Unlock secrets in Tagaytay
Posted: 0:32 AM (Manila Time) | Sep.. 06, 2002
By Lynett A. Villariba
Inquirer News Service

Secret garden

We take a trip outside the spa farther south to Sonia's Garden in pursuit of wisdom from the plants.

Along the narrow pathways, the flowers smile at you and ask for nothing in return. Verdant plants exhale oxygen for you to inhale. Flowers in bloom provide fragrance to an odorless, if not foul-smelling, world.




And this is what the garden says of our search for the meaning of life: Meaning is like the fragrance in a flower. You cannot catch hold of it in your hands but you know it is there. The flower exists, is alive because of its fragrance. An artificial flower may look like a flower, feel like it, and manage to be as scented. Yet we just know something is missing. There is no meaning in an artificial flower.

There is something in Tagaytay that makes the gardens throb with life. It must be the unpolluted, dust-free air in the highland far above sea level and a rich earth nourished by the breath of a sleeping dragon down the ridge.

On the way back to your nest, you snack on breads and pies fresh out of wood-fired ovens at a small café‚ along the highway called Bag of Beans.

Rejuvenated bodies retire into a cocoon shaped like an Ifugao dwelling, from the axe-cut wooden planks down to the tree-branch door handles. The hut is a conversational piece on indigenous architecture.

A mini Ifugao village in Tagaytay began to materialize when Nurture Spa's Cathy and Anna encountered an Ifugao handicraft supplier of their specialty store. Intuitively, they knew that they had to have authentic Ifugao huts in Banaue knocked down and transported to Tagaytay.

Except for the roof, the nail-less wooden huts were rebuilt by the Ifugao dwellers themselves who, when they were done, capped their activity with a cañao.

 

WHY VIRGIN COCONUT OIL IS BETTER THAN CANOLA OR OLIVE OIL

$5 off when you order. Offer good until Feb 6 2005 only.



The virgin coconut oil is the latest item to hit town. It has become a big winner not only locally but also internationally. The health benefits one can derive from virgin coconut oil are now well known because medical doctors and health buffs are talking about them.


Presently, there are a number of enterprising groups who are in the business of making virgin coconut oil. Some are also engaged in the exporting of this hot item to the US and many other countries.

So what exactly is virgin coconut oil?

Most commercial grade coconut oils are made from copra. Basically, copra is the dried kernel or meat of the coconut. It can be made by: smoke drying, sun drying, or kiln drying, or derivatives or a combination of these three. If standard copra is used as a starting material, the coconut oil extracted is not suitable for consumption and must be purified. This is because the way most copra is dried is not sanitary. The standard end product made from copra is RBD coconut oil. RBD stands for refined, bleached, and deodorised. Both high heat and chemicals are used in this method. RBD oil is also often hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated.

Virgin coconut oil is obtained by using fresh coconut kernel or what is called non-copra. Chemicals and high heating are not used in further refining. Currently, there are two main processes in producing virgin coconut oil.

The first one involves the quick drying of fresh coconut meat, which is then used to press out the oil. Using this method, minimal heat is used to quick dry the coconut meat, and the oil is then pressed out via mechanical means.

The other method is wet-milling. With this method the oil is extracted from fresh coconut kernel without drying first. "Coconut milk" is expressed first by pressing. The oil is then further separated from the water. Methods that can be used to separate the oil from the water include boiling, fermentation, refrigeration, enzymes and mechanical centrifuge.

Virgin coconut oil and refined coconut oils can be compared through scent and taste. All virgin coconut oils retain their scent and taste of coconuts. On the other hand, copra based refined coconut oils have a bland taste due to the refining processes. Some refined copra based oils that are being sold today have a coconut flavor, but are usually bitter and have a burnt taste to it. They are a form of "crude coconut oil" that has not undergone all of the deodorizing process, and they have a shorter shelf-life.

When used in its pure form, this virgin coconut oil offers an incredible wealth of nutritional benefits:
 

• boosts the body's immune response, especially to viral infections.
• prevents low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) by providing an easily digestible, slow-release source of fuel.
• protects the blood from oxidized fats and oils, thus helping to prevent cardiovascular problems.
• doesn't inhibit the thyroid function as unsaturated vegetable oils do, so it helps with weight management and improved energy levels.
• can be used as a skin lotion. It moisturizes the skin, protects it from sun and wind damage, and Helps heal sores and injuries to the skin.
• helps people turn around and recover from serious cases of AIDS, HIV, and even metastasized cancers.

Because of the many healthful properties of virgin coconut oil, it is being enthusiastically recommended for anyone seeking these direct medical benefits from their normal diet.