Lagundi and yesteryears
By Pet Melliza The weather has gone haywire. It blows hot and cold. Unexpected downpours during All Saints Day after an interlude of parching heat makes nights and early morning cold, confusing our body defense system. I had cold and flu after the All Saints Day but I managed to move around normally without lying in bed. Thanks to lagundi (Vitex negundo). I stock dried lagundi leaves at home that is ready to drink as tea by pouring hot water on it in a ceramic cup. However, as I felt my throat becoming itchy, my fever rising and chest becoming tight, I drank at least three cups daily. After the second day, my sore throat was gone, my chest loosened, and phlegm easily expelled from my throat and nose. Lagundi in tablets, capsules or emulsions are now available in drugstores. Its sales must be brisk that multi-national companies are spending millions in mostly negative advertisements. Instead of just promoting their respective brands, they put down herbal medicines that are becoming...