ISSN 0115-0839
BLACK & WHITE
Shasha Patricio: Confidently Kulot • No Ordinary “Clerk”
CONTENTS JAN UAR Y–FEBRUAR Y 202 1
REGULARS
4
iContact Michelle Anne P. Diamante
6
Cosmos Constants
Finance Rose Fres Fausto
13 Signs of a Toxic Relationship With Money
10
Home Gardening
Saul L. Roylo
Pechay
About the Cover God-given Glory. Shasha Patricio shares her journey from insecurity to discovery of true beauty on p. 28. Cover photo by Joshua Mendoza Photos and illustrations in this issue are from shutterstock.com unless credited otherwise.
COLUMNS
5
Here and the Hereafter
Pr. Leonardo C. Heyasa, Jr.
13
21
Black and White Personal Answers Dr. Sheryl Ann M. Castillo
Leaving, Cleaving, and Letting Go Dear Doctor Dr. Linda L. Varona
Sweating Unevenly
27
Consult Your Lawyer
31
33
Atty. Silvino L. Sumagaysay, Jr.
Revocation of Donation Food for the Family Dr. Miriam R. Estrada
No Oven? No Problem Standpoint Nathanlie M. Baldoza
The Do (Not Do) Thats
38
14
Grace in the Act
16
Education
20
Modern Homemaking
32
Arts & Crafts
34
People & Places
The Floating Tree
36
Children's Corner
41
Word for the World
Ria Esperanza B. Suyat
The Black Purse
Arlene R. Ariate
A Rhodora's Passion
Health & Home Staff
Whitening Whites
Czarina V. Budayao
Paper Weight Clay
John Holbrook
Arthur S. Maxwell
The Painted Sparrow
Jecsoon O. Mariñas
God's Law
Learner’s Lab Mary Grace L. De Guzman
Why Does Popcorn Pop?
COMING UP. . . Green Thumb • Planting Tomato • Land Title for a Forest? • Blue Foods • The Unseen Battle •
Starting Your Day Productively • Chasing a Thief in Palawan
44
The Power of Hope Series Juliรกn Melgosa and Michelson Borges
Resilience #AThousandWords
46
47 47
Rhian Ryl D. Monteclaro
#Black&White
Light From the House My Bible Treasures Notes From the Frontlines Joyce L. Zerrudo
Winning Secret
FEATURES
8
Dazed by the Milk Tea Craze
Bianca G. Sagana
Sinkers that can sicken drinkers
18
Is the Christian View of Sex Antilove?
Sam Allberry
28
My Curly Hair Journey
Shasha Patricio
Appreciating one's crowning glory
Honest talk on sex, love, and God
22
Living Kind
Karen Holford
Tips to be kind and even kinder
24
Her Day in Court
Janet R. Tolete
The duty and beauty of being a clerk of court
40
Guyabano Leaves: Neurotoxic
Dr. Rowena R. Antemano
Soursop side effects
42
Can a Person Who Commits Sucide Be Saved? Doug Batchelor
The truth to set you free
Dazed by the By BIANCA G. SAGANA
B
lack, white, green, or oolong. Wintermelon, chai, matcha, taro, Thai, Assam, Alishan, or Hokkaido. With tapioca pearls, coffee jelly, nata de coco, pudding, or cheese. Blended with fruits, yogurt, black sugar, or even candy. Yes. The many options with milk tea has grown quite revolutionary that ordering one can get you dizzy. Because of the popularity of milk tea in the Philippines, international and homegrown brands have sprouted here and there, brewing a variety of menus, labels, and endorsers.1 Even famous fast food restaurants now offer milk tea aside from their usual fare.
It is trendy, flavorful, and refreshing, but is milk tea good for the body? Don’t get me wrong. I’m one of those who loved drinking milk tea. I have tried almost all of the milk tea franchises available, with the exception of newer brands. Out of curiosity, I still try out new products every now and then. Much as milk tea is delicious, there are times when you need to set limits to the things you love.
Canceled benefits Tea is often praised for its health benefits, particularly because it has a lot of antioxidants— compounds that fight free radicals, which damage cells and even DNA and cause diseases.2 Health & Home ︱ 8 ︱January–February 2021
Catechins, which can also be found in berries and cocoabased products, for example, act as one of the important antioxidants in green tea. It helps in repairing tissues, renewing cells, and fighting off diseases.3 Some claim that milk tea is healthy, just like regular brewed tea. Unfortunately, that may not be the case. Some researchers observed that if you pour milk in your tea, the natural nutrients and antioxidants decrease. “Black tea significantly improved [blood flow] in humans compared with water, whereas addition of milk completely blunted the effects of tea.”4
Home Gardening By Saul L. Roylo
PECHAY Brassica rapa L. subsp. chinensis
W
hether you have been doing home gardening for as long as you remember, or have only started during the COVID-19 quarantine, or are still pondering about whether you can indeed do it, this new series of articles is for you. Aside from ensuring that your family will have your own source of food, backyard gardening also encourages children as well as adults to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. Aside from helping you stay healthy, your vegetable garden can also give you additions to your wallet or to your circle of friends. Let’s start with a vegetable that’s easy to grow, nutritious, and versatile.
My gulay Known locally as pechay or bok choy, pak choi is a type of Chinese cabbage that has green, broad leaves arranged spirally and spreading. It is always available in the market all year round. A main ingredient in soups like nilaga and pochero and stir-fried dishes, this green leafy vegetable is rich in calcium, potassium, and vitamins A, B complex, and C.
Ideal sites • Good water supply • Good drainage system during the wet season • Fertile soil (sandy to clay loam) • Favorable climate • Proximity to your house Health & Home ︱ 10 ︱January–February 2021
Education
By Arlene R. Ariate
, es d u it l o s ur o d e c er i p sea-winds in the woods, , k o a o or n d o p h m R a d a esh n i s m o o l b . s k o es o br leafl h is g g u sl e h t d n a t e deser len in the pool ay; g al f y s ut a al e b pet ir e h t , h l o it o w c o t er black wat ird come his plumes ray. b ar d e is r h e s h n e p a ht t e h c at h t er w o l y h w the f e e h t k , as y k s es g d a n s a if the d on the earth or f e e t d as a w m charm is that, if eyes were eing; , B ar e or d f , e m us e c x th e n w o s ! e os it r is e h t y n beaut there, O rival of w; e t n er k w er u v o e h n I yt ; k as o t e t os h p g p u u o s h t e c n a or never n g i e l e p m m i s t h g y u m o But in same power that br f l e s e h T
And court the sages ask f i ! a or d o h R n Mmayis, wwhasentedseoanIchar e fresh , is h T I founddetarh , that , g its lea m e h t ll e T Spreadiyn is its ut ease the des a e b n e h T To plwert there, Why tThouhe puurgphlte topaetcas o I neverMtahde ythesimblplthe t The Rhodora:But iHn erme migh p e m the a s t f ur o On Being Asked, Whence Is the Flower? l c e s d n e A h T By Ralph Waldo Emerson
Rhodora! if This char Tell them Then b Why th I never But Th
In May, when sea-winds pierced our solitudes, I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods, Spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook, To please the desert and the sluggish brook. The purple petals fallen in the pool Made the black water with their beauty gay; Here might the red-bird come his plumes to cool, And court the flower that cheapens his array. Rhodora! if the sages ask thee why This charm is wasted on the earth and sky, Tell them, dear, that, if eyes were made for seeing, Then beauty is its own excuse for Being; Why thou wert there, O rival of the rose! I never thought to ask; I never knew; But in my simple ignorance suppose The self-same power that brought me there, brought you.
seeing,
photos courtesy of author
T
he remote school where I am teaching now is what Emerson may consider the woods, the damp nook, or the sluggish brook, and I may be the Rhodora—spreading my leafless blooms and wasting my charm. Or, so I thought.
City mouse
. u o y t h g u there, bro
The author and her learners at Conconig Elementary School
Health & Home ︱ 16 ︱January–February 2021
I have studied and spent all my life in an urban locality. I even taught in a private school for two years—two years that were light and materially rewarding. During my interview to become a public school teacher, I was asked if I would be willing to teach in a far-flung area. I immediately said yes!
Her Day IN COURT By JANET R. TOLETE
M
ost people avoid going to court, but some people have lives revolving around it, careers bound to it, and names carved in the august halls of justice— even without the public’s notice. Atty. Diosfa C. Toledanes-Valencia, Outstanding Branch Clerk of Court in 2017, happily shares to Health & Home what her job really is and how her day usually goes. Hailing from Tigbauan, Iloilo, Atty. ToledanesValencia graduated from the University of the Philippines in the Visayas (Miag-ao, Iloilo) with a degree in Broadcast Communication and Management. She then proceeded to take Bachelor of Laws (now Juris Doctor) at the Philippine Christian University in Manila. She passed the bar immediately after graduating in 2005. A mother of two girls, a wife to her seafaring husband, and the leader of her local church, she also talks of her guiding principles that help her distinguish between black and white, right and wrong.
photo/Grace G. Beltran
Health & Home ︱ 24 ︱January–February 2021
My
Journey By SHASHA PATRICIO
I
grew up thinking that other people’s opinion about me mattered most. I used to think that I must always look good in front of others. One thing I saw as my biggest flaw was my naturally curly hair. I just hated it. I couldn’t count the number of times I thought to myself how blessed women born with naturally straight hair were. I saw my textured hair as a curse. Here in the Philippines, a woman with straight, long hair would often be the standard of beauty. Curly hair was rarely appreciated. Most people would spend money just to get their hair straightened in the salon. And yes, I was part of the majority. photos/Joshua Mendoza
Health & Home ︱ 28 ︱January–February 2021
r o e l o v c a h e h o t t r s s i i u o te ge it ing i h w vile dur t. d h n pri g s a i u l ck at a w#Black&White h our t i h W walk and be e h t e s n imes i o e te at a m rk t i h w h da d n . W have a s ack f life is to l u h B or o it t d i n w a col vilege alk times pri eone w dark t. som g our r ligh u n o i r be du #AThousandWords
Our theme interpreted by friends on social media
By Rhian Ryl D. Monteclaro
Orphaned and deserted, Michelle R. Carbajal overflows with gratitude for her grandmother, Crisanta B. Rublico, who adopted her when she was just 5 and her Lola was in her 80s. Taken when Michelle graduated from elementary in 2015 as class valedictorian.
e h t s i te at a i h w h d n . W have a k e f c i o s a l t l u s f i o h B
Rhian Ryl Dumalagan Monteclaro, R.R.T., the entrepreneur behind Dipolog City’s Nitivo Native Chicken Inasal, considers photography an inspiring hobby.
Health & Home ︱ 46 ︱January–February 2021
Featured books from Philppine Publishing House
Notes From the Frontlines By Joyce L. Zerrudo
My Bible Treasures
S
tuck at home? With children glued to their gadgets? Why not read together with your son and daughter? My Bible Treasures is a new set of four fully illustrated books with 50 chosen stories from Scriptures. The first volume contains stories from Creation to the Exodus. Written in a language suitable for elementary-age children, My Bible Treasures is simple and easy to read. Kids even get to join the journey of four modern-day children who love studying the Bible. Rain, Ethan, Aidyl, and Aiah share trivia and discover lessons from Bible classics. Out in the market soon! For more information, visit our Facebook page @PhilippinePublishingHouse and send us a message.
p h o to co u r te s y o f a u tho
r
d
Light From the House
T
he Health & Home book has been my trusted companion for decades. It never ceases to amaze, surprise, and educate my family and me with valuable information and inspirational stories to help us with health, spiritual, personal development, marriage, parenting, and environmental concerns. My daughter, Meshezabelle, who is now a nursing student at Central Philippine Adventist College in Murcia, Negros Occidental, grew up with Health & Home as her favorite help in preparing paperwork for school and winning competitions like essay writing, poetry writing, impromptu speaking, news writing, etc. The book has been her source of brilliant ideas. I want to inspire fellow mothers and even young people to subscribe to this book for “healthy, happy, and holistic living.”
Joyce Lirazan Zerrudo is a 48-year-old mom who has been subscribing to Health & Home for 25 years. She is from Binalbagan, Negros Occidental.
Health & Home ︱ 47 ︱January–February 2021
A Tragic Ending or a New Beginning W h e r e i s t h e w o r l d h e a di n g ? Discover how the Bible looks at earth’s history and what future events are outlined in prophecy. Find hope in times of despair, courage amid fear, and peace in the eye of this world’s biggest crisis.
Philippine Publishing House Philippine Publishing House 632 Baesa, 1401 Caloocan City (Location) • P.O. Box 813, 1000 Manila, Philippines (Postal) 632 Baesa, 1401 Caloocan City (Location) • P.O. Box 813, 1000 Manila, Tel. Nos.: (632) 8363-3024 • 8364-5205 • Fax No.: (632) 8363-4244 Philippines (Postal) E-mail: marketing@pphsda.com • Website: www.pphsda.com Tel. Nos.: (632) 363-3024 • 364-5205 • Fax No.: (632) 363-4244 Facebook@PhilippinePublishingHouse E-mail: marketing@pphsda.com • Website: www.pphsda.com Facebook@PhilippinePublishingHouse For more information, contact your local sales representative. For more information, contact your local sales representative.