Some business aspects of wellness

The desire to live longer and lead healthier lives has been pushing more and more Filipinos into the open arms of the wellness industry, driving up demand for services and products.

During a recent discussion at the Good News Kapihan at ECHOstore in Serendra, proponents from the government and private sector tackled the issues facing the sector.

A lot of people are shifting to organic produce, according to industry observers. The Department of Agriculture (DA) is now looking for ways to reach out to farmers and promote organic agriculture.

Although the DA is actively promoting organic agriculture, “we don’t force them to go hybrid or organic. We give them a choice,” says Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, Agriculture undersecretary for Special Concerns.

As a result, a collaboration between producers and local governments was forged to ensure that the funds go to the right places and people.

“We also give extension support, education and training services because not all farmers are aware of organic agriculture,” Romulo-Puyat adds.

In the 2013 budget, P927.2 million or about 2 percent of the budget, has been set aside to support production, as well as assist organic growers and develop post-harvest facilities, she says. The allotment will also fund research and development, product enhancements and market development by promoting trade shows here and abroad.

Grants in the form of coffee-making facilities, cooking facilities for muscovado farmers are also part of the program to subsidize small farmers.

In a recent study, the Department of Tourism says that the Philippines has a potential to be a wellness hub in Asia due to the country’s unique healing techniques, the people’s hospitality, and abundance in natural resources.

In 2007, health and wellness was projected to be among the major growth sectors that would prop up the economy.

Also, most Filipino households now include wellness as a form of family activity. Dr. Alberto Jo, a natural healing advocate, shares that after the holidays he and his family underwent natural detoxification.

He has adopted a local version of detoxification concocted by the New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health.

In a liter of water, squeeze in the juice of 20 pieces of calamansi, before adding two tablespoons of “blackstrap molasses and a teaspoon of cayenne pepper,” Jo says. “This is already considered by the Jersey Institute as a complete meal in itself. But you have to drink 3 or 4 liters [of the concoction] a day for three days with no food intake.”

This concoction, he adds, will lower the uric acid and triglycerides in one’s body.

Jo says that vegetable protein can sustain human life. Although a vegetarian for the last 10 years, he still describes himself to be “a vegetarian something” because he eats fish with scales.

“It doesn’t mean that I eat the scales of the fish. I just eat fish with scales. It has been said that fish with scales, like black marlin and mahi-mahi, [contains] antiglycerol which cleanses the body from toxins specially the mercury content,” he says.

Jo also advises to squeeze calamansi before drinking bottled waters because it will “alkanize” our bodies and protect it from diseases.

He also agrees that “fast food is the culprit nowadays.” Most consumers are not aware of how fast food meals are prepared, or the ingredients present in the food, which may be harmful to one’s health.

Nicolo Aberasturi, president of DowntoEarth, applies biodynamic farming in producing vegetables. The farming method does away with synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides.

“We believe that a product is healthier if it is planted at the right time,” he says.

The DowntoEarth farm also practices biodynamic composting, crop rotation, cover cropping, ecological pest management and follows a biodynamic sowing calendar. His farmers in Mindanao do not speed up the growth of vegetables and meat and poultry because they believe it will preserve the nutrients packed in the crops and livestock.

At the farm, growers also try to provide their livestock the food that they are used to in the wild. Most animals are fed with cassava or grass.

“It took us eight months to gain a kilo for our chickens, unlike the commercial ones which only take 22 days to reach a kilo,” Aberasturi says.

For him, it’s okay to eat meat as long  as the livestock are “grass-fed because meat is also responsible for the processing of acids in our digestive system.”

Dr. Isabel Malvar, a clinical psychologist and cancer specialist has a different take on wellness. She believes in psychological detoxification.

She says there is no direct relationship between food and behavior. Yet nutrition is a key aspect of a patient’s wellbeing.

“Some say that you become what you eat, but it is yet to be concluded if there is indeed a link between food intake and personality,” she states.

In her years of practice as clinical psychologist for cancer patients, she discovered that hypnosis could help patients reduce vomiting when they undergo chemotherapy.

Instead of buying antiemetic drugs worth up P400, “why not use hypnosis? It is a natural antidepressant,” she explains.

Sharon Tan-Chua lives in Quezon City and she says that she has a hard time looking for organic produce during the weekdays.

“I wanted to give my children only the best so I really took time out to find organic produce,” she says.

This is the reason why she became a licensed distributor of ECHOstore in Centris.

Tan-Chua says that when people walk into her store, they will know that everything has been pre-selected. She describes the ECHOstore as a one-stop shop for everything organic.