Earth News

farmeric November 11th, 2009

Get more out of your workout with a surprising pick-me-up. A recent study of competitive bicyclists showed that honey gives you as big an energy jolt as glucose, the sugar used in sports gels and energy bars. Both honey and glucose boosted the bike riders leg power and cut the time it took them to finish their race. Honey, though, has the added advantage of being much cheaper.

See for yourself if this natural sweetener gives you the energy to make it through a tougher workout. Before starting this, wash down a tablespoon of honey with a cup of water. Any time you need an extra boost of energy during your workout, do the same.

Use it after your workout!

Try it after your exercise, too. A post-workout spoonful appears to help your muscles recuperate. That’s because honey is a great source of carbohydrates, and your body needs them to replace the ones you burned.

Tags: Food, Health, healthy diet, honey, natural remedy

• Food , Health , Herbal , Sports and Fun , honey
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farmeric September 13th, 2009

Eating, Drinking Your Way To A Healthy Life

An interview with Dr. Maxima Flavier of UPLB
By   VIRGINIA   ANN   BURGOS

A HEALTHY lifestyle today is associated with the use of natural compounds derived from food crops. Nutraceuticals, the food substances that provide medical or health benefits including prevention and treatment of diseases, and cosmeceuticals, substances that bank on natural ingredients to enhance beauty, are the emerging trend in health and wellness, especially in the US and in Europe.

The use of traditional components is not new to Filipinos. Long before researches on nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals were undertaken, traditional herbs were already being used as health remedies, especially in the rural areas. Some of the most common herbs used in the rural areas include banaba, for urinary tract infection, lagundi, commonly used as expectorant but also has many benefits, and ginger, for arthritis, these herbs are now being developed for commercial consumption by other pharmaceutical companies.

The utilization of natural medicines is one of the advocacies of Dr. Maxima Flavier, director of the Institute of Chemistry (IC) at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños (UPLB). “I prefer to use traditional natural products; you get them by eating their sources,” she told Biolife as she discussed the benefits of natural products like rice bran and siling labuyo.

Dr. Flavier was also the co-adviser of a study undertaken by IC on the health and medicinal benefits of rice bran as an angiogenic. Before this, she stayed in Japan for a year as a visiting professor conducting research on the effective utilization of rice bran.

Their study in UPLB showed that rice bran contains Phytosterols. Phytosterols are now being incorporated in the production of food and beverage, as studies have showed that they help prevent heart diseases by reducing the level of bad Continue Reading »

Tags: Food, Health, healthy diet, natural medicine, rice bran, siling labuyo

• Environment , Food , Health , malunggay
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farmeric July 7th, 2009

Winner Recipes from O! My Gulay
First Runner-up

Pasay South High School
1. Joanne Camille De Luna
2. Ma. Vanilyn Bilbao

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp cooking oil
• 1 sliced onion
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• ½ tsp ground pepper
• ¼ kl hotdog/sausage, cubes
• 1 can (100 ml) tomato sauce
• 1 cup grated cheese
• ½ cup raisins
• 2 cups pineapple tidbits, drained
• 1 cup pickle slice1 cup chicken stock
• 2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
• 1 pc red/green bell pepper
• 1 cup singkamas, cubes
• 1 cup potatoes, cubes
• 1 cup carrots, cubes
• 1 tsp salt, iodized
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 cup baguio beans
• 1 cup sayote, cubes

Preparations instructions:

1. Saute garlic and onion in hot oil. Add sayote, potatoes, carrots and singkamas, tomato sauce and pineapple juice. Let it simmer until the vegetable becomes tender. Continue Reading »

   Tags: Food, Health, nutrition, recipe, vegetable, vitamins
   

   • Food , Health , Herbal
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farmeric July 2nd, 2009

You should never brew Malunggay Tea with hot water and then cool it to prepare cold or iced tea.  Instead, please double the amount of the Malunggay Tea leaves used to brew it in cold water in a sealed container.   This way you keep the aroma, the natural color and the medicinal health benefits of the Malunggay Tea.  The reason this way is better, is that you avoid oxidation that can occur if the tea is left open to the air in an attempt to cool it after hot brewing.

The brewing time is actually very short.  For example, 10-15 cups of tea can be brewed in a jar in the ice box in just 30-45 minutes.  Please note that you can refill the jar with water to brew more tea when the level reaches one third full.

You may repeat the same procedure up to 3 times using the same Malunggay Tea leaves.

Malunggay iced tea is better than drinking water for walkers, runners, cycling, mountain climbing or any athletic sport in general that demands replenishment of body fluids.

7 Guidelines for Good Tea Making

1. Always start with spring water or distilled water (ideally spring), and make sure it is fresh and cool.
2. Bring the water to a full, rolling boil in a stainless steel kettle, and then remove the kettle from heat immediately, as water that is allowed to boil too long loses the oxygen gas dissolved in it and can cause your tea to taste flat. Continue Reading »

   Tags: Food, how to plant malunggay, malunggay recipe, uses of malunggay
   

   • Environment , Food , Health , Herbal , Plants , Uncategorized , malunggay
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farmeric February 27th, 2009

Dr. Vivencio Mamaril’s Malunggay Cup Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

31/2 cupcake flour
1/2 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tbsp. salt
1/2 bar butter
3 eggs
1 can condensed milk
3 tbsps. blended malunggay leaves
grated cheese (optional)

Procedure

1. Sift flour and baking powder  and add salt together. Set aside.
2. Cream melted butter and sugar. After the butter and sugar are mixed together , add the eggs. Continue Reading »

   Tags: Food, how to plant malunggay, malunggay recipe, uses of malunggay
   

   • Food , Health , Herbal , Plants , Tips
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farmeric January 21st, 2009

Kellogg Co, announced a voluntary recall of their 16 products containing peanut butter, because the products have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

David Mackay, president and CEO of Kellog, announced the voluntary recall in a statement late Friday, January 16. The company apologizes for the unfortunate situation but says it is needed as part of its commitment to keep consumers safe. He also says that they are now evaluating the company’s processes to ensure that they take necessary actions to reassure consumers and rebuild confidence in these products.

On January 14, customers and consumers were advised to hold certain products pending more information on the Peanut Corporation of America situation, and recalled those products on January 16.

The recall comes after FDA officials confirmed salmonella contamination at a Georgia facility that ships peanut products to 85 food companies. The peanut butter produced by Peanut Corporation of America, one of several peanut butter suppliers to Kelogg, has been linked to an outbreak of salmonella poisoning that has affected at least 434 people in 43 states and killed at least six,federal health officials said Wednesday.

Products impacted by the recall were produced on or after July 1, 2008, including:

• Austin Quality Foods Cheese Crackers with Peanut Butter - all sizes
• Austin Quality Foods Cheese & Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers - all sizes Continue Reading »

  Tags: Food, peanut butter, recall, salmonella
  

  • Food , Health
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farmeric January 20th, 2009

I was having a sumptuous breakfast this morning when I saw this catsup bottle in front of me with this information about Lycopene. I was intrigued with all the nutrition written on the label that we can get in eating tomatoes.

So what is Lycopene?

Lycopene is a from a family of carotenoids. A pigment that comes naturally from vegetables and fruits. It is this pigment that makes tomatoes red. It can also be found in watermelon.

Did you know that watermelon has more lycopene than a tomato? In an average, a watermelon has 40% more lycopene!

Sources of Lycopene

Our body doesn’t produce lycopene on it’s own. We need to eat foods rich in lycopone in order for our body to get the antioxidant benefits.  The good news is, there’s a lot of sources we can get enough lycopene.

As mentioned above, fruits and vegetables that are high in lycopene include tomatoes, watermelon, guava, papaya and other red fruits.

Another good news is that  Tomato products, including ketchup, tomato juice, and pizza sauce, are very rich source of lycopene. And did you know that tomato products are far more richer in Lycopene than fresh tomato? And these products are better absorbed by the body too. This is because cooking breaks down cell walls, re­leasing and concentrating carotenoids.

Tags: Food, Health, nutrition, vitamins

• Food , Health , Plants
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farmeric September 4th, 2008

Nuts over Coconut by Nestor Cuartero

Coconut Tree of Life

WONDERS NEVER CEASE for the tree of life.

At the 7th National Coconut Festival held from August 7 to 10 at the Megatrade Hall of SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City, guests were introduced to new coco health products, both edible and un, much to their amazement and celebration.

New health products that caught the eye of the festival-goers included coco sap beverages, skim milk beverages, gluten-free coconut flour, and fiber-rich low sugar food products.

Last year, in the same coco festival, we were won over by coco sugar, nutritious sugar made from coconut sap, which is supposed to be good for diabetes. Other previous revelations from the annual festival include Virgin Coconut Oil in its many variations, including VCO for massage therapy and well-being. In festivals past, also highlighted were other coco-based invetions like coco fiber geo textiles and coco biodiesel.

Continue Reading »

Tags: coco biodiesel, coconut, coconut oil, coconut tree, Food, Herbal, Plants, tree of life

• Food , Health , Herbal , Plants , Whats' In a Name?
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farmeric August 28th, 2008

Can you cook a popcorn just by using a number of mobile phones?

Watch this amazing video and let me know if it’s for real.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Tags: corn, Food, Health, mobile phone, popcorn

• Food , Health , Sports and Fun , Uncategorized
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farmeric August 19th, 2008

Michael Phelps courtesy of http://www.growthpop.com

Some people are commenting that it’s due to steroids or drugs, others says it’s because of his bizarre-eating lifestyle, while most are saying that Phelps is a mutant and one of the member of X-man team. Does he possessed a special power?  Is he a human dolphin that loves to listen to music before he dives?

Did you know that Phelp’s battled ADHD as a kid?

Read on and find out the “secret” Continue Reading »

Tags: Food, Health, michael phelps, olympics, secrets, sports

• Food , Health , Sports and Fun , Uncategorized
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