00:00 [Music]
00:02 Listen carefully to this news, but first, let's verify if it's true that the residents of Iligan City in Mindanao
00:14 drink the water from the banana tree.
00:20 [Music]
00:22 This wide banana tree in Sardab, Barangay Dig Kilaan, Iligan City, is being used by residents every day
00:32 not to get fruits, but to collect the water from the banana trees
00:44 that they drink at the believed to be non-toxic. This is a high blood or high blood pressure medicine.
00:52 [Music]
00:54 [Speaking in Tagalog]
01:09 This is the answer to the high blood pressure medicine for high blood pressure.
01:17 [Speaking in Tagalog]
01:19 Dongs, 37 years old, has been taking his high blood pressure medicine for 3 years.
01:26 I can't breathe. My lungs are tight. I feel like I'm losing my strength.
01:31 When it's hot, my blood pressure is 190 over 110.
01:35 [Speaking in Tagalog]
01:46 This is why he came up with a solution.
01:49 He drinks water from the banana tree every day.
01:56 [Speaking in Tagalog]
02:01 To make sure that the water will come out, the tree must be cut at the top of the tree.
02:08 Then, we cut it. We cut it at 5 in the afternoon and 6 in the afternoon.
02:13 We wrap it in plastic so that no insect can get in.
02:17 And we put guma. It's really clean because the plastic has not been used for a long time.
02:22 Tomorrow, I will collect the water.
02:24 [Music]
02:30 [Speaking in Tagalog]
02:32 [Music]
02:38 [Speaking in Tagalog]
02:45 In one day, he can drink 4 liters of water.
02:49 [Speaking in Tagalog]
02:55 After 8 days of drinking banana water,
03:00 his blood pressure is 190 over 110.
03:07 He is worried that he might fall.
03:12 I can't move. So, I feel like my blood pressure is going down.
03:15 When I went there, my blood pressure was 140 over 90.
03:18 I thought I would really get a stroke.
03:19 What he taught Dongs, the Albularyong Siharlito,
03:25 is that drinking banana juice from a banana tree as a medicine for high blood pressure is his dream.
03:32 At night, I sleep. I always lay down on the bed.
03:38 I sleep and I use the banana for my high blood pressure.
03:42 [Music]
03:45 [Speaking in Tagalog]
03:49 [Music]
03:53 Harlito made his wife, Maria, drink the juice from the tree.
03:58 Her blood pressure is 200 over 110.
04:02 I can't drink. I sleep and I lie down on the bed.
04:06 Maria was amazed by the result.
04:10 I thank God for this. My blood pressure is 140 over 90.
04:16 When I drink banana juice, my blood pressure doesn't go down.
04:22 Because of their testimony, many people in their barangay agreed.
04:28 I am thankful to my mom, dad, and my neighbors.
04:34 At first, my blood pressure was 150 over 90. Now, it's 120 over 80.
04:38 The evidence of the testimonies is that many people have passed the banana tree.
04:44 Others didn't even notice the fruit.
04:49 Junisa's BP reached 180 over 100.
04:56 I eat pork and pork belly. I fry it.
05:00 My body aches. That's what I hide in my hibernation.
05:04 But since she started drinking banana juice every day,
05:09 she stopped drinking it for her maintenance.
05:12 It's a big reduction in their expenses.
05:17 It's reaching 400 pesos per month.
05:21 My blood pressure is 170 over 90.
05:25 But is there a basis in science and medicine
05:29 that the juice from the banana tree can lower the blood pressure?
05:35 Is it safe to drink?
05:39 One of the banana trees that was collected by Harlito's water
05:43 was examined by a botanist or plant expert.
05:47 We got a sample of water to test in the laboratory.
05:57 We need one liter.
05:59 The collected water was brought to Mindanao State University Iligan Institute of Technology
06:06 where it was subjected to a so-called phytochemical screening.
06:11 I need to evaporate this.
06:13 So five evaporating dish per sample.
06:16 The next day, the results came out.
06:21 Positive for alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, and esteroids.
06:27 It has properties like anti-oxidant, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, anti-mitotic.
06:35 High blood pressure medicine is effective.
06:38 It can lower the blood pressure.
06:41 But it needs to be studied.
06:45 Based on the ocular inspection, the water looks clean.
06:49 But when it's drained, the color changes.
06:53 The way they cover it with plastic is not hygienic.
06:57 We still can't conclude that it's safe.
07:00 There is no study that says that the water from banana trees has medicinal properties
07:06 because no clinical trial is exploring this as of now.
07:10 We can't say if it's safe to drink because bacteria can easily contaminate.
07:15 It has a lot of potential. Hopefully, it looks like it's safe to study.
07:21 Medicine is dynamic.
07:24 We can learn from nature.
07:26 I hope our colleagues, doctors and scientists, don't get it wrong.
07:31 Maintenance is important because blood pressure needs to be controlled.
07:36 We can't predict when the blood pressure will suddenly rise.
07:40 We should exercise regularly and avoid salty foods.
07:49 It's important to lower blood pressure, aside from medicine.
07:53 In tropical areas like the Philippines,
07:55 if you cut a banana, it will easily multiply.
07:59 If it's massive, that's the problem because the tree is exposed.
08:04 That's where the entry point of bacteria and viruses will attack the banana plants.
08:11 I'll think about it first if I should stop or not.
08:13 Because all the people who drink here don't get infected.
08:17 They all recover.
08:18 I'll continue to drink until I recover and my blood pressure is normal.
08:23 Banana trees have a lot of benefits.
08:27 From fruits, leaves, roots and the tree itself.
08:34 Isn't this the only tree with a heart?
08:38 But before we believe that banana trees have a long-term cure,
08:44 let's wait for the experts to say.
08:51 Thank you so much, Kapuso.
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09:07 Thank you for watching.
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