ELLEN ADARNA: FAMILY & LOVE TO THE CORE
No one can dispute the ethereal beauty of Ellen Adarna. Transparent and genuine, she was never afraid to show her real self. That confidence was crushed, however, when several changes happened in her life. Her father died, her relationships were unhealthy (her own words) and she just gave birth.
“I do not know who I was anymore,” she said in a vlog. She lost her confidence. She was very confused. There were times when she vomited uncontrollably, shaking like a leaf, leaving her feeling that she was near death. She was always sleepy and tired.
She recounted that she sought the help of a clinical psychologist and a psychiatrist. She was diagnosed to have anxiety, depression and PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). She couldn’t take any medicines, though, while she was breastfeeding her son Elias. Eventually she did take medication and while it helped in lessening her episodes, she still felt sad and empty and did not recover her selfconfidence.
“I’m tired, I’m sad, I’m grieving,” she said, summing up her former self. “Basically the pills only mask the problem; it was only a layer that filtered it (the root cause of her depression),” she explained.
How Ellen Adarna felt lost — and found herself again, loved herself again and generously shared that with Derek Ramsay and her son Elias.
Through a friend who had a successful program, she went on a two-week “camp” retreat in 2019. Since Ellen is an open book, there are several YouTube videos about her mental health journey, particularly her lifechanging experience of the Kokoro method in Kami No Ken Bali.
For two weeks, Ellen said her day in Bali started at 5 a.m. with a 30-minute meditation then journaling (writing affirmations) then physical exercises, followed by a discussion on the purpose of the exercises. After lunch and rest she had a set of afternoon exercises again and another discussion before the day ended with dinner.
She diligently followed but admitted it was difficult, particularly on the first day of exercise. Ellen felt better only from the fourth day onwards, when she started to understand the cause of her depression. The activities she underwent worked on all aspects of her being: mind (subconscious and intellectual), body and soul.
Ellen felt reborn after two weeks. There was a paradigm shift. Her lifestyle became completely different. Her mindset changed. She developed new rituals. She became more aware. She admitted that she had zero control over her anger before. Now she is no longer as temperamental and has better relationships. Fear, anger and frustration still rear their ugly heads occasionally but she can now manage them better.
Her Instagram page @maria.elena. adarna with 4.6 million followers documents this beautiful transformation in the photos and videos she posts. Her bio reflects her purpose of “balancing life.” She shares her diet, exercises, beauty secrets and talents. What grabs one’s attention, though, is the happiness she radiates in the presence of husband Derek Ramsay and son Elias.
Both Ellen and Derek have been through multiple relationships and, as Derek said at the wedding ceremony, while his parents were surprised at the fast turn of events, they know that 44-year-old Derek, who used to shun the “M” word, must have really found the right person.
How wonderful also for Ellen to have found Derek after finding herself. It is also quite beautiful to see how Derek loves Elias like he is his own. The couple recently celebrated their first-year anniversary in Peru. Ellen booked it for just the two of them as a surprise gift, knowing it was a dream destination for Derek.
Their honeymoon was in Northern Tanzania by the Serengeti National Park, where they were with their bundle of joy, Elias. Ellen’s Instagram is full of happy moments for the small family of three, whether at home or away on a vacation.
Ellen is extremely flexible and gracefully agile. She shows off her jump-rope skills, as well as how well she can stretch and balance on a Bosu. She executes her yoga poses and flows perfectly.
In many of their travel photos, the couple shows off their flexibility and strength in their poses, with breathtaking views as a background.
You should have a very strong core to improve your balance and stability. A strong core also improves posture and lower back pain. You need a strong core (abdominal muscles around the gut, the back muscles, the glutes, muscles in the pelvis and diaphragm) to help drive power to the extremities, which is necessary in boxing, for instance (one of Derek’s exercise choices, if we go by their Instagram posts).
Ellen managed to strengthen and improve not only her physical core but also her mental and emotional ones. She has found herself again, loved herself and generously shared that with Derek and Elias, who both respond with equal — if not more — attention and love. Indeed, love begets love.
* * *
As students nationwide gear up for the full implementation of face-to-face classes in public schools and some private schools this November, the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) has called on schools, families, and concerned agencies to fortify students’ health both inside and outside the classroom through proper nutrition.
“In the recent Expanded National Nutrition Survey (NNS) of DOST-FNRI, three in 10 Filipino children are stunted or pandak, and this makes them more vulnerable to COVID-19 and other diseases. With proper nutrition, they will be shielded from frequent attacks of illnesses during the F2F classes,” shared DOST-FNRI director Dr. Imelda Angeles-Agdeppa.
The NNS reports that undernutrition remains prevalent in rural areas and those in low-income households. Through the years, the nutritional status of preschool-age children has improved. However, this is too slow to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Although we now have many solutions in place — including vaccination — to curb the pandemic, malnutrition weakens our immune system and prevents our bodies from being at their optimum state to battle threats.
Proper nutrition, especially among children, is of paramount importance now with schools fully opening,” Dr. Agdeppa urged.
The DOST-FNRI is advocating for multistakeholder initiatives to address malnutrition among Filipino youth with the help of schools, families, local government units, and relevant national agencies.
Since 2021, DOST-FNRI has been working with the Department of Education (DepEd) on integrating the enhanced nutribun and other developed nutritious products in the guidelines for the supplementary feeding program in schools.
Noting that young children suffer from energy gap, DOST-FNRI has also been developing complementary food for children six months to 24 months using rice-mongo blends through its Complementary Food Processing Facilities (CFPFs) .
The agency’s priorities for product development are based on the gaps identified in the NNS.
The NNS results are also used in planning, targeting, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating nutrition-related intervention programs, goals, and commitments to further improve the health, nutrition, and well-being of Filipinos.
“However, the government cannot do this job alone. We need to call on parents, family members, teachers, teaching staff, and other influencers in a child’s life to impart the value of nutrition. Aside from maintaining a healthy and proper diet, children also need to stay physically active, avoid excessive use of gadgets, and stay away from vices such as smoking and alcohol consumption,” Dr. Agdeppa explained,
As the lead government agency in food and nutrition research and development, the DOSTFNRI
conducts the NNS to determine the nutritional status of the Filipino citizenry, as mandated by Executive Order 128, Section 22.
The extensive survey is composed of Anthropometry, Biochemical, Clinical, Dietary, Socioeconomic, Food Security, Government Program Participation, Maternal Health and Infant and Young Child Feeding.
Health indicators, such as the measurement of hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia are also included, as well as non-communicable disease risk factors like smoking, alcohol consumption, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity.
In 2018, the NNS became the ENNS or Expanded National Nutrition Survey. This addresses the need for the LGUs to have local survey results which can be used for localized program planning.
To generate results at the provincial and highly-urbanized city (HUC) levels, the survey design of the NNS was restructured into a three-year rolling survey. Data collection was expanded from 2018 to 2021 (excluding 2020) instead of the usual six-month time frame.
The national and provincial/HUC-level results from the 2021 Expanded National Nutrition Survey will be presented in a series of dissemination fora from November to December 2022.