BULAKAN, Bulacan—Eighty-year-old Rosario Godoy Paguia is herself a work in wonder not only to her family and friends but also to the many communities she supplies with “Calabash,” or miracle fruit, as supplemental medicine for many ailments for five years now.
Paguia, a twice widow starting when she was 19 years old and who reared all her four children as a nearly five-decade laundrywoman in her place in Barangay San Nicolas and other nearby areas has been benefitting from the juice extract of miracle fruit.
She said since she started to drink miracle fruit in 2020 after she suffered from a stroke in 2018, her health has greatly improved and even her arthritis, gout and osteoarthritis had been cured. In 2019, while lingering from pain as a result of the stroke, a teacher friend of their friend gave her a twig of miracle fruit claiming it is good for the health and can cure different ailments including cancer. The plant grows fast and already produced fruits in just a couple of months.
Paguia recalls that she raised her children and took care of her seriously sick husband while making laundry for five families every week of her life for almost five decades, which had manifested in her body during her senior years. “Lahat ng sakit nasa akin, may rayuma, gout, osteoarthritis, na-stroke ako, pero eto nakakalakad ako, kahit saan nakakapunta ako. Isang taon ako umiinom at parang balewala na ang mga sakit ko. Ang mga anak ko nagagalit sa akin na lumalabas ako, baka daw mapaano ako dahil nga matanda na ako at may mga sakit pa,” (All ailments are in me, I have an arthritis, gout, osteoarthritis, and I also suffered a stroke, but here I am. I can walk and can go anywhere. I took it for one year and it seems all my ailments were gone. My children are getting mad because I go to different paces, they are concern something bad may happen because of my age and my ailments), she told NEWSCORE Bulacan in an interview at her backyard few weeks ago.
Calabash which is a huge round colored light green fruit that is much bigger than a coconut fruit has a hard peel and is opened by cutting it into two pieces in the middle, getting its white fabrics inside, and slicing or breaking them into smaller pieces and boiling them for 20-40 minutes under a low-minimum heat. To extract the juices, it is being drained using a strainer cloth or a net. It must be refrigerated and drank 1-2 glasses a day, morning and or night.
“Coupled with prayers from God, I continue to believe that it cures me,” she said.
Today, people looking for cure to their various ailments including fear of cancer, osteoarthritis, arthritis, high cholesterol, high blood, with high sugar or diabetes from Barangay Bambang, Maysantol and other villages in this town and even from City of Malolos, come to her and ask pieces from her small backyard. Some, she said, bought a number of pieces to resell them through bottles of the already extracted fruit. But today, to help her and older sister meet the ends, she now sells them at P50-P100 each, but for others, she just gives them for free to help them get cured.
“Kahit walang cancer, umiinom din sila, dahil iyan daw, lahat ng sakit nareremedyuhan niyang miracle fruit,” she ended.
But for Jayson Gloria Magpayo, Bulakan municipal agriculture officer, calabash remains to be unpopular in the town and that he only encounters one or two backyard which grows the plant.
However, he told NEWSCORE Bulacan, calabash being supplemental and herbal medicine can be helpful to a number of people and can also be extensively planted in many backyards. He said his office will conduct further studies about the fruit for possible future vegetation.
Result of studies and findings
Basically, miracle fruit has potential therapeutic uses as an antioxidant, for improving blood sugar regulation in diabetics, and for alleviating taste disturbances, like metallic tastes, in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Its main benefit is acting as a natural, low-calorie sweetener that can help reduce sugar intake and manage weight by temporarily making sour foods taste sweet.
Miracle fruit is also primarily used as a taste modification and for sugar reduction being a natural sweetener through the active compound, miraculin, binds to taste receptors, making sour and bitter foods taste sweet for a period.
Also, miracle fruit reduced he sugar intake of a person by enhancing the sweetness of other foods, it can help people satisfy their sweet cravings without adding extra calories or refined sugars, which is beneficial for weight management and reducing sugar consumption. It also has antioxidant properties because it contains antioxidants like polyphenols, which combat oxidative stress in the body.
Miracle fruit also improves blood sugar regulation or has a potential antidiabetic properties, possibly by improving insulin sensitivity and helping to prevent sugar spikes after meals. It is also a chemotherapy supplement as it temporarily mask the metallic taste that often accompanies chemotherapy, making food more palatable and helping patients maintain proper nutrition. The fruit also has immune support capabilities because it is rich in Vitamin C, it can help strengthen the immune system by promoting white blood cell production. It is also good for th yes because its Vitamin A content is beneficial for eye health, potentially reducing risks for age-related vision issues.
However, there are important considerations as there is still a limited scientific evidence in the fruit. While laboratory studies and traditional use suggest benefits for conditions like diabetes and cancer, more robust scientific evidence is needed to support these uses.
DOH views
In a statement reply to NEWSCORE Bulacan, the Department of Health (DOH) said that through the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC) acknowledges the traditional use of Calabash, or “miracle fruit,” in Filipino folk medicine for various ailments like cancer and diabetes, with preclinical studies suggesting potential health benefits.
However, PITAHC stresses that there is no conclusive clinical evidence to prove Calabash can cure serious medical conditions, and further human-based research is needed to confirm its efficacy and safety.
“The public is advised to exercise informed caution with traditional remedies, as improper use may pose health risks, and these should never replace evidence-based medical care. PITAHC remains dedicated to scientifically evaluating traditional practices and encourages consultation with licensed health professionals for guidance,” the statement reads.
Low blood sugar and cholesterol
Alfredo Alejandro, 78, a retired engineer who worked for 30 years as Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) in Saudi Arabia and his wife Elisa 75, both experienced good results upon drinking miracle fruit.
In an interview in their house in Sibul, San Miguel town last week, the couple attested that results of their blood laboratory really showed good results—their cholesterol and sugar level both have low levels.
“There were good effects, our sugar and cholesterol are now in low levels and even our urines and our daily bowel movement became regular. Laboratory tests for our sugar and cholesterol would not even reach the border line. Miracle fruit really has good effects on us,’ he said.
The couple started drinking miracle fruit during the pandemic. Arnulfo, one of their farm workers from Barangay Tigpalas who was on his pass 60 but who just looked and moves like a 40 year old, according to Mang Alfredo gave them both fruits. Since then, the couple had their regular supply.
Their neighbor Yolanda Libunao is also a major source of the miracle fruit in their community. Her husband planted a twig of the miracle fruit a year before he passed away in 2017 and since then, their miracle fruit trees have been visited by many residents who requested for a couple of pieces.
Wilfredo Santos, San Miguel environment officer said Calabash has been among the most recent new type of plant residents in many villages are planting because of its medicinal functions.
Santos said residents find beneficial results of Calabash in YouTube, Facebook and in other internet platforms. “They are experiencing wonders and cures. In the next few years, maybe, even more families will grow miracle fruit trees in their backyards,” he told NEWSCORE Bulacan.
