"After my husband, Renato Contis, was operated on for a mass that was diagnosed as malignant, my focus was to look for food supplements that could deter the reappearance of the illness," Jean relates. "We sort of changed our lifestyle and became health buffs. So when I saw this product at a trade fair at SM Megmall that said it was anti-cancer, and anti this and that, I got interested and asked if they had any distributor in Manila. They had none, so I said okay, I’ll do it."
Says Romel de Asis, the man who brought that wonder product – Snuli (Soya Nutri-Living Inc.) organic isoflavones hot or cold drink – to Manila, "It was our first time for our family-owned corporation based in Iloilo to come to Manila and join a provincial trade show at SM Megamall."
For his part, Romel discovered the joys of soy when his wife Madeleine was pregnant with their first baby. "We bought a milk supplement that I thought was so expensive – almost P500 for just a 200-gram can. I was shocked at the price so I looked at the ingredients on the label. Soy beans were the principal ingredient. I told my wife we would formulate our own infant supplement so we didn’t have to spend so much."
Soy is no stranger to Romel. "In high school, we owned a food factory and I was working in the cafeteria," he recounts. "In school, the main source of protein for the students was really soybean. I got interested in it and started doing some research, where I learned about the many nutrients we could get from soybeans."
Romel’s extensive research yielded the following nutritional info:
Besides their very high protein content (36.5 g. per 100 g.), soya beans contain, among others, polyunsaturated fatty acids (11.3 g.), fiber (9.3 g.), isoflavones (200 mg.), calcium (277 mg.), iron (15.7 mg.), magnesium (280 mg.), phosporus (704 mg.), potassium (1,797 mg.), as well as vitamins A, C, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12 and E.
The protein in soy supplies energy, builds muscles, blood cells and nerve and other tissues. The estrogen-like substance called isoflavone found in soy is said to lower the risk of cancer, and menopausal disorders as well as enhance immunity against diseases. The polyunsaturated fat lowers blood cholesterol. The calcium helps in bone and teeth formation, nerve stimulation and enzyme activation. The iron is for hemoglobin formation and cellular enzymes. The potassium is for water and acid balance. The phosphorus is for energy metabolism, etc.
After an unexpectedly rewarding day at the mall, Jean and Renato went home with their discovery. Since then, Jean would start her day with a refreshing cup of Snuli cold drink for a pick-me-up. She would end a busy day with another cup of Snuli cold drink for a relaxing nightcap.
Husband Renato prefers to take his Snuli hot. There’s nothing like a cup of piping hot soy drink to warm the heart and the belly for this ebullient Italian who speaks Tagalog like a native. Showing not a trace of his bout with a serious illness, Renato says he’s semi-retired but certainly not tired. Fact is, he now runs his own travel agency.
"In the beginning, I was just using it in the house," Jean tells us as she pours us a cup of cold Snuli at the Contis home in Mandaluyong. "I would tell my friends in Greenhills, where I have my tai chi group every morning, about how well I’ve felt since taking this soy product. I told them that I could sleep better now – I was an insomniac."
The proof of the pudding is in the eating – or in the case of this soy drink, in the drinking. One tai chi morning, Jean brought some product samples for her friends to try. "One tried it to ease her menopausal symptoms and weeks later, told me the good news that now, she feels like a new woman," a beaming Jean declares. "Another friend, an insomniac, tried it and she says that she can sleep better now – before, she couldn’t sleep until 2 a.m.; now, she’s in bed as early as 9 a.m.."
Then there’s the 80-year-old matron who tried the product and told Jean how she felt like a girl in her puberty after taking this estrogen-boosting soy drink. And the good news soon spread by word of (contented) mouth.
"Juvy Kopitzke introduced Snuli to Rustan’s Supermarket, where it’s now available," says Jean.
"Actually, before we launched the product on the market, we tried it on an aunt who had arthritis, was in constant pain and couldn’t stand," Romel points out. "But she said she was not taking soya because it was bad for her arthritis. I convinced her to try Snuli and she took it. After taking a lot of it for some time, she said she was not only cured of her arthritis, she also became stronger."
According to Romel, Snuli is made from finely ground whole soybean grains from the finest selected organic soybeans grown in Mindanao and processed in Iloilo. Yes, it’s an all-Filipino product. With the increased demand for Snuli, there’s no need to worry about stocks running out as 800 hectares of land are ready to be planted to soy beans in a school in Mindanao run by the Seventh Day Adventists.
"In other countries, people consume tons of soya," says Romel. "There are 339 kinds of products made out of soya. Ours is no ordinary soya as its skin is completely removed, via a special machine that takes out the filament from the seed, to ensure the total absence of toxins. And then the beans are scientifically roasted to preserve all the essential phytochemicals. Our soya is human grade (not for animal feeds) and non-GMO."
Having shared their own stories of healing, Jean and Romel are happy to note, "People have been calling us, thanking us for what our product has done for them. Among them are pregnant women, diabetics, asthmatics, people with high blood pressure, people with osteoporosis and people suffering from depression."
Indeed, it’s soy good!