5 Immunity Enhancing Habits

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle during quarantine is a challenge for all women staying in control of their full-time career and personal life. With the piled-up tasks waiting to be done, health and wellbeing at most times have taken the back seat.

If you’re one of the many women who’s feeling a sudden loss of motivation, lack of energy to concentrate, and suffers chronic fatigue, you might be experiencing a case of iron deficiency anemia. 

 

Ang Dugo Mo, Kamusta? Iron deficiency anemia happens when your blood has a lower amount of red blood cells or hemoglobin than normal. This can cause you to feel weak, tired, dizzy, look pale, and experience headaches. 

People with chronic medical conditions, pregnant or menstruating women are most vulnerable in having anemia. While those who are not able to maintain a healthy lifestyle are also at risk. 

A healthy blood means a healthy body, so to help you fight iron deficiency anemia here are 5 simple immunity-boosting activities that you can do at home. 

1. Keep hydrated Forgetting to drink the daily recommended amount of water can sometimes be inevitable when you’re trying to stay on track on your endless to-do lists. This can result in dehydration to the body. Dehydration can cause muscle fatigue, headaches, and constipation. When you’re well hydrated, your body is provided enough nutrients for your muscles to move smoothly, maintain a cool temperature, and help filter waste from the blood so you can go on with your day to day tasks better. 

2. Help keep iron deficiency anemia away with Multivitamins & Minerals (Sangobion IRON+) Eating an overall balanced diet helps your body in maintaining enough energy to keep you functioning all day. Yet as you age, your body needs the help it can get to sustain immunity and fight illnesses. If you’re running on a hectic routine whether you’re just at home or out for work, taking Multivitamins significantly helps when the food you eat isn’t able to provide your body the nutrients and minerals it needs. Multivitamins & Minerals (Sangobion IRON+) is an iron supplement with vitamins and minerals that helps to replenish iron stores and increases red blood cell levels in the body. It has ferrous gluconate, a type of iron salt which allows better absorption of iron in the body, Folic acid, and vitamin B12 which are vital for production of red blood cells and during pregnancy. It also contains Vitamin C which helps improve iron absorption, and Copper sulphate and manganese sulphate that helps in the metabolic processes of blood cell production. Recommended intake is one to two capsules daily, during or after meals, or as prescribed by your doctor. 

3. Stay active at home Shortness of breath even when doing simple tasks at home can be caused by lack of exercise. Consistent exercise is important in keeping yourself in good health and shape; and not only does it promote good circulation, it also improves your overall health stability and energy levels. Simple exercises like walking around the house, lifting house items as hand weights, and stretching every now and then from your desk can help circulate healthy blood better. 

4. Get enough quality sleep Constantly pulling all-nighters can negatively impact your health and nutrition. Your quality and length of sleep affect your body’s ability to fight sickness and fatigue. It is ideal for adults to have at least seven hours of healthy sleep to fully function the following day. If you’re having trouble sleeping or unable to get to the state of deep sleep, keeping gadgets away from your bed, and turning off bright lights may help your body relax.

5. Manage Stress Managing your tasks for work and home can get overwhelming and can possibly lead to anxiety and stress. Your body’s response to stress is by raising the levels of cortisol in the blood. When cortisol increases, the number of white blood cells in the body decreases, and this can put you at greater risk of getting sick and experiencing iron deficiency anemia. Simple changes in your daily habits can greatly help in managing intense emotions. Handle your stress levels by having a limited time in a day to consume news. Connecting to your family and friends through video calls can help ease your mood as well. To help you keep your focus, remember to look away from your computer screen every 20 minutes to avoid stressing your eye muscles. 

 

Maintaining a healthy blood keeps you less susceptible to illnesses and infections. 

Taking Multivitamins & Minerals (Sangobion IRON+) helps regulate your blood iron so you won’t have to worry about experiencing symptoms of iron deficiency anemia. If symptoms persist, consult your doctor. ASC REFERENCE CODE: P038P090120SS

Chowking Provides Meals to Frontliners in Hospitals through Jollibee Group FoodAID Program

Eight months ago, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the Philippines was admitted to San Lazaro Hospital (SLH) in Manila. Considered the oldest hospital in the Philippines, SLH is the top infectious disease facility in the country. It is among the few that admit COVID-19 patients, as well as cases of meningococcemia, diphtheria, and even rabies, which other hospitals would not have the specialization to handle.

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Chowking donates ready-to-eat meals for frontliners at the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila. In all, the Jollibee Group donated almost 3,000 ready-to-eat meals for frontliners and food packs that benefitted about 6,000 people were provided to SLH as part of its FoodAID Program.

Through the Jollibee Group FoodAID Program, San Lazaro Hospital was among the first hospitals Chowking and the Jollibee Group sent food to when the community quarantine was first declared in March 2020.

But even with its status, its personnel continue to have a difficult time during this pandemic.

“Those who had difficulty getting a ride and wala silang sasakyan, sa office natulog. We had to convert the other offices and some of the wards na wala pong patients for employees na walang transportation (Those who had difficulty getting a ride and finding transportation slept at the offices. We had to convert other offices and some wards that had no patients to accommodate employees who were having transportation issues),” shared Dr. Ferdinand de Guzman, an infectious disease specialist who also double-hats as the hospital’s spokesperson.

“Noong nag-lockdown tayo, there were no restaurants to buy food. A lot of the staff, as well as the patients and watchers, they [usually] buy the food from the stalls at the front of the hospital. With the lockdown, wala pong nagtitinda (During the lockdown, there were no restaurants to buy food from. A lot of the staff, as well as the patients and watchers, they would usually buy the food from the stalls at the front of the hospital. With the lockdown, those stalls had to close, too),” said Dr. de Guzman.

Chowking sends support as part of Jollibee Group FoodAID

The Jollibee Group has made its coin banks available digitally so that people may donate online and actively participate in the effort to help feed more frontliners and families who are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) was reimposed in Metro Manila this August 2020, Chowking immediately sent ready-to-eat meals to SLH to help energize its frontliners.

 

“We cannot cook in the offices. Kung meron man sa lounge, hindi naman tayo pwedeng makaluto nang mabuti doon so it was a big help po iyong mga pinadalang pagkain. (The food sent to us was big help. While there is a lounge, you can’t really cook much there so the ready-to-eat food was such a big help to us),” said Dr. de Guzman.

In fact, SLH is among the hospitals which the Jollibee Group immediately sent food to as part of its FoodAID Program when the lockdown was first declared in March of this year.

 

Aside from ready-to-eat meals for the frontline personnel, Chowking and other brands from the Jollibee Group also sent food packs that the SLH staff prepared in its kitchen and served to the patients confined in the hospital. In all, Jollibee Group provided SLH with almost 3,000 ready-to-eat meals for frontliners and food packs that benefitted about 6,000 hospital staff, patients, and watchers.

 

“We recognize the extraordinary service and sacrifice that the men and women at the frontlines are rendering at this time. We hope that through the food that we give them, we can help nourish and bring joy to our modern-day heroes,” said Jollibee Group Foundation Executive Director Gisela Tiongson.

Continuing effort

With the COVID-19 still putting a strain on health care systems and the community quarantine still in place, supporting the frontliners continues.

 

To give the public a convenient way to actively participate in the FoodAID Program and be able to help more frontliners and families in need, the Jollibee Group has complemented the coin banks on the counters of Jollibee Group restaurants with an online version.

Donations through the digital coin bank will be used to bring food packs directly to families and frontliners such as Dr. de Guzman and the staff at SLH.

Interested donors may donate through online bank transfer to the Foundation’s Metrobank (Account number: 473-7-473-01406-4, SWIFT Code: MBTCPHMM) and RCBC (1253-10519-0) accounts, or via PayMaya (http://pymy.co/jollibee).

Why Igorots in Metro Manila Directly Source Goods from Farmers

Two pesos a kilo for cabbage. Four pesos for cucumber.

After spending to bring their produce to the nearest vegetable trading post in the last week of July, 

Cordilleran farmers were given a cruel rate, crushing their hope of raising cash to buy seeds for the 

next harvest. 

A Sad Story for New Gen Farmers

Shereen Umayat and Jessica Dapliyan, two young farmers from Sagada, had a cheaper option for 

their next maturing vegetables- let the plants rot in the farmland to stop having additional expenses. 

Asked how much she has spent for her cucumber, Umayat computed it to be at least P40, 000.

While there are active programs like Sustainable Sagada and Rural Rising organized to help ease the 

situation, not all produce in the remote Mountain Province town can be accommodated.

Dapliyan, a former innkeeper who shifted to farming following travel bans, started giving away her 

cabbage produce for free in September after unsuccessful attempts to sell what her family has been

 working since community quarantine restrictions were implemented. 

Trying the Metro Manila Market 

For generations, farmers in Sagada and other towns of the Cordilleras have been trading in marketplaces 

within the mountainous region and going to the lowlands is not part of their regular routine. But as they run 

out of options, they are forced to seek help outside the highlands.

Tapping Metro Manila-based Cordillerans or Igorots was the first move. Upon learning about the crisis, 

Christian Aligo, a Marketing Communications practitioner living in Quezon City, started the  

“The Sagada Harvests Project” on Facebook. 

With the assistance from Umayat, Menchie Buking of the Department of Agrarian Reform Mt. Province 

(DAR MP) and other concerned locals, The Sagada Harvests Project is able to sell out about three tons 

of produce in its first two runs.

Alongside Aligo are other Metro Manila-based Igorots including Luisa Gay Pugong, Jenny Lyn Likigan, 

Bing Podes Laguipen, and Hector Ngales who transformed themselves into vendors after their day job to 

help address the crisis.

Joining the force is the couple Atty. Pio and Noemie Jeanet Daoas who now spend their weekends 

on vegetables. With the help of dedicated riders, the couple deliver the goods within Taguig City at only P20. 

A Trade Friendlier to Farmers

As agreed, it is the farmers who set the price of their produce. Currently in marketplaces, it is the multi-level 

middle men who dictate the price and get a bigger portion of it.

When the rate at the La Trinidad trading post for cabbage was P2 per kilo, The Sagada Harvests Project 

purchased the vegetable at P20 per kilo-- as dictated by the farmers.

To further assist the Igorot vendors, DAR’s Sagada Linksfarmers Consolidation Center opened its doors to 

help screen quality produce prior to shipping. 

Recently, the regional office of the Department of Agriculture (DA) also offered transportation assistance to 

help lower expenses.

Meanwhile, local food producers Gabay Wines and Food Preserves and Masferre Country Inn & Restaurant 

have been doing experiments for delicate items like wild blueberry, wheat bread, and goat cheese products 

to check on the shelf-life of the products when offered in places with a warmer climate.

To know more about The Sagada Harvest Project and a list of Igorot vendors who directly source their 

goods from farmers, contact Aligo at 0956-174-8464 (Globe) or visit www.facebook.com/sagadaharvests 

now.