By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
Who are you gonna call? Nobody. Somebody in your household may be able to bring you to the hospital but that is about it.
When your blood pressure is sky high, all it takes would be a split second for a cholesterol-hardened blood vessel to shatter. That might mean, your being bedridden.
What about cancer, like colon cancer? Often, it is discovered when it is already in an advanced stage. And it might be too late already.
Which brings me to what I am about to talk about—yogurt. For most of the time, it all boils down to how our lifestyles were. Including what we had been eating. Yogurt, supposed to be anti-colon cancer, should have been a part of that.
In the 70s, yogurt was virtually unknown hereabouts. I remember an Indian yoga teacher offering me a cup, he said, “Very good curd.”
I tasted it and I was not even able to swallow a teaspoon of it. It was unflavored. it tasted like spoiled milk. It was yogurt, often called by Indians “curd.” Well, they mastered for thousands of years, how to make dairy products in their homes such as ghee, cheese. butter, yogurt, etc.
The company that pioneered the mass production and marketing of yogurt here was San Miguel Corporation or one of its subsidiaries. I very well remember some of its whole page ads in the Panorama of Manila Bulletin (yes, that long ago) in the late 70s trumpeting the goodness of yogurt to one’s health. However, that valiant marketing effort to create a mass market for the product failed. And the product disappeared in the market.
Then Yakult same around and it helped to make people aware of the goodness of such products.
Long story short, after about a decade, we woke up one day to see so many big companies marketing the product. It was also promoted by government as a way to earn extra income as a micro or small business due to the ease in producing it. Just mix milk with hot water, add a small amount of yogurt and, presto, you have a product to sell. Everybody is selling home-made yogurt now, even in the hinterlands.
The nutrients in yogurt are numerous, you might as well just Google it. Also, the health benefits, including the health problems it solves. Do it, if you know what’s good for you. He he he
Yogurt, however, should be eaten sparingly, As I felt before, too much of it sort of weakens you. This was later confirmed by somebody whose culture includes eating curd or yogurt. Perhaps one-half cup a day should be enough. The fresher it is, the better. Too old yogurt seems to have the same effect.
About two weeks ago, I was thrilled to see on Facebook the call of Atty Susan Gaplaew-Umayat for people to buy some of her yogurt as a fund raiser for a sick relative. Good initiative. Take care of yourself and help others. But I can only buy some that can be consumed in a week, about four cups. We used to make at home, until it became a bothersome chore. But it would be impractical for such a small amount to be delivered to our office. Unless, you have other deliveries in the vicinity.
Anyway, eat well, live well. Even better if it means helping others.**
Note: We talked about the benefits of potato skin here last week. Caution: Don’t eat green potatoes. It is bad for you. Google it for the reason.
