Maniolas

Vilma Santos also reveals what she does to achieve poreless skin.

ZAMBALES, Philippines (April 9, 2013) Chaplain of the Marine Corps Rear Adm. Margret G. Kibben speaks to members of the 3rd Law Enforcement Battalion about the work they are doing during Exercise Balikatan 2013. Balikatan is an annual Philippine-U.S. bilateral exercise. Humanitarian assistance and training activities enable the Philippine and American service members to build lasting relationships, train together and provide assistance in communities where the need is the greatest. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Brandon C. Suhr/Released) Mount Samat, Philippines, AFP, Thursday 4/9/2015 – Philippine President Benigno Aquino and the US and Japanese ambassadors on Thursday vowed to work closer together in facing new challenges like maritime security and “terrorism” at a World War II memorial event. Aquino and the two envoys made the promise on the anniversary of the “Fall of Bataan” – marking the surrender of US and Philippine forces to Japanese invaders in 1942. “We stand united with former allies and foes in continued pursuit of widespread peace and prosperity throughout the world,” Aquino said at the Mount Samat shrine overlooking the Bataan battlefield. Aquino cited the swift assistance extended by the US and Japan particularly during disasters like Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 as an example of the generosity of these two countries. “I wish to express our heartfelt apologies and deep sense of remorse for all who suffered during those fateful days. We all remember and never forget what happened here,” Japanese ambassador Kazuhide Ishikawa said at the same event. But he Read More …

Dates, pictured here, could be a weapon in the war on heart disease if consumed in combination with pomegranate juice, according to recent research.©Shawn Hempel/shutterstock.com (Relaxnews) – A four-ounce glass of pomegranate juice with three dates could protect against the buildup of lipids on the arterial walls by as much as 33 percent, reducing chances for a heart attack, according to researchers in Israel. Pomegranate juice and dates make a dynamic duo in the war on heart disease because their respective phenolic antioxidants work differently, according to lead author Professor Michael Aviram. The key ingredients in pomegranate juice, he says, are plant-derived polyphenolic antioxidants that slow the body’s oxidation process, thereby reducing oxidative stress. Dates contain phenolic radical scavenger antioxidants, which hinder the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LCL) cholesterol, also known as “bad-cholesterol.” These scavenger antioxidants found in dates also stimulate the removal of cholesterol from arterial cells that come into contact with lipids, according to Professor Aviram. Working with arterial cells in laboratory cultures, and with mice whose cholesterol levels were high, Professor Aviram’s team tested the combination of pomegranate juice and dates — using a cocktail that included their pits, which had been ground up. The cocktail reduced oxidative stress in the arterial wall by 33 percent and decreased arterial cholesterol content by 28 percent, according to the study, which was published in the journal Food & Function. Even without the pits, says Professor Aviram, the combination of dates and pomegranate is powerful and preferable to eating either Read More …

How much time does a Georgina Wilson need to get ready for office or gym? Just 10 minutes!    

Culinary heritage shared by all of Spain’s former colonies in the Americas and the Philippines: Bacalao ala vizcaina, aka bacalao con tomate What is bacalao, anyway? It is the Spanish name of codfish found in the cold waters of the North Atlantic. Locally, the imported fresh/frozen kind is known by its Japanese name gindara, while the Portuguese call it bacalhau, and the French morue. As discussed in my previous column, Spanish culture and language are so deeply rooted in our daily lives, more than we realize, especially so in the Catholic religion we believe in and the attendant food we eat following the religious calendar. We have food groupings that appear only on such special occasions: town fiestas, baptisms, wakes, Christmas, and the just-concluded cuaresma or 40 days of Lent. The practice of fasting and/or giving up certain types of luxuries is a form of penance during Lent, in particular abstaining from eating any type of meat. Though we faithful are obligated to fast and abstain from eating meat only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, a lot of devout Catholics practice varying degrees and forms of self-imposed sacrifice, the most common of which is having meatless Fridays during the whole of Lent. Ergo, have you ever wondered why many Filipino households would have munggo soup and tuyô (dried salted fish) on Fridays, some not just during Lent but even as a year-round practice? And, in a strange twist of faith (sic, fate, pun intended), in a small fishing village Read More …