HAPPINESS IS HEALTH. Spouses John and Marcela Tinoyan, who are retired public medical practitioners, continue to advocate for good health by eating healthy food. They said in an interview on Thursday, (Feb. 29, 2024) that being healthy means consuming fruits and vegetables and taking natural medicines. (Photo courtesy of John Tinoyan’s Facebook account)
BAGUIO CITY – Retired but not tired.
Spouses John and Marcela Tinoyan, who have retired from government service as medical practitioners in Baguio City and Benguet, are pursuing their advocacy of healthy living and eating organic food, which, they say, defines the health condition of a person.
The couple has a farm resort called “Well Done Farm,” located near the Bengaongao Cave in Ambongdolona, Tublay where they grow vegetables for their consumption and the guests who visit their place.
“We returned to farming because we have a little inheritance and we want to continue to share with others what we have been advocating as medical doctors while in the service,” Dr. Marcela told the Philippine News Agency in an interview at her farm on Thursday.
Dr. Marcela retired as municipal health officer of Tublay, Benguet in 2018, the same year her husband, Dr. John, retired as assistant city health officer of this city.
She has been named regional winner as municipal health officer of Tublay and is also a Gawad Saka awardee nationwide for the town’s advocacy and promotion of organic agriculture.
Her primary advocacy is “good nutrition leads to good health and a healthy body.”
In turn, her husband was a medical officer in charge of the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) of the city government who advocated for the use of plants as natural medicines.
Dr. John’s research studies include the health benefits of “Tawa-tawa” (Asthma Weed), a medicinal herb, to help in the recovery of patients with dengue.
The couple had “a little of everything in our property.”
“We wanted to make sure we have food and our food is within the standard we want them to be, organically grown,” Dr. Marcela, who was a contender in the National Nutrition Council’s (NNC) 2016 nutrition action officers nationwide, said in a mix of Filipino and Ilocano.
In an earlier interview, Dr. John said he made “Tawa-tawa” capsules the natural way and this formed part of the medical kit that the EMS provides for free to interested patients.
He also advocated for healthy living by eating healthy, making vegetables a part of one’s regular diet.
Physical and mental health
“Serotonin is the happy hormone produced by the body. We can increase our serotonin by taking in chocolates, especially the naturally grown and processed dark chocolates minus the sugar that is not very good for our health,” Dr. Marcela said.
The couple has begun to process their cacao into tablea or roasted cacao beans that are ground and formed into tablets.
Dr. Marcela said they have requested their municipal mayor to make cacao chocolate drinks as among the food being given under the local government’s feeding program for school children.
“This is a good source of nutrients aside from stimulating the happy hormones of a person. We can also encourage the cacao growers in the municipality to grow more and support the health and well-being of the children,” she said in Filipino.
In an earlier interview, Ricky Ducas, a registered nurse who is in charge of the Baguio Health Service Office’s mental health unit, said mental health has a direct correlation with physical health.
“When the mind is sick, it cascades to the body and you start to feel ill. You start to feel difficulty breathing and other extraordinary physical complaints. But when you have yourself checked, the results will show that you are physically well. Let us not just care for ourselves physically. We must also ensure that we are mentally fine,” he said.
Chocolates, he said, are among the sources of happy hormones that are important in having good well-being.
Bella Balasong, regional nutrition program coordinator of the National Nutrition Council - Cordillera, said, “We are what we eat.”
“Our body’s condition is a result of what we do and what we put in our mouths. If we eat a healthy diet, if we eat healthy and nutritious food, we become healthy too,” she said, urging the public, especially parents, to prepare healthy food for the family. (PNA)
