I met him briefly at our restaurant Le Bistro Vert (which had to close because the unit above us in our building flooded into our restaurant and our case has not been resolved by our

landlord to this day, ten months after we lost the business) and he told me he had a natural farm in Negros Occidental, Don Salvador to be exact.

Having reconnected with him here in Italy where we both were delegates to Slow Food Salone del Gusto International Terra Madre, I got to know him better. Over lunch Dr. Jo, or Dr. Albert put some mineral salts in my bottled water as I was feeling under the weather. Next came Ipat Luna who also asked for some of the solution for her water bottle, and so lunch conversation centered on immunity and why we should sleep or be asleep between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. every night . “It’s when your cells repair well, these are the hours you need to be at rest, “ he says. Each declaration of Dr Jo comes with medical research quoted from this or that scientist, this or that study, and you will agree with him. Just resting my stomach and body from one day of sampling all the treats in the festival and drinking water he infused with mineral salts, and sleeping long for my immune system to take over—did wonders. I was up and about for breakfast and feeling usual hunger pangs which meant I was back in shape and ready to brave another day of exposure to food and drink.

Don’t get me wrong. The Salone del Gusto Internazionale Terra Madre was a celebration of food and drink from all over the world from producers who practice sustainable farming and provide clean food. Clean for the body, for the environment and clean for animals. I was just so excited the first day and I had my fill of food I did not have in a long time like salami and pork neck barbecue (bombetto) and boy did I pay for it. So, like Dr. Albert I think it’s back to vegetables and fish for me, for now.

Even cooking rice has rules: soak the rice for three hours to remove the phytic acid which blocks the absorption of vitamins. Red rice and other heirloom rice have their germ layers intact. And this germ layer contains all the vitamins.

Other Dr Jo tips:

Water- always drink alkaline water because bacteria cannot thrive in an alkaline environment. Just squeeze calamansi into your water bottle or every time you drink water.

However, do not heat up your water for calamansi or you will negate its positive benefits.
Sugar- Honey is the best sugar because it is pre-digested and does not need to be metabolized by the body. It is the only alkaline sugar. For diabetics, have no fear. For honey is released right away and does not cause your blood sugar to remain elevated.

Fish- he prefers fish with scales because their meat has Alkylglycerol that cleanses the body of toxins. But the fish should be from deep sea and not farmed (sorry bangus eaters).

Dairy- choose goats milk over cow because the globules of goat is most similar to that of
mothers milk and therefore can be assimilated more easily by the body. Further, goats always eat grass, not grains. So you can be sure they are grass-fed!

Oils- never cook vegetable oils. Yes, we heard right. Oils when they burn turns into Acrylamide, a carcinogen. You are better off baking but WITH banana leaves and not aluminum foil! They say the aluminum leaches into your food.

Meats- lower your intake of meat. We only need 30 grams of protein every 24 hours he says.

Too much meat can make your body acidic. All the excess protein your body does not need is undigested and can remain in your system for 72 hours, virtually rotting in your intestines. Why is that? Dr Jo says man was made to eat plants and is a natural herbivore. Cats, however, like tigers and lions are carnivores and their intestines are just 12ft. long and can expel undigested protein immediately. Humans have intestines that are 30ft. long so undigested protein stays in our intestines longer,

Chicken- oh let us not even go there unless it is free range and has an organic diet. Commercial chickens contain Roxarson, another name for Arsenic, which is a growth stimulant. These stimulants can make the chicken grow to be kilo in just 22 days.

Ready to detoxify? Wait, before you fast, prepare the “Jojo” cleanse mixture. When you go on a diet, stored fat can go to two ways: nutrition and some may release all the toxins you have accumulated over the years if eating meat and other substances with toxins. To detoxify prepare in one liter of water:

20 calamansi- squeeze the juice

2 Tablespoons blackstrap molasses

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Drink the mixture for four days- no other food should be taken- one liter of the mixture everyday.

If you succeed, you are off to a lifestyle change and a new way of eating!

Chit Juan is a founder and owner of ECHOStore sustainable lifestyle, ECHOmarket sustainable farms and ECHOcafe in Serendra and Podium malls. She also heads the Women’s Business Council of the Philippines and the Philippine Coffee Board Inc., two non-profits close to her heart. She often speaks to corporates, youth and NGOs on social entrepreneurship, women empowerment, and coffee. You can follow her on twitter.com/chitjuan or find her on facebook:Pacita “Chit” Juan. Email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.