Showing posts with label organic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label organic. Show all posts

Monday, January 9

Stevia, a low-calorie 100% natural sweetener

By    9:40 PM // 4 comments
For more than a year now, I've been using stevia as my sweetener. Since then, I have enjoyed my drinks and other food without the fear of spiking up my blood sugar. I remember, I've written about using can view the entry HERE) but I haven't really explained how great this herb is. I finally found the time to do some research and here's the info I got:

2010-12-10 Stevia


  • The powdered form of stevia comes from the stevia plant (Stevia rebaudiana). There are potted stevia plants already sold by commercial gardeners. In fact, my sister-in-law was able to buy one in Greenhills last December for only Php 50/pot.
  • The stevia plant originated in Paraguay but our local farmers, particularly in Cavite, Antipolo, and Quezon, have started to cultivate stevia in small nurseries and farms.
  • The leaves of the stevia plant has glycosides which explains its sweetness. I tried tasting a raw stevia leaf and it does taste sweet. Saccharine, actually, but I was told that it's safe for me because it has no calories.
  • You can make your own stevia extract at home. Pick some leaves, wash, dry and pound them, then mix with purified water. Then just use a medicine dropper to add the sweet stevia water to your coffee or tea. You can also use alcohol (scotch or vodka) to soak your leaves in. You can find the steps HERE.
  • Stevia sweetener can be used in cooking and baking. But since its 10 to 15 times sweeter than table sugar, you would have to do some experimenting in adjusting your recipes. (You can find a conversion chart HERE and HERE.) Also, keep in mind that your extract may have a tea-like or greenish color that can also affect the color of what you're cooking or baking.
I'm glad that stevia farmers and producers are already growing in numbers here in the Philippines. This has obviously reduced the price of stevia sweeteners. In fact, I recently bought the same brand of stevia sweetener for only 96 pesos a box when it was 150/box back in December 2010.

I hope I have covered more info about stevia this time around and that it has encouraged you to also use stevia.

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Tuesday, August 9

WOW Direct Sales' World of Wellness

By    6:35 AM // No comments
Just sharing with you the WOW Direct Sales press release which was sent to me. Although I haven't tried their products yet, I find their products good since they are all natural and organic. Plus, most of the products are locally manufactured.


Wellness sales company boosts OFW entrepreneurship


OFWs displaced by recent world events can find alternative livelihood in a new direct sales company. World of Wellness (WOW), offering general health and wellness products through direct sales, has opened its doors to this new breed of entrepreneurs.

“In light of recent world events, more Filipino workers are back in the country for good. We think that WOW Direct Sales will provide them a good, profitable opportunity that will allow them to stay and earn here,” said Sheila Mae Velilla, President and CEO of WOW Direct Sales Corporation.

Velilla established WOW Direct Sales on the principles of fair trade, social advocacy and business entrepreneurship. By offering premium quality products at affordable prices, with a competitive commission plan, the company is confident of attracting and growing its sales force.

WOW Direct Sales has diverse product lines focusing on health, beauty, and wellness. These include organic wines and herbal supplements; premium skin whitening and age-defying lines; botanical hair care products; natural health juices, real crystals and other wellness products.

Most of the products are locally manufactured, with a few exceptions: the juices are made in the USA, the wines are from Spain and the whitening products are made in Japan.

“Considering that our products have active natural, organic, and highly beneficial ingredients and that they are clinically proven to be very safe and effective, they are very competitively priced,” Velilla added.

The daughter of successful entrepreneurs, Velilla is prominent in the pharmaceutical trading business. She heads other companies but is busy growing WOW Direct Sales, which is a spin-off of Cory Quirino World of Wellness, her retail co-venture with beauty and wellness guru Cory Quirino. “CQWOW received hundreds of feedback from customers that they found our products of high quality and affordable. There were also lots of inquiries on whether they can sell Cory Quirino products as a distributor because they believed in these products,” she said.

With an initial investment of P1 million, Velilla established WOW Direct Sales and launched the company last year. To date, WOW Direct Sales has wellness centers in Pampanga, Bulacan, Mandaluyong, Pasay, Las Pinas, Makati, and Isabela. It has over a thousand dealers and is set to open more centers in Cavite, Ilocos Norte, Batangas, Laguna, Bicol, Quezon, Cebu, and more centers in other cities in Bulacan and Pampanga.

Velilla admits that the direct sales market may be saturated, but she believes that WOW Direct Sales can still capture a relatively significant share of it given its competitive products and excellent marketing team. “Our dealers are generously rewarded based on their sales and sponsoring from a personal or group contribution. Their membership and privileges are for a lifetime,” she said.

“WOW Direct Sales believes that real wealth is in health and investments on health should be made affordable. The more who are given access to this provision, the healthier the nation would be,” she added.

WOW DIRECT SALES CORPORATION is duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under SEC # CS201017782 on October 29, 2010. Its office is located at # 108 Scout Delgado Street, Quezon City, with telephone numbers (+632) 9289969 and (+632) 4418969.

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Sunday, December 12

Luyang Dilaw for Type II Diabetes

By    6:31 PM // No comments
My mother-in-law, who's also a diabetic, has been drinking turmeric tea for a week now. In an effort to make it more acceptable to our taste, she added coffee to the tea. I just starting drinking turmeric extract with my coffee this morning and, surprisingly, it did not taste annoying at all. Have you heard about the benefits of luyang dilaw (turmeric)?


turmeric root
Photo: “turmeric root” by foam, c/o Flickr. Some Rights Reserved

I have read about how beneficial it is for diabetics. In fact, Ampalaya Plus, a diabetic herbal supplement, has extracts of luyang dilaw added to that of the extracts of ampalaya and banaba. Turmeric has curcumin, an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant ingredient that has lessened insulin resistance in mice observed during a laboratory experiment. Not only that, the ingredient also lessens the risk of heart disease. In traditional Indian medicine, turmeric is used for treating wounds, arthritis, and stomach problems. In Okinawa, Japan, turmeric tea is taken in to treat stomach problems and other ailments.

There is still much to be researched about luyang dilaw being an anti-diabetic treatment. Nevertheless, its all-natural so I'm all for trying it.


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Thursday, December 9

Stevia for diabetics

By    7:36 AM // 11 comments
I was looking for coco sugar last Sunday at the supermarket and I wasn't able to find one. However, as I checked the cardboard displays in the organic products section, I was able to find this box of Stevia sweeteners in convenient packets.

2010-12-10 Stevia2010-12-10 Stevia (2)
2010-12-10 Stevia (3)2010-12-10 Stevia (4)


I have already read about how perfect stevia is for diabetics like me as it has no calories at all and has very little effect on one's blood sugar level. It is 3 times sweeter than table sugar and I also found it sweeter than the coco sugar I was using. I used to consume 2 packets of coco sugar for my mug of coffee but I only use packet of stevia.

Stevia is an herb native to Paraguay. However, this Sweet & Fit brand from Glorious Herbs is locally grown so each purchase actually supports our local stevia farmers.

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Monday, August 16

Going organic

By    1:58 PM // No comments
I lived in the city all my life. I often get envious when my husband tells stories about him and his sisters climbing and harvesting fruit trees in the province. Being raised in the city, I was naturally fed mostly with goods bought from the market. More often than not, they are instant and preserved - instant noodles, canned goods, preserved meat, etc. I'm thinking that it could be one of the reasons of my not so good health.


Now, I try to buy anything organic be it food or beauty products. Organic produce is grown the old-fashioned way without the aid of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Washing fruits and vegetables cannot entirely remove these chemicals that's why there is danger in ingesting them.

Thankfully, in 2005, Executive Order No. 481 was passed which paved the way for the promotion and development of organic agriculture in the Philippines. Not soon after, organic farms in the Philippines started to increase which made the prices of organic products lower compared to the early years. I remember that I used to buy organic brown rice for 56 pesos a kilo years ago but now its down to 39 pesos per kilo.

Wanna go organic? Here are some places you can visit to get the freshest organic produce:

  • Sidcor Organic Bazaar.
    • Open from 6 am to 1 pm every Sunday at the Lung Center compound in Quezon City.
  • Salcedo Market. Every Saturday from 7 am to 2 pm at Salcedo Village, Makati City.
  • DGM Organic Foods. Food Village, Tiendesitas, Pasig City or at Fiesta Market! Market!, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig
  • Bohol Bee Farm. Panglao Island, Bohol. Take a tour around the farm or stay in the resort to get served with yummy organic recipes all throughout your stay.

I hope you can support our country's organic farmers by buying organic products. In doing so, you are not only reaping its healthful benefits but you will also be helping create jobs for the local farmers and take care of the environment.

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Monday, June 21

The Wheatgrass Project

By    6:56 PM // No comments

It's the 6th day since I started cultivating my wheatberries. My first batch of seeds have now grown to as high as long as my fingers. I'm excited to juice them up and drink its healthy juices. I'm glad I still have the green thumb in me. Growing the grass is actually not at all complicated but our hot weather isn't helping much. I think my grass grows slower than my supplier's grass since it's cold in Baguio.

By the way, if you're interested in growing your own wheatgrass, you can buy some from Arvin Gray, the Wheatgrass King. Look up Green Juice Baguio in Facebook to know more. You can also see his contact details in the photo below.


I have already written about the benefits of drinking wheatgrass juice in an earlier post. Just recently, I read that wheatgrass juice can be used as an acne treatment. It also says that wheatgrass juice can cure acne scars. I'm not just sure if the juice must be applied on the acne scars itself to promote healing. What the article maintains, however, is that a proper diet should supplement drinking wheatgrass juice to achieve full healing of acne.

I will write more updates once my grass is full grown. In the meantime, why don't you try growing your own wheatgrass? You'll not only be growing healthy food but will have a therapeutic activity as well.

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Tuesday, June 8

The Benefits of Wheatgrass Juice

By    3:16 PM // 4 comments

Yesterday, I drank my first shot of wheatgrass juice. This new health craze has made me curious since last year but I was too scared to try tasting it. My sister warned me that it tastes like grass but now I know that I was stupid to believe her. Wheatgrass juice actually tastes sweet and not as horrible as I imagined it to be. It was just like eating unripe guava or a strip of uncooked stringbean.


We had our first taste of wheatgrass juice during our visit to Mondo Juice in the new Alimall Skywalk. A 1 oz. glass costs 85 pesos and is quite expensive for me. Imagine if I order a glass once a day which is the recommended dosage. Even if it's just 2-3 ounces a week, it would still be on the pricey side. So I did some research and remembered that my editor wrote an article about wheatgrass juice and its benefits. That's where I discovered where to buy wheatgrass seeds for cultivation. I have already placed my order although I haven't received the payment instructions yet. I'll update you on my wheatgrass cultivation project soon as I receive my order.
What do we get from drinking wheatgrass juice? Here are some amazing facts:
  • maintain's the blood's alkalinity
  • prevents Alzheimer's Disease
  • increases red blood cells and prevents anemia
  • anti-inflammatory
  • anti-oxidant
  • eliminates bad breath and body odor
  • fights cancer
  • prevents candidiasis
  • regulates blood sugar levels
  • builds the immune system
  • aids in weight loss
I myself experienced wheatgrass juice's detoxifying properties yesterday. At first, I didn't believe that a 1 oz glass could be as potent as it claims to be. True enough, I felt nauseous on our way home which was probably around 30 minutes after I had my shot of wheatgrass juice. I ended up taking a nap for an hour. I read that nausea is normally experienced when toxins are being flushed for elimination. My mother-in-law, who also had a shot, said that she felt warm after drinking the juice and had flushed cheeks. Other than that, she felt fine. My husband did not feel any effects at all.

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