was forwarded to him, but it made me ponder: What is the true meaning of Christmas? Please read the story below before answering the question:

Just a week before Christmas I had a visitor. This is how it happened. I just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed, when I heard a noise in the front of the house. I opened the door to the front room and to my surprise, Santa himself stepped out next to the fireplace.

"What are you doing?" I inquired. The words choked up in my throat and I saw he had tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manner was gone. Gone was the eager, boisterous soul we all know. He then answered me with a simple statement: "Teach the children…"

I was puzzled. What did Santa Claus mean? He anticipated my question and with one quick movement brought forth a miniature toy bag from behind the tree. As I stood bewildered, Santa said again, "Teach the children! Teach them the old meaning of Christmas, the meaning that modern Christmas has forgotten."

Santa Claus then reached in his bag and pulled out a fir tree and placed it before the mantle. He explained, "Teach the children that the pure green color of the stately fir tree remains green all year round, depicting the everlasting hope of mankind, all the needles point heavenward, making it a symbol of man's thoughts turning toward heaven."

The Father Christmas again reached into his bag and pulled out a brilliant star. "Teach the children that the star was the heavenly sign of promises long ago," he said. "God promised a Savior for the world, and the star was the sign of fulfillment of His promise."

Then Santa Claus reached into his bag once more and pulled out a candle. "Teach the children that the candle symbolizes that Christ is the light of the world, and when we see this great light we are reminded of He who displaces the darkness," he said.

Once again Santa Claus reached into his bag and removed a wreath and placed it on the tree. "Teach the children that the wreath symbolizes the real nature of love," he said. "Real love never ceases. Love is one continuous round of affection."

Santa Claus then pulled from his bag an ornament of himself. "Teach the children that I, Santa Claus, symbolize the generosity and good will we feel during the month of December," he pointed out.



He then brought out a holly leaf and then explained, "Teach the children that the holly plant represents immortality. It represents the crown of thorns worn by our Savior. The red holly berries represent the blood shed by Him."



Next Santa Claus pulled from his bag a gift and said, "Teach the children that God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son." (Please read John 3:16.)



Santa Claus then reached in his bag and pulled out a candy cane and hung it on the tree. "Teach the children that the candy cane represents the shepherds' crook," he said. "The crook on the staff helps to bring back strayed sheep to the flock. The candy cane is the symbol that we are our brother's keeper."



Father Christmas reached in again and pulled out an angel: "Teach the children that it was the angels that heralded in the glorious news of the Savior's birth. The angels sang Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace and good will toward men."



Suddenly I heard a soft twinkling sound, and from his bag he pulled out a bell. "Teach the children," he said, "that as the lost sheep are found by the sound of the bell, it should ring mankind to the fold. The bell symbolizes guidance and return."



Santa Claus looked back and was pleased. He looked back at me and I saw that the twinkle was back in his eyes. He reminded, "Remember, teach the children the true meaning of Christmas and do not put me in the center, for I am but a humble servant of the One that is, and I bow down to worship him, our Lord, our God."



This reminds me of the words of Frank McKibben. "This is Christmas: not the tinsel, not the giving and receiving, not even the carols," he wrote. "But the humble heart that receives anew the wondrous gift -- the Christ."



To end this piece, allow me to quote the words of an author: "Until one feels the spirit of Christmas, there is no Christmas. All else is outward display-so much tinsel and decorations. For it isn't the holly, it isn't the snow. It isn't the tree not the firelight's glow. It's the warmth that comes to the hearts of men when the Christmas spirit returns again."

Merry Christmas!

THE REASON FOR THIS SEASON!

REGARDING HENRY

By Henrylito D. Tacio


OF course, you are very familiar with the Three Kings – Gaspar, Melchor and Baltazar. After all, the three royals are part of the familiar Christmas scene, along with baby Jesus, Joseph, Mary, the shepherds and the animals.


Unknown to many, there was a Fourth King and his name was Artaban. He, too, set out to follow the star and he took with him a sapphire, a ruby, and a pearl beyond price as his gifts for the Newborn King. According to the now-forgotten story, he was riding hard to meet his friends – the Three Kings – at the agreed upon place. Time was running out when he came upon a traveler stricken with fever.



If Artaban stayed to help he would miss his friends. He opted to stay and helped the man. His three friends were no longer there when he arrived; he was now alone. Because of his act, he had missed the caravan of his friends. He had to sell the sapphire to get the needed supplies and camels and bearers, and he was saddened because the King would never have this special gem.



Artaban finally reached Bethlehem only to find Joseph and Mary and the baby gone. While at the home where they had been staying, soldiers from Herod's army came by to kill all the boy babies in the house. The mother wept behind Artaban as he stood in the doorway. To save the child from certain death he paid the captain with the ruby so he would not so much as enter the home. One boy child was saved and the ruby was gone – now one less gift for the King.



For years, Artaban wandered, looking in vain for the King until some 30 years later he found Him in Jerusalem during His crucifixion. He thought just maybe he could use the pearl to buy His freedom. On the way to the hill a girl came running from a band of soldiers who were chasing her. She cried out, "My father is in debt and they are taking me to sell me as a slave to pay the debt. Please… help me, save!"



Artaban hesitated, and then sadly, Artaban took out his pearl, offered it to the soldiers, and bought the girl's freedom and cleared the debt.



The sky went dark and the King died.



Now, think… Did not Artaban give his gifts to the King because he had cared for those who needed his gifts? "I tell you the truth," the King said in Matthew 25:40, "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for Me."



D.D. Monroe wrote: "(Christmas) is the one season of the year when we can lay aside all gnawing worry, indulge in sentiment without censure, assume the carefree faith of childhood, and just plain 'have fun.' Whether they call it Yuletide, Noel, Weinachten, or Christmas, people around the earth thirst for its refreshment as the desert traveler for the oasis."



"That magic blanket that wraps itself about us," and "that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance." Those were the words Augusta E. Rundel used to describe Christmas. She further explains: "It may weave a spell of nostalgia. Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance - a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved."

David Grayson admits that sometimes people expect too much of Christmas Day. He observes, "We try to crowd into it the long arrears of kindliness and humanity of the whole year. As for me, I like to take my Christmas a little at a time, all through the year. And thus I drift along into the holidays - let them overtake me unexpectedly - waking up some find morning and suddenly saying to myself: 'Why, this is Christmas Day!'"



As we celebrate this year's Christmas, remember this statement which appeared in the December 25, 1937 issue of 'New York Times': "We hear the beating of wings over Bethlehem and a light that is not of the sun or of the stars shines in the midnight sky. Let the beauty of the story take away all narrowness, all thought of formal creeds. Let it be remembered as a story that has happened again and again, to men of many different races, that has been expressed through many religions, that has been called by many different names. Time and space and language lay no limitations upon human brotherhood."



While helping her mother prepare for Christmas, a little girl asked about the meaning of this holiday. The mother told her that Christmas was the time of the year we celebrate, the birthday of Jesus, God's Son.



The little girl asked her mother why Jesus didn't get the presents if it was His birthday. The mother explained the tradition of gift exchange as a way of showing love for one another and the matter was dropped at that.



The evening before Christmas the little girl brought a gift-wrapped package from her room and placed it under the tree. "What's in the box," her mother asked.



"A gift for Jesus," the little girl replied. "I am leaving it under the tree so He can open it tonight while I am asleep."



The mother did not want her daughter to be disappointed, so during the night she opened the package. But there was nothing in it. The next morning her daughter raced into the living room to see if her package had been opened. It had! She shouted to her mother, "Jesus opened His present last night!"



The mystified mother walked over to her daughter and asked what she had given Jesus.


The little girl explained, "I figure that Jesus has about everything he needs, and I can't give him much because I'm just a little girl. But there is one thing I can give Him. So I decided to give him a box of love."



The little girl is right: all Christmas really is a big box of love. 'The Living Bible' states so well: "When we were utterly helpless with no way of escape, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners who had no use for Him" (Romans 5:6).



The entire chapter spells out that love: "Even if we were good, we really wouldn't expect anyone to die for us, though, of course, that might be barely possible. But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners" (Romans 5:7-8).



John 3:16 reminds: "For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

IS YOUR MEMORY FAILING YOU?

REGARDING HENRY

By Henrylito D. Tacio



IS YOUR MEMORY FAILING YOU?



One in 20 persons over the age of 65 develops Alzheimer's disease. That's one of the information I learned when I was writing my feature story on the mind-snatching ailment for the Asian edition of the widely-circulated 'Reader's Digest' (December 2007 issue).




Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, irreversible brain disorder with no known cause or cure. It attacks and slowly steals the minds of its victims. Symptoms of the disease include memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, personality changes, disorientation, and loss of language skills. Always fatal, Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of irreversible dementia.



Medical doctors say the disease often starts in late middle life with slight defects in memory and behavior. That's what had happened to my grandmother, who died of the complications of the disease. "Alzheimer's disease is seen more commonly in the older age group," says Dr. Manolette R. Guerrero, chairman of the Department of Nuerosciences at the Davao Medical School Foundation. "With our population aging and the increase of life expectancy we expect more cases rather than less."



Having memory problem is not actually part of aging, although it strikes mostly adults. Memory loss is always the first sign of the disease. Charito, for instance, admits she has trouble with words and sometimes, simple physical tasks such as preparing the table for dinner. Her memory troubles, however, come and go.



"There are times when I don't have any problem," she says. "But there are also instances that I don't know what I am doing at all."



A friend, who is a doctor, diagnosed Charito as having mild cognitive impairment. Experts say that people with such kind of impairment has an 80 percent chance of developing Alzheimer's disease. Her mother suffered through the disease for 20 years. "Of course, I fear that I may follow what my mother went through," she says. "I hope that medical science can do something about this disease."



But the good news is: scientists all over the world are now trying to find individual drugs, drug combinations or even a vaccine to disrupt the destructive process of the disease. "In a few short years, Alzheimer's disease will be changed from a terminal disease to a chronic disease," said Dr. Marwan N. Sabbagh, the American director of clinical research at the Cleo Roberts Center of Clinical Research in Arizona.



Dr. Guerrero agrees. "There will come a time when Alzheimer's disease will become a thing of the past," he points out.



"We feel confident that in time, researchers will develop ways to prevent, treat or cure this devastating disease," says Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust. Based in United Kingdom, the trust funds scientific and medical research looking at ways to target the different aspects of dementia pathology in order to understand the disease process, improve early diagnosis, stop disease progression and ultimately find a cure.




We are hearing the first true note of optimism in the history of this fear-inducing disease that now affects 26 million people, almost half of which are from Asia. With an estimated 62.8 million Asians to be diagnosed with the disease of the world's projected 106 million Alzheimer's patients, the optimism couldn't come at a better time.



Most of the drugs, however, are still under studies. "Most of these are still experimental and limited to animal studies, (so) it is very difficult to predict results among human beings," says Dr. Eleanor Ong, a well-known neurologist at the Davao Doctor's Hospital.



Currently, more than 20 potential new drugs are currently being tested in clinical trials or are awaiting approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The American government requires that all new medicines undergo rigorous testing in the laboratory, first in animals and then in human volunteers, before they can be prescribed by doctors or sold in pharmacies.



Once the required clinical trials are completed, companies submit an application to the FDA, the government agency responsible for the safety of foods and drugs sold in the U.S. Together with an independent panel of medical advisors, the FDA reviews the scientific data and determines whether the drug is safe and effective for people with Alzheimer's.



According to the Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation, non-drug treatments are also often used these days to allay symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and ease stress, though few rigorous studies have been done on these therapies. Such treatments include bright light therapy, music therapy, aromatherapy (the use of pleasing scents), pet therapy, and psychological counseling.



If you think you or someone you know is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, consult your doctor immediately. Don't wait for tomorrow. That's seems to be the strong message of Leo Ferrari, a philosophy professor at St. Thomas University in Canada. Leo, 78, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2003, but symptoms of confusion and forgetfulness probably started appearing as early as 1998. "It was hard to tell as I've always been a bit of an absent-minded professor," says Leo.



Leo and his wife, Lorna Drew, wrote a book, 'Different Minds,' describing their side-by-side perspectives. Leo charts the strange, disturbing process in his brain, Lorna, the stress and difficulties she experiences watching her husband decline.



They have a strong message for others who may have early symptoms of the disease: "Don't delay; getting early diagnosis and going public with the disease is really, really important," says Lorna. "There is nothing to be ashamed of."



For further details about Alzheimer's disease and latest drugs available, please get a copy of the December issue of 'Reader's Digest.' The article can be read on pages 66-73.

TOMATO: KEEPING HEALTH TROUBLES AWAY

TOMATO: KEEPING HEALTH TROUBLES AWAY

By Henrylito D. Tacio

"Let thy medicine be thy food." Hippocrates, the father of medicine, must have had the tomato in mind when he made this statement thousands of years ago. Now, in a world where drugs and supplements dominate, it appears that conventional medicine has forgotten the healing power of food.



Modern science knows that food provides vitamins, minerals and calories for energy, but does it believe that food offers any real medical treatments? Take the case of tomato, a powerhouse of nutrition. It contains a multitude of vitamins and minerals that act to support health.



Tomato is considered one of the richest of all foods in vitamins. It is very rich in all three important vitamins like A, B and C while most vegetables are deficient in one or more. Vitamin A plays an important role in vision, fighting infection and bacteria, maintaining skin and body linings, bone and body growth, reproduction, and normal cell development.



The B vitamins are very important to maintain good health. A deficiency of Vitamin B6 can raise a person's risk of heart disease. Evidence also indicates that about 40 percent of heart attacks and strokes may be caused by a deficiency of folic acid, another important B vitamin.



Vitamin C is needed by the body to form collagen and fiber for teeth, bone, cartilage, connective tissue, skin and capillary walls. It helps in fighting bacterial infections. It may also protect against declining mental ability and stroke. Vitamin C of tomatoes is not destroyed by heat and therefore they are practically valuable for all sorts of stomach and liver troubles.



Tomato is a major crop in India, where several authors have written about its medicinal properties. Dr. S. J. Singh, author of 'Practical Naturopathy' has described the tomato as very rich in food minerals which help to keep the blood alkaline and thus maintain a high resistance to disease. It is very rich, in iron and potash salts. Tomato stimulates torpid liver and is good in dyspepsia, diarrhea, and dysentery. As a source of fiber, one medium tomato will equal one slice of whole wheat bread with a penalty of only 35 calories.



In his book, 'Introduction to Ayurveda,' Dr. C. C. Thakur claimed that tomato improves the digestive system and cures chronic diseases of the stomach. It is a blood purifier, cures anemia, piles, liver troubles, and chronic fever.



On the other hand, Dr. G. S. Verma – the man behind 'Miracles of Fruits' -- has written that tomato is a sort of fruit and should better be eaten uncooked. Tomato removes constipation and strengthens teeth. It is easily digestible and as such, it is recommended as a good diet for invalids and especially in fevers, diabetes and after long fasts.



Although green tomatoes are wonderful when cooked or pickled, they should be avoided in large amounts when raw, nutritionists warn. Green tomatoes contain large amounts of tomatin, a toxin which is often extracted from seeds for its antibiotic prowess.



However, it was not until the discovery of the carotenoid lycopene that modern science began to truly recognize the healing power of the tomato. In 1998, a press release from the Heinz Institute of Nutritional Sciences touted the benefits of lycopene, an antioxidant which purportedly fights the free radicals that can interfere with normal cell growth and activity. Lycopene is present in tomatoes and, especially when tomatoes are cooked, has been found beneficial in preventing prostate cancer.



Lycopene is now recognized as a powerful substance in the fight against cardiovascular disease. One study investigated close to 40,000 women and their dietary habits, which revealed that the consumption of 7 to 10 servings of lycopene-rich tomato products produced a 29 percent lower incidence of cardiovascular disease compared to women consuming the lowest amounts. This result was increased to 34 percent when women consumed two servings a week of tomato products that contained oil.


Observed a commentator: "The lycopene-rich tomato, with its synergistic nutrients, is a powerful protector of heart disease. When the sauce is made in the traditional Italian fashion, with garlic, oregano, parsley and all the other spices, a tremendous amount of antioxidant, antithrombotic, and anti-inflammatory action is added."

There is even some mounting evidence that lycopene in tomatoes may help to prevent cataracts, age-related macular degeneration, and sunburns. More and more research appears to show that lycopene assists the immune system in protecting the body from illness.

Some people claim that tomatoes have stimulating aphrodisiacal properties. However, this status as an aphrodisiac may be due to a mistranslation. Legend has it a Frenchman on his travels ate a meal with tomatoes in it and was fascinated with the new taste. He went back to the chef, who was Italian, and asked him what this new ingredient was. The chef said "Pomme de Maure" (Apple of the Moors), but the Frenchman misunderstood and thought he said "Pomme d'amour" (apple of love). But there is no plausible connection of the tomato to the Moors.

Unknown to many, the tomato is native to western South America. By some means, it migrated to Central America, where people used the fruit in their cooking. In 1519, Hernando Cortez discovered tomatoes growing in Montezuma's gardens and brought seeds back to Europe where they were planted as ornamental curiosities, but not eaten.

It was French botanist Tournefort, who provided the Latin botanical name, " Lycopersicon esculentum," to the tomato. The English word "tomato" comes from the Spanish "tomatl," first appearing in print in 1595. A member of the deadly nightshade family, tomatoes were erroneously thought to be poisonous (although the leaves are poisonous) by Europeans who were suspicious of their bright, shiny fruit.

After their conquest of South America, the Spanish distributed the plant throughout their colonies in the Caribbean. Tomatoes were also brought to the Philippines, from which point tomatoes were exported to Southeast Asia and then the entire Asian continent.

Though it is botanically a fruit, the tomato is nutritionally categorized as a vegetable. Since "vegetable" is not a botanical term, there is no contradiction in a plant part being a fruit botanically while still being considered a vegetable. -- ###

GARLIC IS NOT JUST ONLY FOR COOKING

GARLIC IS NOT JUST ONLY FOR COOKING



By Henrylito D. Tacio



If you have to pick an herb to take with you in a deserted island, what would it be? The good answer would be garlic. After all, it has been used a long, long time ago by the builders of the Egyptian pyramids for strength and endurance. An Old Welsh rhyme states, "Eat leeks in March and wild garlic in May, / And all the year after physicians may play."



From the earliest times, garlic has been used as a food. It formed part of the diet of the Israelites in Egypt (Numbers 11:5). It was consumed by the ancient Greek and Roman soldiers, sailors and rural classes.



But garlic is not just only for cooking. In fact, it is hailed as "nature's herbal wonder drug." In the past, garlic was said to strengthen the heart; protect against the plague; cure colds, athlete's foot, toothache, and snakebite; repel vampires and demons; grow hair; stimulate sexual performance; and rid the dog of fleas.



Today, scientists all over the world are examining the folklore's claims of garlic's benefits. But the therapeutic qualities of garlic are nothing new. Sanskrit records reveal that garlic remedies were pressed into service in India 5,000 years ago, while Chinese medicine has recognized garlic's powers for over 3,000 years. Even Louis Pasteur, who discovered penicillin, recognized the anti-bacterial powers of garlic back in 1858. During World War I, surgeons regularly used garlic juice to stop wounds turning septic.



So, what is it about garlic that makes it such a boon to our health? When cloves are chewed, crushed or cut, they release a sulphur-bearing compound called allicin -- the chemical that gives garlic its pungent aroma. And it's the allicin that scientists have discovered is the magic ingredient thought to be responsible for garlic's therapeutic qualities.



"Allicin is the remarkable agent that fights bacteria," points out the editors of 'Super Life, Super Health.' "It seems to even fight some infections that are normally resistant to antibiotics.' But allicin is unstable and sensitive to heat," the editors remind. "Cook the garlic lightly, if at all, and always mince it to release the most allicin."



Garlic is also rich in with the vitamins A, B, and C; the minerals calcium, potassium, and iron; and the antioxidants germanium and selenium. Antioxidants reportedly block free radicals, the potentially harmful elements that circulate in the body and may lead to cancer and heart disease.



Having a problem with cholesterol in your body? Get a health kick from garlic. Researchers have long known that large quantities of raw garlic can reduce harmful blood fats. But here's a word of warning from Duke Robert I of Normandy: "Because garlic has the power to save from death; / Endure it, though it leaves behind bad breath."



When Dr. Benjamin Lau of Loma Linda University in California gave people with moderately high blood cholesterol one gram a day of the liquid garlic extract (about one teaspoon), their cholesterol levels fell an average of 44 points in six months. In 1993, the 'Journal of the Royal College of Physicians' reviewed data on cholesterol and found that after just four weeks there was a 12 per cent reduction in cholesterol levels in the research groups that had taken garlic.



Scientists have also looked at the role garlic plays in helping prevent the formation of blood clots. A review of recent clinical trials, published in the 'Journal of Hypertension,' showed that taking garlic tablets cut volunteers' blood pressure by between one and five per cent. These results led the report's authors to conclude that taking supplements could cut the incidence of stroke by anything from 30-40 per cent, while heart disease could be reduced by 20-25 percent.



In 2007, a BBC news story reported that garlic may prevent and fight the common cold. "Garlic can actually kill germs and clear up your cold symptoms rapidly," says Dr. Elson Haas, the author of 'Staying Healthy with the Seasons.' He recommends two to three oil-free capsules three times a day.



If you have sore throat, load up yourself with garlic. "When a sore throat is caused by a virus infection, as opposed to bacteria, eating garlic can bring quicker relief," suggests Dr Yu-Yan Hey, a nutrition professor who researches on the healing properties of garlic. Dr. Eleonore Blaurock-Busch, the physician behind 'The No-Drugs Guide to Better Health,' recommends taking garlic-oil capsules six times a day. She advises though that if the prescription causes you any adverse reaction, try another remedy.



Here's a good news for mothers who breastfeed their babies. Researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia found that mothers who ate 1.5 grams of garlic extract two hours before nursing got an odor in their milk that prompted infants to suck longer and possibly ingest more milk. Besides that, the babies experienced no abdominal cramps or other problems associated with spicy foods.



As stated earlier, garlic may strengthen the immune system and may help the body fight diseases such as cancer. Laboratory studies suggest that garlic may have some anti-cancer activity. Studies which follow groups of people over time suggest that people who have more raw or cooked garlic in their diet are less likely to have certain types of cancer, particularly colon and stomach cancers.



A large-scale study in the United States, called the Iowa Women's Health Study, looked at the garlic, fruit, and vegetable consumption in 41,000 middle-aged women. Results showed that women who regularly consumed garlic, fruits, and vegetables had 35% lower risk of developing colon cancer.



Garlic may battle breast cancer, too. Pennsylvania State researcher Dr. John A. Milner exposed rats to huge amounts of chemicals that cause cancer. Then he gave some of the rats "chow full of garlic." The rats that ate garlicky chow had 50 percent fewer precancerous changes in their breasts.



Garlic is considered "to have very low toxicity" and, in fact, the US Food and Drug Administration listed garlic as "generally recognized as safe."



But despite that recognition, the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) in Baltimore gives this warning: "Side effects from garlic include upset stomach, bloating, bad breath, body odor, and a stinging sensation on the skin from handling too much fresh or dried garlic. Handling garlic may also cause the appearance of skin lesions. Other, more rare side effects that have been reported by those taking garlic supplements include headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, muscle aches, dizziness described as vertigo (dizziness), and allergies such as an asthmatic reaction or contact dermatitis (skin rash)."



In addition, garlic has blood-thinning properties. This is also important to know if you are going to have surgery or deliver a baby. "Too much garlic can increase your risk for bleeding during or after those procedures," the UMMC reminds. Garlic should not be taken with warfarin, antiplatelets, saquinavir, antihypertensives or hypoglycemic drugs.



Garlic, a native to southern Asia, is now cultivated throughout the world. It is a perennial that can grow two feet high or more. The most important part of this plant for medicinal purposes is the compound bulb. Each bulb is made up of 4-20 cloves, and each clove weighs about one gram.



Garlic grows well in sandy loam and can be harvested five months after planting from the cloves. A dormant period of 4-5 months at 7 degrees Centigrade is necessary to hasten the "germination" of the cloves. The cloves must be soaked in water for 12 hours before planting. To reduce leaf growth and producer larger bulbs, the neck is broken so that the top would like on its side. Mulching is needed in garlic cultivation. -- ###
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THE HEALING NATURE OF ONIONS

THE HEALING NATURE OF ONIONS



By Henrylito D. Tacio



Onions have been with us since time immemorial. In the olden times, they were mentioned to have been eaten by the Israelites. In Numbers 11:5, the children of Israel lament the meager desert diet enforced by the exodus: "We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic."



Onions have been cultivated for 5000 years or more, according to the National Onion Association in the United States. "Since onions grew wild in various regions, they were probably consumed for thousands of years and domesticated simultaneously all over the world," it said. "In addition, the onion was useful for sustaining human life. Onions prevented thirst and could be dried and preserved for later consumption when food might be scarce."



In Egypt, onions can be traced back to 3500 B.C., where they were actually an object of worship. The onion symbolized eternity to the Egyptians who buried onions along with their Pharaohs. The Egyptians saw eternal life in the anatomy of the onion because of its circle-within-a-circle structure. The onion is mentioned as a funeral offering and onions are depicted on the banquet tables of the great feasts - both large, peeled onions and slender, immature ones. They were shown upon the altars of the gods.



In ancient Greece, athletes ate large quantities of onion because it was believed that it would lighten the balance of blood. Roman gladiators were rubbed down with onion to firm up their muscles. In the Middle Ages onions were such an important food that people would pay for their rent with onions and even give them as gifts.



The Romans, on the other hand, ate onions regularly and carried them on journeys to their provinces in England and Germany. The Roman gourmet Apicius, credited with writing one of the first cookbooks (which dates to the eighth and ninth centuries A.D.), included many references to onions.



What was so special about onions, anyway? Nothing, except that they were valued for their medicinal properties. In India as early as the sixth century B.C., the famous medical treatise Charaka - Sanhita celebrates the onion as medicine: a diuretic, good for digestion, the heart, the eyes and the joints.



Dioscorides, a Greek physician in first century A.D., noted several medicinal uses of onions. The Greeks used onions to fortify athletes for the Olympic Games. Before competition, athletes would consume pounds of onions, drink onion juice and rub onions on their bodies.



Before he was overcome and killed by the volcano's heat and fumes, Pliny the Elder catalogued the Roman beliefs about the efficacy of the onion to cure vision, induce sleep, and heal mouth sores, dog bites, toothaches, dysentery and lumbago.



It is interesting to note that during the plague-epidemic in London, when the contagion spread everywhere, the owners of onion and garlic shops were the only persons who proved immune to the disease.



Today, onions are available in fresh, frozen, canned, pickled, and dehydrated forms. Onions can be used, usually chopped or sliced, in almost every type of food, including cooked foods and fresh salads, and as a spicy garnish; they are rarely eaten on their own but usually act as accompaniment to the main course. Depending on the variety, an onion can be sharp, spicy, tangy and pungent or mild and sweet.



Onions pickled in vinegar are eaten as a snack. These are often served as a side serving in fish and chip shops throughout the United Kingdom. Onions are a staple food in India, and are therefore fundamental to Indian cooking. They are commonly used as a base for curries, or made into a paste and eaten as a main course or as a side dish.



In many parts of the world, onions are still valued for its therapeutic properties. Onions are very popular in healing blisters and boils. A traditional Maltese remedy for sea urchin wounds is to tie half a baked onion to the afflicted area overnight. In the morning, the spikes will be in the onion. In the United States, products that contain onion extract (such as Mederma) are used in the treatment of topical scars.



In virile disorders, one should take onion-juice with honey daily in the morning for two to three weeks. This will increase one's virility. The onion saves one from sunstroke. If one suffers from sunstroke, the onion relieves it. Eating onion in the morning and at bed-time is beneficial in jaundice.



The onion dislodges mucous and prevents its fresh formation. The onion is beneficial to the aged. The onion is also beneficial in intestinal disorders. The use of onions stimulates the process of peristalsis (contraction and expansion) of the intestines and removes intestinal putrefaction and flatulence. It is also useful in indigestion and biliousness.



Nutritionists have found that onions are rich in powerful sulfur-containing compounds – particularly allyl propyl disulphide -- that are responsible for their pungent odors and for many of their health-promoting effects. In addition, onions are very rich in chromium, a trace mineral that helps cells respond to insulin, plus vitamin C (it loses this vitamin when preserved for a long time), and numerous flavonoids, most notably, quercetin.



Experts believe that the higher the intake of onion, the lower the level of glucose found during oral or intravenous glucose tolerance tests. Experimental and clinical evidence suggests that allyl propyl disulfide is responsible for this effect and lowers blood sugar levels by increasing the amount of free insulin available. Allyl propyl disulfide does this by competing with insulin, which is also a disulphide, to occupy the sites in the liver where insulin is inactivated. This results in an increase of the amount of insulin available to usher glucose into cells causing a lowering of blood sugar.



The regular consumption of onions has also been shown to lower high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure, both of which help prevent atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease, and reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke. Experts believe that these beneficial effects are likely due to onions' sulfur compounds, its chromium and its vitamin B6, which helps prevent heart disease by lowering high homocysteine levels, another significant risk factor for heart attack and stroke.



Onions have been singled out as one of the small number of vegetables and fruits that contributed to the significant reduction in heart disease risk seen in a meta-analysis of seven prospective studies. Of the more than 100,000 individuals who participated in these studies, those who diets most frequently included onions, tea, apples and broccoli – the richest sources of flavonoids -- gained a 20% reduction in their risk of heart disease.



Consuming a lot of onions is a nutritious way to help keep those bugs away. "Eat a couple of raw onions daily, or use a lot of it in your cooking, and mosquitoes and other insects will usually avoid you," says Dr. Jerome Z. Litt, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio. That's because, onions give off an unpleasant odor to insects when you perspire.



Having stuffy nose? Sniff an onion. "Basically, the only thing you get from rubbing on menthol or other decongestants in some irritation that stimulates the nose to run and unblock the stuffiness," says Dr. Hueston C. King, an American otolaryngologist. "You can get the same effect from smelling an onion."



Yes, onions are not only for cooking; they are also good for your health! -- ###

WALK, FOR YOUR HEALTH'S SAKE!

WALK, FOR YOUR HEALTH'S SAKE!

By Henrylito D. Tacio


I like walking. When I was in New York City a couple of years ago, I tried to explore Manhattan by walking. I just walked from the hotel where I was staying to Central Park, to Times Square, and to the United Nations headquarters. I also did the same trick when I was in Melbourne, Australia. Instead of riding a taxi, I walked from the hotel to the conference venue, about five blocks away.



Here, in the Philippines, I work at an office that entails me to sit for eight hours – save only for those few minutes when I walk going to the canteen or just to unwind myself. So much so that I don't ride from my house going to the bus terminal, which is about 600 meters. My friends are wondering why I never ride (except when it is raining!). I tell them I am saving money. However, the truth is walking is my form of exercise.



Many people walk as a hobby. Fitness walkers and others may use a pedometer to count their steps. The types of walking include bushwalking, racewalking, weight-walking, hillwalking, volksmarching, Nordic walking, and hiking on long-distance paths. Sometimes people prefer to walk indoors using a treadmill. In some countries walking as a hobby is known as hiking (the typical North American term), rambling (a somewhat dated British expression), or tramping (the invariable term in New Zealand).



Hikers, mall walkers, and the like have always known that walking is good for the body. Walking, after all, is one of the safest things we can do with our body. It's much easier on the knees than running and doesn't trigger untoward side effects. In fact, increasing documented evidence suggests that walking offers several health benefits.



"Regular physical activity is probably as close to a magic bullet as we will come in modern medicine," says Dr. JoAnn Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital in the United States. "If everyone were to walk briskly 30 minutes a day, we could cut the incidence of many chronic diseases by 30 to 40 percent."



Even if you're 50 and have never taken part in a physical activity, a brisk half-hour walk three times a week can "basically reverse your physiological age by about ten years," says Dr. Gareth Jones, a Canadian geriatric specialist.



His source? A three-year study of 220 retirement-age men in which half didn't exercise and the other half walked briskly for 30 minutes three times a week. After a year, the exercise group showed a 12 percent increase in aerobic power and a ten percent increase in strength and hip flexibility – equivalent to what they would have lost over a decade had they not exercised at all.



People in France and the Mediterranean tend to be slim because they're a lot more active. And it's all because they walk more. A study of 200,000 Americans at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, found that city dwellers were almost three kilograms lighter than their suburban counterparts, largely because, instead of driving, they walked more. "You're not working out," says Dr. Will Clower, author of 'The Fat Fallacy: The French Diet Secrets to Permanent Weight Loss.' "You're just moving."



Those three are only for a starter. Here are more health benefits you get from walking:



Heart disease. Brisk walking is good for the heart, which makes a lot of sense. The heart is a muscle and anything that makes the blood flow faster through a muscle helps keep it in shape. But regular walking also lowers blood pressure, which decreases the stress on the arteries. It can boost the amount of HDL cholesterol (the good one) in the blood. It even seems to make the blood less "sticky," and therefore less likely to produce unwanted clots. This all adds up to as much as a 50-percent reduction in the risk of suffering a heart attack, according to doctors.



Stroke. Walking also decreases the risk of a stroke. In an analysis of the health habits of 72,488 nurses over the past 14 years in the United States, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health recently found that those who walked six or more hours per week decreased by 40 percent their risk of suffering strokes caused by a clot.



Low blood pressure. In one study of older people with low blood pressure after meals, walking afterward restored their blood pressure to normal. "These findings support an old German proverb – 'After meals, you should rest or walk a thousand steps,'" says Dr. Lewis A. Lipsitz, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston.



Diabetes. If you're diabetic, doctors recommend exercise. "The best exercise for people with diabetes is brisk walking," says Dr. Henry Dolger, former chief of the Diabetes Department of Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. "It's by far the safest, least stressful, and most productive of all exercises."



Walking, he explains, improves the efficiency of every unit of insulin taken in or produced by the body. "That means you get more effectiveness out of every gram of food you eat than you would without exercise," Dr. Dolger says. "It also gives you a great sense of well-being and requires no equipment."



Osteoporosis: For those having osteoporosis, walking is another good form of exercise. "If you don't exercise, you lose bone," says Dr. Robert Heaney, a professor at the Creighton University. Experts claim that walking does not only strengthen the muscles, but also builds up the bones. They suggest walking at least 20 minutes a day, three or four days a week.



Insomnia. Having trouble getting a sleep? Get some exercise late in the afternoon or early in the evening, says Dr. David Neubauer, general psychiatrist at the Johns Hopkins University Sleep Disorders Center. It shouldn't be too strenuous – a walk around the block will do just fine. Not only will it fatigue your muscles, but also it will raise your body temperature. When that begins to fall, it may help induce sleepiness. Walking also may help trigger the deep, nourishing sleep that the body craves the most for replenishment.



Constipation. Any form of regular exercise will tend to alleviate constipation, but the one mentioned most often by experts is walking. Walking, they claim, is particularly helpful for pregnant women, many of whom experience constipation as their inner workings are altered to accommodate the growing fetus.



Anyone, including mothers-to-be, should walk a "good hearty 20 to 30 minutes" a day, suggests Dr. Lewis R. Townsend, clinical instructor of obstetrics and gynecology at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. However, he cautioned that pregnant women should take care not to get too winded as they walk.



Premenstrual Syndrome. When a woman's mood takes a walk on the wild side, experts suggest that she takes a walk. "Exercising has been found to significantly reduce many physical and psychological PMS symptoms," says Dr Ellen Yankauskas, director of the Women's Center for Family Health in Atascadero, California.



"It's best to exercise at least three times a week, even when you don't have PMS," she advises. "Walking is the exercise I recommend, because weight-bearing exercises help keep bones strong." She suggests going out for at least 12 minutes, though 30 minutes or more is even better.



Varicose veins. Prolonged sitting or standing can cause problems in your legs because the blood tends to pool. A little bit of exercise throughout the day, particularly walking, can often prevent this pooling, according to Dr. Eugene Strandness, a professor of surgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine. In fact, a recent study found that sedentary adults were more likely to have varicose veins than those who were active.



Unknown to many, American president Harry S Truman took to walking briskly until the ripe old age of 88. Astronaut John Glenn credited his celebrated return to orbit at age 77 to his two-mile daily power walk. Famous author and naturalist Henry David Thoreau admitted he couldn't have preserved his health and spirit without walking at least for four hours through the woods or fields everyday.



Now, you know why I like walking. - ***

MALUNGGAY: THE MIRACLE VEGETABLE

MALUNGGAY: THE MIRACLE VEGETABLE

By Henrylito D. Tacio

If United States has apple to keep the doctors away, here in the Philippines, it’s the common malunggay.

Touted by scientists as "miracle vegetable," malunggay has been promoted by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the past 20 years as a low-cost health enhancer in poor countries around the globe. In fact, during the Marcos administration, there was already a craze about malunggay, being a solution to the malnutrition problem in the countryside.

Perhaps not too many people know that the late President Ferdinand Marcos himself was a malunggay addict, consuming soup littered with green leaves in every meal in addition to the legendary ‘saluyot’ and ‘labong’ (bamboo shoots) as his main fare.

Malunggay trees are generally grown in the backyards. The small, oval, dark-green leaves are famous vegetable ingredient in soup, fish and chicken dishes. Scientifically, it is called ‘Moringa oelifera.’ Despite its legendary potentials, malunggay is still relatively unknown.

"The sale of all forms of vitamins, minerals, and health supplements is a big business," points out Moringa Zinga, an American company that promotes and sells malunggay products in capsules. "If you are a company selling hundreds of nutritional products, why would you sell a product that will wipe out all your other products? This is true for the pharmaceutical industries as well. These industries would rather that the general public remains ignorant about the moringa leaves."

According to the Biotechnology Program Office of the Department of Agriculture, the malunggay has been found by biochemists and molecular anthropologists to be rich in vitamins C and A, iron, and high density lipoprotein or good cholesterol.

Due to its high calcium content (four times the calcium in milk), lactating mothers in the Philippines are often advised to consume malunggay leaves to produce more milk for their babies. The young malunggay leaves are being boiled and drink as tea.
Malunggay leaves are loaded with nutrients. Gram for gram, malunggay leaves also contain two times the protein in milk. Likewise, it contains three times the potassium in bananas and four times the vitamin A in carrots.

Health nutritionists claim that an ounce of malunggay has the same Vitamin C content as seven oranges. An important function of vitamin C not known to many is its being an antioxidant. In fact, it has been recognized and accepted by the US Food and Drug Administration as one of the four dietary antioxidants, the others being vitamin E, beta-carotene and selenium. (A dietary oxidant is a substance in food that significantly decreases the adverse effects of harmful chemicals.)

There are more health benefits. Vivencio Mamaril, of Bureau of Plant Industry, told a national daily that in India, malunggay is used in treating various ailments. A 2001 study in India has found that the fresh root of the young tree can be used to treat a fever. Asthmatics are advised to drink the infusion from the roots of the plant.

Tender malunggay leaves also reduce phlegm and are administered internally for scurvy and catarrhal conditions, while the flowers are used to heal inflammation of the tendons and abscesses. Unripe pods of malunggay can prevent intestinal worms, while the fruit also prevents eye disorders.

Other studies have shown that eating malunggay fruits can lead to higher semen count. This is good news for men who may not be able to sire children. They can now count on the malunggay to work its magic on them.

Because of its nutritional content, malunggay strengthens the immune system, restores skin condition, controls blood pressure, relieves headaches and migraines, manages the sugar level thereby preventing diabetes, reduces inflammations and arthritis pains, restricts the growth of tumors, and heals ulcers. This information comes from Dr. Kumar Pati, an Indian doctor who is an expert in natural medicine.

The "next big thing" in Philippine agriculture. That is how the agriculture department considers malunggay. "Malunggay can save lives, increase incomes, generate millions of jobs, utilize vast tracts of idle agricultural lands, make the Philippines globally competitive, impact local and international market, and help attain socio-economic equity," explained Alice Ilaga, director of the DA’s Biotechnology Program.

Besides being sold in the public market as a vegetable, is there really a market for malunggay products? "The Philippines is currently in the midst of developing the local market for malunggay and its products," said a statement released by Biotechnology Program, which aggressively aims to develop the agribusiness potentials of various crops as part of the government’s poverty-alleviation program. "Despite being behind other countries such as India and Nicaragua, the Philippines’ malunggay industry is on its way to becoming a global competitor."

In a press statement, Ilaga reported that the Nutrition Center of the Philippines is setting its sights on fortifying different types of food using the vitamin A, iron and high-density lipoprotein or good cholesterol that are found in liberal quantities in malunggay. "Given its nutritional value, it can be utilized in fortifying sauces, juices, milk, bread, and most importantly, instant noodles," Ilaga says.

According to Ilaga, a multinational food company reportedly has expressed keen interest in putting up a processing plant in the Philippines for this purpose. "A noodle company is also eyeing malunggay for biofortification of noodles as part of its commitment to support the program to fight malnutrition, which is prevalent in the countryside," she added.

The seeds of malunggay contain 40 percent oil, which is considered excellent massage oil. As part of its program to promote biotechnology, the agriculture department has strategically positioned itself for the commercial planting of seeds for malunggay oil production.

"Malunggay has a lot of potential," Ilaga added. "The Philippines can penetrate the international market in producing malunggay oil from its seeds using advance technology to extract oil from enzymes."

One local company that is leading in malunggay production is SECURA International. After entering into malunggay production for more than a year, it expects a bright future for the malunggay industry. Being in the early stages of developing the malunggay market, SECURA believes that the Philippines is on the right track but still has a long way to go.

In an interview with a news dispatch, SECURA president Danny Manayaga admits that for the country to really take advantage of the market, it should first ensure that there is enough supply to support it. "The market is developing, but up to now, we still don’t know the extent of this market because we have not yet defined our capacity to produce malunggay," he disclosed.

"We are involved with contract growers from different towns all over the country such as Valencia in Negros Oriental, Masinloc and Botolan in Zambales, Alaminos and Infanta in Pangasinan, and Bamban in Tarlac, which accounts for 150 hectares of our malunggay supply for our current market but it is not enough to sustain the demands for other products such as moringa oil," Manayaga said.

SECURA needs at least 20,000 hectares to be able to support the available market for malunggay products. Currently, it is involved in processing dehydrated malunggay leaves to produce tea and as an additive to other medicinal plants to produce herbal tea. "This is the only active market that is running for malunggay now," Manayaga said.

Unknown to many Filipinos, malunggay has the ability to purify water. "The crushed moringa seeds can clear very turbid water," said Dr. John Sutherland, of Leicester University’s Department of Environmental Technology. He added that powdered malunggay seeds are appropriate for water purification in rural areas of tropical countries.

Planting malunggay trees can also help stabilize soil and contribute to fight against deforestation. The malunggay tree is highly resistant to drought and needs little care. It is fast-growing and lives for average of 50 years. Each tree can produce approximately 10,000 seeds a year. It also makes an excellent fuel and fertilizer.

A tropical species, malunggay can tolerate temperatures up to 48 degrees Centigrade, but 15 degrees to 35 degrees Centigrade is considered best. It grows in areas with annual rainfall of 760 to 2250 millimeters.

Is planting malunggay profitable? According to Ilaga, for a hectare of malunggay, the estimated net income per year is P150,000. -- ###