By Penelope A. Domogo, MD
Some days ago, I was informed that our hospital wards were full of sick children. The main reasons why they were hospitalized were because of diarrhea and cough. We have discussed these health concerns in this column previously but we will discuss them again and again hoping to help people prevent these common ailments or if they get these, for them to be able to manage these at home. That is empowerment – the power to control our health.
Cough and diarrhea are ways by which our bodies get rid of excessive and/or bad food and drinks that we have taken in. Of course, there are normal waste disposal or elimination mechanisms of the body – urination, bowel movement, exhalation and through physical, mental and emotional activities. Aside from these, women have menses, childbirth and breastfeeding to discharge their excesses.
These normal elimination processes, however, will be overwhelmed if we eat excessive expansive or contractive foods. To restore balance and prevent further damage, our body will resort to abnormal elimination processes like diarrhea, vomiting, coughing, frequent urination, abnormal sweating and abnormal emotions. These are diseases of adjustment. It’s like when there is so much water in the dam, the floodgates have to be opened or else the dam will burst.
Extremely expansive foods (or yin foods) are milk, chemicals (vetsin, medicines, additives), sugar, chocolate, honey, soft drinks, cheese, yoghurt, white bread and cookies, tropical fruits.
Extremely contractive foods (or yang foods) are eggs, meat including poultry, salt and salty cheeses.
For this issue, we will focus on diarrhea. Diarrhea is with us all year round but becomes more prevalent in summer and the start of the rainy season. I am wondering why we have diarrheas this early. (Could this be part of the effects of climate change?) Some diarrheas are accompanied by vomiting and/or stomach ache as the body tries to hasten the purging of the excesses and toxins. People nowadays blame the water for the diarrheas. However, investigation of our patients show that water is NOT the usual cause of the diarrhea. If water is the problem, then most of those people who drink from a certain water source would get diarrhea. But this is not the case- the affected people drink from varied water sources. Extremely expansive or extremely contractive foods are the most common cause of diarrhea and stomach ache. Dr. Aileen Ludington and Hans Diehl in the book Health Power, Health by Choice Not Chance stated that “Infants fed formula or cow’s milk are 70% more likely to develop diarrhea and ear infections when compared to babies exclusively breast-fed.” Animal foods like milk, meat and eggs are favorite foods of the bacteria E. coli which is the common cause of diarrhea. These microscopic housemates also like ice cream, hamburger and macaroni salad. Oh yes, these bacteria are our housemates, whether you like them or not. They are part of nature and even if you spray your house and scrub your floors and countertops with chlorox or any sanitizer, they will still manage to thrive and even become stronger. So the trick to keep their population to a manageable minimum is to avoid those extreme foods we mentioned earlier.
The good news is that we don’t have to crack our brains to experiment on what to do when someone has diarrhea or vomiting or stomach pain. These are not new diseases so there are many home remedies that people around the world have discovered to treat it. In the Philippines, rice coffee is one of the effective remedies that people have been using. A lot of our kakailians have experiences of their mom or their lola making rice coffee for them when they have diarrhea or stomach ache or vomitting. Just ask your lola or anybody of my generation – the amazing seniors (ahem). And take it from me, I and my family have tried it and it works like magic. Thus rice coffee is available every time in our home. If you happen to visit, I will serve you rice coffee.
Rice coffee has a centering energy and so it stabilizes the expansive energy of yin foods and calms the irritability of the digestive tract. It also adsorbs toxins and neutralizes the acid in the stomach and intestines. Isn’t that just amazing!
How to make rice coffee? Roast rice till black but if the patient is a child or baby, roast to just brown as the child may not like the bitter taste. When cool, store it in an airtight bottle. To use, spoon roasted rice in a pot or kettle of water (1 tablespoon rice to 1 cup but you can have your own mixture) and boil till the water gets brown or black (depends on how concentrated you want it). Drink slowly. It is more effective if the liquid is chewed first before swallowing. As we said in an earlier issues, chewing alkalinizes the food or drink making it gentle on the stomach. Chewing also gives a signal to the stomach that there is something coming (take note that the stomach can’t see) and so it has time to prepare for it. You can eat the rice after. If the person is vomiting, wait a few minutes before giving the rice coffee. For best results, drink this without sugar or milk. Sugar and milk are expansive foods and may even give you more diarrhea and stomach ache.
Unpolished rice is best. Rice is available in every Filipino home and roasting rice takes only about 20 minutes. This makes rice coffee a very accessible affordable remedy. If you are not confident of your cooking, there is instant powdered rice coffee made by Lagmay in Ankileng, Sagada and also made by other Filipinos all over the country. I have tasted rice coffee from Ilocos and from Palawan- all very good. In the middle of the night when someone has diarrhea or vomiting or stomach ache, you don’t have to panic on what to do. Just drink rice coffee. So it would be convenient to have some in your cupboard. (But, of course, if the patient is dehydrated, better consult the clinic or hospital.) You don’t even need to have diarrhea or stomach ache to drink it. It is a good tasty beverage. For coffee addicts, this makes a healthier option- you get the coffee without the caffeine. ***
**
“Do not be like a horse or mule, which have no understanding; who must be fitted with bit and bridle, or else they will not stay near you.” Psalm 32:10
