Seven criteria to assure us of safe, healthy and nutritious food

Seven criteria to assure us of safe, healthy and nutritious food 

Let's avoid food that destroy us and our children!

Dr Abe V. Rotor

Cook simply and naturally at home.

Good health and good food go together, doctors tell us. Our schoolchildren learn the importance of proper nutrition, balanced diet, and even the advantage of food fortified with vitamins and minerals. Nutritionists advise us to take high protein food and inquire whether or not we are taking adequate calories. Lately, such terms, beta-carotene, and good cholesterol have permeated our conversations.

Here is a new term to remember, probiotics. This substance keeps our body always alert to fend off stress due to overwork and disease. Dr. Domingo Tapiador, a retired Filipino scientist of the United Nations introduced into the Philippines Spirulina, a type of algae developed from Cyanobacterla (or blue green algae). This is a revolutionary idea in food and agriculture, yet Spirulina is an ancient organism, one of the earliest kinds of living things that first appeared on earth three billion years ago. Some people think that probiotics and antibiotics (substances that directly kill germs), when working together in our bodies will help us enjoy healthier and longer lives.

Ailments From the Food We Take

There are many reported ailments and abnormalities that are traced to the food we take. Cancer for instance, is often related to carcinogenic substances. High uric acid leads to kidney trouble. High cholesterol and high sugar levels are associated with high blood pressure and diabetes. Aflatoxin causes cirrhosis of the liver. Ulcers are food-related, as are many allergies. It is not enough that we produce sufficient food. We must also produce foods that ensure good health, reduce risks to diseases and ailments, and prolong life.

Here are seven suggestions to challenge present day agriculture. The Green Revolution during the 1960s that ushered in production gains from improved varieties and techniques. This was followed by agricultural concepts in the succeeding decades which were responsible for opening the fields to mariculture (farming the sea), and conversion of wastelands into farmlands. We soon realized that there is need “to go back to basics.” Thus, ecological farming was born, a kind of farming with a cause: That cause is the enhancement of the quality life through good health and longevity on one hand, and the maintenance of an ecologically-balance environment, on the other.

1. The rule of thumb is: It is always better to eat foods grown under natural conditions than those developed with the use of chemicals.

This statement can be captured with one term "natural food". All over the world this is a label found in food grown without chemicals. People are afraid of becoming ill because of chemicals introduced into the food. They know that chemical fertilizers and pesticides enter with the crops and are passed on to the body.

2. People are avoiding harmful residues, artificial additives, and radiation in food. 

Under the rules of the US Food and Drug Administration, any trace of certain farm chemicals is enough to condemn a whole shipment. One kind of residue that people are avoiding is antibiotics. Poultry and hog farms contain high levels of antibiotic to safeguard the animals from diseases, however, the antibiotics are passed on to the consumers. Unless we are ill, the body does not need antibiotics. But every time we eat eggs, chicken1 pork chop, steak, and the like, we are cumulatively taking in antibiotics. This roles our immune systems punishing organs like the kidney and liver. To others, antibiotics only causes allergic reactions.

Another culprit is radiation. Even a trace of radiation can be hazardous. That is why many countries immediately took preventive measures to avoid fallout contamination from the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident recently. Consider the deleterious effects of toxic metals (such as mercury and lead emitted by factories and from vehicles), and additives in food used for coloring, preservative, on just fillers.

3. People are becoming more conscious of the nutritional value of food rather than its packaging and presentation. 

More and more people now recognize junk foods for what they are, despite their attractive packaging. Soft drinks have taken the backseat, courtesy of fruit juices and mineral water. People have even learned that different plant varieties have different levels of food value. Beans grown on naturally fertile soil have higher calorie and protein content. This is also true for animals.

4. Freshness is the primordial rule in choosing a perishable food. 

There is no substitute for freshness. While freshness is a function of efficient handling and marketing, the farmer, himself, must enhance farm-to-market freshness. By keeping his standing plants healthy, his produce will stay longer on the shelf life. Products that are free from pest and diseases also stay fresher and longer. Too much water or fertilizer reduces shelf life of the commodity.

5. Food processing must be efficient and safe. 

Food processing such as drying, milling and manufacturing is key to higher profits. Whenever feasible, food must reach the table fresh. But processing is designed to lengthen the shelf-life of perishable commodities. There are products that require processing before they are used. These food items include vanilla, coffee, cacao, vinegar and flour. Profits generated through processing are value-added to production.

6. Food must be free from pest and diseases. 

By all means, food must be free from insects and pathogens. There are cases of food poisoning as a result of food deterioration, or contamination.

7. Food preservation must ensure quality, and above all, safety. 

Be aware of the fish that is stiff, yet looks fresh. It is easy to detect the odor of formalin. Salitre is harmful, so with vetsin or MSG (Monosodium glutamate). Too much salt (sodium) is not good to the body. Some puto makers add lye or sodium hydroxide to help in the coagulation of the starch. Sampaloc candies are made with bright red with shoe dye. The same diluted dye is used with ube manufacture to make it look like real violet-colored plant. ~

Acknowledgement with gratitude: Internet photos/images

Glycerol Monolaurate (GML) in Virgin Coconut Oil destroys tuberculosis bacteria

Glycerol Monolaurate (GML) in Virgin Coconut Oil

destroys tuberculosis bacteria

Our Green Planet in Ten Paintings

                             Our Green Planet in Ten Paintings

“The Earth is what we all have in common.”- Wendel Berry 

Paintings by Dr Abe V Rotor

Green Planet, acrylic on wood, by AVRotor, 2021. On display 

at the Living with Nature Center, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

These quotations by world renowned authors, leaders, and environmentalists, inspired me to paint Green Planet and other Nature paintings. - avr

1. “Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty.”—John Ruskin 

2. “What’s the use of a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on.” —Henry David Thoreau

3. “The Earth is a fine place and worth fighting for.” —Ernest Hemingway

4. “To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug.” —Helen Keller

5. “A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.” —Franklin D. Roosevelt

6. “The Earth is what we all have in common.” —Wendell Berry    

7. “Away, away, from men and towns,
To the wild wood and the downs, —
To the silent wilderness,
Where the soul need not repress its music.”

—Percy Bysshe Shelley

Valley Stream in acrylic by AVRotor

Hidden Cave Entrance in acrylic AVRotor 

8. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Mead

9. “One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between man and nature shall not be broken.” —Leo Tolstoy

                          

                                       A Piece of Eden in acrylic AVRotor 2021

10. “The environment is where we all meet; where we all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share.” - Lady Bird Johnson

Hillside Pond AVR

11. “The Earth will not continue to offer its harvest, except with faithful stewardship. We cannot say we love the land and then take steps to destroy it for use by future generations.” —John Paul II

Edge of a Tropical Rainforest

12. “Like music and art, love of nature is a common language that can transcend political or social boundaries.” —Jimmy Carter

13. “Nothing is more beautiful than the loveliness of the woods before sunrise.” —George Washington Carver

14. “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make.” —Jane Goodall

                         

                               White doves soar through the treetops, AVR 2021

 15."As I walk with Beauty

As I walk, as I walk,

The universe is walking with me,

In beauty it walks before me,

In beauty it walks behind me,

In beauty it walks below me,

In beauty it walks above me,

Beauty is on every side."

       —Traditional Navajo Prayer

 Forest Stream Alive; Morning Glory with White Doves.

Read Nature. You will enjoy life, live healthier and longer.

Read Nature. You will enjoy life,

live healthier and longer.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Can we predict wildfire before it starts, more so to strike our area?

Acrylic painting by the author, 2015 

Read Nature. You will enjoy life, live healthier and longer. You'll gain more friends and respect from people. Above all, you will be at peace with yourself and with your environment.

Rain is coming, take heed! Hovering dragonflies, aggressive biting of mosquitoes, ants on the move carrying their young and provisions.

Monsoon rains may last for 18 consecutive days, hence the term siyam-siyam, from which Masagana 99 rice program was coined.

Here are some biological signs to watch. They are Nature's barometer, so to speak; Nature's clock, Nature's way of communicating with the living world.

1. Mad dog – Its tail is tucked underneath; animal restless biting at anything within its reach; froth coming from its mouth; stealthily moves about without any apparent direction; dreads the presence of water (hydrophobia);usually occurs during hot days particularly in summer. Be keen; keep distance; notify others of danger; get help.

Dogs must be vaccinated with anti-rabies and not allowed to go in the street. (Nikko, our pet at 15 before he died of old age.)

2. Drought – Occurs in summer; landscape scorched; dry river beds and ponds; brush fires occurs; lake water recedes; crack on earth, especially areas under water in monsoon; worst scenario - flowering of bamboo usually during El Nino, a phenomenon that happens every 7 to 10 years.

Leaves of talisay (Terminalia catappa) turn orange to red before falling to the ground, a sign that the Amihan (cold season) has arrived.

3. Earthquake – Farm animals restless; horses kick and neigh; pigs snort; fowls abandon usual roost; turkey cackle; cattle seek exit from corral; dogs howl; and the like. Wild animals abandon abode – snakes come out into the open; reptile keep out of the water; elephants defy their master’s command; birds abandon nest, other emigrate.

4. Typhoon – Doldrums-like calm; uneasiness to both humans and animals as barometer reading drops which means atmospheric pressure goes down; arthritis and hypertension symptoms are felt by sensitive persons. As typhoon approaches, sea becomes rough; sky overcast; clouds move fast to one direction; gusts of cold and warm wind, thunderstorms.

A restless cockroach in the evening

heralds the coming of bad weather.

5. Influenza – Precipitated by alternate cold and hot weather, thunderstorms, abrupt change in season. Influenza season is usually at the onset of amihan as the habagat comes to an end. Practical signs: people coughing in church and other gatherings; sale of cold tablets and antibiotics is up; hospitals full. Epidemic starts in the family, neighborhood, local community; also, in schools, malls and markets, and may spread to cover a city or district or province. Modern transportation has made spread of flu easier and wider.

6. Pristine Environment – Abundance of lichens on trunks and branches of trees, rocks, and soil. There are three types: crustose (crust), foliose (leaf-like) and fruticose (fruiting type). They are biological indicators of clean air. The ultimate test is the abundance of the fruticose type.

7. Inclement Weather – Halo around moon; gray and red sunset; a storm may be coming depending upon the intensity of these signs.

This field cricket, nature's violinist, is most
active during warm summer night.

8. Rain - Dragonflies hovering; aggressive biting of mosquitoes; ants move to another place carrying their young and provisions. The latter predicts heavy continuous rainfall or siyam-siyam or nep-nep. Herons on the move heralds the monsoon.

9. Monsoon – Frogs croak; insects (termite, ants) swarm; lightning and thunder get frequent; first heavy rain in May vegetates the landscape, thus turning from brown to green. It comes early or late, but usually in later part of May. Global warming has brought unpredictable signs indicating that our climate is changing.

10. Ripening of Fruits – Generally from green to yellow to orange (banana, orange, apple, etc. Determined by smell: guava, jackfruit, durian, melon, etc); shiny rind (caimito, siniguelas). Dull skin (chico), enlarged ridges and furrows (atis, guayabano, anonas)

 

When earthworms crawl out of their holes and search 

for higher grounds, it is a sign that a flood is coming.

Can you read other signs?
1. Sweetness/sourness of fruit
2. Maturity and succulence of vegetables (okra, cucumber)
3. Tenderness of nut (buko, macapuno)
4. Sweetness and maturity of fruit (watermelon)
5. Time to harvest singkamas, onions, garlic, sugar beet
6. Presence of jellyfish
7. Red tide season
8. Coming flood (earthworm abandon their burrows.)
9. Time to harvest palay, corn, wheat.
10. Slippery walkway (presence of algae and scum)
11. Depth of water (by color, sound of oar, current, clarity)
12. Cloud reading of weather.
13. Glassy eyes (deep feelings like hatred, or “wala sa sarili”)
14. Wrinkles at the corner of eyes (happy disposition)
15. Furrows on forehead (problematic)
16. Rough hand (worker, also athlete)
17. Brilliant and attentive eyes (intelligence)
18. Clumsiness, strumming (nervous, uncertain)
19. Heavy feet (angry, lazy)
20. Tight jaw (angry, restlessly active)

Open Forum:
1. How reliable is “gut feel”
2. How about ESP?
3. What is “aura?” How does it apply to relationships?
4. What is Biological Clock? Name how it affects your life.
5. Life starts at 40 – how do you interpret this?
6. Who are prophets to you? Are there people who can see the future? 

    Do you believe in Nostradamus?
7. Are dreams hidden motives, indirect messages, prophesies?
8. How superstitious are you? Specify.
9. Do you think you were once living on earth in another being or living thing, 

    in another time and place? Do you believe re-incarnation?
10. How fatalistic are you – you are predestined even before you were born?

Please share us your knowledge and experiences. Learn more from Nature - she is our best teacher. ~

“Our house is on fire, and our children are in!"

“Our house is on fire, and our children are in!"

Dr Abe V Rotor

"The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars - must be broken, or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Our house is on fire, and our children are in

 in acrylic on wood (29"x 24") AVRotor 2026

Many a story or song is about this topic:

"Our house is on fire." Light or tragic?

In our times, please take the latter stance,

when fire razes, there's no safe distance.

The ghosts of Malthus and Frankenstein,

amidst our world of both evil and divine,

arise in postmodern times to wake us up,

before our world comes to a sudden stop.

Like in any war, on all sides of the globe,

loss irrespective of kind need not probe,

loss of peace and happiness, but doom -

in unending chain reaction, ad infinitum.

Yet Frost’s “miles to go before we sleep,”

takes us to the last, or extra mile, to reap,

man’s reward for piety from Him above - 

if only we heed the call of the white Dove.

The 28-spotted ladybug (Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata) is actually a beetle. 

It got its 28 black spots scorched by fire, 

as related by this rhyme, from which this 

article got its title.  

"Ladybug, Ladybug, where have you been;

your house is on fire, and your children are in?"

- Traditional Children's rhyme

Waterfalls in My Childhood

Waterfalls in My Childhood

Dr Abercio V Rotor PhD

"I have returned in old age and stood

before my waterfalls to pay homage

with paintbrush and canvas. Behold!

I painted a scene gentle with age. "

Waterfalls in My Childhood, in acrylic (29"x 24") AV Rotor 2026

Waterfalls are nature's living fortress,

their massive walls rise to the sky,

symbol of strength and daring, and I,

I grew up a disciple as time went by.

Down their cascading waters I rode,

along the river that meets the sea,

to a world strange, unknown, and I,

I looked back, in spite of being free.

Time and place combine into fate,

into a life travelled but once only,

a world incognito, infinitum, and I,

I crossed my Rubicon, a long story.

I have returned in old age and stood

before my waterfalls to pay homage

with paintbrush and canvas. Behold!

I painted a scene gentle with age. ~

“You don’t have the power to make rainbows or waterfalls, sunsets or roses, but you do have the power to bless people by your words and smiles. You carry within you the power to make the world better.” - Sharon G. Larsen

Poison in Food - Be Aware! In observance of World Food Safety Day, June 7, 2026

USAPANG BAYAN June 2, 2026 2-3 pm

World Food Safety Day, June 7, 2026 Sunday

 Poison in Food - Be Aware! 

And don't fall into addiction! Pillars of addiction: MSG (Vetsin) in food, CAFFEINE in coffee, tea and softdrinks, NICOTINE in smoking and drugs, ALCOHOL in cocktail, beer and wine.

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Ethnic Biology There are poisonous plants and animals found in nature. But there are those, which ethnic societies learned to deal with the poison they contain, and having removed it, eat them without any apparent harm. One example is nami (Dioscorea hispida), a relative of ubi and tugui'. Hispidine is the poisonous principle that can be extracted by means of repeated washing. Like doubtful mushrooms, natives use dogs to test the safety of the product. 

 

Ms Melly C Tenorio, host, and Dr Abe V Rotor, guest 

                          Amanita – a highly poisonous mushroom

The field of ethnobotany and ethnozoology covers interesting studies on how the natives deal with poisonous plants and animals as food, from snakes and puffer fish (butete) to wild gabi and cassava.

I learned from old folks how they cook cassava to minimize its cyanide content. The tuber is cleaned and cut into pieces, then boiled with the pot cover removed to allow the deadly cyanogas to escape with the steam. By the way storing cassava tuber should be avoided because the cyanide that is concentrated in the bark spreads into the tuber. This is noticeable by the yellowish spots on the tuber. However, this is difficult to notice in the case of the yellow or glutinous varieties of cassava. 

The blood of the tangingi is first drained before it is cut and cooked. There are people who are allergic to this kind of fish. The case of my youngest son, Leo Carlo 11, is a classical example of acute allergy to seafood. In the summer of 1998 while my family was vacationing in our hometown, Carlo ate a lot of talakitok eggs. By midnight, four hours after eating, we had to rush him to the hospital. He could hardly breathe, his eyes were virtually shut, and his body was covered with reddish spots. He was immediately given an antihistamine injection. It took him one week to fully recover.

 

Photos: Favorite Filipino dishes - tahong (green mussel) and talaba (oyster) are carrier of the Red Tide plankton. Pyrodinum bahamense compresa, which contains PSP or Paralytic Shellfish Poison 

Symptoms of food poisoning from natural toxins appear to have similar patterns, but mortality rates vary depending on the kind and amount of poison. When Red Tide first appeared in the early eighties in Maqueda Bay in Western Samar, there was very little knowledge about PSP (Paralytic Shellfish Poison). This poison accumulates in tahong or green mussel and talaba or oyster without apparent harming them. There were reported deaths due to eating tahong during the red tide season. The affect is on the nerves and muscles, and probably the brain. 
Poison in Food (Chemicals and Pathogen)

DDT (from its chemical name, dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) is one of the most well-known synthetic pesticides.

The other kind of food poisons is man-made or man-induced. The most prevalent are farm chemicals. Modern pesticides are designed to cope up with the increasing resistance of insects and pathogens. As a result their residues on food and in the environment have likewise increased tremendously. This is even worst in the case of systemic pesticides that penetrate into the innermost part of the plant as they are absorbed and carried throughout the plant's body via its sap. Any insect that feeds on the sap is killed. This property is also present in some phosphatic pesticides and chlorinated hydrocarbons.

Among the first chlorinated hydrocarbon is DDT that was introduced in the forties as the final answer to the malaria problem, controlling mosquitoes, which spread the disease. It is true that DDT is highly effective not only against mosquitoes but other insects as well, that its inventor received the Nobel Prize. It was however, discovered years later that DDT has a residue that is both persistent and cumulative, and transferred through the food chain. Thus, from the mosquito, the DDT is passed on to the fish, to animals that feed on the fish, and ultimately to man. In spite of the fact that it has long been banned there are still traces of DDT residues found in many places, showing either its persistence, or its illegal manufacture and distribution - or for both reasons.

DDT was first synthesized in 1874, DDT's insecticidal properties were not discovered until 1939, and it was used with great success in the second half of World War II to control malaria and typhus among civilians and troops. The Swiss chemist Paul Hermann Müller was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1948 "for his discovery of the high efficiency of DDT as a contact poison against several arthropods." After the war, DDT was used as an agricultural insecticide, and soon its production and use skyrocketed.

In 1962, American biologist Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring. The book cataloged the environmental impacts of indiscriminate DDT use in the US and questioned the logic of releasing large amounts of chemicals into the environment without fully understanding their effects on the environment or human health. The book suggested that DDT and other pesticides cause cancer and that their agricultural use was a threat to wildlife, particularly birds. Its publication was a signature event in the birth of the environmental movement. It produced a large public outcry that led to a 1972 ban in the US. DDT was subsequently banned for agricultural use worldwide under the Stockholm Convention, but limited, controversial use in disease vector control continues.

Along with the Endangered Species Act, the US DDT ban is cited by scientists as a major factor in the comeback of the bald eagle, the national bird of the United States, from near-extinction in the contiguous US. (Wikipedia)

Food Poisoning
There was a case of cheese dog poisoning in Rizal. Scores of children, teenagers and adults attending a party were rushed to the nearest clinics and hospitals. Fortunately all of the victims fully recovered.

Cases of typhoid, hepatitis and gastrointestinal diseases have been on the rise because of unsafe water. In Tokyo and nearby cities Escherichia coli, a common gastrointestinal pathogen spread into an epidemic level. It was controlled after banning the suspected source - hamburger.

There is always a cardinal rule in observing food safety, and that is sanitation. Cleanliness speaks of an establishment's image, and has become an important basis in issuing government permits in the operation of food manufacturing plants, hotels and restaurants.

But how clean is clean? The scientist Lister discovered the principle of aseptic cleanliness. Listerine, a mouthwash brand was named after him. Florence Nightingale, the founder of the nursing profession applied Lister's principle in hospital management. But we often exaggerate cleanliness. We use a variety of cleaning agents such as detergents, pesticides, deodorants, air fresheners, and cosmetics.

My father used to warn us in the family, "We are unwittingly introducing into our bodies materials which may be more harmful than the germs we are trying to control." One example is Rub-on mosquito repellant which is carcinogenic.

So with Chlorine, which is added to drinking water and swimming pool. Greenpeace, a vocal environment vanguard organization once raised a "Chlorine Kills" campaign against the excessive use of the chemical. Sodium fluoride mistaken for baking powder or wheat flour is extremely harmful, yet fluoride used in small amount in toothpaste helps keep our teeth strong and healthy.

I remember a story of a boy whose anemic condition had for so long remained a puzzle, until one morning his doctor dropped by, and while having coffee with the family, exclaimed, "Why, I know now why your son is sick!" He observed that the gold lining of the coffee cup was being worn out. The boy, or whoever was using the cup, was slowly being poisoned. The fine gold rim was actually painted with lead as paint medium.

How many of our utensils at home contain harmful metals? Do not cook food with vinegar in aluminum pots. Do not use Antimony- or Cadmium-plated utensils. Remember that plastic containers react with food, specially the acidic ones. The microwave oven is not as safe as the conventional oven. There are scientists who believe that microwave triggers radiation, which may be harmful to the body in the long run. In spite of this warning the use of microwave, because of its convenience, has increased.

Poison in Food (Adulteration)

Here is an outline of food adjuncts and additives, which are reported to be the cause of many ailments and death cases.

1. Seeds of ipil-ipil ground with coffee cause falling hair. It is also a growth retardant due to its mimosin content. Seeds of tuba-tuba (Jatropha curcas) and castor (Ricinus communis) curiously appear edible, and may taste like that of raw peanut. Ingestion even in small amount may cause drastic diarrhea. By the way ricin is many times more deadly than cyanide.     

                                                   Castor bean plant and seeds

 2. Poisonous seeds.  The seeds of apple, apricot, cherry, peach, and pear contain cyanide poison.  Fortunately the seeds are stone hard to be absorbed by the body, but pulverized seeds when ingested may probe to be lethal. Almond contains  poison which, fortunately, is destroyed by cooking.   

Potatoes (like tomatoes) contain poison in the stems and leaves – and even in the potato itself if left to turn green (the green is due to a high concentration of the glycoalkaloid poison) By the way, both plants belong to the tobacco family Solanaceae, to which pepper and eggplant are also members.

3. Vetsin or mono-sodium glutamate retards mental and skeletal growth specially in children. Vetsin may cause drowsiness after eating. To some people the effect is palpitation and irritability. Burglars silence dogs with pandesal packed with vetsin. An overdose is fatal to the animal.
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MSG is perhaps the most debated food item whether it is safe or not. It is a never ending war in commerce versus well-being for decades now. Don't be a victim of this war. Don't gamble on your health, happiness and peace of mind. Don't gamble on the future of your children and children's children. There is no assurance that you are going to win, neither insurance if you lose. 

Start with your biological indices and clock. You maybe one of the people who experience these reactions to food enhancers? 

 • Headaches

• The feeling of swelling in the face

• Flushing and or sweating

• Rapid fluttering of heartbeats or heart palpitations

• Nausea

• Chest pain

• Shortness of breath

• Numbness, burning or tingling around the mouth area

• Weakness

Remember that toxins build up in the body. Toxins from food enhancers are impediments in normal body physiology, and eating foods containing MSG may build up in your body. So you become addicted to such foods. And you will crave for more. The more you eat, the more you become overweight, and sedentary. You become obese. Obesity is being irreversibly overweight - for life. 

Diabetes cases directly or indirectly related to MSG and other food enhances have doubled in the past 30 years. Obesity in children has skyrocketed! Cases of adrenal gland malfunction, kidney problem, seizures, high blood pressure, stroke and other health problems are no isolated to specific age, occupation and ailment. 

Why don't you start detoxifying the accumulated toxins and enjoy a happier and longer life? So with your family and friends. The key to detoxification is to stop taking food from which the toxin comes from. Then follow a regimen with the guidance of your family doctor. 

Carefully read product labels at the market. Whenever you see it, avoid the products with MSG in their ingredients. Be familiar with the different trademarks and aliases of MSG, originally Vetsin, now Umami. 

At restaurants, ask if they serve dishes containing MSG. Avoid fast foods. Most use MSG in their fries and drinks to enhance the flavor and to get you addicted to their foods.

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Pillars of addiction: MSG in food, CAFFEINE in coffee, tea and softdrinks, NICOTINE in smoking and drugs, ALCOHOL in cocktail, beer and wine.

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4. Formalin is used to extend the shelf life of fish. The malpractice is to inject it in large fishes, or mixed it with the ice water for small ones. Formalin is a strong poison. It is used in embalming. Formalin was detected in buko juice, which led to the decline of the once flourishing local industry.

5. Cyanide in vegetables was first detected in Benguet when the farmers discovered that the water coming from mine tailing had insecticide property. It was later traced to cyanide compounds used in the mining industry. Cyanide is a very strong poison. It is used in gas chamber in the US.

6. Nitrate or salitre is the chief preservative and food color used. in tocino, longaniza and corned beef. One can easily detect in the urine by analysis and smell. Salitre is known to be carcinogenic.

Food additives like artificial coloring.

Ice drops are rendered attractive, specially to children, by adding artificial colors 

7. Food dyes make food colorful, but be careful. One time I was shocked to discover my urine crimson red. As I prepared to go to the hospital I examined all the food that I had taken that morning. There, innocently wrapped in cellophane, kneaded into balls, as we know sampalok (tamarind) candy is made, was the culprit. I took one candy ball and immersed it in a glass of water and stirred. Like ink the glassful of water turned red like the biblical story of the Nile. Jubos - shoe dye, was used as food dye! 

8. Aspartame has taken the place of saccharine, the original diet sugar. There has been a decline in the intake of diet soft drinks in the US due to unexplained side effects, ranging from high blood pressure to allergic reactions. Why is decaffeinated coffee no longer as popular as before? Will fatless fat (Olestra) ever get FDA's nod? This is a kind of fat that will not make us fat.

9. The cheap kind of vinegar is diluted glacial acetic acid, the same kind of acid used in photography and other industrial processing.

Photo: Improper drying, threshing and milling predispose corn to the buildup of Aspergillus flavus fungus which produce aflatoxin. 

10. Cancer-causing aflatoxin is high in peanut butter. It is just being practical to sell the good seeds as whole peanut, while those of inferior quality are ground into butter. And why is cirrhosis of the liver higher in the south than in the rice-eating regions? It is because corn is more predisposed to the aflatoxin fungus than other cereals.

Modern living indeed has many drawbacks. Artificial food, additives and preservatives are common in our food, which we take everyday. ~
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ANNEX - News on Food Poisonings

In the Philippines, food poisoning outbreaks typically peak during the hot dry season, often stemming from improper food storage and unlicensed catering. Notable events in 2026 highlight the danger of perishable goods and street foods.

2026 Food Poisoning Timeline
January 11, 2026 (GenSan): 77 people fell ill and one was hospitalized after eating food from an unlicensed caterer. 

February 2026 (Region 1): The Department of Health (DOH) monitored an ongoing spike in acute gastroenteritis, with 198 cases recorded in Pangasinan and nearby areas. [1]

April 6–10, 2026 (Iloilo): 66 people suffered food poisoning from eating tulingan (bullet tuna) bought from ambulant vendors. Health officials stated the fish was not stored below \(4^{\circ }C\). 

April 2026 (National): The DOH and the FDA intensified a summer food safety campaign to prevent foodborne illnesses, warning that extreme heat accelerates bacteria growth and food spoilage. 

May 4, 2026 (El Nido): Local tourism and health agencies investigated an incident where tourists reported severe food poisoning after staying in local accommodations. 

Food poisoning hits some 3,500 in Japan's Yashio city schools
Reuters Posted at Jul 02 2020 10:46 PM
TOKYO - Almost 3,500 teachers and students at more than a dozen public schools in Japan's Yashio city have become sick with diarrhea and stomach pains in a mass food poisoning outbreak.

Saitama prefecture said Thursday that 3,453 people in 15 elementary and middle schools in Yashio, a city of 92,000 just north of Tokyo, had been affected after eating a lunch supplied by the TQC cooperative on June 26.

Out of a total of nearly 7,000 people examined, more than 2,000 elementary school students and over 1,100 middle school students were shown to have food poisoning, the prefecture said, adding it was investigating the origins of the outbreak. The lunch included fried chicken, a tuna/potato dish and seaweed salad, as well as rice and miso soup, it said.

Dozens of students hospitalized in Batangas; food poisoning suspected
April Rose Magpantay, ABS-CBN News Posted at Oct 22 2019 02:58 PM | Updated as of Oct 23 2019 02:41 AM
NASUGBU, Batangas (UPDATE)—Thirty-six students were confirmed confined in a hospital in this town after attending a convention Monday. Doctors suspect food poisoning.

According to David Morcoso, a doctor here, the patients experienced abdominal pain and diarrhea. "Lahat sila either ang complaint ay either abdominal pain or diarrhea. By fecalysis result naman wala namang amoeba or any protozoal parasite na nakita," he said.

All 36 students were discharged by Tuesday morning. The number of other participants confined in other hospitals in the region could not be verified at the time this story was updated. There are about 597 people who attended the convention, who are accounting students from Central Luzon.

Child dies, 700 sick in Jordan mass food poisoning
Agence France-Presse Posted at Jul 29 2020 06:01 PM

AMMAN - Mass food poisoning in Jordan has sickened at least 700 people and killed a child, all of whom ate cut-price shawarma from a restaurant outside Amman, the health ministry said Wednesday.

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Review: Timeline Food Poisoning (PDI August 11, 2015)
Several food-poisoning cases have been reported since the start of the year. 

•  April 9.  Three persons drank a contaminated beverage in a milk tea shop in Sampaloc, Manila, leaving two persons dead. 
• June 7.  More than 70 orphaned and homeless beneficiaries from Manila Boystown  Complex in Marikina were hospitalized.  The boys ages 7 to 17 were served hot dogs, hard boiled eggs and rice in an outreach program.
• July 2. More than 100 elementary school students were hospitalized in San Carlos City in Pangasinan after chewing a fruit-flavored gum.
• July 10. Close to 2,000 people, most of them students in the Caraga regioon, complained of symptoms consistent with food poisoning after eating durian candies,  Initial lab test showed the presence of staphylococcus aureus bacteria.
• July 16. Nine HS students of Juan Sumulong School QC ended up in the hospital after eating candies sold on the campus by an ambulant vendor. Signs of pesticide poisoning were detected.  
• July 24. At least 350 students at Real Elementary School in Calamba Laguna fell ill after partaking of cupcakes and ice candy.
• Aug 3. Pancit Malabon downed more than 40 people in Ligao Albay. 
• Aug 1-4. At least 24 people consumed food in a restaurant in Angeles City ended up in a hospital. Aug 11, 2015 news PDI.
•  25 students of Batangas State University were brought to the hospital due to food poisoning. 
•  In Estancia Iloilo at least 74 persons were brought to the hospital while 30 were treated at home after they complained of dizziness, vomiting and diarrhea. 
• A wedding feast in a barangay northeast of Iloilo city turned into an unpleasant reception  when more than 100 people fell ill after partaking of dishes like afritada, arroz a la valenciana and estofado. 

The Lighter Side of Food Poisoning 

*Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) 738 DZRB AM, evening class 8 to 9, with Ms Grace Velasco August 12, 2015

Acknowledgement: Philippine Daily Inquirer, Wikipedia, Internet pictures, AI Overview

Part 2 - Poison in Food 

 Beware of food coloring.

The case of jubos in tamarind sweet.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Sweetened tamarind balls 

Batso (Ilk) - upo and pork, colored with achuete. Acheute comes from

a tree, Bixa orellana. It is widely used in coloring cheese and butter.

Dye enhances color of strawberry pie

Salitre (nitrate) in Longanisa; red color of salted eggs

All of a sudden when answering the call of nature, I was alarmed to see the color of my urine bright red. I cried, Blood! I tried to compose myself to be able to reach the hospital in the earliest possible time.

But what surprised me at the same time was that my fingers were also stained red. I examined the “tamarind sweet” I had just eaten. I found the culprit - Jubos, the dye used in dying shoes. Jubos is used to color the local confectionery. How many food preparations are artificially colored for better presentation? Since that time on I have been very careful with colored foods. Ube cake, anyone?

These are things to remember about food dyes, specially if you suspect of a food or drink to be colored artificially.

Be familiar with the natural colors of fruits and other food products. There are rare ones though. For example, purple rice cake (puto) comes from a variety pirurutong or purple rice. Ordinary rice flour and ube flour produce the same color. This can be imitated with the use of purple dye.

· Processed foods like smoked fish and ham are colored, usually golden yellow, to be attractive.

· Confectionery products are made to appear like cocoa, coffee, orange, strawberry, grapes and the like, when in fact the ingredients are mainly sugar artificial flavors and food dyes.

· Fruit juices carry dyes to enhance their natural colors. Example, calamansi juice is made to appear like lemon or orange. Softdrinks would look dull and unattractive without artificial colors.

· Cakes and other bakery products may deceive the eye and even the palate. Cake decors are definitely made of food dyes of many colors and different color combinations.

Artificial colors are filtered by our excretory system so that they appear in the urine. This is not the case of natural colors such as achuete or annatto (Bixa orellana), pandan (Pandanus odoratissimus), ube (Dioscorea alata), and mango (Mangifera indica).

Part 3 - Poison in Food

Resistant Bacteria in Gastrointestinal Tract of Meat Eaters

Dr Abe V Rotor

Escherichioa coli greatly magnified.
Acknowledgment: American Academy of Family Physicians, Wikipedia

The rapidly increasing incidence of drug resistance is now recognized worldwide as a serious threat to the treatment of life-threatening infections in both humans and animals. Antibiotics resistance can emerge as a result of genetic change and subsequent selection process through the use of anti-microbial drugs.

The initial appearance of a resistant bacterium in a susceptible population is often caused by mutation in a single bacterial gene. The frequency of such initial mutation may be low, occurring at a rate of one mutation in a population of several millions. However, other bacteria can become antibiotic resistant at a much higher frequency merely by acquiring a gene from a bacterium that is already resistant.

The genes for resistance can be transmitted or passed on from one organism to another by transformation, conjugation and transduction.

Resistant Bacteria in Gastrointestinal Tract of Meat Eaters

In her doctoral dissertation at the University of Santo Tomas, Vicky Conception Mergal found out that drug-resistant strains of Enterobacter and Escherichia coli found in the gastrointestinal tract is related indirectly to ingestion of meat conditioned to antibiotics, or its combined effect with exposure to medication in cases of infectious diseases.

How do we explain this finding?

The respondents in the study of Dr. Mergal are of two categories. One group consists of vegetarians and the other group of non-vegetarians or regular meat eaters. For the first group, the incidence of finding drug-resistant bacteria is very little. But in the second group – the meat eaters – the existence of drug resistant Enterobacter and E. coli is high.

Overuse of Antibiotics on Poultry and Livestock

Dr. Mergal’s adviser, Dr. Irineo Dogma, has the explanation why there is higher incidence of bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract of non-vegetarians because of their intake of meat. As a background to this contention, poultry, hogs and livestock are given consistently high ration of antibiotics in their feeds. This is to safeguard the animals from possible outbreak of diseases, which are a threat to business.

Imagine this scenario of a whole ranch wiped out by foot-and-mouth disease, or a battery of chicken with corriza, a commercial piggery with scouring. Huge investments must therefore be protected with antibiotics even if the animals do not actually need this because they have their own defense mechanism - natural immunity.

Resistance to antibiotics among bacteria is built this way, and repeatedly, more and more of these resistant strains develop, thus necessitating further increase in antibiotic dosage, or change to more potent antibiotics. What happens to the residue of the antibiotics in the body of the animal, or in eggs and milk?

Residual Antibiotics in Bad to Our Health

When we eat meat, eggs and milk from animals treated with antibiotics we are introducing into our body the antibiotic residues that our body does not need. In fact, the presence of antibiotics makes our immune system idle, so to speak. In the event that the supply of antibiotic residues stops, we become predisposed to infection and related kinds of diseases because there is nothing now to suppress the resistant bacteria in our body. This explains the findings of Dr. Mergal, as well as the puzzling high rate of death due to infection – in spite of antibiotic treatment.

This leads us to recall the term, super bacteria and super bugs. These are man-induced resistant pathogens. Man’s interference with nature, and abuses often in the guise of progress has unwittingly created a new Frankenstein. I have the inkling that nature has its own ways of dealing with the folly and abuses of man, and one of them is the emergence of resistant organisms that threatens man himself. ~

NOTE: Escherichia coli (E. coli) are members of a large group of bacterial germs that inhabit the intestinal tract of humans and other warm-blooded animals (mammals, birds. The best-known and most notorious Stx-producing E. coli is E. coli O157:H7. It is important to remember that most kinds of E. coli bacteria do not cause disease in humans, indeed, some are beneficial, and some cause infections other than gastrointestinal infections, such urinary tract infections.E. coli O157:H7 was first recognized as a foodborne pathogen in 1982 during an investigation into an outbreak of hemorrhagic colitis (bloody diarrhea) associated with the consumption of contaminated hamburgers (Riley, et al., 1983). The following year, Shiga toxin (Stx), produced by the then little-known E. coli O157:H7, was identified as the real culprit. In the ten years following the 1982 outbreak, approximately thirty E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks were recorded in the United States (Griffin & Tauxe, 1991. Acknowledgment: Marler Clark Sponsored Websites

Reference: Living with Nature  Handbook, AV Rotor UST Publishing House Manila.

Acknowledgement with gratitude to all sources of news in the annexes of this article, mostly derived from the Internet