Archive for the 'Plants' Category

300,000 Malunggay Vs Poverty

farmeric August 21st, 2010

Under the program dubbed “Utanon Kada Balay”, the DA through its CARAGA Regional Office aims to provide every household with vegetable seedlings or planting material to come up with their own backyard vegetable garden for their persona consumption, as well as feed of their animals such as goats, pigs, chickens or ducks

In 2007, the Department of Agriculture in Caraga distributed 300,000 malunggay seedlings to 100,000 families to help mitigate hunger, fight poverty, and solve the growing problem of malnutrition in the region.

CARAGA, an impoverished region of Mindanao, is considered a priority area because of the high incidence of hunger, as well as malnutrition among pregnant women and children.

The program was established to help promote malunggay culture and thus help boost the national campaign against hunger and poverty.

CARAGA, covers the provinces of Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Sur and Surigao del Norte.

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Malunggay - The Miracle Tree

farmeric August 20th, 2010

Malunggay,according to former Agriculture Secretary Arthuro Yap, has many agri-busi- ness potential, explaining why there is a need for farmers to venture into malunggay farming. He gave credit to the DA-BPO led by Director Alicia Ilaga for aggressively promoting the backyard as well as commercial planting or cultivation of the nutritious vegetable tree crop, making it malunggay one of the country’s chief vegetables.

YAP cited the DA’s Malunggay Agri-Biotechnology Program as the model of the research, development and extension component the DA’s program.

“If coconut is the tree of life, the malunggay is the miracle tree,” he said. Yap said malunggay has many agri- business potentials which can help fight hunger and poverty and increase farmers’ income, as well.

Powdered malunggay can be used to fortify noodles, soup or bread with vitamins and minerals of the nutritious vegetable while its seeds, which can produce all-purpose oil, can be used by industries for products like soap, shampoo, lotion and other personal health-care products.

It can also be an alternative source of Continue Reading »

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Of Manny Pacquiao and Malunggay - Uniting the Filipino

farmeric August 18th, 2010

Pacquiao, who prefers to use the moniker given to him by the Americans, which as everyone knows came from a video game character immensely popular in the 80s, known for devouring everything in its way, has devoured every fighter who crossed his path.

Pacquiao, who boxed his way to fame and fortune and into the hearts of this country’s citizens desperate for heroes, reportedly feasted on malunggay-filled tinola prepared by his trainer before his fights.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has said time and again that pound for pound, malunggay is the most nutritious vegetable this side of the planet, rich in every known nutrient. It also wages war against free radicals that impair metabolism.

DA said that the Medical College in Kolkota, India, found out that malunggay can help in the treatment of female reproductive disorders like epithelial ovarian cancer.

Philippine folklore says that malunggay can also help men with low sperm count.

Known scientifically as Moringa oleifera Lamk, malunggay is also believed to be a natural energy booster.

It is a given that malunggay, with all its nutrients, helped Paquiao beat his opponents.

With the vast commercial opportunities that come with the “miracle vegetable,” our people just might rally behind it, be more productive, earn, have food on the table, be truly united, and help each other live a better life.

It’s hard to unite when one is poor and hungry, but there is one ingredient in the meal of the destitute that has all the nutritive values absent in the meals of the super rich, and that is malunggay.

Of course, for the greedy there will never be enough. No amount of malunggay-laced tinola can remedy that problem.

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Healthy Cooking With Virgin Coconut Oil

farmeric April 26th, 2010

Extra virgin coconut oil is perhaps the most avoided miracle food today, and we’re going to be devoting major reports over the next several posts, telling health-conscious consumers about its benefits and changing shopping habits.

Coconut has been used as cooking oil for thousands of years. It can be used to replace corn and canola oil without requiring changes in recipes or cooking habits. Cooking and baking with extra virgin coconut oil can enhance the taste and texture of virtually any recipe and at the same time, supercharge your health.

Promising studies have been done on patients suffering from immune deficiency and autoimmune diseases. So you can see that we’re big fans of the healing properties of coconut oil. We recommend virtually everyone consume coconut oil on a daily basis. We truly believe that coconut oil is the best widely available oil to use for cooking and baking and is even great when used externally to promote smooth and supple skin.

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Coconut Oil as Saturated Fat

farmeric March 22nd, 2010

Here’s our second series about the Truth About Coconut Oil. The first post was about Is Coconut Oil Bad for You?.

Another reason people believe coconut oil must be bad for you is misguided association: it is a saturated fat and “saturated fats are bad for you.” Dietary guidelines inevitably fail to distinguish between different kinds of saturated fats and insist that saturated fats (meaning all saturated fats) are harmful.

This is not just misleading. It is bad science. Leading scientists now recognize that just as there is good cholesterol, there are also good saturated fats.

Fats are classified as short-, medium- or long-chain based on the number of carbon molecules they contain. Nearly two-thirds of the saturated fat in coconut oil consists of medium-chain fatty acids.

When we eat long-chain fatty acids, they must be Continue Reading »

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Nature’s Gift-God’s Amazing Pharmacy!

farmeric March 5th, 2010

A friend sent this to me. It’s been said that God first separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and fish… all before making a human. He made and provided what we’d need before we were born. These are best & more powerful when eaten raw.  We’re such slow learners…

God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body!

God’s Pharmacy! Amazing!

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye… and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.
A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the res earch shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums.  Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

    Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

    Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don’t have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

    Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female – they look just like these organs. Today’s research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it Continue Reading »

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    Prevent Flu as Easy as 1,2,3

    farmeric December 3rd, 2009

    Cold nights are here again which leads to Colds as well!

    And why?

    As temperature drop, people begin to stay indoors and spend less time in the sun. It simply means the Vitamin D levels in our body begin to drop. With this, our body immune system goes down as well.

    The Real Cause of Colds and Flu

    Colds and flu are cause by viruses and not bacteria, so don’t take antibiotics when you have one because it won’t do you any good at all.

    All if not most of the sickness are due to weak immune system. With less vitamins D during this season,  it will be easy for a lot of people to “catch colds and flu”.

    More common factors that contribute in weakening to a weaked body immune syste are:

    • Not getting enough sleep
    • Less exercise
    • Vitamin D deficiency
    • Eating too much sweets and white grains
    • High level of Stress

    The Top Way To Prevent Flu Continue Reading »

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    Ang Malunggay! Bow!

    farmeric November 6th, 2009

    This is a story as told by Dr. Vivencio Mamaril, a member of the Bureau of Plant Industry Biotech Core Team.

    Among the vegetables we eat, malunggay has already earned various tags- healthiest vegetable, a miracle tree, lowly but high in nutrition, and many others. It’s now even tagged as the most healthiest food and miracle food as well.

    Malunggay Vitamins and Minerals

    Malunggay Vitamins and Minerals

    There must be something and someone in malunggay that made it as the most popular vegetable in the country today.

    Here comes the story, as it happened and is happening before Dr. Vivencio Mamaril very own eyes.

    The basic, malunggay has seven times in amount of vitamin C as compared with orange fruit, four times the calcium in milk, four times the vitamin A in carrot and three times the potassium in banana.

    According to Dr. Mamaril, it has been so long time that we were not aware of the vitamins and other nutrients malunggay can provide not until the Department of Agriculture (DA) made some noise about malunggay.

    The Department of Agriculture (DA), through its Biotechnology Program Implementation Unit, were surprised to learned that there is a business enterprise that is much interested to buy malunggay foliage and seeds. The demand for foliage and seeds is so huge that no single grower or an aggregate of growers can fill the demand.

    The truth is, there are no malunggay growers who can produce seeds and foliage in great quantity, and there is no existing technology for it as well. Due to this challenge, Continue Reading »

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    COLD COMPRESS - Water Cures Series

    farmeric October 24th, 2009

    This is a local application using a cloth which has been wrung out in cold water.

    The cloth should be folded into a broad strip and dipped in cold water or ice water. The compress is generally applied to the head,neck, chest, abdomen and back.

    The cold compress is an effective means of controlling inflammatory conditions of the liver, spleen, stomach, kidneys, intestines, lungs, brain, pelvic organs and so on. It is also advantageous in cases of fever and heart disease.

    The cold compress soothes dermities and inflammations of external portions of the eye. When the eyeball is affected, the cold compress should follow a short fomentation.

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    Corn with Malunggay Leaves

    farmeric August 28th, 2009

    This is a very simple and quick to cook malunggay recipe and no need for any fish or meat.

    Corn with Malunggay Leaves - Simple Malunggay Recipe

    Ingredients:

    • 2 c. grated young corn
    • 2 cloves garlic
    • 1 head onion
    • 3 c. water
    • 1 small sponge gourd (luffa)
    • 1 c. malunggay leaves
    • 1-1/2 Accent
    • salt to taste

    Preparations:

    Saute garlic and onion in medium fry pan. Add water and let it boil. Then add the corn, stirring often to avoid burning. When cooked, add the gourd and malunggay.

    That’s all! A simple and quick malunggay recipe.

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