MANILA, Philippines—There are no quick-fix remedies. There are only options rooted in a change of outlook and lifestyle.

Here are answers to some of your questions in the hope that you’ll be guided to healthier life.

I am a 37-year-old woman with an active life. What can you recommend to enhance my energy level?

At 37, your output must exceed your input. In short, watching what you eat is paramount. Your metabolism after 30 slows down, so you must exert more effort to burn fat.

If it’s energy you want, cut out junk food from your diet or at least cut back. Get sufficient rest/sleep. Load up on vegetables and complex carbo (beans, multigrain bread/pasta, brown rice). Remove all the white stuff (bread, pasta). Cut back on sweets (especially at night). Exercise thrice a week.

Before a workout, take these vitamins/minerals: A, B6, C, calcium, magnesium, amino acids. These will provide you with repair/reconstruction of muscles, replenishment of nutrients lost through sweating.

Make it a habit to eat one fresh, raw banana (preferably saba) before an exercise. It will boost your potassium level. Heavy workouts could also get a little help from one cup of coffee/green tea. But above all, enjoy what you are doing. And smile through the day.

I am a teacher in a public school. And my problem is the ability to concentrate. Any suggestion to increase my brain power?

The brain is the master control center of our body. Therefore, clear your mind of all distractions. Focus on the task at hand. Give yourself quiet time to regroup your brain cells by shutting out the garbage your head entertains.

Secondly, do not enter a classroom on an empty stomach. Studies have shown that skipping a meal deprives the brain of fuel that would otherwise have come from your breakfast. So start the day with a good meal.

Third, some supplements may help you—B complex 50 mg (a.m. and p.m.), calcium 500 mg (a.m. and p.m.), magnesium 250 mg (a.m. and p.m.), coenzyme Q10, one multivitamin/mineral supplement. Other brain-enhancing foods: fish (tuna, sardines, mackerel) and peanuts.

As a golfer, how can I improve my performance?

While at the fairways, savor every minute. But golfing can take a lot out of you—time and energy. Even if these supplements may not get you down to the ideal seventies, they could help you stay on top of the game all the way to the 18th. Supplements must always be taken after a meal because they are best absorbed this way. Take one multivitamin/mineral supplement, B complex (50mg/a.m. and p.m.), zinc (15-50mg/day), calcium 500 mg, magnesium 250 mg.

Energy tonic

2 fresh ripe bananas

1/4 c freshly cooked old-fashion-style oatmeal

1/4 c fresh milk (optional)

1 tsp honey

Mix in a blender. Drink up.

What is the best skin treatment you can recommend?

The best is still virgin coconut oil because it works from inside-out. Drink 1-4 tbsp on an empty stomach. Within one month of drinking it, you’ll notice that your skin is smoother, less prone to breakouts. Use it as a scrub.

Body scrub

½ c sugar (muscovado, better)

2 tbsp virgin coconut oil

½ lemon, juiced

Mix well. Scrub throughout your body—head to foot (minus the eye area). Once a week is enough to give you smooth skin.

Each morning, I wake up with sadness in my heart—almost as though I were afraid to face each day. What do I do to drive away the blues?

According to Dr. Gary Zukav in his book “The Heart of the Soul,” there are only two rooms you can enter in the classroom of life—love or fear. It seems you have chosen fear. Enter the room of love instead. Your choice will immediately transform your outlook. Surrender your heart to God. Then affirm every night before bedtime and every morning upon awakening: “All is well because Heaven is in my heart.”

Love and light!

Reference: Earl Mindel’s “Vitamin Bible for the 21st Century”

E-mail the author at coryquirino@hotmail.com