Before the advent of more modern medical practices, people from the east and west of Nigeria, like most ancient civilizations, sought healthcare from traditional healers. Most of these healers were herbalists and well-trained in the science of using barks, leaves, grasses, and roots to cure ailments and illnesses.
With the adoption of modern medicine, more people go to hospitals because they are believed to be more effective. The traditional sciences have, however, not died out—particularly curatives that focus on everyday illnesses like malaria, the common cold, catarrh, and allergies. There are several kitchen ingredients that have been used as cures for centuries. The basic rule is if it can’t be eaten, it cannot be medicinal. Here are some of them.
1. Peppersoup
Peppersoup is used mostly to cure a cold, catarrh, allergies, and a loss of appetite. Several ingredients are used for making different types of peppersoup. Varying by region, availability of said ingredients, and the severity of the illness, the following ingredients are basic and used interchangeably.
2. Fish, chicken, or goat meat
Nigerians believe strongly in the medicinal value of proteins because they are an active part of cells, and there’s hardly any meal on the Nigerian table that doesn’t have one protein or the other. For a healing peppersoup, many add fish, goat meat, or chicken. For chicken peppersoup, local chickens are preferred because they are less fatty and are free-range.
3. Cayenne pepper
Particularly a favourite of the Yoruba from Southwest Nigeria, many use it as a base for most of their stews. For a cold, many peppers are added for their spiciness as it helps ease itchiness in the eyes and throat and clears the air passage.
4. Alligator pepper
This is another spicy ingredient that goes into making the base chilli for the peppersoup. Not only are the seeds a stimulant, but the leaves are also quite medicinal and are often used for herbal cures. Other ingredients include ginger, garlic, mint leaf, uziza, onions, and calabash nutmeg.
5. Chewing stick
The chewing stick was and is still used by many for dental hygiene. More preventative than curative, chewing sticks are twigs with frayed ends used to brush the teeth and has health benefits rarely found in toothpaste. The best chewing sticks are made from the twigs of the West African Orange Tree, the Neem Tree, Ironweed (Vernonia), Liquorice, Walnut Trees, and other trees with bitter roots.
However, the best chewing sticks are made from the Salvadore Persica Tree (also known as the toothbrush tree). It does not only make teeth stronger, it also reduces plaque and mouth odour.
6. Herbal remedies for malaria
There are high rates of different strains of malaria in Nigeria, and there are also several orthodox medicines used as curative measures. Herbal drinks are often used by the population to cure malaria because they are considered safer and more friendly to the body. A combination of garlic cloves, ginger roots, lemongrass, lime, onions, unripe pawpaw, and utazi boiled together in a cauldron is often consumed as both preventive and curative measures.
This combination varies from one culture to the other, but it is sometimes used as herbal baths as well. The Ironweed, also known as the Bitter Leaf Shrub, is also juiced and drunk as both preventative and curative for malaria. The juicing and drinking of Ugwu (pumpkin leaves) is used to increase the production of blood cells and improve the appetite.
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