Fr. Jacob Gnalian during his birthday 2008

When I attended the first Power of Healing Conference a couple of years ago, I heard from one participant that there is a foreign Catholic Priest in Mandaluyong who is an Ayurveda practitioner.  I asked around but no one can point me to the right person. A year or so after while surfing the internet on Ayurveda, I found the site
of Fr. Jacob Gnalian and corresponded with him via email.

I also found an old article in inquirer.net about him but unfortunately it does not seem to be online now so I am re printing the article below.

The address given in the online article is the old one. Today his clinic is found at Lee St. right next to the Lee Bldg at the corner of Shaw Blvd and Lee St.

I used to see him for more quite sometime and even attended his yoga classes each Sunday.  A year after he decided to offer Ayurveda classes which lasted around six months which I also attended.  I learned a lot in his class but more importantly he has helped me normalize my blood sugar levels.

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Last November 2009, I attended the annual conference organized by the Phil. College for the Advancement of Medicine (PCAM) where I learned tons of information on natural healing.

I would like to share some of them in this blog. I will do it in parts and start with the talk of  of Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan, former Secretary of Health.

Kamote Leaves and Tubers

Food, diet and nutrition constitute important components in the maintenance of a person's total well-being and in the promotion of human health and the prevention of diseases.  However, not yet fully appreciated is the concept of food as medicine and that certain foods or their combination have healing properties.  Healing foods have always been an Asian tradition.  And more recently, Europeans and North Americans have become more aware of this concept.

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So many friends of mine have been asking me for this famous recipe which can aid in getting rid of stones in your gall bladder.  I will post this here for easy reference as sometimes it takes time for me to search through my hard drive.

I paid a fortune some years back just to have this exact cleansing program.

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Last month,  since I had an appointment in Marikina I went in to see Jaime Dy-Liacco in his residence, finally!
I live in paranaque down south so up north is quite far.  However I see him when I attend seminars of PCAM and that is where I usually request him to check on me.  I know for a fact that he has a long list of clients, counting months in his appointment book so I actually just took my chance.

I get my supply of minerals from him for my diabetes via a messenger so this time I wanted to be the one to get it myself and see if the good healer can check on me.

I sent him a my handwritten list of ailments as his assistant requested some months back.  He read it and did a muscle test.  He said my sugar is way up at 240!  I was not able to monitor my sugar for two weeks.  I ran out of funds to buy the test strips.

He then told me to take these:

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All you see all over thew news are the so called growing number of people affected by the H1 N1 virus.  WHO has raised the alert to an alarming level.

However I would like to present another side of this.  Related to my previous postquoting Dr. Mercola’s analysis. I would like to again, quote his recent analysis to provide another perspective and a more positive one.

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Again, I am quoting the article below from Dr. Mercola. I chose to separate this post from the previous one since I want us all to focus on preventing this so called pandemic flu.  It is really simple and you will not need a vaccine for this.

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I would like to reproduce some parts of Dr. Mercola’s timely article regarding the Swine Flu pandemic which is gripping many countries right now.

It is a very long one and you will find the full length article here but I chose to just focus on two main parts which I am quoting below.

As a natural wellness practitioner, I am concerned at how many people are in a panic to buy flu shots “just in case…” and the morning news reported that the drug stores are now out of stock of this so called precious vaccine.  Who benefits?  Read on….

Why a True Bird- or Swine Flu Pandemic is HIGHLY Unlikely

While in my opinion it is highly likely factory farming is responsible for producing this viral strain, I believe there is still no cause for concern.

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I’m diabetic and my cousin and I noticed by blood sugar rises whenever I eat pasta. My cousin who is also my doctor told me wheat increases blood sugar.

I just read an article of Dr. Mercola which explains some ills of the commercial flour which I want to share with my readers.

Nearly everyone knows that white flour is not healthy for you, but most people don’t know that when white flour is bleached, it can actually be FAR worse for you.

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A new report seem to link arsenic in water to Type 2 Diabetes.  Sounds absurd but various tests were conducted which led to this conclusion.  Salient points in the article are as follows:

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Discovery News just came out with an article about a new type of ink tattoo which can monitor sugar levels of diabetics.  This is less painful than the usual blood glucose test used.  Read more about it here.

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What is the safest artificial sweetener? For diabetics like me this is a constant concern as many studies are coming out on the harmful effects of some of them starting from aspartame. I stumbled upon this very informative video which helped me determine which product to use.




Originally written February 12, 2009

My Ayurvedda doctor does not allow us to use Splenda.  He says it is not good for our body.  He would rather the diabetics use Mozcovado rather than this artificial sweetner.

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A friend shared this article in facebook which I found interesting specially now that I have to choose what I eat. I do agree with what was written below. I was told not to eat white rice and instead stick to organic brown rice. Sometimes however when I have to eat out due to some business meetings, I notice that if I eat pasta my blood sugar rises. Brown rice never spikes my blood sugar.

Last night at a coffee shop I was looking for a sugar free pastry. The only thing available was guiltless chocolate. It looked rich so I looked for something else. The staff recommended the bran muffin but I asked him to check the ingredient. True enough there was sugar and from the article below boy it was rich!

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My eyes were opened to the world of wellness more than five years ago but I started attending various conferences and closely studying this new realm after my dad passed away in 2005.  I experienced helplessness with the so called western medecine, and ills that pharmaceuticals brought to my parents.  If only I knew what I know now perhaps I could have helped in lengthening their years on earth.

                       Susie Ellis, Turning Point Spa Industry Seminar, Shangrila Resort, Cebu

Susie Ellis, President of Spa Finder was one of the more prominent speakers in all these conferences where I saw the Spa evolve from mere pampering to healing. I always look forward to her start of the year predictions regarding the Spa industry.

She recently  announced the  “Top 10 Spa Trends To Watch In 2009,” the company’s sixth annual forecast of the emerging concepts that will shape the world of spa in 2009 and beyond.

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Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days is an independent documentary film that chronicles six Americans with diabetes who switch to a diet consisting entirely of vegan, organic, uncooked food in order to reverse disease without pharmaceutical medication. The six are challenged to give up meat, dairy, sugar, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, soda, junk food, fast food, processed food, packaged food, and even cooked food for 30 days. The film follows each participant’s remarkable journey and captures the medical, physical, and emotional transformations brought on by this radical diet and lifestyle change. We witness moments of struggle, support, and hope as what is revealed, with startling clarity, is that diet can reverse disease and change lives.

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That’s the message from the founding father of modern medicine echoed in the controversial new documentary film ‘Food Matters’ from first time Producer-Directors James Colqhuoun and Laurentine ten Bosch.

“With nutritionally-depleted foods, chemical additives and ourtendency to rely upon pharmaceutical drugs to treat what’s wrong with our malnourished bodies, it’s no wonder that modern society is getting sicker. ‘Food Matters’ sets about uncovering the trillion dollar worldwide “Sickness Industry” and giving people some scientifically verifiable solutions for curing disease naturally.” – James

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I used to take some pure capsules of Wheatgrass and alfalfa in the past and I have experienced some thorough detox because of taking this. However, I stopped since the bottle was too pricey.

Recently however, I stumbled upon fresh wheatgrass being sold at Bizu (all branches). Actually it was not prominently for sale but I had to ask since I was interested in juicing this myself.


I got their brochure and learned that the owner of the resto is also the distributor of this Wheatgrass delivered fresh daily. You can buy the trays at the Salcedo Market from Arthur Tanco or any Bizu branch price range from 100-120 pesos., a more affordable alternative to the thousand plus price of the capsules and more importantly its fresh!

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I was watching late news and learned that Ube could be a cure for hypertension and other metabolic syndrome! I googled about this and found something online below.

Today was our last class in Ayurveda and we were served a viand made of ube! It was good I tried it  I thought it was ‘gabe’ but Fr. Jacob said it is ube. He cooked it in coconut milk but I dont know all the ingredients, will have to ask him next week.

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What kind of water should you drink? Mineral water, not distilled or reverse osmosis water, both of which have no minerals and will strip your body of minerals, because water has a natural affinity for minerals, and if it has none, will draw minerals from wherever it can. Other liquids, like tea, coffee, milk, soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, will drain your body of an equal amount of water. So if you drink these other liquids, compensate by adding an ewual amount of water to the 15 glasses needed.

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I would like to share a presentation of Jaime Dy Liaco, Doctor of Metabolic Medicine, during the Power of Natural Healing conference last month.

Mr. Dy Liaco shared how easy it is to normalize hypertension naturally. He said that a woman called one night at 10pm and said, “I must see you right away, it’s a matter of life and death. My head is aching terribly because my BP is 240/140, even though I'm taking 2 hypertensive drugs.” When she came, muscle testing found she was severely dehydrated and very deficient in potassium. Her water content was only 6%. Normal is an average 75% for the body, 80% for the natural arterial walls, 94% for the blood. Her salt content was zero. Without salt the body cannot retain water and will always be dehydrated. Her potassium was 80% deficient.

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1 Constipation The healthy bowel movement (BM) frequency is a 3x a day or as often as you eat a major meal. The healthy texture is soft, like soft peanut butter or even loose, like sawdust with a little water.  So it’s all over in one minute, no need to strain, and no need to read a newspaper or magazine.

Blood circulates every 3.5 minutes, and if you keep fecal waste inside you for 24 hours (only 1 BM a day) or longer, the blood will pick up the toxins and parasites and distribute them every where, to your pancreas, all the vital organs all your cells.

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This was shared to me by my schoolmate Conrad Favorito and I believe the findings are very important so I decided to post it in this blog.

Speak out: Cure for dengue?
By Bernardo Rocha Calibo, Director, National Police Commission 7

THERE is hope that the dengue scourge will be obliterated.

I was in a meeting in Manila recently with other Napolcom officials. While waiting for my flight back to Cebu, I happened to talk with friends. The conversation eventually turned to dengue. Some of their statements shocked me. I called up the persons concerned and they confirmed these revelations.

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Do Regular ExerciseThree hours a week. This can be mild walking or rebounding 30 mins 6x a week, or vigorous like 11 hour of tennis, squash, badminton, basketball, swimming, or gym workouts 3x a week.  The key is to do it regularly.

Rebouding is going up and down on a circular mini-trampoline which is available for about Php1,500 from sporting good stores like Toby’s.  Rebounding is actually the best exercise because it exercises all the cells, not just certain muscles.  It is the exercise prescribed for astronauts.

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1.  Fresh Vegetables. Eat 3x a day 1 cup of raw saluyot leaves, or camote leaf tops (talbos ng kamote) either dark green or purple in color, or kangkong (swamp cabbage), or spinach leaves, or sea grapes (lato) as a salad every meal.

These raw dark green vegetables are rich in vanadium, copper, zinc, manganese, chromiumand will lower your blood sugar.  You may blanch these vegetables, or juice them, but do not cook them.  Anything cooked beyond 40 degrees centigrade loses all enzymes, vitamins, and the organic minerals become inorganic which the body cannot absorb.

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The first time I heard of this I felt sooo gooey. Can’t imagine taking pork pancreas raw! However, some of the people I was with during the conference, swear by this as it has healed some of their loved ones who had grave illnesses. So here goes:

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One major reason I had been passionate with natural cures is the way my late parents were mishandled by western medecine practitioners and the problems that ensued as well as  too much dependence on drugs to supposedly cure diabetes, hypertension and the like.

My mother was very strong prior to her succeeding hospitalization due to some diabetes induced problem.  Mishandling made her weak. I learned she underwent unecessary surgery which caused her demise.
I will never forget this and would not like this to happen to anyone again.

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Right after I arrived from the US, I learned that The Philippine College for Advancement in Medecine (PCAM) will have its annual conference the following week.

Prior to my US trip I attended the Annual Wellness Summit in Sofitel (formerly Westin Hotel)  organized by Spa Asia magazine, an international event but I never learned as much in the field of wellness as my two week seminar and workshop organized locally.

Many presentations proved an eye-opener such as the following:

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I was just watching CNN TV and chanced upon the report of Dr. Sanjay Gupta on Human Growth Hormones (HGH). IT got me interested as I am currently taking Formor’s HGH in powder form . I had my blood analyzed at the Wellness Center in Alabang Town Center and I was recommended some of their natural products such as one for colon cleanse, Sodium ascorbate and HGH.  After my colon cleanse, I took the cardio stuff and HGH not for its anti aging properties but more for weight management.

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The best spa treatment and facility I have experienced so far is at the Peninsula Hongkong.  The package I availed was a full day detox treatment.  I have this penchant for detox packages since obviously I know I have much toxins in my system.

I actually won this treat during the 2nd Spa Crystal awards held at Hua Hin but when I was trying to book last Oct 2006 the place was full. Fortunately I had another chance to visit Honkong early this year.

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A stay at the Shangrila Mactan (Cebu) will not be complete without a treatment at the famed Chi Spa. It is a village within a resort.  I would have taken a half day or whole day treat but since I was attending a whole day conference, I did not have the luxury of time.  Right in the middle of the cocktails I left for my much sought after appointment at the spa.

It was raining then so the hotel receptionist offered to bring me via their golf cart.  Unfortunately, some of the staff were finger pointing at each other since some claimed the road to the Chi Spa was being constructed so the cart would not be able to pass.  I no longer wanted to argue so I just borrowed an umbrella so I can reach the place dry.

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I had been hearing about the benefits of chlorophyll from some people. When I went to Healthy Options in makati earlier to buy Tea Tree Oil, I noticed three types of Cholorophyll being sold – one was in liquid form and two capsulized. I decided to buy the small bottle of capsule and the liquid one since I presumed the latter could be easily absorbed in the body.  I had to buy the capsule type since upon computation, one tbsp daily, the bottle will last me only for 15 days!

I asked the sales person what it is for and she mentioned colon cleanse and odor remover among some of them. Since I finished my two containers of Fiber source, I decided to get this cholorophyll to try.

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Dale, the holistic nutritionist of the Wellness Institute (and son of the owner) kept convincing me to avail their Gall Bladder Flush. He actually gave me some discount before but I didnt have much time to go overnight in their clinic and besides I was deciding whether to follow the diagnosis of Dr. Kristine (after my live blood analysis) on doing the colon cleanse first, then gall bladder then kidney flush.

However, he and Jeannie came up with an interesting weekend package to be held at Discovery Suites which included a couple of speakers to talk on both mind and body wellness as well as proper nutrition.  Besides, the comfort of doing detox in a hotel sounded too good to miss.

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I first heard of the Wellness Institute from my college schoolmate Gerry.  He has known that I had been studying the health and wellness industry for years.  I distinctly remember that it was Thanksgiving Day, Nov 25, when I first stepped inside the place. There were lots of people and there seemed to be a party then.

I learned later that true enough since the ownders were filipino naturopaths originally based in the US, they preferred celebrating this american tradition.  I went back a week later to avail of the lymphatic drainage treatment since I was told this will get rid of toxins.

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Since  I signed up to attend a detox weekend at the Discovery Suites (organized by the Wellness Institute)  in Ortigas I decided to book a day ahead of the schedule  since the hotel  was far from my home and I wanted to try out their spa.

I went to the hotel website to check out any spa service, unfortunately there was no mention of such facility so I had to call and ask.  They connected me to the office of Terra Wellness in the hotel and I requested them to email me their treatment packages. Lo and behold the one who replied said they don’t have any email and if they could just send it via fax.

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My on and off asthma had been bothering me since end of last year. My allergologist would give me the usual steroids and puffs which I really don’t like to take for long periods knowing it may affect my heart in the long term.  Last February, I went to honkong with some friends for some business and we all made a side trip to Macao. As I no longer have any intentions to do the usual shopping, I instead preferred to look at the chinese pharmacies. I asked around for some herbal medication for asthma. I was not convinced with some of the recommendations till I reached this last shop.

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After the Wellness Summit held at Hua Hin last August, I checked in at Davies, a boutique hotel in Bangkok for the weekend before I flew back to Manila. I booked myself a detox package at the posh Dulaya spa within the Davies cottage complex. There was another spa up the hotel but it seems Dulaya was better.

Yes it was indeed with its spacious rooms, soothing and quiet ambiance, generous amenities and the therapist was good. My treatment started with a salt scrub, followed by a seaweed wrap after which I plunged to the  jacuzzi tub filled with rose petals and aroma scent to remove all the algae in my body after which I was given a most relaxing massage.

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Last Sept 2006 I attended the Turning Point Spa Industry Conference in Cebu City, the first time it was held in the Philippines. Susie Ellis of Spa Finder presented her forecast for 2007.  She also presented a similar one the following month during the Wellness Summit organized by Messe Frankfurt this time held at Wiesbaden, Germany.

On the macro level, she mentioned the emergence of the aging baby boomers and the increase in the aging population globally, something predicted by a couple of soothsayers  including Paul Zane Pilzer, author of the Wellness Revolution. This is by far the biggest market of the growing wellness industry.

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Almost four years ago, my high school buddy , a medical doctor based in the US discussed with me the bright future  of the health and wellness industry globally. We spent hours on the internet sharing new information, reports and trends. She and I started attending conferences and trade shows, I in Asia, she in the US and very recently we both attended one in Europe.

Besides the promising future in terms of investments, we both realized that perhaps we were destined to follow this path.  1999 was a crucial year for both of us – she got ill and unfortunately can no longer practice. My father  had an attack while travelling in europe.  In 2001 my mom passed away, In May 2005,  my dad suddenly passed away. December of the same year,  Susan’s dad passed away too. We both realized that perhaps with the current knowledge we have specially on alternative medecine things would have been different.

originally written: March 20, 2007