Go Ahead, Eat That Onion!

Onions are part of the allium family of vegetables and herbs, which also includes chives, garlic, scallions and leeks. Allium vegetables have been cultivated for centuries for not only their characteristic, pungent flavors but also for their medicinal properties. Onions can vary in size, shape, color and flavor. The most common types are red, yellow and white onion. Flavors can vary from sweet and juicy with a mild flavor to sharp, spicy, and pungent, often depending on the season in which they are grown and consumed. It is estimated that 105 billion pounds of onions are harvested each year worldwide.
The health benefits of consuming onions include lowering the risk of several types of cancer, improving mood and maintaining the health of skin and hair.

Onions are a nutrient-dense food, meaning that while they are low in calories, they are high in beneficial nutrients like vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. One cup of chopped onion contains approximately 64 calories, 15 grams of carbohydrate, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of cholesterol, 3 grams of fiber, 7 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein and 10% or more of the daily value for vitamin C, vitamin B-6 and manganese. Onions also contain small amounts of calcium, iron, folate, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium and the antioxidants quercetin and sulfur.

Onions can be sautéed, roasted, grilled or caramelized, be used fresh as a topping for sandwiches or salads and added to salsas and dips.

Look for onions that are dry and firm with little to no scent before they are peeled.
Adding onion is a great way to add flavor to a dish without adding extra calories, fat or sodium. They are often a staple in many kitchens and pair well with most dishes.

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The Edge Of Natural Medicine Over Orthodox Drugs

Herbal Health Care is mainly specialized and sales of natural healthcare products made from traditional medicine.

Experts say the modern medical system treats the symptoms and suppresses the disease but does little to ascertain the real cause. Toxic drugs which may suppress or relieve some ailments usually have harmful side-effects. Drugs usually hinder the self-healing efforts of the body and make recovery more difficult. According to the late Sir William Osler, an eminent physician and surgeon, when drugs are used, the patient has to recover twice - once from the illness, and once from the drug.

Drugs cannot cure diseases; disease continues. It is only its pattern that changes. Drugs also produce dietary deficiencies by destroying nutrients, using them up, and preventing their absorption. Moreover, the toxicity they produce occurs at a time when the body is least capable of coping with it. The power to restore health thus lies not in drugs,but in nature.

The approach of modern system is more on combative lines after the disease has set in, whereas nature cure system lays greater emphasis on preventive method and adopts measures to attain and maintain health and prevent disease. The modern medical system treats each disease as a separate entity, requiring specific drug for its cure, whereas the nature cure system treats the organism as a whole and seeks to restore harmony to the whole of the patient’s being.

Home remedies and natural cures or medicines made at home from natural ingredients such as fruits, vegetables, herbs are catching a lot of attention due to its very nature of cure: simple, no side effects, no chemicals, inexpensive, plus the pleasure of being able to cure yourself!

Currently, Herbal HealthCare products have been exported to many countries and regions such as Russia, Lithuania, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Israel, Poland and Germany. Meanwhile, its headquarters has been established in Europe (Moscow) and such branches as in Lithuania, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Yekaterinburg and New Siberia have been founded, with the products having been scheduled to be launched into Southeast Asian and African markets.

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Herbal Medicine As A Course Of Study In Nigerian Universities: Matters Arisen

Herbal medicine is often regarded as esoteric science – studied and practiced by a select few. But thanks to a new university curriculum the federal government is introducing, herbal medicine may soon become a part of mainstream science in Nigeria.

The government has concluded plans to introduce herbal medicine studies in Nigerian universities. This announcement was made at the 3rd Annual Guest Lecture organized by Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, MHWUN, in Abuja.

Ever since this was made known last year, the issue has been debated in many quarters. To most Nigerian's this is a welcome development. Practitioners in the Nigerian Herbal Medicine industry say this would go a long way in enhancing the efficacy of Natural Medicine in Nigeria and bring professionalism to bear in the delivery in the non-orthodox segment of the health sector.

Speaking on the necessity of formalizing the study of herbal medicine, the then Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu expressed that universal health coverage cannot be achieved without the involvement of trained herbal medicine practitioners.

“If you are a herbal practitioner, you are a doctor. A herbalist is a doctor. But the first function of a doctor is to take a diagnosis. Is it Lassa fever or Ebola?  Or is it Dengue or is it malaria or typhoid? You have to get the answer before you begin to give that herb,” he said. 

He also stated that to fully understand the human body and make accurate diagnoses, knowledge of subjects including anatomy, biochemistry, pharmacology, Physiology, are needed. And this is what a formal herbal medicine curriculum could provide.

The course is expected to have commenced in universities early this year. But industry watchers say they are yet to see any visible sign that the course has kicked off in Nigeria Universities.

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Palm Oil Or Groundnut Oil - Which Should You Use?

Stew is a very important part of foods eaten in Nigerian cities. Here, it is used to eat special delicacies e.g. rice. Some also use it to eat amala, eba, fufu and even bread. Stew can be fried with a variety of oils; however, in Nigeria, the two kinds of oil mostly used are palm oil and groundnut or vegetable oil.  Even though, traditionally, palm oil pre-dates groundnut oil, the latter seems to be used more than the former. Findings, however, are beginning to indicate that palm oil may be a better ingredient for stew than groundnut oil – especially when mildly heated to burn off the saturated fats it is known for.
Palm oil is naturally reddish because it contains a high amount of beta-carotene (though boiling palm oil destroys the beta-carotene, rendering the oil colourless), which helps the eye to fight infections. Palm oil is one of the few vegetable oils relatively high in saturated fats (just like palm kernel oil and coconut oil). It is thus semi-solid at typical temperate climate room temperatures, though it will more often appear as liquid in warmer countries.
Palm oil contains several saturated and unsaturated fats in the forms of lauric (0.1%, saturated), myristic (0.1%, saturated), palmitic (44%, saturated), stearic (5%, saturated), oleic (39%, monounsaturated), linoleic (10%, polyunsaturated), and linolenic (0.3%, polyunsaturated) acids. Like any vegetable oils, palm oil is designated as cholesterol-free, though saturated fat intake increases cholesterol.
Palm oil is a very common cooking ingredient in southeast Asia and the tropical belt of Africa. Its increasing use in the commercial food industry in other parts of the world is buoyed by its cheaper pricing and the high oxidative stability of the refined product.
So, when next you want to fry that stew, which should you use - palm oil or groundnut oil?

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Orthodox Medicine Is Frustrating In The Treatment Of Infertility – Dr. Akanmu Ahmed Abolaji

Young and bursting with youth and exuberance, Dr. Akanmu Ahmed Abolaji, the Chief Medical Director of Ahmed Herbs $ Therapy  a frontline herbal hospital with head office in Lagos, is a herbal therapist of note. And when it comes to the issue of infertility, his own area of specialization, Dr Ahmed is a thoroughbred professional. This is evident from the hords of patients who, after being frustrated by orthodox doctors, come to him for a cure. And they never go back disappointed.

In this interview, the young therapist addresses herbal issues, especially those relating to infertility. He also speaks on the Nigerian alternative health industry. Enjoy.

On Ahmex Herbs & Therapy

I have been in the practice for the past 12 years but Ahmex Herbs & Therapy was established in 2007 – January to be precise. So, in a corporate sense, the company has been in existence for three years. Our mandate is to give utmost cure to our patients in our area of specialization, which is infertility and related ailments. In Ahmex, we are treatment conscious because we are committed to the healing of our patients. Some alternative outlets would want you to  come and buy their products again and again to treat the same illness. We are not like them. We are treatment conscious – the person must be completely healed before we can be satisfied.

Ahmen Herbs is a young company that has long experienced personnel; as a result, within our three years of corporate consistence, we have recorded tremendous results in many cases. Our patients are now mostly people who were recommended to come by those who received their healings here.

The machinery we have in Ahmex are strong ones. And even though our head office is in Lagos, our products and services can be accessed from almost anywhere in the country. Sometimes, I do phone call consultations. Besides, we have offices in Port Harcourt, Abuja, Kano and other cities, where qualified natural medicine therapists are on ground to attend to our patients.

Occasionally, I visit them. Even where we do not have offices, we attend to patients by sending our products to them after the phone call consultation. And because our medicines are well researched, they are well received anywhere in the country. 

The unreliability of orthodox medicines in treating  infertility

Our people have been so brain washed that they always consider orthodox medicine as a first choice when seeking a cure for their ailments. This is paradoxical because natural medicines are the best form of medicines for the body and medical doctors are acknowledging this fact. I wonder why our people should still cling to their belief when the so- called orthodox drugs are failing. For instance, most patients in my hospital are those who got frustrated from using western medicines to treat their infertility.

Thank God, some people are now coming to grasp with the truth and are embracing herbal medicine. People are coming back to nature, they want the kind of holistic treatment that Western medicine cannot give them. Herbal medicines are 100% extracted from natural products and very much like the food you eat, unlike their Western counterparts that are chemical based. That in fact is the reason why herbal medicine is the better option in the treatment of infertility.

Religious apathy towards herbal medicine

 Whether you are a Christian or muslin, I don’t think there is anything ungodly in using herbal medicine. Traditional medicine is so diverse that practitioners are now specializing on specific areas. For instance, in my own area of specialization, I cure with herbs. I do not carry out any form of rituals or incantations - it is simply curing with herbs.     

Now, here’s an example. You have someone suffering from cough. You take two bolls of lime and three table spoonfuls of good honey. You extract the juice from the lime, mix it with the honey and gives it to the person to drink three table spoons each  day for three days. What is so ungodly about that? So, using religions bias as a basis for not taking herbal medicines is baseless because both the Bible and the Quaran support its use. All the plants on earth are meant for food while their leaves are meant for medicine. After all, God is the creator of nature; so how can you say it is sin to use natural products?

Export potentials in the Nigerian herbal industry

Yes, it is possible to export Nigerian herbal products to oversea markets. Our herbal products, whether medicine or otherwise, are in hot demand over there. Just as we have people importing foreign herbal medicines into Nigeria, we can as well export to other countries. We all know why it is easy for these foreign brands to grow outside the shores of their respective countries. The support they get from their respective governments.

In Nigeria, the federal government has set up the NANTMP (National Association of Nigerian Traditional Medicine Practitioners) but government has to put money into it before it can function. Every year, money is voted for the health sector. A fraction of this budget ought to go to herbal medicine because it is the most popular and can be accessed easily by the average Nigerian. This would also ensure better export potentials for the industry.  I say this because, having been in the industry this while, I have come to realize that lack of facility is the most pressing challenge facing local practitioners.

The most common ailment amongst youths

The most common ailments amongst the youths are STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) and the reason for this is obvious - the youth period is one of active sexual engagement. Even adults, too have STDs because it is not only through sexual intercourse you can contract them. You can contract them from many ways, including even the air and the food you eat.

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Prince (Dr) Johnson Idowu: Govt. Should Pass The Herbal Bill Now!

Ask him what his name is and he would never say Dr. Johnson Idowu or Prince Johnson Idowu. Rather, he would proudly tell you: “I am TMP Johnson Idowu.” TMP, of course, stands for Traditional Medicine Practitioner! That’s Dr. Johnson Idowu for you. The founder of Daily Detox – a natural cleansening formula - and chairman, National Association of Nigerian Traditional Medicine Practitioners (NANTMP), Lagos state branch, Dr Idowu is so obsessed and in love with traditional medicine that he chooses the title, TMP, before his name.



It’s not difficult to find out why the Lagos umbrella of the association chose him as their leader. The natural therapist does not tread into issues with the cautiousness of a cat’s paws; he huffs and he puffs…. And he blows up your roof!


In this fire breathing interview, he speaks on the Nigerian traditional medicine industry, especially with respect to the herbal bill hanging at the National Assembly. He speaks on the potentials in the industry and proffers solutions on how to boost Nigerian’s competitiveness at the global front. He also speaks on an array of other related issues. Excerpts.





How long have you been in the industry?

I came into the industry right from my birth because I was born into the industry. But my company came up as a registered outfit in 2007.



How would you rate the present state of traditional medical practice in Nigeria?

It’s a large industry when you take a global look at it. But, coming down here, Nigeria is not benefiting from the global trade as far as traditional/herbal medicine is concerned. And if Nigeria is not benefiting, it means something is wrong somewhere. We are nowhere in the market



Why is Nigeria not benefiting?

It is due to two factors. Thank God, after over 60 years of ignoring us, the federal government has at last woken up to realities on ground. But, that was mainly through the strong and persistent effort of WHO (World Health Organization). It was WHO that actually moved Nigeria as a country to recognize traditional medicine, but what is the extent of that recognition? Just at the policy level. But mind you, recognition is not the same thing as integration. We have been clamouring for integration; yet nothing has been done in that regards. Even at the policy level, the bill for traditional medicine has not been passed. Can you imagine! It’s still lying fallow on the floor of the National Assembly.

The WHO even ear-marked some amount of money to assist Nigeria but the federal government is delaying in accessing that fund. Yet they keep writing in the papers that they are losing billions of Naira to malaria. It sounds ridiculous. The 500 Million US Dollars that WHO approved is still there at the office of WHO. Why can’t the federal government access it? It is because they have not passed the bill. So, that bill is the paramount thing now. The National Assembly should, as a matter of urgency, pass it now.



What pressure is NANTMP mounting to make sure that the bill is passed?

We are not a pressure group. It’s a national association of traditional medicine practitioners in Nigeria. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo constituted a Board of Trustees for the body in 2006. In 2008, Lagos state governor, Babatunde Fashola, inaugurated the Lagos state chapter.. The only pressure we can mount is from the intellectual platform. We continually write the senators and members of the House of Representatives. If they are truly representing the interest of the people of this country, they should pass that bill.

Again, to draw the attention of the government to our plight, we carried out a form of silent protest last year. The national body decided that we would not celebrate traditional medicine. What are we celebrating? Is it progress or stagnancy? There’s no progress. Our decision not to celebrate is to tell them we are not happy. If the bill is passed, we will be happy. All that we have been doing is through self help. For instance, we have a college where we train practitioners on best practices in the industry. But, where can self-help lead us if government cannot fund our project?

In 2005, thee African Heads of state met in Abuja and decided 15 percent of the total health budget of each country should go to traditional medicine practitioners. That’s what we are asking from the government.



Now let’s narrow down. What is the range of your products and services?

As far as traditional medicine practice is concerned, the sky is the limit for any genuine practitioner. We thank God for the recognition, even though it is minimal at this stage, from the government. In Lagos, the Board gives you areas of specialization. I am specialized in the category called Genetic Healing. Any disease that has a name, I have a cure for it.

Government has categorized products and services and we are training our people on those categories. If you are categorised as a General Healer, you must have a cure for any ailment. Perhaps, that was why WHO defined traditional medicine as the sum total of all knowledge in the diagnosis and treatment of ailments.



Specifically, can you tell us something about Daily Detox?

Daily Detox is a product of 10 years of research. It has been trade-marked and why it is called Daily Detox is because, everyday, there is a detoxification healing mechanism in the body of the user. Everyday, the human liver detoxifies wastes If for one reason or the other, this natural process is tampered with, the system becomes impaired. And you know, parasites in the liver are difficult for the white blood cells to locate. That is where Daily Detox comes in.

The product is for now under investigation at LUTH. It contains some compounds that protect the liver and the sight. There is no illness that is liver related that Daily Detox cannot cure.



How can people have access to it?

As a product under investigation, there are two ways of accessing it. We make it available to people who are severely ill in hospitals. We have a kind of arrangement with the unit of investigational product, to get it across to whoever needs it. We also distribute through fellow practitioners because we don’t use hawkers. You can also access it on the web (www.nantmp.com).



The way you use medical terminology, it looks like you studied a discipline related to plants. Do you have a background in Botany or any related field?

When you hear vocabs that sound strange, coming from a traditional doctor, what else do you expect? Of course, I have gone through the formal training. We can talk in the language of orthodox doctors and I think that makes it easier for them to accept us.

I went through primary, modern and secondary schools. I also went through a teacher training college and polytechnic. And you know, as a teacher in those days, you must treat all subjects. Again, I read Business Administration, which is a very broad discipline. My exposure outside the country has also given me a leverage.



What is NANTMP doing to checkmate the influx of foreign herbal medicines into the country?

That will be done when we are fully integrated into the health system. All you see in the industry is through self development efforts. Our government should be sincere. They waste resources on foreign biodiversity when Nigeria is richly endowed with natural vegetation. The government makes arrangement with the government of China to extract the alkaloid that cures malaria. This has gulped billions of Naria. Do we not have bitter plants in Nigeria that we can extract alkaloids from? Instead of wasting money on foreign biodiversity, let us develop our own. These brands find their way into the country because Nigeria has been turned into a dumping ground. And when you take these herbal products to the laboratory and analyze them, you find out Nigerian herbs are far much better than the ones used in preparing them. That was why Obasanjo instituted a presidential committee for the commercialization of Nigerian herbal products. The committee is still there but not working. Why? Because there is no budget for it function. The regulatory bodies, too, should follow the rule of law in the discharge of their duties. The successful ones amongst us have become the object of hatred to the regulatory bodies. Instead of following due process, they barge into your factory with lorry loads of armed and fierce looking mobile policemen in order to intimidate you.



The way you talk, it appears the present state of the local industry is gloomy. How do you see the future?

If the present state of things is gloomy, what do you expect of the future? Gloomier of course - unless something is done about it. The WHO has made so many resolutions; none of them is being implemented in Nigeria.



How do you see the future of your brand?

Oh, bright! With the self help I am using, the future for my brand is great. And I think you media people are also doing wonderfully well. For instance, my first contact with your paper (AlternativeHealth & Lifestyles) was from the internet. You guys are doing well. You deservr the accolades and gratitude’s of practitioners of herbal/traditional medicine in Nigeria. Well done.

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