by Mary Jane O. Velasquez
“For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds.” Jeremiah 30:17
December gives us the feeling of the Christmas season, where we feel the warmth of our family and loved ones by preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ. Before the world embraced the New Normal, we were free to roam around the streets, feeling the cold breeze of the day while taking walks around the park, looking at the new designs for the holidays. We can see the smiles of the people that we pass by as they are enjoying the moment. When we take the ride home, we can immediately feel the radiance of Christmas by the Christmas decors and lights on one house to another. We can even see people giving each other a hug and exchanging gifts. We were also free to visit our relatives and spend time with them by eating in a restaurant or strolling in the mall. We also celebrate it with our friends and acquaintances from school or work, greeting each other merrily, having a Christmas party, and having a humble feast. It is truly a mesmerizing sight that we could not imagine would be just a memory now.
This year, December hit us with a different vibe. There are little to no more vibrant lights and decors. If there is one, we feel the gloomy atmosphere because we were still in a traumatic state from the disasters that happened last month, also with the blur ending of the COVID-19 cases. Everyone is skeptical to be with each other, even by just roaming around the streets or visiting a relative from afar.
Also, there are provinces affected by the series of typhoons that still do not have power in their houses, do not have a stable supply of water, or the families that experienced partially to totally damaged houses. There are still people inside the evacuation centers, given with relief goods that have zero nutrition, sleeping beside each other with less than a foot of distance, and they still suffer from heat, mosquito bites, lack of water, food and sanitation.
The state they are in is a grave threat to their health. Heat from cramped spaces and from lack of air causes dehydration, in which according to MayoClinic, a person experiencing the said dilemma can have symptoms of nausea, headache, confusion, irritability, dark yellow-colored urine, less urination, and dry mouth and tongue that is worse if not replenished with a lot of water and may lead to chronic diseases. Their situation is not helping them because they also experience the lack of water supply, in which without it, they cannot clean themselves by taking a bath regularly (which addresses partly the lack of sanitation) and also by the intake of clean purified water that should fulfill one of the six essential nutrients needed by our body and one of the most neglected nutrients along with minerals. Mosquito bites are a nuisance, which can lead them to be sleep deprived, and waking up groggy and light-headed the next day. These mosquitoes are also another problem because they can be a carrier of dengue, which according to World Health Organization, is an illness transmitted from an Aedes species mosquito bite that is infected with any of the four dengue viruses. A person with dengue shows signs after 3 to 14 days of the transmission, which are: mild to high fever, severe headache, rash, pain behind the eyes, and muscle and joint pain. Severe dengue shows serious complications like plasma leakage, organ failure, many hemorrhages which are lethal. It can infect infants, young children and adults.
With regards to their food supply, instant foods such as coffee or powdered milk/chocolate, canned goods, and instant noodles give them not only zero nutrition but also is food for the microorganisms inside the body that leads to infections and also increases the percentage of dehydration. While giving relief goods is a good gesture and keeps families and persons from famine, instant foods mentioned above are toxins that slowly damages their internal systems. The following explanations are taken from Dr. Renato U. Paragas’ online article entitled “COVID-19: A HIGH PRICE TO PAY FOR DISOBEDIENCE”:
“Instant noodles are highly processed to bear a longer shelf life. They are low on nutritive content; high on fat, calories and sodium; and are laced with artificial colors, preservatives, additives and flavorings. According to Dr. Sunil Sharma, general physician and head of emergency, Madan Mohan Malviya Hospital, New Delhi, monosodium glutamate (MSG) as well as tertiary-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ) - chemical preservatives derived from the petroleum industry - may be present in instant noodles for their taste enhancing and preserving properties and their regular intake can cause severe health issues.”
“Most canned foods have a plastic coating inside the can to supposedly keep the food, vegetables, and fruits fresh. The inner plastic lining is poisonous at small measures, although FDA tells us that the small amounts should not worry us too much. This plastic coating is Bisphenol or BPA for short and it is harmful because humans are not supposed to eat plastic material made from crude oil. BPA kills rats in laboratories even at smaller portions like 1,000 times less than what an average person consumes per meal. BPA is also a toxic chemical that causes hormone imbalances and wide variety of health issues ranging from hypertension, aggression, heart disease, obesity to cancer. No logical, reasonable person would suggest that canned foods and canned fruits and vegetables are as good as or better than fresh foods, vegetables and fruits. It is obvious that fresh is good and retains most of its nutrients.”
“What most people are unaware of is that most often foods are put into aluminum cans, then sealed, and cooked, supposedly retaining the freshness. Well, it certainly retains the aluminum free radicals after heating and contaminating the contents. Over a period of time, aluminum accumulation in body can cause memory problem like Alzheimer’s disease. Most canned foods like soups, vegetables, chicken and beef broths are made of aluminum because it’s more economical.”
Coffee has caffeine. “Caffeine tolerance varies between individuals, but for most people, a dose of over 400 mg per day may produce some initial symptoms: restlessness, increased heartbeat, and insomnia. Higher dosages can lead to increased blood pressure; heart palpitation; anxiety and panic attacks; gastrointestinal disturbance; increased urination; dizziness, irritability, nausea, nervousness and jitters; allergic reaction can include rash, hives, itching, breathing difficulty, tightness of the chest, swelling of the mouth, face, lips or tongue, diarrhea, shakiness, sleeping disturbance, vomiting; headaches and severe fatigue.” Caffeine is also a diuretic. It forces the kidneys to eliminate more urine than normal. One loses three cups of water for every cup of coffee one drinks. So, to compensate for the water loss, one has to drink nine cups of water for every three cups of coffee he takes during the day’s work. Failure to compensate for this water loss will cause the shrinkage of various organs leading to various diseases such as migraine headache, asthma, hypertension, diabetes, goiter, arthritis, kidney failure, myoma, cataract, various cancers and many more. Even mild dehydration affects brain function causing poor focus, short attention span, poor memory and comprehension and many more.”
Instead of giving them these instant foods, give them relief foods that are cooked fresh such as goto, champorado, pancit, or macaroni soup. For their beverage, only give them purified water, not coffee or powdered milk/chocolate. If the relief food is cooked, do not put preservatives. “Preservatives are substances considered as not drastically harmful to healthy people but they may be harmful to pregnant women, babies, children, elderly or those suffering from a chronic disease,” added by Dr. Paragas. Use only natural ingredients to give wholesome flavors such as salt and pepper or IONIQUE® Mineral Drops itself (add 5 to 10 drops on a big serving before cooking).
Therefore, it is important to help them restore their health by meeting the required six essential nutrients, focusing on letting them drink the prescribed purified water with a recommended dose of IONIQUE® Mineral Drops in a day, and avoidance of the intake of toxins which are present in the instant foods. This will also help them boost their immune system that will strongly help fight the threat of dengue infection and illnesses that they might feel in the future.
We should educate the mass that opting to use natural resources rather than the synthetically-made ones are much healthy because we are never fully aware of what chemicals are used to prolong its shelf life, how it was made, the ingredients used to make it that are not familiar or taught to us, and how it can have a negative impact in our body.
Let us embrace the Spirit of Christmas by helping one another in giving more attention to wholesome health so that we can share the goodness of the gift of life and the birth of Jesus joyfully with our loved ones and our neighbors.
“Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.” 3 John 1:2
A SEASON OF HELPING
O- Opens our hearts to their extended hand;
N- Nourishment is a must for oneself and for others;
E- Engages in voluntary health mission;
A- Assists in providing health care;
N- Natural food and water are preferred than synthetic ones;
O- Offers our selflessness to fulfill His mission;
T- Teaches the traditional way of taking care of your body;
H- Honors the Temple of God;
E- Eager in achieving a world with prioritized health;
R- Relies on God as the healer of one’s mind, body, and soul.