Susan Meily-santos: Promoting virgin coconut oil against Covid
ARECENT study led by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) revealed that suspected Covid-19 patients administered with virgin coconut oil (VCO) had observed reduced symptoms. The Food and Nutrition Research Institute under the DOST led the study, which involved 57 probable and suspect Covid-19 patients in a quarantine hospital in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Around half of them or 29 were given VCO added to their food for 28 days, while the other half served as the control group. Science Secretary Fortunato de la Peña presented their study on the use of VCO as a supplement for the treatment of Covid-19. “VCO could be used as an adjunct supplement to probable and suspect cases of Covid-19. It could prevent Covid-19 cases from becoming severe,” de la Peña said.
By helping promote VCO as food supplement for the elderly in the time of the pandemic, Susan Meily-santos knows she can help prevent Covid infection among the country’s most vulnerable sector.
As the president of Salutare Inc., a company that’s engaged in the marketing and distribution of highquality food supplements including VCO, Santos walks the talk by taking only one food supplement—growrich Virgin Coconut Oil (GVCO). She takes one capsule in the morning and one capsule in the evening. GVCO capsule is one of Salutare’s most popular products. She said GVCO and Sunburst Saw Palmetto have a strong following of loyal customers.
Santos told the Businessmirror in an e-mail interview that she has no dietary restrictions, and she eats all kinds of food in moderation. “As I get older I feel the need to limit my meat and rice intake. I limit my sweets to an occasional bite of cake or pie. I drink more water, eat more vegetables, fish, and fruits these days. I have two full meals a day, lunch and dinner. As a mother, I look for healthier recipes for my family. My downfall is snacks at night, chips, etc. but I’ve been trying to keep that to a minimum,” Santos said.
For her physical regimen, Santos said she is being assisted by her “best friend”—her treadmill at home. She uses the machine four to five days a week for 35 minutes, and her routine consists of running and brisk walking. While working out, Santos makes it a point to do the planning of her work routine for the day in her thoughts. “This is when I do a lot of my planning for the day ahead,” she said. As soon as she gets off the treadmill, she knows exactly how her day is going to go.
To be motivated to burn excess calories, Santos always thinks of her 94-year-old mother, Anita Meily, who was a late bloomer when it comes to physical conditioning. She said that Anita would have been fitter today if she started working out in her 50s.
IN 2011, Santos took the helm of Salutare Inc. as president. She led the company through its difficult years, establishing it into the successful company it is today. Revealing a trade secret, Santos said she’s always on the lookout for food supplements as part of her plans to expand Salutare’s product portfolio.
“When my business partner Joy Cirineo and I were asked to take over Salutare in 2011, we encountered many obstacles. Salutare was deep in debt, and we had to take out additional loans to keep it going. It has certainly been a challenge, but through the years we have managed to pay down the loans,” Santos said.
Santos has more than 20 years of experience in retail and marketing. She is also the founder and owner of Art Box Enterprise, a company whose expertise lies in producing specialty boxes and styling corporate gift packages.
Santos said 16 percent of their GVCO sales come from senior citizens. She said GVCO is the ideal product for the elderly. Aside from addressing multiple health conditions that commonly ails parents, grandparents, and other elderly members of families, GVCO is a natural laxative, a gentle antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal supplement, heart-friendly, and a great antioxidant.
“We formulated a VCO in hard gel capsules from our personal experience—my Mom believed in the benefits of VCO but found it very difficult to swallow the oil because of its oily mouth feel and aftertaste. The hard gel capsule goes through a cold-press process, which maintains all its natural properties. It is a more expensive process but is certainly worth it. In a hard gel capsule with a double lock feature, the oil is always fresh and the dose is always the same,” Santos said.
“Our goal was to make GVCO easy and convenient to take, especially for the elderly, and we believe that we do have a loyal base of senior customers,” Santos said, adding that GVCO was the first patented virgin coconut oil in hard gel that was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Santos is happy to see that more and more senior citizens are enjoying the benefits of GVCO. They are experiencing the advantages of taking a natural and safe supplement with so many benefits, she said.
Salutare has also developed a strong niche among women in their 40s, according to the company’s market research. Interestingly, Santos also pointed out that the youth market is also becoming a growth driver as the growing awareness of the youth on the importance of health and wellness is rising.
“When I say younger crowd, this is the 25+ age group. Happily, they are realizing how important it is to start using natural products at a young age to keep themselves healthy,” Santos said.
Santos said the introduction of GVCO capsules was very timely as people were encouraged to focus on their health and well-being during the pandemic. When people started looking for natural supplements with immunity-boosting properties, GVCO was a good fit and addressed the needs of many, she said.
“Also, Filipinos are more likely to stick to healthy habits and prevention of disease during these uncertain times. They realize that prevention is cheaper than trying to cure a disease,” she said.