THE TRUTH ABOUT MALUNGGAY SEEDS AND TREE

I will be talking about the so-called Miracle tree- Moringa Tree or here in the Philippines, it's simply called Malunggay! Although I have mentioned it in one of previous articles (Organic Plants in the Hood), I have not really elaborated it much. Before that, I have already been having a daily dose of Malunggay seed intake courtesy of our generous neighbors who gave a whole jar of seeds. They told me it helped inhibit their rheumatism and athritis as well as other ailments like diminishing hyperacidity! But lately, my mom and I seldom take it anymore since we became doubtful about the essence of the seeds. We promised to take it faithfully again after I have done my research on Malunggay seeds. Anyway, I have just done it tonight and indeed, everything in the Moringa or Malunggay is consumable from seeds to pods, leaves of course and even the flowers (Oh, but I don't know with the roots though)! The best part? Everything as well are nutritious! Let me quote the Nutritional Information from MoringaTreeOfLife.com:

"· One half cup of cooked leaves will meet your daily recommendation for Vitamins A and C

· One half cup of pods (raw) will supply your Vitamin C requirement for a day

· One ounce of raw leaves contains the recommended daily amount of Vitamin C

· Ounce per ounce it contains 6 to 7 times the amount of Vitamin C in orange juice

· Moringa leaves contain 3 to 5 times more beta-carotene than carrots

· 3 oz of moringa powder contains more than 10 times the recommended daily amount of Vitamin E

· Ounce per ounce Moringa leaves contain over 3 times the iron as found in spinach or roast beef

· Moringa leaves contain 3 times the amount of potassium as bananas
· Ounce per ounce Moringa leaves contain 4 times the amount of calcium found in milk"

By the way, the seeds also can be taken in raw just like we did! So, I'm ready to take malunggay seeds again as an alternative to supplement! Still, everything should be taken in moderation because according to Medical Healthguide:  "Although malunggay consumption is generally accepted as safe. But according to Indian traditional usage, Malunggay may have an abortificient effects.(Ref: Nath D, N Sethi, et al. (1997) Survey on indigenous medicinal plants used for abortion in some districts of Uttar Pradesh. Fitoterapia 68(3): 223-225)"

I suggest that if someone wants to eat healthy and organic, they should start with the Moringa or Malunggay especially for Filipinos since you can just buy it or even ask one from your kind neighbors! It makes their plant organic since rarely do people (just like our neighbors) plant such crops infesting it with chemical pesticides.

That's all for now and Cheers to health! :-)

Sources: 

MoringaTreeOfLife.com

MedicalHealthGuide.com

Imges courtesy of : 

fyi09.wordpress.com

http://www.stuartxchange.org/Malungay.html

Eating Healthy on a Sunday

Weekends are supposed to be my "No Holds Barred Meals" wherein I can eat anything healthy or unhealthy it may be. It usually consists of soda for my beverage and mostly pork for my dish! But today, it's different because my day just started with a butter sandwich before leaving for JP Garcia GK Village (a Gawad Kalinga site in the southern part of Cebu). During lunch, the GK home owners prepared a sumptuous meal for all the volunteers which consist of  pancit, inon-onan na bolinao (steamed anchovies mixed with vinegar and salt--I don't know if I got it right in English.lol), fried anchovies, raw tomatoes, vegetable soup and cooked mais ( corn rice?). Most of the ingredients are freshly picked from their backyard farm and another volunteer informed me that the anchovies were freshly caught by the SIGA youth (youngsters in the GK village) who went fishing last night.

My dinner consists of fish and mixed vegetable soup. I feel good and full! Hopefully, I could continue eating healthier food even on weekends.

Cheers to Health! :-)

Organic Plants in The 'Hood

I was on my way to grab something for lunch in a nearby Carenderia or Food Stall, when I looked up and noticed that trees and plants have grown over several of our neighbors' roofs. One of these is the malunngay or moringa. Lately, I am trying to look for some organically grown vegetables and fruits but it never occurred into my mind that there are some that I could just ask or maybe buy for a bargain in our neighborhood, planted in their yards! Amazing, isn't it? I could say that they are grown organically because according to our neighbors, they have not put any chemicals, pesticides or other unnatural fertilizers with the plants. Neither have I heard about neighbors complaining about pesticides or chemicals being sprayed on and/or them being affected with such.

At least for a start, I will be eating more of the nutritious malunggay with no harmful chemicals just within my reach!

Cheers to health! :-)