Healthy Options – Suria Helang Lui

28 Aug 2023

3 Comments By admin Armchair journal, Articles, Eating Well, Healthy Options, Herbal Therapy

The wonders of Turmeric and Bentong Ginger

Turmeric is well-know for its many theraoeutic benefits with its many health properties including as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. Many studies have been conducted on the benefits of curcumin in turmeric. Curcumin is not easily “absorbed” by the body and the way to improveits bioavailabilty to our body iby combining turmeric with black papper where the piperine enhances the absorption of the curcumin. It is widely-used in ayurvedic and traditionak medicine, Based on studies and research, some of the benefits are:

As a potent antioxidant, it can neutralize free radicals which tend to impact important organic substance such as fatty acids, proteins and DNA. Free radicals causes oxidative damages to our body which negatively impacts our body aging and causes other diseases.
Some studies show that curcumin can increase brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which plays a part in memory and learning. More studies are being done to determine its potential in treating Alzheimer’s disease and other degenerative brain diseases.
The main benefit of curcumin when it comes to heart disease is improving the function of the endothelium, the lining of your blood vessels. One of the major causes of heart disease is when there is a dysfunction in the endothelium making it unable to regulate blood pressure, blood clotting, and various other factors.
In various studies, curcumin has been found to affect cancer growth and development by contributing to the death of cancerous cell, reducing angiogenesis (growth of new blood vessels in tumors) and reducing metastasis (spread of cancer). Further studies continue to be done.
Helps the body to recovery from muscle injury. In a study amongst athletes, it was found that athletes who consumed it recovered faster than those who didn’t.

There are many types of gingers but my favorite is Bentong ginger. The main component that provides the most therapeutic benefit is the gingerol. Ginger has been fond in many studies to be an antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and other health benefits. As more research is done on ginger, some of the benefits include:

Being an anti-inflammatory, it helps to reduce swelling or inflammations of joints and muscles can can be helpful for those with arthritis and osteoarthritis and swelling of joints or muscles.
Some studies show it can curb growth of cancer cells like colorectal, gastric, ovarian, liver, skin, breast, and prostate cancer and more studies are being carried out.
Ease menstrual cramps
Lowers “bad” LDL cholesterol
Ginger is loaded with antioxidants, compounds that prevent stress and damage to your body’s DNA. They may help your body fight off chronic diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease, and diseases of the lungs, plus promote healthy aging.
Helps with digestion and relieves indigestion.
Helps counter nausea.

It is with these benefits in mind that I decided to produce our Bentong Ginger and Turmeric with Black Pepper with the aim of making it easier for me to add to my daily diet and using whole foods as a medicine or health therapeutic supplement. Using chemical-pesticide and herbicide free fresh ginger and turmeric that are dehydrated and turned into a powder form, ground black peppers are then added into this mixture to produce our Dehydrated Bentong Ginger and Turmeric with Pepper. No additives, preservatives or fillers are added to it, leaving it in its pure forms.

When I decided to produce this mixture, I wanted to make it easy to consume it and as a painless way of adding it to my daily diet. Another key consideration is how to dry it. I dehydrated it as it ensures maximum nutrients preservation compared with other ways of drying and at the same time is more hygienic, not exposed to contaminants and consistent drying without dependence to weather. There are many ways to use this powder mixture for consumption:

Using 1/4 teaspoon per cup, I add hot water and sweeten it with honey as my first drink for the days. I drink it warm and it is a delicious warm drink to start my day, loading my body with the therapeutic benefits. I drink this as my first hot drink of the day and last hot drink at night on days when I plan or was physcially-active.
Adding it when cooking rice and making a flavourful rice. For additional flavour, you can add virgin coconut oil too making it a quick way to make nasi lemak kuning.
Using it as a seasoning for various proteins such as beef, chicken, fish which can then be cooked in various ways.
Adding it to stir-fry vegetables.
Adding it to coconut milk-based gravy such as in masak lemak kuning, curries and lontong.
Create a salad dressing by adding the mixture to olive oil or other salad oils and adding lemon or lime. You can also add other seasonings like honey, mustard and salt – sea or mountain salt is my preference.
Alternatively, you can put it in a capsule is you prefer to pop pills. I don’t do this because I prefer to enjoy my food then taking it as a medicine.

On a personal note, I have been drinking the ginger and turmeric mixture over the past 4 years. Having the mixture makes it easy for me to

consume it as well as take it along with me when I travel, whether domestically or internationally. When I travel abroad, my first drink in the room is the ginger and turmeric drink. It is a nice warm drink to have especially during the colder months. It has also helped me to recover from painful, muscle injury due to wearing the wrong shoes and walking long distances over uneven, cobblestone roads and paths for several days although it took longer to heal than it would have if I had gone for steroid treatment but it was my choice to avoid steroids and strong painkillers. It was an exercise in helping my body heal it self naturally supported by “whole food”s.

Bottomline: I love this mixture and the simplicity of incorporating it into my daily life.

27 Oct 2020

0 Comments By admin Eating Well, Healthy Options, Herbal Therapy, SHL Products

Indonesian Bay (Serai Kayu): Nature’s gift

English Name: Indonesian Bay

Malay Name: Serai Kayu

Scientific Name : Syzygium polyanthum

This tree is well suited to be grown in Malaysian with our tropical weather. It can group over 5m tall but you can manage the height by pruning it throughout its life span. Once establish, it doesn’t need to be watered as with our climate, it can survive with just our normal rainfalls. It is a relatively fast grower and its branches spreads out making it a nice tree for providing some shade once it grows tall. However, as I use a good amount of the leaves, I keep the height growth controlled as I prune it about every 3 months or so. With good soil, it doesn’t require any fertilizers though as a normal practice at the farm, we fertilize them twice a year

The main purpose of these tree is for the leaves. The leaves can be either eaten fresh or most often, the older leaves are dried. The dried leaves are often used as a flavoring or taste enhancer in many dishes all over the world. It can be used in soups and sauces as well as a herb for roasting various proteins like chicken and beef. You can also turn the dried leaves into a tea – I tend to crush the leaves first before making my tea.

Many studies have been performed on the therapeutical benefits of the leaves. It is well known that high blood pressure is considered the “silent killer”. One study done headed by our local researcher at Dr. Wan Amir Nizam of the Health Science Medical Laboratory, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Kelantan, found that there was a lower rate of high blood pressure amongst a group of Kelantanese who consumed it daily as ulam. He also found that for people who had high blood pressure, they only had to take low doses of high blood pressure medication. The lab studies done on 2 types of rats, one with normally high blood pressure and one species that had normal high blood pressure, found that the blood pressure went down for the rats with high blood pressure but there was no effect on the normal blood pressure rats. They concluded that these leaves are safe to be eaten by people of normal blood pressure. They also found that this leaf is a popular ulam for many Kelantanese and he proposed that this is why there is a lower rate of people with high blood pressure in Kelantan as compared with other states at 13.9% in 2014.

Apart from high blood pressure, the leaves have traditionally be used in therapy for diarrhea, diabetes and ulcer. The stems, flowers and fruits also have other uses in traditional therapy.

Many may wonder what it tastes like? It has a citrusy taste with a slight “kelat” taste. I haven’t found an English word that gives the meaning of “kelat” but it is the taste that is present in unripen bananas. However, when you use it in cooked dishes, this taste is not present. I guess it is the citrus taste that led it to be name serai as Malaysian knows the lemony taste from the lemongrass or serai in Bahasa Malaysia.

To make it available for my consumption when I don’t have any fresh leaves handy, I have dehydrated crushed leaves. I will select the older leaves for this but not ones that have turned yellow or brown. In this form, I can use it as a herbal condiment or make a tea drink – either hot or cold. To make the tea, I find it best to use either just boiled water or my preference is to brew the tea in a claypot. I use a dehydrator as this ensures the maximum nutrients remain while the water evaporates and prevents contaminants. It also results in dried still-green leaves instead of turning brown as when it is air-fried or dried in the sun.

As for me, I take this gift from nature and consume it regularly in many ways.

27 Dec 2018

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Making the goodness of Mangosteen available year round

Malaysians are all familiar with the King of fruits but did you know that Mangosteen is the Queen of fruits? It deserves this title. This is one of our fruits that has very good nutrients along with having many health benefits. The drawback is that it is seasonal hence it is only available during its season which is normally between late June to early August.
Mangosteeen is known for it antioxidant properties as well as the Xanthines enzyme which comes mainly from the outer skin know as the pericarp. This is the part that we normally throw away when we eat the flesh of the mangosteen as it is not palatable. In order to harness all its goodness, we have created our Mangosteen Probiotic Enzyme. It is made from pesticide-free fruits grown at the farm and from our selected fruit growers. In order to have a quality product, we carefully select the fruits that we will use. Each individual fruit is washed thoroughly with our naturally-sourced water without any chemicals.
Our probiotic enzyme is produced using a permaculture fermentation process which takes at least 4 months before we strain and bottle the liquid. Once bottled, it can be stored, unopened for at least 1 year in a cool, dry place. Once opened, it can be stored in a cool, dry place or refrigerated. Hence, it is then consumable for throughout year. Personally, I have my supply for the year until the next season, when I can produce a new batch which means it will be next December before I will have a new batch of Mangosteen enzyme.
I consume it as part of my health maintenance and prevention regime and in order to make it easy for me to consume it, this enzyme has several ways of consuming so I can incorporate it into my normal daily diet. It can be consumed by:
1. consuming 1-2 tablespoons
2. adding 1-2 tablespoon to drinks such as juices and teas
3. making a salad dressing by adding 1-2 tablespoons
4. making ice-cubes which can be added to other drinks when making cold drinks
In our packaging, we bottle it in glass bottles of 250ml each. At the moment, it is not made available in stores and can only be purchased directly from us and not by mail order. Price per bottle is RM 40.
For enquiries, you can e-mail us at enquiries@suriahelanglui or through whatsApp at 017-2821219. For ordering, you can order emails us at order@suriahelanglui or through whatsApp at 017-2821219.

17 Sep 2018

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Oh dear, I am so “gassy”

I always like to understand the cause and effect of food as this helps me design my daily diet based on whole foods. When we eat, along with our food we also take in gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide along with whatever other gases within “reach”. When our body digests our food, among the by-products are gases. Tiny amounts of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and methane combine with hydrogen sulphide and ammonia in the large intestine to give gas its smell resulting in flatulence or commonly know as fart. Certain foods like beans and cabbages releases more gas when it is digested. If you have a lot of gas after eating dairy products such as ice cream, yogurt and milk, it is an indication that the body has trouble digesting lactose or more commonly known as lactose-intolerant. For some, it also causes diarrhoea as well as stomach cramps.

Certain foods worsens flatulence:

vegetables such as artichokes, broccoli, leeks, cauliflower, cabbage, garlic, onions, beans, Brussels sprouts, and turnips.
cereals, such as wheat or oats.
pulses, including beans and lentils.
dairy produce.
yeast in baked products, such as bread.
cashews.

In Malaysia, sometimes these types of food are deemed as “sejuk” or cold – not because of the temperature but because it causes gas. Within our local diets, the some of the widely consumed vegetables are long beans, cabbage, bean sprouts (tauge) and onions.

We “pass wind” many times a day and most of the time, we don’t even notice it as it also doesn’t have any smell an indication healthy digestion gas. When within the digestion process it produces gases that contain sulphur and ammonia, this is where it starts to smell. If food is not properly digested, it starts decomposing releasing sulphur hence the smelly flatulence. If you have excessive flatulence, it is also an indication of abnormal digestion. If the gas is not released through the mouth like burping or through “farting”, it can build-up in the body causing heartburn, body aches and pains, headaches etc. depending on the individual.

Understanding the behind-the-scenes, I realise that enzymes play an important role in digestion. Lack of certain enzymes, that are normally produced by our body, can result in the inability of our body to digest certain foods we consume resulting in conditions like lactose-intolerance, gluten-intolerance and others. As we age, certain organs in our body that produce these enzymes may not be functioning optimally either due to health condition or deterioration. Improper digestion can cause decomposition of food producing an unhealthy environment in our digestive system that promotes pathogens and supports cancer cells. It can also create build-up of acids causing our stomach lining to get inflamed and promoting ulcers as well as weakening it causing toxins to permeate through it into our blood system. To me, maintaining a healthy digestive system as well as promotion good digestion helps prevent many other illnesses.

Hence I began a journey of discovery of enzymes from whole foods – naturally and not chemically processed as the idea was to provide the ability to consume it as normal food and allowing our bodies to function normally. Almost all the enzymes I am studying and researching are plant-based versus animal-based, something that I find very interesting.
Our local fruits that are rich in enzymes that assist the digestion process include papaya (betik), pineapple (nenas), calamansi (limau kasturi), lime (limau nipis) and Roselle (asam belanda) although technically it is known as calyx and not fruit. All these are planted at the farm – following totally organic practices – and something that I incorporate into my normal diet. These plants are what I hope others will plant in their homes, if not all, some, as they are local hence well-suited to our weather and relatively easy to grow.
I further challenged myself to experiment different ways of consuming it as well as combinations to further make it easier to consume as natural food. The outcome: the dehydrated form, the fermented enzyme form and the vinegar form resulting in many ways of including it into my normal daily diet preventing boredom.

Note: This is more as information and not to be taken as medical advise. For medical advise, please consult your doctor or health practitioner.

11 Sep 2018

5 Comments By admin Articles, Eating Well, Healthy Options, SHL Products

Pure Durian Nuggets: To sell or not to sell

During these last durian season, I bought extra durians as I wanted to make durian suggest. I haddone this before and I loved it. So this season, I bought durians that were not exposed to herbicides and chemical fertilisers of the original variety – non-GMO and also without hormones application. The price ranged from rm 8-10 per kg at the orchard and each fruit was more than one kg.

The nuggets are made from pure fruit with no additives or preservatives. I do not use fruits that are no longer nice to consume fresh but select the best ones. The seeds are removed and only the flesh is used.
No flour of any type or other fillers were added. No sugar was added and since it is already naturally sweet, the dehydration process will concentrate the sugars. Adding sugar would not only make it extremely sweet but also detract from the health quality.

As a general rule, upon dehydration, each fruit will produce about 6-8 durian nuggets. Basically, if you eat 8 nuggets, you have eaten a whole fruit. Since it is really good and being a durian lover, I can easily eat them in one sitting – something which can be more challenging if I was eating the fresh fruit. What I find interesting is the dehydration process breaks down the fibrous strand resulting in a smooth non-chewy cake-like texture. You can either consume the nuggets on its own or use it to create or flavour other dishes like sweet coconut gravy that you use as a dip such as with bread, sweet desserts such as pancakes and puddings, and to make ice cream.

Some have asked if I am selling them. Therein lies the dilemma. The cost of producing the 8 nuggets is around rm 12 – including the fruit cost (average price rm 9), people cost, dehydration cost and simple packaging. That doesn’t include selling costs. So in total to have a few cents of profit, the selling price is RM 15. The question is: are people willing to buy it for RM 15. If I wanted to use fancy packaging, it will be at least rm 18.

I began a comparison of high-end snacks without additive, fillers and preservatives. It was hard to find any for comparison. To compare to other durian products, there was no pure durian products was not possible as I couldn’t find any. There were durian candies which were loaded with other ingredients, durian dodol which had more flour and sugar and other ingredients than durian, durian ice cream where durian was used as a flavouring and tempoyak which used durian that was no longer good to consume fresh.

Conclusion: the durian nuggets will be sold in packs of 9 nuggets at a price of rm 15. If you are interested to purchase, you can whatsApp me at 0172821219. Up to 9 packs per order can be sent via poslaju for additional rm 7.50 postage cost. It will also be made available at the various events we do while stocks last.

16 Jun 2018

0 Comments By admin Articles, Eating Well, Healthy Options

Hydrating and loaded watermelon

Being a proponent of local foods, I decided to do some research on the health benefits. Watermelon is easily available in Malaysia and at an affordable price. Hence it can be added into our daily diet effortlessly without doing damage to our food budget.

Why do I love it? Many reasons. The nutrient value is good with rich in vitamin C, Vitamin A, the various vitamin Bs , calcium, potassium as well as containing the enzyme lycopene (like those found in tomatoes at a fraction of the cost) and the amino acids arginine and citruline. Some studies has indicated that citruline is more bio-available when consumed as a juice so I tend to blend it. It also has a respectable dietary fiber content. Being alkaline in nature, it also helps to neutralise the acts our body produces especially after food digestion of proteins, fats and sugars. So, it is my go-to drink during the festive season as a pre-emptive measure from all the variety of foods that is consumed during this period.

In caring and maintaining our health, the nutrients in watermelon contribute towards:

care of our gastro-intestinal system
helps in lowering blood pressure
helps in caring for our heart.

Being high in water content (about 90%), it is a great juice to drink on our hot days whilst providing nutrition to our body. It is also a great post workout juice to consume as whilst it replenishes the fluids lost during the workout, the citruline also helps remove the lactic acid produced by our body and helps speed up our muscle recovery. So instead of reaching out for those manufactured post-workout drink, just blend some watermelon and replenish with all the natural goodness.

So, why not blend some watermelon for a great breakfast drink, hydrating drink on hot days and a post-workout drink and reap the benefits naturally. As with everything, I consume it in moderation as part of a daily diet with a boost depending on what activity I did 🙂

24 Mar 2018

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More than a vinegar

Many have asked me how do I make Roselle Enzyme vinegar and requested for my recipe. However, my Roselle Enzyme Vinegar recipe is a trade secret. What I will share with you is basically how to make a vinegar of your choice.

First you need a starter. If this is the first time you are making it, the easiest starter is using unpasteurised organic apple cider vinegar. There are many brands available so choose one you like. What we are looking for is the bacteria that will cause a reaction with your fermented liquid to form acetic acid which is the key component in vinegar.
A fermented liquid – could be from rice or fruits for example.
I will always use a glass container to ferment my vinegar as I can be assured that my container will not cause any undesired chemical reaction with my vinegar throughout the fermentation process.
The basic ratio of starter to fermented liquid is 1:1. So, if you have 500 ml of starter, use 500 ml of fermented liquid or juice. Place in the container and cover it with muslin clothe so that air can still enter the container but not the bugs that will be attracted to it during the fermentation process.
Place in a cool area without exposure to sunlight and allow it to sit for at least 3 weeks. You can tell the vinegar is ready when you take off the muslin covering and you get a strong aroma of the vinegar.
To store vinegar when ready, just strain the liquid through a strainer such as using an unbleached coffee filter. Bottle the strained liquid and your vinegar is now ready for consumption. It can be stored at room temperature and lasts for month.

If you plan to make another batch of vinegar, just bottle half of the vinegar produced and retain the other half to be the starter for making another round of vinegar. Under the right conditions, a mother of vinegar may be formed which is essentially cellulose with acetic acid bacteria, the key item that enables your liquid to turn into vinegar.

You can allow your vinegar to be fermented longer than 3 weeks in the fermenting container. I find that the longer I leave it, the resulting vinegar is “smoother”.

Locally, we have many options for creating our fermented liquid to be turned into vinegar so you can experiment and see which vinegar you love most. An area of consideration is what special nutrients or items that the source of the fermented liquid can bring to the final vinegar produced like enzymes and antioxidants. I suggest that if you are going to take the time and effort to make your vinegar, do select the best ingredients free from chemical toxins as well as hormones. Happy trying 🙂

10 Dec 2017

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Go Local >> Part 1: Cancer Commonality Factor – Constipation

A few weeks I listened to Dr. Lou Coutinho speak on treating cancer patients and the research that they have done with these patients in finding the commonality factors. They found 4 factors and I find them interesting as as he puts it, you do not need to spend a lot of money to prevent cancer but make changes in your daily diet and lifestyle. This I truly belief. As he puts it, there are all types of cancer patients irrespective of ethnic backgrounds, body size, occupation or financial status and they collected data on patients from many different countries.
One of the factors is constipation. This makes sense to me as with constipation, your body retains the wastes and toxins longer in your body as well as prevents regular disposal of your body wastes as well as toxins.

If you are constipated regularly, heading for the medicine cabinet is not the answer as it addresses a symptom but does not solve the underlying issue. It is crucial that the body can get rid of the wastes and toxins efficiently and that it does nor cause issues with your gastro-intestinal system or lead to the toxins and wastes re-entering the blood system as it would mean that these toxins and wastes would then cause problems to other organs of your body. This would create a conducive environment for the cancer cells in your body to mutate and become active.

Thus caring for the gastrointestinal (GI) system is of the upmost importance and this includes the stomach, pancreas, intestines and colon. Water is one of the essential elements in maintaining a healthy GI system. Hence be sure to drink sufficient clean water daily and the amount varies depending on the activity from at least 1 liter. Coffee, tea, carbonated drinks are not considered to fall into the water category.

Our GI system contains friendly-bacteria that helps in the process of digestion. Certain things that we do can cause these friendly bacteria to die or reduce in quantity. Amongst the most often cause is prescribed antibiotics. Many take costly probiotics and probiotics but there are so many kinds and each person varies in the type and quantity of bacteria present. After all, each person has a different kind of diet, etc. After thinking about it, I decided to write this article on what we have locally that is low in cost and effective.

We are blessed because we have natural herbals locally grown which contribute towards a healthy GI system. The top on my list is turmeric and ginger. They are easily available and easy to grow in our gardens, whether in pots or in the ground. As long as they get sunshine, water and some fertiliser, they will grow just fine. As many already know, black pepper is essential in increasing the bioavailability of curcumin (the main phytonutrient we want in turmeric) and we have these grown locally. I favour Sarawak black pepper or any organically grown black pepper. We can easily incorporate this into our daily diet.

Many of our normal daily dishes can easily have these ingredients added to it. When we make soups, just add some turmeric, black pepper and ginger. When we do stir-fry dishes, again these three

ingredients can be added. Most of us have rice as the main staple and we can elevate this staple by adding these three ingredients. We can also add these ingredients to our teas or milk drinks. Be sure not to use refined sugar as this will help create an acidic environment favourable for cancer cells mutation and growth.

What else can we eat to further improve our GI system. Try adding tapioca, another easily available, locally-frown ingredient, to your diet as with its high fiber content, it will help the disposal of toxins in our GI system. It also has a low glycemic index hence replacing your rice with this as the staple carbohydrate will further add benefits to your diet. It also helps in the growth of the beneficial bacteria in our GI system.

It is hard to overdose on this when you eat it naturally and I haven’t been able to find any adverse reactions or contraindications when taken as normal food. Simple changes that can make a difference.

02 Nov 2017

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Go Local: Power trio

We have been mind-trained to look west that in the process we have lost our traditionally wonderful vegetables. To me, peperomia pellucida (sireh cina), cosmos caudatus (ulam raja) and wild purslane (beremi) are superfoods that can be eaten raw as a salad. They grow easily in our weather and requires minimal care. To maximise the benefits, it is best grown organically without the use of chemical fertilisers or pesticides and not exposed to any chemical herbicides.

This combination provides the following nutrients:

Vitamin A
Vitamin B1, B3, B6
Vitamin C
Calcium
Copper
Iron
Magnesium
Manganese
Potassium
Omega-3 fatty acids
Sodium
Zinc

These combination has the following properties:

anti-oxidant
anti-hypertensive
anti-diabetic
anti-inflammatory
bone-protective effect
anti-microbial
anti-fungal
anti-cancer
lowers cholesterol
anti-arthritic
anti-rheumatic
anti-diarrheal
analgesic

The beauty of this trio is it is natural food so it can easily be incorporated into your daily diet. You don’t have to worry whether you take it before a meal or after a meal or on empty stomach because it is food and not chemicals. I am not a proponent of juicing but if you want to drink it, blend it so that you get all the nutrients and benefits. Happy eating 🙂

09 Oct 2017

0 Comments By admin Armchair journal, Articles, Healthy Options, Herbal Therapy

Busybody about my body: Dealing with Flu Naturally

I do not know of anyone who has never gotten a flu and it is a common disease that I think people look at it less seriously. However, not taken care of, it can lead to other complications such as pneumonia, sepsis, inflammation of the heart (myocarditis) as well as aggravating some other conditions like asthma. So whilst it is common, I do not take it lightly. The symptoms include :

sore throat
runny or stuffed nose
fever
muscle aches and pains
headache
fatigue.

It is cause by a virus and nowadays there are so many variants. Often, when you visit a doctor, you can expect to get three types of medication: one for fever, one for sore throat and congestion and of course antibiotics. Most literature strenuously point out that it is important to complete the entire course of the antibiotics for it to be effective.

Last week I caught the flu. I knew I was going to get it because my son came down with it in a bad way and there is no way I can avoid contact with him. He was literally stuck to my side and with his high fever, I was monitoring him very closely. Being only 4 years old, he has a higher risk of complications. When his fever rose to close to 40 degrees Celsius, we headed to the hospital. I wasn’t taking any risks. We managed to bring his fever down about 2 hours later but he was still feverish. As for me, the minute I saw he caught the flu, I began my regime of 1 tablespoon of EVCO every 4 hours and 1 tablespoon of honey twice a day. At the same time, I also gave my son EVCO every 2 hours along with his fever medication every 4 hours until his fever was all gone, which was a day later. He also was on antibiotics for 3 days which caused diarrhoea so now he is also taking probiotics daily to re-balance his digestive system. My son is still on daily 1 teaspoon of EVCO and 1 teaspoon honey, twice a day until he fully recovers. He is not taking any other medication. Then it was my turn.

I was flat on the bed for about 16 hours and during this period, I continued with hourly tablespoon of EVCO and every fours 1 tablespoon of honey. Then it was the morning on the next day and my fever was gone but I felt the muscle aches. It was time to start taking my Bentong ginger and turmeric concentrate – 2 tablespoon diluted with warm water with 1 teaspoon of honey every 4 hours. By evening, I was left with a slight cough and slight congestion. So, I continue with my three times a day of 1 tablespoon of EVCO and 1 teaspoon of honey. I have also added drinking Roselle juice twice a day to boost my immune system and to prevent any more fever.

There is pharmacological and studies backing the treatment that I chose for myself.

Flu is cause by virus (and there are many strains) and can be complicated with bacteria. To address this, the EVCO has strong anti-viral and anti-bacteria properties. Honey too has strong anti-bacteria and anti-viral properties. This composition gives me a wider range of defence. It also helps in strengthening my immune system. This also became a source of food for me.
Muscle aches and pains makes movement painful so the Bentong ginger and turmeric helps to ease these aches and pains as well as reduce any internal inflammations. It has strong anti-inflammatory properties as well as digestive system protection properties. At the same time, since my appetite was non-existent, I barely ate so this combination help reduce any stomach problems.
Roselle has good immune boosting capabilities so is a good option to take during the recovery period.

I prefer going the natural route as I do not like drugs and antibiotics because of all the side effects including destroying the good bacteria necessary for a healthy digestive system (one of the reasons why people also tend to get diarrhoea when they get flu). With no appetite, I didn’t have to try and stuff something in me before I took the EVCO, honey, Benton ginger & turmeric or Roselle as they are all food. They were also my food. It is also hard to overdose on these because as we age, all types of body parts need maintenance and repair as well as some rebuild. Throughout this whole flu experience, my brain remain active, alert and lucid even when I had my eyes closed. Being down for only a day was good as the next day, my son was ready to play.

As always, we have choices. What is important is that we are aware of what we are doing, monitor our condition and be sure that what we are taking is pure, natural items which are organic and processed in a way to ensure maximum properties and nutrients are preserved. Be knowledgeable in taking care of your health.

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Category: Healthy Options