Insulin Plant (Costus Igneus)

When I went to Ilocos Sur last week, there’s one plant I came to know – the insulin plant. My uncle introduced it to me by saying that he is taking it to maintain his blood sugar. He said, “This plant is given to me to help me with my diabetes by acting like an insulin.” When I asked him what’s the name of the plant, he told me he doesn’t know.
According to him, there are times when he eats a leaf of the plant he would feel weak after an hour. So, he concluded that it must be true. Although, until now he is still taking a pill prescribed by his doctor to control his blood sugar, albeit, he only now take just 1 pill everyday instead of 2 pills as advised by his doctor. And he feels good.

I took one leaf and chewed it. And another one plus another one. Well, it has a mild calamansi taste or sour taste which disappears immediately when its mixed with your saliva. After an hour and more I haven’t felt anything unusual such as weakness. Maybe I have a well-functioning pancreas.



I cut stems and even took some stems with the roots intact to add to my collection of herbs in my backyard. According to my uncle it is easy to grow because it grows easily even with cuttings.

When I got home, I immediately researched it in the internet, and yah, it’s one of the old times folks’ remedy for health. And to know more about it, just search the word “insulin plant” and topics about it come out including studies done.






According to one of the websites I searched, 1 “Costus igneus, commonly known as insulin plant in India, belongs to the family Costaceae. Consumption of the leaves are believed to lower blood glucose levels, and diabetics who consumed the leaves of this plant did report a fall in their blood glucose levels.”

That’s probably what my uncle was saying when he advised “One who have diabetes must have to eat something after one hour of taking the plant to not risk fainting.”

Sources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2924971/

Ferment Oregano for your Health Remedy

One of the attendees in our meeting about organic gardening shared how fermented oregano saved her chickens from dying of common diseases that affected her neighbors’ birds.

She said that her neighbors’ chickens all died from the disease while her birds were all healthy. The only reason she could think of why her birds were not affected was because she added fermented oregano into their drinks of water. In the previous years, she was not exempted from the disease that visited their place almost every year – despite following their veterinarian’s advice of giving them medicines and vaccines.

But, in one of their seminars, the speaker who came from Japan told them of using fermented oregano to strengthen their birds’ immune system. From that time on, she never experienced problem of chicken disease.

How to Make Fermented Oregano?

1 kilo of oregano( young leaves ) = must be clean. It’s better to harvest it early in the morning(6-9a.m) or late in the afternoon (5-7pm).
1 kilo of natural sugar = known as muscovado
Large bowl for mixing
Net or screener
Any of the following: Plastic jar, earthen jar = size must be enough to contain the prepared mixture

Procedure:

1. Cut the oregano into smaller pieces = 2-3 cuts
2. Mix with sugar in a large bowl
3. Put it inside the jar
4. Cover jar with brown paper or clothe
5. Put away in a dark place where sunlight doesn’t get through
6. Wait for 5-7 days (7 days when your climate is cold or below 24 degrees centigrade
7. Strain the juice with a net or screen
8. Put away juice in a clean glass jar



The finished product can also be used to treat cough and to boost your immune system to ward off colds or cough when it tries to down you.

Adults > 2-4 tablespoons once a day or at least 3x a week
Children > 2 tablespoon once a day or 3-4 times a week
***For treatment, increase the dosage.

For drinking purpose

Instead of buying drinks added with artificial ingredients, Four(4) tablespoons can be added to a glass of water  as a drink to quench one's thirst.  More can be added according to your taste or a natural sugar or honey can be added to suit your taste.

Serpentina: King of Bitter Herbs

Knowing the Plant

The first time I heard about this herb was when an herbalist was invited in one of our meetings about alternative health care. He said this herb is very helpful for diabetes which he gives to his patients. In addition, is also good for upset stomach, and as blood cleanser. (If one is interested his farm “Garden of Life” is found in Longlong, La Trinidad Benguet. It is so, popular that people and students from other place of the Philippines come to learn about his technique. They stay for days to learn how to duplicate his garden.)

Because of that grain of information, I went looking for serpentina when I went for a vacation in our place. There I was amazed to learn that the number one drunkard of the neighborhood uses it as his medicine-thus he is the only one got the plant in his backyard. His wife said that whenever he is not feeling well, or when he has hangover from too much alcohol, he boils the leaves of this herb and drinks it. Well, from the way he consumes alcohol, one can conclude that he is not supposed to be alive by now. I said this because I know this man since I was a kid and once a drinking buddy when I was old enough to drink alcohol. The thing is he became alcoholic - and to count – for 25 years now.





Testimonies

The other day, is the other time I heard about Serpentina and not just as a story but a sworn testimony by one of our neighbors who was very excited when I told her I have a Serpentina in my collections of herbs. She said that she knows how effective this herb is. Her friend who was diagnosed of breast cancer, scheduled for surgery, used it and now is free from any signs of the disease.

I don’t know if that is true but the way she told her story one can sense that she is telling one story that she witnessed herself. She is so desperate because her brother-in-law couldn’t find it for her. Well, she has been sitting for ten years because she cannot walk without a support.

And she doesn’t have only one story to tell to become crazy about this plant. One of their cousins had a goiter problem and was also scheduled for surgery. But since the doctors cannot guarantee success, and the bill was too much to handle, the family decided not to have it. The decision seemed to be a good one. A guard near their home noticed her trouble whenever he saw her doing laundry. In short, he learned of her sickness and suggested to her to try Serpentina.

Nothing to lose she did. In three months her goiter miraculously disappeared.

Well, in my opinion, she believes the herb could treat her problem. I will not say anything, though, common knowledge says it is impossible, but we know that Jesus said our belief can heal us.

Then just a few days ago, my wife’s aunt saw the Serpentinas I just planted two weeks ago in our porch. And she said it’s the plant that brought down her younger sister’s blood sugar count to near normal.

Fig. 1    Young Serpentina plant that my sister sent me

With these stories I am now becoming obsessed to know more about this plant and use it as soon as my "Baby" Serpentinas mature enough for consumption.

How the plant is used?
1. Leaves are gathered and boiled then the water is drunk.

2. The leaves are crushed then squeezed. The juice is either added with water to drink or drink as it 
    is.

3. For emergency, the leaves are dried (in a shade) then crushed. Put inside a small plastic bottle or anything that is convenient to carry in your pocket or bag then a teaspoonful is taken when upset stomach occurs.

Other Variety

Before I came to know about serpentina, there is also a shrub found in Sagada which is locally known as “Da-il.” It is also bitter though probably weaker in taste than serpentina. My aunt carry it on her purse wherever she goes. One time when I had an upset stomach, she gave me one seed(Looks like black pepper) to chew – in few minutes my gurgling stomach quieted.

Fig.  2   Da-il is also a bitter shrub which is used for upset stomach

I am trying to grow one in my backyard, but almost two years gone by and it’s still looks like a “seedling.”