My Family Health Blog

Committed Family Healer's Research

Raw Wild Honey in Such High Demand and Expensive In Ifugao

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On this road trip, our first leg took us to Ifugao province. We took the Nueva Ecija to Bayombong and up route. In every w et market I stopped and asked for honey, pulot in the local language. Always no honey. In Lagawe I asked for honey, no honey either. The young lady said to me I should go there on Sunday market day and even then I’d have to go real early because people just snap up raw honey.

The Ifugao locals all know the value of raw honey as medicine. They keep raw honey for their children. The formula is to mix a tablespoon of raw honey with a tablespoon of raw calamansi juice. Just like the candy combination of honey-lemon. Or is that the westerner’s staple honey-lemon remedy. Seems it is the same for the Ifugao.

Finally in Lagawe, the big town capital of Ifugao I found raw honey. A big square bottle of gin. 600 pesos per bottle. And no discounts. And that is the local price, not tourist prices. Only 2 bottles left. Of course it tasted like the real thing. Unique. Unlike any other honey I’ve tasted.

This honey is so expensive and fabled to be medicinal when I go back to Manila I’m keeping these 2 bottles as medicine for my children. I’m not bringing this out as food. It will be in my personal stash of medicines.

I think I’ll try the honey lemon combo now. It is said to be used for kids’ coughs. Well, I haven’t had any coughs since I turned raw paleo diet. But whatever, let’s try it before we give it to the kids.

Banaue Rice Terraces So Very Much Recommended Tourist Guide

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Our first day in Banaue Rice Terraces took us to Travellers Inn in the remote, under construction dangerous roads by the cliff. Breath taking place, but there is the very real risk of being stranded in case of landslides. We conversed with a jeep driver who turned out to be a top notch tourist guide by himself, the name is Lambert, call 0935-2185607.

The following day we called up Lambert to fetch us and guide us through the very dangerous 1 lane cliff hanging muddy road as it was raining. We succeeded in coming back to Banaue town proper and we then proceeded to tour Banaue through the different terraces view points. We also got to the museum. We then checked in at Banaue Hotel. The only “real” hotel in Banaue.

Lambert took us to his favorite restaurant, Las Vegas, we had dinner there. Lunch we wanted chicken pinikpikan, but it was unavailable so we went to a turo-turo which had it.

Banaue is such a small town of few people, everyone knew everyone. Lambert even helped us ship stuff we bought via Bus. Lambert is also an expert packer. We packed in a big box one sack of their sacred mountain red rice and some
furniture souvenirs. He knew the bus conductor and my driver in Manila successfully picked up our package.

Having Lambert along was such a joy, he also chews and spits Nga nga, Moma. He is an authentic Ifugao, Born from a father that was an expert wood carver. Their yellow family residence is on a cliff just like everyone else. His wife is Ifugao and his children are Ifugao.

Lambert used to study as a mechanic in Manila so he knows the difference between Manila life and Banaue life. Hey, you have to pay for chlorinated water in Manila! But water in Banaue rice terraces is totally free! All you can drink and bathe in.

Lambert is a professional tour driver and has toured the mountains in kalinga, baguio, sagada and has gone around central and northern luzon.

What I like about Lambert is he is a genuine person all his own. Not some factory trained tour guide.

So if you are thinking about going to Banaue Rice Terraces soon, call up Lambert at 0935-2185607.

Banaue to Sagada Road Impassable Due to Landslide, Driving towards Pagudpud via Isabela

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We cut short our stay at the Travellers Inn in Hapao. The road is wet, muddy, unfinished, narrow. We decided to go back to Banaue and just stay there overnight. Found out later on that our planned trip to Sagada will now have to be cancelled due to a landslide that makes our route impassable. We were thinking of passing through sagada, on to the Cervantes road and into Ilocos Sur then up to Pagudpud.

Change of plans. This morning, we went down from the Banaue Hotel to the Tam-An village where we mingled with the Ifugao and shopped. Then at 10 am we set off for Tuguegarao. Nice 2 way “highway”, must overtake the pesky slow motorbikes, tricylcles, jeeps and carabaos.

Gosh, Isabela hills are all shamelessly nude. Seems logging to everything, every single tree. It’s so boring in this route.

Saw a lot of mono culture fields of crops, some cows, some carabaos, some goats.

We finally arrived in Tuguegarao. Billeted ourselves in a nice hotel with closed garage. Heard carnapping was pretty rampant in this city.

First thing in the morning tomorrow and we are off to Pagudpud.

Fukushima Nuclear Reactor Evacuation Zone Sacrifice Zone

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Fukushima, Japan – The Japanese government has issued the evacuation order on March 12 for the residents living within the 20 kilometer radius of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

Since then, residents have left their homes, and the “no man land” has been out of touch with the rest of the world.

A Japanese journalist, Tetsuo Jimbo, ventured through the evacuation zone last Sunday, and filed the following video report.

He says that, inside the evacuation zone, homes,building, roads and bridges, which were torn down by Tsunami, are left completely untouched, and the herd of cattle and pet dogs, left behind by the owners, wonders around the town while the radiation level remains far beyond legal limits.

And a great work of investigative journalism by Al Jazeera’s Dahr Jamail: Fukushima: A ‘nuclear sacrifice zone’ Some experts believe Japan’s nuclear disaster could become worse than Chernobyl.

Nuclear safety agency spokesman Hidehiko Nishiyama on April 3 offered the first sense of how long it might take to bring an end to the nuclear crisis.

“It would take a few months until we finally get things under control and have a better idea about the future,” said Nishiyama, “We’ll face a crucial turning point within the next few months, but that is not the end.”

Ramana explained to Al Jazeera that he sees the current situation as being the “best case scenario,” because “the wind has been largely over the ocean, there haven’t been any more major explosions, and none of the spent fuel areas have had a major fire.”

Worst case scenario

“There could be a core that gets molten, and we could have an explosion,” Ramana said of what he believes would be a worst-case scenario, “This isn’t likely, but it is possible.”

Continue reading at http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/04/20114812554680215.html

Nga Nga is Chewed by The Ifugao for Warmth, Socials and Strong Teeth

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I’m on a road trip to Banaue Rice Terraces, home of the Ifugao people. On the way up in the various wet markets I came across nga nga in plastic packs. Nga nga is very very popular in Ifugao. It stains their teeth, and they keep spitting. Why is that? What is the reason for nga nga?

I was in Solano town and I went to the wet market and came across a specialty shop that sold nga nga and big tobacco leaves. I asked the nice lady how to use and chew nga nga. She was kind enough to instruct me in this popular practice in the nearby province of Ifugao.

Nga nga is a set of items:
– The nga nga / betelnut leaf
– The nga nga / betelnut seed
– apog / lime powder

You put the leaf on your palm, put in a cracked, cut, bitten betelnut seed, half will do, and sprinkle some apog on it. Then fold this set and chew. It will cause you to salivate, and you spit the orange spit concoction. You aren’t really going to swallow the stuff, you spit and do this for some 5 minutes. Then you are done.

I talked to a tour driver and he said he chews nga nga some 10 times a day. It is a habit that makes him and the others who do it feel warm. It’s also a social culture thing. Each nga nga aficionado will have his own combination of nga nga preferences. Some add tobacco to the combination and it adds a zing to their taste and makes them feel a bit dizzy sometimes.

Now I always somehow want to link this together with why and how about health. Why is nga nga healthy for these Ifugao people? I think it has something to do with the place they live in. Vast clean air, mountain terrain, high up, working in rice terraces and other jobs in the cool air. Not much meat available. Pork is expensive, catch your own chickens that you grow in your yards. Ifugao is inland, no much fish really. No goats and no beef. So meat / fish is in short supply for the Ifugao… and they need to keep warm… so I figure, this nga nga keeps them warm and supplies them with something, that keeps them warm.

I also experienced that with the amount of saliva you spit each time is that it works something like oil pulling. Detoxing through spit every time they chew on nga nga.

I remember my healer friend Vander say nga nga was very good at expelling worms. You do have to swallow the nga nga seed and it is more powerful when the seed is immature.

Try nga nga. I tried it. Just for the heck of it. Spit a lot of orange spit.

Road Trip: Made it Halfway, Stopped over at Bayombong

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We are on our first family road trip. We are using a Toyota Fortuner. Loaded with our supplies. We are on the way to our first leg, Banaue rice terraces. SCTEX was fast and easy. We stopped over for lunch in Cabanatuan. I had my raw beef while the family ate at a commercial place.

I stopped by at Zaragosa market and took some market pictures. They had a different way of presenting their produce and fish. Circular was the market fashion. I found some tiny river shrip, the kind used to make live jumping shrimp with onions. The locals ate it that way too but at home, not on the street. I tasted a small shrimp, delicious. No condiments. And it was clean. Much cleaner than the usual river shrimp in our markets sourced from Laguna lake.
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We were looking for a certain River Rock resort in Dupax del Sur, but we didn’t find it. We found ourselves in Bayombong City. Found a friend and she suggested hotel Balay Gloria. Adequate accomodations. My son and I went on a killing spree of 5 mosquitoes before sleeping. Dinner time was in Mrs. Baker restaurant. A formal restaurant that is well publicly reviewed as one of the best. I had lamb, told the lady to have it seared, you know, less than 5 seconds, it somewhat came out still rare, no matter, I ate it. It was good. Cooked paleo diet, rare enough that will not upset my tummy.

Annoying was the internet. Somehow my smart cellular internet died. The sun internet cannot connect. Luckily the Globe cellular internet was working bearable, like I’m blogging right now. The hotel wifi is blah bad. The first wifi is totally broke. And the 2nd wifi is buggy broke, connect once, click a site twice and the connection stops. Yes, we are in the provinces.

By 7am we plan to go to market and look for honey, then go up the mountains of Banaue.

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Cure Without Surgery?

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Ms K had a close brush with a suspected Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA). She went to her doctor for a regular checkup and got scared out of her wits with a suspected Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA). Doctor told her if she were in a hospital and that were diagnosed, the hospital would not let her leave without undergoing surgery. Is that so? Unconstitutional. Gunpoint medicine? How about CHOICE and free will?

So what is Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA)? The video says the Abdominal Aortic portion is damaged and balloons like an injured tire. If it it ruptures, of course the person is dead, this is the main pipe from the heart. So this main pipe, the medical video says either has to be:

#1 – Treated with drugs, medical diet, moderate exercise
#2 – Open surgery to replace the abdominal aortic portion with a product substitute
#3 – Allegedly less invasive endovascular procedure

All ways of course have to make money. And of course not entirely the best solution for the person.

Here is what the brochure says:

Over time, the weakening of the aorta due to vascular disease, injury (trauma), or a genetic (hereditary) defect of the tissue within the arterial wall can cause an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Continuous blood pressure against this weakened area can result in the ballooning (enlarging and thinning) of the aortic artery.

Risk factors for developing an aneurysm include heredity (family history), smoking, heart disease,
high blood pressure, and poor diet. Most doctors will advise simple preventative measures such as
keeping your blood pressure under control, quitting smoking, and reducing cholesterol in your diet. These lifestyle changes could also aid in preventing further problems in the future.

Now unless there is a true injury like someone shot you, then go ahead by all means get surgery. But if it is just degeneration and blood pressure caused, you can reverse all of this AAA condition. And puhleeze, I have large disagreements with what medical thinks causes blood pressure, or what medical thinks about cholesterol, and what medical thinks is a good diet.

AAA is major heart related surgery crap involving the aorta.

Notice the usual false belief about the aorta damage being localized

This AAA is not localized AT ALL. This is SYSTEMIC.

I can fix this.

Stop being afraid and being pushed to the hands of this medical fear selling machine. They are not the solution. Having a stent in there, does not mean the rest of the aorta is undamaged. And as far as congenital? That’s baloney.

And for how long you think that “thing” in your aorta will last? 10 years? Less or more? Nobody really knows.

I formulated a fast cure protocol for Ms. K to cure AAA in case her ultrasound turns out she is positive for AAA:
– Eat a raw paleo diet
– Concentrate on the following foods: raw bone marrow, raw guavas
– Eat raw guavas followed by raw bone marrow every 2 hours every day for at least a week.
– Follow through with raw paleo diet for the next few months

Observe only with ultrasound if the AAA has fixed itself. No CT-scans please, they are potentially harmful, especially the dye.

Luckily for Ms. K, the ultrasound results turned out she was negative for AAA. But I could smell the fear in Ms. K as she was immensely scared out of her wits by the medical profession. Never make decisions based on fear.