LAST week, we wrote of February 23rd and commemorated it without the usual humongous gathering, inasmuch as Ibaloy day festivities had been cancelled by the City Government of Baguio. Consequently, there is a resolution from the “Onjon ni Ivadoy” to reschedule said festivities to April 23, subject of course to the mayor’s approval.
The mayor also cancelled the Panagbenga crowd activities, notably the opening parade which was supposed to happen on February 1. This cancellation of a crowd activity was one among a number of such cancellations. Honestly, this writer was relieved at such, not being a fan of crowd scenes.
The cause of the aforementioned changes in schedules is of course the concern over possibly and needlessly spreading the dreaded corona virus, which has officially been named by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (Sars CoV-2). The disease caused by the virus is, still according to the WHO, the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Early last week, several of us on a particular “vaketch” Facebook group got a message from my BFF Noreen Flores, who lives in Jakarta: “... it is amazing that the 10 Indonesians from Wuhan were all spared from the virus. The scientists here experimented on their conjecture that said evacuees from Wuhan were spared because of Indonesian food that is spiced to the max. As to which spice... it is the ginger family comprising turmeric, galangal, tamulawak, etc... The virus can’t stand them.”
Noreen dashed out to the grocery for those very gingers the moment she got the news she herself shared with us “vaketches,” root word: Iloco “baket,” singular for ooold woman.
As for this column, as luck and God would have it, those very three gingers were in the house! So for my family, supper that night was a chicken curry liberally spiced with all three gingers. And since that day, we have made sure that at least one meal daily has those three gingers.
Of course, such measures are from what another dearest friend, college roomie and multi-awarded Dr. Bernadette Octavio, would at this point call “anecdotal,” while awaiting peer-reviewed, published, clinical evidence from which to draw an experimentally valid conclusion.
Closer to home, high school classmate Dr. Constantino Wi advises us on the Facebook page of the University of Baguio Science High Class of 1974 that it’s all about immunity. Those who are exposed to the virus who have a strong immune system will not fall prey to Sars CoV-2. Those who have a weak immune system, could contract Covid-19. Those who contract and survive it will then be immune to the disease.
His advice: Build up one’s immune system by eating healthy, taking vitamins, getting enough rest, sleep and exercise—just staying overall healthy. Me, there’s no harm in eating those gingers too, smiley.
At a time like this, we are jolted into appreciating that health is indeed wealth. Internationally, locally.