THE USE OF HERBS TO CURE BOTH RESPIRATORY AND HEART DISEASES.

From experience, I am convinced that if the aim is to correct disorders and remove diseases from the human body, the wide use of herbs must be advocated. Diseases control or suppression of an ailment with daily tablets and injections is very depressive to the patient. My aim is to help remove the disorder presented and to guard against future occurrence of diseases. The chief aim, therefore, is to remove illness and not to tell the patient to learn to live with his condition and help with daily injections and tablets, which have their side effects without even removing the primary disorder. For every disease there is a herbs. 

COUGHS AND COLDS.

Colds and coughs are very minor ailments but they cause a lot of discomfort. We do not often relate the cause of a cold or cough to some derangement in the stomach. Because of this, one only concentrates on the cold instead of clearing a dirty stomach. Apart from that, a lowered body resistance caused by improper diet, improper elimination of waste from the body, loss of sleep, lack of fresh air and adequate exercise could cause cold and cough. Inflamed throat or bronchial tubes can cause cough. Cough starts when the body tries to expel the mucus that accumulates due to inflamed throat or bronchial tubes. When there is this disorder, avoid milk or milk products because of their mucus forming nature.

With a detoxified system and stomach (that is, if the whole body is kept in good condition, free of waste) fewer colds will be recorded. How we go to bed at night can also cause a cold. Improper beddings and clothing at night could also be responsible for a cold. With children, who will sweat a lot at night, effort should be made to choose their night dresses according to the weather. This also applies to many adults.

The body is more susceptible to colds and coughs when there is so much poison and waste matter in it. It is therefore essential to keep the body healthy.

Treatment

At the onset of a cold, a very hot bath in the evening is very beneficial. Start with warm water in the bath tub and increase the temperature gradually. The increased circulation that follows and the profuse perspiration can sometimes clear a cold overnight. If the person has a heart problem, it is advisable not to make the water too hot or to use a cold towel over the heart area. This is to avoid straining the heart and to avoid a feeling of dizziness that can arise just as one feels after a sauna bath if one had a heart problem.

It is necessary to clear the nose and the throat. This helps to ward off the liability of the cold becoming asthma, bronchitis or any other lung problem. To do this, add a teaspoonful of salt to a pint of soft, warm water. This is snuffed up the nose then blown out. This is done repeatedly until the nose is clear of mucus. Also gargle the throat and rinse the mouth very well. If one uses a good herb to gargle, also snuff it through the nose and some of it should be swallowed.

Clean the system by doing enemas which will clean the colon and the system of mucus and poisons. If one feels like vomiting (nausea), one should include it by taking an emetic. Drink lukewarm water or warm water with a little salt in it. Drink as much as is possible. Insert a finger into the throat to start vomiting. This clears out the stomach. Repeat until the stomach is clean. A fruit diet for a few days is very beneficial because very little waste is added to the system. Often when there is a cold, we say we are stuffed in the chest and in the head. It is actually the whole system that is affected but we feel it more in the head and in the chest. Any effort to clean up the system is, therefore, worth it.

Herbs

Vervain (Verbena hastate) ljebu: Panle. Drink very hot every two hours and keep warm in bed. Peppermint (Mentha piperita); Lemon Grass; Hyssop ( Hyssopus officinalis); Camomile (Anthemis nobilis); Thyme (Thymus vulgaris). This can prevent colds and infections. Honey (two teaspoonful) to lemon juice (one teaspoonful) and a little warm water is beneficial if there is a cough. Take three-hourly. Herbal teas for cold should be taken freely, that is, two to three-hourly to ward off the cold. Honey softens cough generally. Take generously.

Siam weed (chromolaena Odorata) Yoruba: Awolowo leaf or Akintola leaf (locally coined names) Urhobo: Shell leaf (coined name) lbo: Obiarakara, is very good for steaming and bathing, especially if the cough was caused by measles. Collect enough for a medium size pot; add water and bring to boil. Pour the water into a bucket and steam with it using a thick cloth to cover. This can clear the cold overnight. Lemon grass can also be used in the same way. Always keep warm after such steaming and rest, covered in bed.

Drink lemon juice with hot water. It is beneficial also. Eat one bulb of garlic daily to stop colds and coughs. It is a natural antibiotic.

We often use combination of herds that the city dweller may look down upon. Such combinations as dried or fresh leaves of pawpaw, plantain, mango, guava and even cherry (Yoruba: Agbalumo) which we can drink and steam with, are known to clear a congested head and chest, particularly where there is fever. Such combinations are known as Agbo in Yoruba. 

No matter the kind you find convenient to use, ensure that you use them consistently for a few days till the condition clears.

ACUTE AND CHRONIC BRONCHITIS

Bronchitis is an inflammation of the wind pipe and is a disorder of the lungs. In both acute and chronic bronchitis, the symptoms are similar as the acute stage could develop to the chronic stage just as a cold or influenza can develop into an acute bronchitis if adequate treatment is not given. Too much secretion of mucus is caused when there is an overgrowth of the mucus glands. An infection can accompany this. This presence of a virus or bacteria affects the mucous membrane lining of bronchial tubes causing a lot of phlegm (much mucus) to be formed.

In this disorder, like most other health conditions, low resistance due to improper feeding is one of the causes. Other causes are cold to exposure, wetness of the feet, insufficient clothing bringing about a chill, change in the weather, inadequate bowel movement which leaves so much toxins in the system.

Symptoms

The patient becomes chilly with fever. There is stuffiness and tightness in the chest resulting in difficult breathing. Sometimes this is followed by severe cough which sounds harsh and noisy. Patients are known to cough more when lying down and have a spell of bad coughing on rising in the morning. The mucus which increases with time turns to yellow pus. Children having this disorder can convulse and lose consciousness.

It is very important that chronic bronchitis is not left to linger on. This is because it can bring about tuberculosis or any other serious lung disease.

Stomach problems that will cause the patient to bring up acid and other stomach contents into the mouth while sleeping are cause of bronchitis and even pneumonia. This happens when the contents and acid brought to the mouth are aspirated into the lungs during sleep.

Cigarette smoking and air pollution are also causes of chronic bronchitis. Smoking is a major cause.

Treatment

If a smoker, the first step is to stop smoking and also to ensure that you stay off from places where people smoke. The system must be left free of heavy foods and acid-forming foods. Eat the food dry, that is, do not drink any liquid even water while eating. Drinking water while eating causes fermentation, acid and gas. It also delays digestion since the water or any liquid is absorbed first.

Take a lot of fruit juice like grapefruit, orange, lemon and pineapple and eat more fruits. These help to loosen and cut the phlegm. Hot fomentations to the spine and chest with a short cold one after the hot fomentation will assist in decongesting the chest.

Steam baths, full hot baths or vapour bath (like sauna baths) after toxins which the patient takes a cool bath or shower, are very beneficial. The sweating induced by this, not only opens the pores to eliminate wastes (toxins) from the system, the heat actually warms the lungs and the air passage, clearing it of the excess mucus.

The patient’s room should be airy with an even temperature. The room should not be damp or cold.

If there is difficulty in breathing, vomiting should be induced. This is done by drinking so much warm water which the fore finger is inserted into the throat as far as possible. This will start the vomiting which brings out the phlegm from the chest. An emetic herb can be made into tea and used in addition to the warm water. This will loosen the phlegm more for easy throwing up.

It is very important to ensure that the bowels move freely. If the fruits do not give this effect, give a herbal laxative such as pawpaw leaves or seeds or any other that is available. If none is available give an enema every evening.

It is a good habit to have cough syrups at hand in the home. An effective one can be made with bitter kola (ground to very fine powder) and honey. Children and pregnant women can also take this.

Herbs

The following herbs can be used from the beginning of a cold and for bronchitis. Chickweed (Stellaria media), Awede: Yoruba; Imiwherhe: Urhobo; Lemon Grass; Ginger. Others are Coltsfoot, Lungwort, Golden Seal, myrrh and Sage.

Because Vervain produces profuse perspiration it is a good herb to use for this condition. It helps the body to expel phlegm and mucus. It can be taken three-hourly, using one teaspoonful to one cup (a quarter litre) boiling water. Always infuse (steep) for five minutes.

It is better to prevent colds, particularly in children. We, in the hot climate, often get exposed because of the heat. Our children and babies are left without adequate clothing because we want to avoid prickly heat. It is easier to cope with heat rash than to cope with a cold that can become complicated. No one gets admitted for heat rash. But a cold that becomes acute bronchitis can lead on to many days, if not weeks, in a hospital. People often wonder how they could have a cold when they feel so warm. One cannot say when the weather will change and how it will affect us, particularly the weather at night when we are asleep.

Those who are very susceptible to cold should ensure that they are extra careful and should strengthen their resistance with fruits and Lemon Grass tea from time to time.

SINUSITIS

Sinusitis is a very uncomfortable ailment which cannot be hidden even in public. Like all catarrhal disorders in the body, nasal irritation and discomfort soon makes everyone aware of the patient’s discomfort.

There are two types of Sinusitis. They are the Frontal and the Maxillary. Once it has been diagnosed that one has sinus as distinct from nasal ailments like catarrh or cold, efforts must be made to get rid of this very irritating health condition.

Like any other illness, sinus is directly caused by wrong eating habits. This must be controlled by the victim if he wants to get well. This is essential for there is no use making efforts to get rid of an ailment without first of all making effort to put an end to the cause. Removing the cause is the first step. Catarrhal condition, which often times affects the sinuses and later on makes one to have sinus trouble, is caused by wrong diet. Wrong diet can be a combination of many things which we take for granted, either because we were wrongly schooled in the past or because of lazy habits. Constipation, which is a common ailment with many of us, cause auto-intoxication which is one great cause of sinus trouble. Lack of exercise, fresh air and even bathing are known to bring about catarrhal condition of the system. One may feel that with so much heat which makes one to sweat in our climate, there will be no one who does not have his bath daily. This is not so true for there are very many people who do not have their bath sometimes because they do not have water or some other reason. Even in some parts of the big towns, people still buy pipe borne water.

Symptoms

The sufferer has pain in the sinuses. It can become very severe. The eyes ache. There is watery discharge from the nose in the acute stage. The symptoms are similar to those in Hay Fever, which also is brought by the same causes.

Treatment

First and foremost, the causes must be removed. A good diet must be adhered to. There must be effective elimination of waste matter from the system. One must ensure that the bowel is regulated so that one could have three bowel movements daily. The colon should be cleansed thoroughly with a high enema daily if necessary for several weeks to help rid the system of mucous and poisons from the system.

A fruit diet is very helpful. One should make effort to drink only fruit juice for upwards of five days. If a week the better, take only one type of juice each time. Do not mix the juice of two types of fruits-say, half glass grapefruit and half grass orange. One can choose from orange, grapefruit, pineapple, grape and others that are juicy. These can be taken alternately. Take more of what is in season. Do not sweeten them. After the period on fruit juice, go on to a vegetable diet, using all kinds of greens, cabbage and egg plants. These are especially useful as they are very rich in potassium. Use all kinds of vegetables and continue to drink fruit juice between the meals. Do not drink the juice with the vegetable meals; an hour or two before or after is more beneficial.

Cold applications over the sinus can sometimes give relief, but cold and hot application will give more relief. To do this alternate application, have a bowl of hot water (as hot as one can bear) and a bowl of cold water on the sinus very briefly. This is inexpensive to do.

The most effective of all the applications is a Swedish Bitters compress. To apply Swedish Bitters as a compress over the forehead, eyes and nose, soak Swedish Bitters in cotton wool and lay it over the parts mentioned. Cover the cotton with a polythene bread wrapper to avoid waste and staining the next covering which could be a face towel or any small fabric. This is done lying flat. Leave the compress on for one hour. Do this every night for five days or more. Remember to rub Vaseline or any other cream slightly on the areas before applying the compress. Use Calendula (Calendula officinalis) cream if available. Apply powder (not dusting powder) to the area when the compress is removed after one hour. Although African skin is not easily irritated, these steps are taken to avoid rashes which the liquid can cause to a sensitive skin.

From the third to the fifth day of using Swedish Bitters as a compress, large amount of pus are likely to come through the nose. The mother of a little boy from the Nsukka Campus of the University of Nigeria remains glad that she used Swedish Bitters for her son’s Frontal Sinusitis when I recommended it. She ensures that there is Swedish Bitters always in her home for use in other cases. Shear butter (ori: Yoruba) is very helpful in clearing the nasal passage. Rub it in the nose. Melt a small piece in warm water and drink also. Repeat till the condition clears.

Herbs  

Drink tea made from Lemon Grass. Stem with it also. Steaming with Camomile (Matricaria chamomile) is particularly good in Maxillary sinus. Keep warm after such a steam chewing the seeds of ripe pawpaw fruit also helps to clear the nasal congestion. Chew up to one desert spoonful each time. The tea made from onions, taken thrice daily, is excellent for sinus.

ASTHMA

There are not very many ailments as problematic as Asthma, a disease of the bronchial tubes. We all know how important oxygen is to the body. During asthmatic attacks, the patient’s body is deprived of it because he cannot breathe well and suck in sufficient air. He feels he is going to choke to death. It is a frightening condition.

Many things can trigger off an attack, although the inhalation of dust, particularly when sweeping an enclosure; of smoke, particularly from frying food or the burning of dried or wet grass, and others can cause an attack. Some patients react to groundnut oil. It has also been noted that asthmatic patients suffer more during the rainy season in our geographical zone. This is because it is very cold during this season. This is the period when victims suffer more from cough and catarrh, natural twin companions of their ailment. But the aggravation of attacks in the wet season can be checked if the patient adheres strictly to simple and logical ways of living. It is already known that asthmatic patients suffer from cough and catarrh. It is therefore common sense and logical to ensure that, during the wet months, extra care is taken to keep warm.

In many cases asthma starts in adulthood due to a reaction to certain gases that were bad for the bronchial tubes and the lungs. Where a patient starts suffering from asthma in adult age, it is usually due to a reaction to substances in haled. Some patients are allergic to certain substances. Some may even react to the smell of a certain fabric. Such people are easier to cope with if they build up their body resistance. In children, this condition is more dreadful because their internal organs are weaker and are therefore, more susceptible to conditions that will bring about attacks. Mothers are advised not smoke or stay around places where others smoke. They are also advised not to take alcoholic drinks during pregnancy because such will hinder the proper development of the baby’s internal organs. It is also advisable that children are kept away from where adults, who wish to smoke, are indulging in this very harmful practice.

Smokers should try and be more considerate. Agreed they have decided to gradually ruin their health, they should give the welfare of children, including the foetus, some kind thoughts. Inhaling of narcotic smoke, produced by a smoker, by a pregnant woman, can impair the proper development of the internal organs of the foetus. One is not surprised, therefore, that many children, as well as many adults, are asthmatic.

With the numerous smokers around to poison the fresh and free air given to man by his creator, the number of sufferers will continue to increase. This is because children are being born with weak organs and these are further weakened by what they inhale around them. And since weak organs are easily afflicted by any disease for that matter, sufferers will continue to grow in number. As a person with a weak liver is likely to suffer from cancer, so also a person with weak lungs and bronchial tubes is likely to suffer from disease affecting the respiratory organs. Very many people do not ever give a thought to how they too will pay for causing others to suffer whether deliberately or not. Even if a person does not know that his smoking is causing harm to even little children, he will pay for his thoughtlessness in one way or the other.

Do we ever wonder why we are parents, guardians, close relations or friends who have to share in the agony of patients while nursing them? Would it not be wise or just for a smoker, even if he had stopped smoking, to father a child who will be asthmatic? Yes, so that he could pay for the damage he had done in the past through the care he is forced to give.

Asthmatic attacks can be prevented if the causes are removed and the body’s resistance is built up. The first of such causes would be anything that is harmful to the lungs and bronchial tubes. Shall we say smoking? To be removed by whom? Anyone with conscience.

Causes

 Just likes in most cases of ill health, the causes of asthma include much waste matter and mucus in the system. It is not unusual to find that asthmatic patients have difficulties with their kidneys, stomachs, bowels and intestines. Where all these, or some of them, are not functioning properly, elimination of waste matter from the body is found defective. Eating of foods that are difficult to digest can sometimes bring about an attack, especially if eaten late in the evening.

Symptoms

The signs that one can easily observe are difficult breathing and wheezing. The patient often has the great fear of choking. There is a great struggle for air. It is mainly in the night that severe attacks take place. The patient longs to be in a wide open place with sufficient fresh air. Patients are usually weak when they are having attacks and rarely can climb a few steps or do any work no matter how light. This is understandable because of the struggle to take in sufficient air. To clear the bronchial tubes, sufferers are always advised to carry an inhaler on them to assist clear the bronchial tubes, should there be an attack.

Treatment

If the attack takes places after a meal, it is advisable to induce vomiting. Traditionally, the use of one teaspoonful of lime juice and blue alum is found to be helpful as an emetic. Drink a cup of cold water after 10 minutes. If vomiting does not occur place a finger far back into the throat until vomiting occurs.

If the lime/blue alum solution is not readily available, drink lukewarm water to which is added a little salt. One cup after another should be taken till the patient starts to vomit.

Where available, pour one pint of hot water on one teaspoonful of the herb Lobelia (Lobelia inflate). This is allowed to stand for a few minutes, sieve and drink several cups lukewarm. After cleaning the stomach in this way, give a drink of Lemon Grass tea or Peppermint tea to settle the stomach. Basil (ocinium, Eran (Urhobo), Efinrin (Yoruba) will equally settle the stomach.

It is good to give hot fermentations over the areas of the stomach, liver, lungs and spleen. After that the patients should have a warm bath lasting 30 minutes or more or remain in a bath tube for a longer time, keeping the water warm by adding hot water. Rinse with cool water. In herbal books, the treatment of asthmatic attacks is like a ritual which takes a fixed form and period.

On wet days and at night the patient should be kept very warm. Mothers must ensure this for their children if they are asthmatic. At no time should there be a fan on in the sleeping room. The windows should be left open to allow in sufficient air. The air-conditioner should not be used. The mother or the adult taking care of the child must ensure all this because the problems will arise at the hour when everyone has slept. Prevention is better than coping with the attacks when they take place.

It is helpful if the patient does not eat heavy solid food in the evenings. The evening meal should be eaten early, not later than 7 p.m. to ensure that there is little undigested food in the stomach at the time the patient goes to bed. It has been found very helpful. And, of course, care should be taken to avoid drinking water during the meal but say about 30 minutes or more after the meal.

Herbs

Some of the herbs that are good for the respiratory organs are good for Asthma. They can be used singly or combined. Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) Comfrey (Symphytun officinale), Chickweed (Stellaria media) (Awede: Yourba; Imiwherhe: Urhobo); Thyme (Thymus serpyllum) and many others are very good. The mixture of Lavender and Passion Flower is very helpful. Whether mixed or used singly, a measure of one teaspoon heaped is steeped in a quarter litre boiling water for a short time. Sieve it and sip hot. Three to four cups of this tea should be taken daily. Asthmatic patients should not be tired of drinking hot herbal teas for they need them to cleanse the bronchial tubes and to stop attacks.

Another product that l have found useful when there is an asthmatic attack is the Swedish Bitters. When the patient is unable to sleep and is uncomfortable at night, rub Swedish Bitters on his chest, ribs and back. Keep him warm and send him to bed. He will soon fall into a sound sleep. If even the asthma is the type that will keep the patients awake lying flat on a bed and will cause him to throw up his arms in the effort to take in air, it is known that a Swedish Bitters compress around the liver area can be helpful.

With Common Club Moss (Lycopodium clavatum) (Ovieivbrevbre: Urhobo) prepared as tea along with the Swedish Bitters compress, the patient soon finds relief from his agonizing condition.

I confirm such, as Maria Treben, that Swedish Bitters should be kept in the every home, not just for use by asthmatic patients but for the numerous other disorders it can be used for.

Another herbal preparation which is used to bring about a cure for asthma is the mixture of Castor Oil and Honey. Mix one bottle of castor oil with 5 of honey (using the castor oil bottle to measure, ratio 1:5). Stir well and pour into a bottle. Adults take 1 desert spoonful morning and evening. Children take 1 teaspoonful morning and evening. This preparation is not to be taken by pregnant women.

The asthmatic patient should keep warm always. Let a sweater be handy in case the weather changes. If working in an air-conditioned room, ensure that there is warm clothing under that fine dress. Wear a cardigan if available. It is better to make the effort at being well than always attracting the sympathy of friends and colleagues. This is not good for the individual.

It can be depressing and demoralizing for a person. He can often be left out of joyful activities, be it work or social activity, for it is easily and quickly remarked that he cannot cope because of his health. Do not let the goodie goodie of life pass you by, keep your health.

THE CARE OF THE HEART

Among the hardest working organs of the heart could be said to be one. But unfortunately it is never given any care as long as it works properly. To get the heart to work properly, exercise is very important and vitamins B, C, E and dolomite will strengthen the heart. For the heart to work properly the veins and arteries of the circulatory system must be kept strong and supple and also the blood must be kept pure.

At all times of looking at diseases, the cause must first be highlighted so that it can be removed to have a permanent cure. This is also necessary to help prevent it where it has not set in. causes of heart disorders themselves. The heart can be weak; it can keep missing beats (palpitation); the arteries could be blocking; it can be enlarged; it can be rapid (fibrillation); excess cholesterol can clog the system causing hypertension and many other heart problems which can be very serious. They are serious because once the heart stops functioning no blood flows to any part of the body and there is death.

Nearly all heart problems arise from a wrong diet, which weakens the heart through impure blood. We must make effort to understand this problem of wrong diet. It is a great danger to health. It is not unusual for the palpitation of the heart to be caused by gas and fermentation in the stomach. Many heart problems are not caused by an ailing organ (the heart) but they are brought about by impure blood that weakens the heart, lack of exercise, poor circulation and, of course, wrong diet.

Sometimes ago a young man came to me with his colleague. He explained the reason for his visit. I opened a page of a book for him to read. It was easier to do this since he was knowledgeable in water we were to discuss. He works in a medical establishment. At the end of his reading l said, “You see, go and get rid of the gas and fermentation in your stomach which is pressing on your heart.” The exercise for this is to lay face down, roll on left side, then right side, then drink a cup of hot water. This simple exercise recommended by Jethro Kloss helps when after a meal one starts having trouble with the heart. The gentleman who came with his friend did not come back but sent word through his friend, a regular visitor to my area, that he was surprised at the result. The Herbal Tea to remove gas from the stomach merely assists in such a case.

Some heart troubles are organic. Very often before the heart becomes badly diseased other organs like the liver would have been enlarge with little tumours that would be hard and inactive (lifeless) the spleen and pancreas would have been enlarged and even flabby; the state of the kidneys would also have been poor. The heart itself may then have grown fatty tissues inside it just like we find in chickens. Such could happen to a person who is a heavy eater and a lover of cakes and pies. See what “sweet mouth” can get one into.

A lecturer once came to me. It was easy to relax her and remove her anxiety. She was happy that l was not a complete stranger. Her problem: she was a bit on the heavy side, with perhaps a week heart so she found it difficult to climb stair cases and engage in serious manual work. She was given mixed herbs that would give her relief even if the heart were enlarged. On her third visit when she just brought a friend to see me, she had no cause to want further attention as she felt fine.

Recent studies have shown how harmful white sugar is to the human body. That white sugar and its products are very hard on the heart is not, therefore, surprising. So much in-take of sugar may cause heart problems. Mildred Jackson and Terri Teague touched on this in their book “The Handbook of Alternatives to Chemical Medicine.” And recently, our attention was drawn to the harm sugar and the sugar products can have on us. Therefore, we should beware of stimulating drinks like coffee, black tea, alcohol and similar drinks.

Herbs

One can select from the following in the treatment of the heart: Angelica (Angelica atropurpurea), Blue cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) for palpitation: Cayenna (stimulant Capsicum annum); African red pepper-Yoruba: Ata ijosi; Urhobo: Irhibo movbra (bird pepper); Coriander (seed) Coriandum satium (it strengthens the heart); Golden seal (Hydrastis candeensis), peppermint (Mentha piperita); Vervian (Verbena hastata) Ijebu: Panle; Valerian (Valeriana officialis); Wood betony (Betonica officinalis); Mistletoe (Viscum flavaascena); Yoruba: Afomo-on hard trees, not palm, with matchstick-like flowers. Never use the berries and flowers. One can take two or three cups of these herbs daily. The commonest herb is the silk of the corn which we neatly remove when harvesting the corn. This removes fluid from the heart and is an excellent remedy for edema. Like most herbs, one cup boiling water is poured on one teaspoonful to make a cup of tea. 3 cups daily is adequate.

Garlic is an all purpose herb. Garlic pearls (garlic oil in capsules); Garlic ground mixed in honey: one desert spoonful three times daily is excellent for the heart. Garlic strengthens and helps to protect the heart against circulatory diseases. For all circulatory diseases onions and garlic are good. These two cooking ingredients have very many valuable medicinal properties.

Vitamin E helps to reduce the hardening of the arteries and helps to ensure a healthy functioning of the circulatory system. Vitamin E is found in parsley, spinach and all green leafy vegetables. A good vitamin E drink can be made from any of them by blending it. Vitamin C is got from fresh oranges, grapefruit, carrot, honey, garlic, cucumber, parsley, hibiscus, cabbage and all fruits. B series are got from fruits and vegetables. Rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis) helps in the strengthening of the heart. One teaspoonful to one cup boiling water thrice daily is good for the heart. Peppermint tea calms the heart and relaxes tension around the heart. It has been noted that taken daily, at least one cup, it can effectively prevent heart attacks.

Adrenaline and hormones that help to tone the blood vessels and the heart are produced by the adrenal gland. To stimulate the adrenal glands and the heart wheat germ, green leafy vegetables, soyabean products, yeast, liver and kidney should be eaten. Dolomite (calcium and magnesium) is got from celery, carrots, onions, lemons horsetail herb, pumpkin seeds, honey, fish, bananas, dates, corn and others. Heart failures, attacks and such ailments can be prevented if we can just give the heart some attention from time to time.

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE - HYPERTENSION  

This disorder is becoming very common among men and women. I often hear it said that High Blood Pressure and Diabetes are related which l take to mean that the causes are similar. This is not surprising because the main cause is due to a wrong feeding habit. There is too much waste matter in our bodies, a precursor of the hypertension caused by the blocking of an artery – Arteriosclerosis – or the presence of high cholesterol level in the blood. Poor feeding habits, eating of devitalized foods, sweet but harmful drinks and poor ventilation can also give rise to very poor blood circulation and poor metabolism. So also the lack of out-door exercises.

Very often we manage to burn off, through exercises, excess fat which, if left in the body, becomes harmful.

It is very essential to clean off the colon with enema or mild herbal purgatives from time to time. This is necessary because it is not every time we open our bowels that we completely empty the lower part of the passage from the stomach – the colon. Whatever is left is dehydrated after a while, meaning the body reabsorbs moisture from the waste matter so left, making it hard. In reabsorbing moisture from the waste matter, the body also re – absorbs some of what the body was sending out through the colon as waste matter after the usual process by the various organs of digestion. This is not a healthy process. It is a simple explanation of what goes on. I mention it to give a clear picture of why enemas and herbal purgatives, taken from time to time, can help improve or remove this disorder in addition to other steps that must be taken.

Correct eating habits must be adopted. Denatured foods that clog the system must be discontinued. Harmful drinks such as all soft drinks, alcohol, tobacco of any kind, stimulating beverages such as coffee and teas should be discontinued with. Do not drink water while eating. Let the digestive juices in your body digest your food well. Drink pure water at least 30 minutes after meals, and if needed, 30 minutes before meals. If a longer period could be observed the better. two or three hours after meals will not only help better in this case but will benefit people with big tummies. It is essential to cut down on fats, meat of all kinds, eggs and carbohydrates. If possible remove cassava and yam products from your diet for some time. The grains – millet, guineacorn, soyabeans, beans, unpolished rice and a lot of fruits and vegetables and plantain have been found to be healthier. Generally, food crops that grow up to the sun like the grains and plantain are healthier than the dense ones that grow into the ground. And one can make swallowable dishes from the grains to replace amala, eba and pounded yam. One may not be used to it but we are talking about our health.

It is very important to stop adding more waste matter to a body that is already hypertensive. Treatment will not be so effective. Often, some people ask for herbs that will help to break down fats without wanting to stop eating too much of the wrong things. This is nothing but indiscipline and lack of love for oneself. Why indulge in wrong eating (spending so much money on them) and spend money again to get rid of them from the body? What of the discomfort, time lost in going to hospitals or herbal homes; what of the risk of having further and more serious complaint like a mild stroke or a serious one due to hypertension? The easier way is self-discipline and correct eating habits.

A third well- known cause of hypertension is stress. This seems to be more common and even younger women are beginning to have it. Do not be surprised. Hypertension can be caused by unhappiness, worries, jealousy, and the normal strain of everyday life. So, we have visible and invisible causes of this disorder.

Treatment

In the herbal management of high blood pressure, the patient has so much to do for him or herself. One must be very honest with oneself. I often have a sensing of the cause even when the patient tries to show that it is only a physical thing and not a thing of the mind. It is easier to admit that conditions are hard and the struggle to make ends meet in an economy such as we are faced with is causing a lot of strain. This same thing called economy is causing all the worries over children’s fees, their future, the repair of the cars etc. But what of unhappiness and jealousy? The economy cannot be blamed for this.

I feel strongly like even saying that the worries cannot be put on the economy. Do not say l am not competent to say this; so do not take me up on this as it will lead to other discussions, like retributive justice and collective responsibility.

Worries, jealously and unhappiness are of our own making. Hypertension caused by any of these can easily be treated once the cause is removed. One question pops up in the mind.

Is it worth it? This worries, this unhappiness, this jealously? Remove the cause. Do not blame it on any one or any condition and very little time is needed to make the patient well.

Some Useful Herbs

There are many herbs in our bushes that calm the nerves, purify the blood and help to break down fats. Mistletoe (Viscum album); (Afomo: Yoruba) (Damwerhan: Urhobo) is excellent for both high and low blood pressure. When high blood pressure is only due to stress and worries this herb is most reliable. In addition, Passion Flower, Passiflora incarnate (no active name is known yet), a creeping plant with a beautiful slightly purplish flower, stops the headaches and induces sound sleep. In most cases, these two herbs are sufficient and the patient may not need Passion Flower for more than 10 days or two weeks of just one cup of the tea taken last thing at night. He may need to take three cups of Mistletoe daily for up to four or six weeks.

Of Mistletoe, a user for only two weeks, a 66 years old pensioner who was hypertensive and had suffered from glaucoma for many years reported a wonderful relief. First, not only did he discover that he could do without his eye drops for six hours (previously, he needed to be reminded of it every three hours by a burning sensation) his blood pressure had also dropped from as high as 160/95 to 125/85.

Where the cause of hypertension is due to the blocking of an artery or high cholesterol, other herbs can be added, such as Speedwell, (Veronica officinalis), Ramsons (Allium urinum). These are imported, the use of Hibiscus leaves is gaining ground. I know a man in Benin City who will only recommend Hibiscus leaves, squeezed in water as one does bitter leaf and sieved, to treat hypertension. He even makes other claims for it. It draws like okra and the taste is not unpleasant. It can be bottled and kept in a fridge. The leaves are used as vegetable. If you add melon it will not draw.

Vervain (Verbena hastate) is most reliable for this condition also. Vervain grows all the year round. It is easy to grow as it multiplies by dispersing its seeds that one can hardly see. It has a purplish flower. It is not a very popular herb locally, except among the Efiks and Akwa-lbow people who use it a lot for enema, particularly for children. Fresh leaves of Vervain, like most herbs, are better for use. Boil a handful in a quarter litre of water. Do not boil for more than a minute or two. If dried, one heaped teaspoon is infused in one quarter litre boiling water.

Three cups daily of this tea is most helpful. It is a good cleansing tea and very good for feverish conditions. Two-hourly drinks of it are recommended for fever. Another herb good for high blood pressure is Common Club Moss (Lycopodium claratun) Ovie ivbrevbre: Urhobo. This herb is said to contain radium. Locally it grows near the quarries in Calabar on the high way. I first found it there. It is in the delta area and on the Nsukka Enugu Road. It is also on the ljebu-Ode/Ore Road. So one can say it grows across the south of the country. If herb hunting is your hobby as it is mine, you cannot miss the carpet-like nature of this ever-green creeping plant along the road. Only one cup of the tea made from Common Club Moss is taken 30 minutes before breakfast. Pour one quarter litre boiling water on one teaspoonful if dried; if fresh: use just a handful.

Do not drink Common Club Moss if you suffer from diarrhea. You could have cramps in the stomach.

Another flower to which some patients respond are the petals of Periwinkle. This flower is very common around us and comes in three colours. The white and purple or pink are more common than the mixed coloured one. The petals of Periwinkle should be chewed generously. It calms the nerves and has sedative effect. Ulcer patients also benefit from the use of periwinkle.

There are many other herbs for hypertension but these are just the simple common ones in the garden.

No doubt, we all will agree that doctors and herbalists, or any other healer for that matter, cannot cure us of any ill-health. They are helpers who co-operate with Nature to restore to good health that which we have, on our own, damaged. We should, therefore, remember always that we are to do that which is right to enjoy better health. If, on the other hand, we are not disciplined and are careless about what we put into our bodies, then we shall pay the price. As we sow, so shall we reap. Even in matters concerning health, this Natural Law also upholds.

LOW BLOOD PRESSURE – HYPERTENSION

Every disease is capable of killing but some cause more alarm, or more noise is made about them than others. Not so much is said about Low Blood Pressure as the other side of the blood pressure (High Blood Pressure). This is likely to be so because high blood pressure afflicts many more people than Low Blood Pressure. It is equally important to note that many people do suffer from Low Blood Pressure.

Because the symptoms of Low Blood Pressure are similar to those of anaemia, many people may think they have anaemia when, in fact, they are suffering from Low Blood Pressure.

It is not unusual to hear patients or their relations say that a person has insufficient blood. There is rarely any time that one does not have sufficient blood but there are times the quality of the blood is inadequate, that is, the haemoglobin is low. Where there are cases of loss of blood due to injuries or excessive bleeding due to prolonged menstrual flow, haemorrhoids or similar diseases that cause direct loss of blood, the volume could be insufficient and this can easily result in emergencies.

It is not unusual in our community, for a patient with the above symptoms, to claim that evil spirits or wicked ones are sapping him of energy and also his blood. It is so easy to be misguided into which hunting. We have to be enlightened so that we do not burden ourselves with the guilt of falsely accusing others.

I came across a gentleman whose vitality was very low. He had no push for material things and nothing really bothered him. It was so much that people close to him felt external forces were responsible for his attitude. He could be cheated of his property or pushed aside with impunity. He was never bothered. So those close to him thought. Poor man. He was sick. It was only years later that it was discovered that he had low blood pressure. What a weight of guilt we carry with our thoughts due to lack of knowledge.

Like most common illness, low Blood Pressure is caused primarily by improper nourishment arising from eating of devitalized foods which leave excess toxins in the blood. Devatilized foods cause nutritional deficiencies. Lack of proper rest and exercise can also cause Low Blood Pressure. Lack of vitality is another cause. This may not be due to nutritional deficiencies. There are people, even children, who are well nourished but lack vitality. Lack of red blood corpuscles which is also regarded as a cause is more related to anaemia. An untreated anaemia over a long period would affect the bone marrow as it is deprived of corpuscles. This will lead on to weakened bones.

Symptoms

Here are some of the symptoms of low Blood Pressure: headaches, nervousness, lack of energy, a feeling of wanting to lie down all the time although not feeling sleepy (loss of strength), shortness of breathe and cold hands and legs. These are also present in anaemia besides the unnatural pailor.

Treatment

Treatment may not be effective ane a permanent cure achieved if the diet is neglected. Proper food is very important as usual

In the treatment of Low Blood Pressure, keeping a normal body temperature is very essential and deep breathing is one good way of achieving this. Blood circulation should be enhanced by having hot baths and sponging very well. any healthy way of increasing the circulation will be helpful.

Diet

There are foods that are known to cause a build-up of waste (toxins) in the body.

The commonest are white flour products, white sugar, starchy foods, barley, oats and the like. Conned fruits, canned vegetables and any other canned food should be avoided. Animal fats including butter and cheese, pork, coffee, common teas (non-herbal) should be avoided. Coffee and non-herbal teas are stimulants.

Eating much of the following is beneficial: unpolished rice, fresh fruits and vegetables, millet, guineacorn, baked potatoes, maize; fruits juice from carrot and beets (available locally) are very good. In selecting what to eat, the main thing to bear in mind is the food items from which one will get enough calcium, pantothenic acid, vitamins B,C,E and magnesium. These are very essential to get the patient over his condition. Green peas are rich in vitamin A, B1, B6 and are therefore, beneficial.

Herbs

Mistletoe is my number one choice because of the many ways that is helps in correcting disorders. Three cups (a quarter litre) of this herbal tea for two to three weeks will help tremendously. Alfalfa can be taken as tea or in tablet form. If in tablet, three to four tablets should be taken daily. It is also good for hypertension.

Herbs that will purify the blood are useful. Dandelion, hyssop, Vervain (panle – Yourba), Scullcap, blue cohosh are good for this condition. Adding capsicum cayenne, African pepper (Ata josi – Yourba); to the meal is good. A little of the ground, dried pepper to any of the herbal teas is known to give a lot of vitality.

A gentleman once had low blood pressure. When it was very bothersome he drank two glasses of lrish potato juice daliy. He was amazed at the beautiful effect.

Whichever of the herbs or essential food that are decided on for use for this disorder, it is important to keep the treatment on for a considerable period, say up to four to six weeks. And effort should be made to keep to a new diet consisting of fresh natural foods, not devatilised foods.