This PowerNut refers to people who are hungry for health! It’s all about Moringa oleifera, the power vegetable we commonly know as “malunggay” and most probably hated because of its bitter taste. But this bitter veggie is the better veggie after all!
PowerNut is the first, if not the only, malunggay specialty store in the Philippines. Its products have a sufficient dosage of malunggay, which are either produced in-store or by other companies. The idea is to house most, if not all, malunggay products being produced by other companies in PowerNut.
Why PowerNut? Peanuts, laced with malunggay, are the store’s main product. The store can produce 20,000 packs of nuts a day. It also produces the malunggay powerbread, malunggay siopao, and malunggay doughnuts. The Malunggay Powerpao alone is composed of fresh tomatoes, kamote (sweet potato), potatoes and carrots. The meat — pork and beef — used are lean, and the chicken, skinless. Other products include malunggay iced tea, kesong puti from UP Los Baños, malunggay noodles from Camarines Sur and capsules and pili nuts from Legaspi and cashew from Palawan.
PowerNut Food Manufacturing was conceptualized by two cousins who wanted to make a difference in their lifetime. They conducted a 30-day feeding program, and a research and clinical study supervised by the LR Medical Clinic. Sixty four malnourished Grade 1 and 2 pupils from a public school in Mandaluyong City underwent blood testing before and after they were fed with malunggay bread. The study showed that students who were diagnosed as anemic prior to the feeding program showed an increase in hemoglobin count.
Malunggay contains calcium, iron, phosphorous, thiamin, beta-carotene, vitamins A, B, C, and E and lipoprotein. It is considered to be anti-bacterial and anti-cancer due to the phyto-chemicals present in its leaves.
(PowerNut is located on the 2nd floor of GSquare Arcade, Baranca Street, Mandaluyong City. For more information, contact Hanny Antonio at 0926-3940921 or at 480-2079.)