Natural Preventive and curative: My Basics

The main purpose of the farm is to produce chemical-free and hormone-free edibles and through the years, I have selected some staples for a reason.  I still continue to plant and nurture many different plants as I am ever the optimist in believing that I will have time to study them further for their benefits so until them, I will care for them.  The staples that I have narrowed down to is based on what I feel is the basics for my health from a preventive and curative view.  So what are my basics: ginger, turmeric, coconut, and roselle.  Why you may ask?  Simple, I need to keep my immune system and my central nervous system (including the brain) healthy.   I am not a doctor so I do not do diagnosis or pharmacological advise.   I practice natural food therapy in my daily life so I share what I experience and know.

The largest organ in my body for the immune system is the gut which includes the stomach, intestine and bowel.   It performs the key function of removing toxins and wastes from our body as well as allowing absortion of nutrients by our body.  If our gut cannot function properly, the food is not digested properly, our body doesn't get the proper nutrients, and our body doesn't eliminate the toxins and wastes properly.  If the gut is not healthy, it can also cause toxins and harmful bacteria to enter our blood system which can result in other organs being damaged and allergies.  For me, the easiest way to care for them is to incorporate ginger, turmeric, tapioca and roselle into my normal food intake, either as solids or liquids.


To care for my central nervous system, especially my brain, I look to coconuts which I either consume as a drink or using extra virgin coconut oil (EVCO).  Studies have proven that the ketones in coconut oil can help rebuild or repair our brain cells.  An illness that many of us are aware of that affects the brain is Alzheimer's.  It has been shown that consumption of EVCO can improve and even cure this condition and best of all, no negative side effects - this is something that almost all the drugs cannot claim.  I choose EVCO because it is the purest form of coconut oil and when produced from organic coconuts does not contain contaminants.  It is produced using cold-pressed method from fresh coconuts.  It doesn't undergo any chemical process or drying that can contaminate the coconut.

Of course, ginger, turmeric, coconut, tapioca and roselle also have other benefits so by incorporating them in my diet, I get to enjoy them too.  These 5 provides antibacterial, antiviral, improve the immune system, helps to lower cholesterol, improves blood circulation, helps to improve high blood pressure condition, improve digestion, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer - to name a few.  One of my key focus is to share what can be planted by everyone or if not, what can be obtained locally with the cost also being a factor.  Ginger, turmeric and roselle can be planted in containers for those who do not have much planting space.  If you have a small space, you can plant tapioca and dwarf coconuts but if you can't, they are easily purchased.  None of these need to be imported as they can be obtained locally so this can make it affordable to many.  Try incorporating them into your normal daily diet and I hope you can reap the benefits of a better health.

Bentong Ginger: What we do

Amongst my favourite rhizome is the Bentong Ginger.  Its benefits are well documented and it is a popular herbal spice.  At the farm, we grow it and we have to keep rotating the area where we plant it because it "eats" a lot so I need to let the soil rejuvenate before planting in the same location again.
Although it stores well, I always like to process it as soon as it is harvested.  Apart from using it fresh, we do process it to a concentrate drink and to a dry, powdered form.

Our concentrate is a blend of the ginger, turmeric and black pepper.  As it is a concentrate, it can be diluted to prepare a drink, either hot or cold.  It is also used in cooking as well as a marinate.
As no preservatives or additives are used, it needs to be stored refrigerated.  This is one of our popular products and we produce it in batches as needed.  Our customers use it for many reasons:

1. to maintain their digestive system and as a preventive measure against leaky gut
2. to control cholesterol
3. to reduce gas and bloating
4. to reduce joint aches and pains including for arthritis
5. as a post-natal supplement.

Personally I use it as a preventive measure so it is something that I consume everyday, in different forms.  Making it as part of my daily normal essential diet has been key to enabling me to continue consuming it for the benefits without feeling bored, something which can easily occur if you are popping pills.  I treat it as a natural therapy and it assists my body in healing itself.

The second processed product is our new product: producing ginger powder.  The ginger is sliced and dehydrated using a dehydrator which allows me to ensure maximum retention of nutrients as well as prevention of contaminants such as dust, dirt or other types of contaminants.  This dehydration process reduces the ginger to approximately 10% of its fresh original weight.  What it means is if 1 kg of fresh ginger is dehydrated, the dehydrated ginger will weigh around 90-100g.
The dehydrated ginger is then ground to a powdered form.  The end product is really concentrated so you do not need to use much of it.  No additives or preservatives are added to it so it is pure ground ginger.  It can then be stored in an air-tight container in the cupboard or if you prefer, in the refrigerator.  This ground ginger can be used in many ways: used in cooking and marinating as well as in creating drinks like ginger tea or added to other teas to flavour it.  The dehydrated ginger will also be used to create our ground spice mixes such as with lemongrass and turmeric.