A Grateful Heart

My heart is filled with gratitude for the year that was, the year that gave me sorrow dampened by unexpected joys, tears uncovered with smiles, and despair amidst hope. It was indeed a year of miracles and I start 2010 with a list of five of the things, people, and events I am thankful for.

2009 started with me all giddy with excitement at the thought of having another baby to hold and care for but finding that dream cut short in a couple of weeks. It was a painful time. However, just as I was wiping my tears dry, I find myself rejoicing again by middle of 2009. He is now almost 7 months old and is healthily growing in me. Isabelle and Ilysse, and, of course, Andrew, can't wait to meet him. I give Him thanks from whom all blessings flow!

I am thankful for the turmeric, a rootcrop which belongs to the ginger family. In the Philippines, it is locally known as the luyang dilaw. After four long and excruciating years, Isabelle's eczema has finally cleared. With all the concoctions I tried, only this truly worked in such a short span of time. I just chopped the rhizomes and spread it on her arms and legs.

I am thankful for the oregano, the herb which remains the trusted medicine for my family's cough, colds and flu. It is the one medicine that has made my family antibiotic free for the past 4 years! Unbelievable, but true!

I am thankful for the gift of finding the memoirs of my grandfather that my father entrusted to me, and which, I thought I have lost. He was one of the most influential people in my life and his work is one of my prized possessions.

Finally, I am thankful for people who have made a difference in the lives of countless Filipinos, Filipinos who have brought hope, honor and dignity back to our beleaguered nation-Efren Penaflorida, Cory Aquino, Noynoy Aquino, Tony Meloto, Grace Padaca, Muelmar Magallanes, and a host of others. I have almost given up on this country but their unparalleled devotion to our people led me back to the right but difficult path.

June 18, 2001 and June 18, 2009: A Destiny Fulfilled

I have always believed in destiny and how it strings together lives that are once separated and even broken. That was what happened in June 18, 2001. I got married to my destiny.

Fast forward to an afternoon in June 18, 2009. I was anxiously hurrying to get to church at the EDSA Shrine because I wanted to complete my nine-day novena mass to our Sacred Heart of Jesus. As I entered the church, I saw a couple kneeling in front of the altar. Only a handful were there. It was only as I was taking my seat that I realized that a wedding was taking place. I was enthralled by what was transpiring before me. The bride was beautiful, even radiant. If happiness can be seen, I saw it so clearly that moment. Then, after a few minutes admiring the couple did it dawned on me that on the very same day and time, 8 years ago, I was myself that bride, and Andrew, the groom.

It was a sign, an omen, that afternoon in June 18, 2009, for us and, probably, for the other couple, as well. But, as to what it exactly conveys, I do not know. I remembered that day 8 years ago with an assortment of emotions, pure, unadulterated bliss, unexplained anxiety, even sorrow. As I tried to rationalize those feelings, I recalled the blessing the priest gave us after the ceremony as he recited:

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Although I may never see or even meet the couple from June 18, 2009, I give them back the same blessing.

Aspartame in Sipahh Milk Flavoring Straws? Believe It!

Here comes another product in the market fraudulently claiming to be healthy and good for kids. The advertisements shown around Metro Manila pictures a caucasian kid sipping milk with Sipahh, a milk flavoring straw that comes in four flavors, chocolate, strawberry, banana, and cookies and cream.

Sipahh is supposed to encourage and promote drinking milk in kids but a closer look at its ingredients would show that it is not for kids because aside from a host of chemical-sounding components, it has the very controversial aspartame, the sweetener sold under the brand names of Equal and Nutra-Sweet, and usually found in diet sodas.

The safety of aspartame has been questioned for years but it was only recently that those doubts were confirmed by a study conducted by Dr. Morando Soffrite, a cancer researcher in Bologna, Italy. After a 7-year study on aspartame, his team found that the sweetener was associated with unusually high rates of lymphomas, leukemias, and other cancers in rats that have been given doses of it starting at what would be equivalent to four to five 20-ounce bottles of diet soda a day for a 150-pound person. The study, which involved 1,900 laboratory rats and cost $1 million, was conducted at the European Ramazzini Foundation of Oncology and Environmental Sciences, a nonprofit organization that studies cancer-causing substances; Dr. Soffritti is its scientific director.(Warner, Melanie. Feb. 12, 2006. The Lowdown on Sweet. The New York Times.Retrieved June 3, 2009 from NYTimes.com)

The study, obviously, is being strongly opposed by the producers of aspartame which if confirmed by the US Food and Drugs Authority would mean a loss of earnings of around US$570 million annually.

Last year, i admit guilt in buying a pack for my kids. It was a good thing when i got home, i checked the ingredients and i saw the word "aspartame" jumping right at me. That really irked me as it again showed the deceit employed by manufacturing companies. How can a product intended for kids contain aspartame? If we allow our kids to use Sipahh, it is as if we allow our children to drink diet sodas. The website of Sipahh claims it is healthy and has no preservatives. What do they think of aspartame? The fraud and deceit the manufacturer of Sipahh employs at the expense of our children is something i can no longer fathom. This company has traded their values for a worthless piece of straw that does nothing than make milk taste like medicine.

To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate

In light of the worldwide fear created by the emergence of the swine flu, the efficacy, safety, and benefit of vaccines to counter such disease, or any other disease,for that matter, are again subject of much debate.

Closer to home, the safety of vaccines has been hot topic in our household ever since we had Isabelle and Ilysse. Prior to my so-called "enlightenment", Isabelle had the complete set of vaccinations, from DTP to MMR to Chickenpox to Hepatitis B, to all its booster shots. Even though Andrew was strongly against it, I even had Isabelle vaccinated against the flu at age 3. I totally regret what I did since shortly after her flu shot, her allergies to everything around her started to appear. We partly attribute Isabelle's allergies and eczema to these vaccinations and our theory has been supported by growing research and data on the detrimental effects of vaccination (particularly, the chemicals, like mercury, that go with the vaccines) on children. A very informative site on the ill effects of vaccination can be found at Generation Rescue (www.generationrescue.org) which was put up by Jenny McCarthy whose son was diagnosed with autism shortly after he was vaccinated.

With Ilysse, I knew better. I was more confident in not having Ilysse vaccinated because I breastfed her for 3 1/2 years. She had vaccinations only for DTP and she does not have allergies and rarely gets sick.

Thankfully, Andrew never got tired of reminding me of the dangers of vaccination at such an early age. He would even assuage my fears of not having our children vaccinated by correctly pointing out that our generation never had those vaccinations, but here we are, still alive and kicking. We got our share of measles, chickenpox, mumps, even hepatitis A, but, as far as we were concerned, they were simply childhood irritants.

To vaccinate or not to vaccinate obviously remains to be every parent's decision but I encourage parents to research and continue reading up on the latest on these vaccines. Do not make it routinary simply because everybody else is doing it. If you really want to have your children vaccinated, delay it until they are bigger and stronger to take on not only the germ that will be introduced in their system but also the multitude of toxic chemicals that come with the vaccine.

The Amazing Cure

Isabelle's eczema took a turn for the worse after Christmas. I am attributing it to the sudden cold,cold weather around January (which is the exact opposite to the very, very hot summer weather in the Philippines right now). The eczema that was limited to her arms, at the back of her elbows particularly, now spread to her face, her neck, the back of her news, even her stomach and legs.

My daughter was in pain and we could not doing anything about it. The scratching never stopped, at home, in school, at daytime, and even at nighttime. I would fetch her in school and see her face and arms all red, swollen, and bloodied with all the scratching. There were nights that Andrew and I tried not to sleep because that was the only way to stop her from scratching. I would wrap her arms with layers of cloth and put socks on top but these would all be gone in the morning.

We have tried several dermalogists, even pediatric ones, but all their topical steroids proved to be ineffective. I tried putting those steroids on Isabelle twice but that was the most I could allow my daughter to be administered such medication.(Isabelle's condition started when she was around 4.) I have tried homeopathy, too, which I usually and normally adhere to when it comes to my children's health and well-being but even this proved futile. We have tried so many things, explored all kinds of alternative methods but again Isabelle's condition did not improve; if it did, it was not substantial.

I was mad at myself, mad for being a naive mother, mad for not doing more research, mad for letting Isabelle drink formula during the first few weeks of her life. The nurses, Filipino nurses at that, insisted on giving formula, claiming that my milk was not enough since Isabelle was diagnosed with newborn jaundice. I can't exactly remember who gave the free set of bottles of enfamil but I vividly remember the nurses giving them. I was mad at myself for breastfeeding Isabelle for only a year and a half.

It was at the height of my frustration that we packed our bags one Sunday in February and brought Isabelle and Ilysse to Laiya, Batangas, to try the supposed therapeutic benefits of seawater. I have read a lot about these benefits. In fact, Andrew's friend, Diday, swore by the efficacy of seawater on her skin condition when I talked to her in 2007.

The moment Isabelle dipped in the sea, the cure was almost instant. The redness went away. She stopped itching. At the start, there was a little discomfort on Isabelle since she said the water stings. But, this did not even last for 10 minutes. It was simply amazing to even think that we only stayed for a couple of hours at Balai Laiya. Since then, we have returned 2 more times, stayed overnight, with Isabelle and Ilysse soaking in seawater for hours. I regretted not heeding Diday's word as early as 2007.

Isabelle's skin is almost back to normal. Her face is clear, the rashes at the back of her knees are totally gone, her stomach is smooth again. Hopefully, we probably would just need one or two more visits to the beach this summer to completely remove the stubborn rashes in Isabelle's arms and neck.

I thank God for those months no matter how frustrating and painful it was for Isabelle because again He showed His immeasurable love and mercy to my daughter.

A Prayer to Start My Children's Day

I want to share a short but very beautiful prayer that I got from Joel Osteen's book, Your Best Life Now, which I pray out loud to Isabelle and Ilysse, every single day before they go to school or before they start their day.

"Father, You promised us in Psalm 91 that you will give your angels charge over us and that no evil would come near our household. So, I thank you that my children, Isabelle and Ilysse, are supernaturally protected and You are guiding them and watching after them. Father, You said that we're the head and not the tail and that you will surround us with favor. So, I thank you that my children, Isabelle and Ilysse, are blessed and that they will excel at whatever they put their hands to do. Amen."

I love how the prayer invokes and confirms God's ever-powerful and supernatural presence in the lives of our children. Whenever I say this prayer, I get a sense of stillness that is not of this world and I feel eternally grateful that we have a God who will always be there for my children.

Boosting Your Child's Brain

A favorite author of mine, Patrick Holford, is a leading authority on nutrition and mental health. Among the more than twenty health books he has authored, I have his Six Weeks to Super Health, Food is Better Medicine Than Drugs, and Optimum Nutrition for your Child's Brain. Undoubtedly, the last book is the one that I treasure the most. It is packed with relevant and useful information as it teaches parents how to develop their child's concentration and focus, boost IQ and creative thinking, improve reading and writing, enhance memory, and improve mood and behavior. It is definitely a must-read for all parents who want to maximize their child's potential.

You can easily gather from this book that the most important nutrient that a child should have, aside from an optimum diet and a daily intake of multivitamins are the essential fats, the so-called omega-3 and omega-6 essential fats. These essential fats help children stay physically healthy, reducing the risk of allergies, asthma, eczema, and infections. The most important omega-3 fats are DHA and EPA, which are now being marketed by milk companies as brain boosters. The most important omega-6 fat is GLA, the richest source being borage. Mr. Holford recommends supplementing kids with these nutrients considering their poor diet and the not-so-common sources of these fats. He listed down the sources as follows:

Omega-3-flaxseeds, hempseed, pumpkin seeds
Omega-6 corn, safflower, sunflower
EPA and DHA- salmon, preferably wild and not farmed so as to limit mercury poisoning, mackerel, herring, sardines, anchovies, tuna steak, eggs (of flaxseed-fed hen)
GLA-evening primrose oil, borage oil, black currant seed.

I have given Isabelle and Ilysse Flaxseed Oil before but considering the taste, I had a hard time coaxing them in taking it. I usually add it to their milk which, however, they can still detect because of its strong and distinct taste. Luckily, I found Yummi Bears, Omega-3,6,9. I alternate this with Lil Critters' Omega-3 Gummy Fish. I have been giving them these supplements for over a year now and I am happy to report that they are simply working wonders on my children.

New Year, New Post, and Hopefully, More in the Coming Days and Months

AP Photo/Aaron Favila

When I created this blog. I rediscovered my passion for writing, especially about people and things I am passionate about. But, due to unavoidable circumstances, I had to put this on hold until I just could not find the momentum anymore. From week one of not being able to update this blog, my daughters were the ones pestering me to continue writing. This new year, Isabelle, after explaining what new year's resolutions are and extracting from her and Ilysse, their own, reminded me that one of my new year's resolutions should be to update my blog. Thus, here I am, fulfilling my daughters' simple request and once again, realizing the immense joy I get from writing.

I have been meaning to write about Isabelle's bout with a serious viral infection in November 2008 that made her temperature spiral to 40 degrees Celsius for more than two days and cough like a mad dog. As always, there was a fear that it could be dengue or a bacterial infection. Notwithstanding my doubts and fears that I was not giving my child the proper medication, I continued giving her oregano for the coughs and the Apis/Belladonna drops (a homeopathic medicine) for the fever. When these medication did not seem to work anymore, I had to get in touch with Dr. Cricket Chen, a pediatrician practicing homeopathy, whom I have recommended in my earlier posts. She advised me to continue giving the Apis/Belladonna and to just continue giving oregano when I disclosed that I have been giving Isabelle the said herb. She also prescribed Mercurius Virus Powder, the equivalent of an antibiotic in conventional medicine, but without the harsh and harmful effects, and Pulsatilla drops for her sinus congestion. She did not find Isabelle to have any bacterial infection and after a blood test done, my daughter was also cleared of the highly-feared dengue fever. After only 2 days since we saw Dr. Chen, Isabelle appeared like she did not endure a week of high fever and coughs.

That incident confirmed again my belief in alternative, homeopathic and/or herbal medicine, although I am not exactly closing my doors on traditional medicine since I, myself, have gone through traditional medical procedures. As a way to start the new year, I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to people like Dr. Chen, and all the others around the world who tread the unconventional path to wellness. They have been ridiculed, even sabotaged, but they remain steadfast in their science and principles.