About 40,000 Nigerians have been infected
with COVID-19 and many celebrities have died as a result of complications from
this disease. A cure has not been found yet but experts have revealed that the
immune system can be fortified against contracting this dreaded disease.
Governor Seyi Makinde, on Monday, July 20,
released a food advisory, which he said experts have certified as immune
boosters that could help the human body prevent attacks of COVID-19. The
governor, who is also the chairman of the Oyo State COVID-19 Task Force, while
addressing newsmen at the Government House, Agodi, Ibadan, on Monday, shortly
after a meeting of the Task Force, said that the food advisory was certified by
Olatunde Farombi, a Professor of Biochemistry and Head of Department of
Biochemistry, at the University of Ibadan.
Prof Farombi is a man who has won many
awards in the area of food research with some of his achievements including
research in characterization of browned yam flour diet as a liver protective
agent. Fellow, World Bank, 1996, United Nations Educational, 2001.
He took his time last week to speak
extensively on Fresh FM, Ibadan on the appropriate food, fruits and supplement
that can boost the immune system again COVID-19. City People’s DAMILARE SALAMI
(08155134152) captured the discourse and he brings you the excerpts. Happy
reading.
Not too many people have been talking about
Bitter Kola or Orogbo. I may not blame them, it’s probably because they don’t
have the understanding of what it can do to prevent this type of disease. We
have worked extensively on Bitter Kola for over 25 years and we can say
authoritatively, what it can do.
Our fathers have been eating this medicinal
plant for so many years and it plays a vital role in the management of Cough.
And as you know, Cough is one of the symptoms of COVID-19. Bitter Kola is able
to manage cough effectively because of its strong anti-bacterial property. It
is also able to manage cold and catarrh alongside the cough I earlier
mentioned. Studies have shown that the influenza virus that we more or less
know as flu is one of the ailments that Bitter Cola can effectively manage.
When you take it, you discover a relief when you are down with flu. You don’t
even have to wait until you are down with flu and that is the message today.
You see, prevention is better than cure and there is something in science that
we call chemoprevention. When you practice chemoprevention, you develop
immunity against such disease in a way. I will advise that people practice
moderate intake of bitter cola. Moderation is very key because I cannot start talking
about the pros and the cons right here. I will recommend that people take
between 1-3 seeds of bitter cola daily then you will discover that you are
going to be very active and strong because it is going to boost your immunity.
It also has anti-inflammatory property and strong anti-oxidant property and
with these properties, an individual is going to be strongly protected against
COVID-19.
Number two, I will suggest that people
should add the consumption of Zinc either as a supplement or otherwise to their diet.
Zinc is a trace element and micronutrient that is very useful for the body. It
is what individuals should take in minute quantities. Zinc is not a drug as it
were, about 40-50 mg of Zinc is very effective for an individual on a daily
basis. The reason is that Zinc boosts immunity and studies have shown that
it has the capability of inhibiting viral replication. That is to say, if the
virus enters into the body system and Zinc is present in that body, it slows
down the rate at which the virus is going to be replicated meaning that such a
person can actually buy time to raise the immunity against the virus and will
be okay in no time. You find out that in many climes, they also administer
hydroxychloroquine alongside zinc. I am not prescribing that somebody should
take hydroxychloroquine. If you have COVID-19, go to the hospital or isolation
centres and if the doctors prescribe hydroxychloroquine for you, it is fine.
But studies have shown that hydroxychloroquine is like the transporter; it more
or less facilitates the entry of zinc into the system and that is the reason
for combining both. Hydroxychloroquine also has anti-inflammatory property and
can also be very useful tor arthritic patients. Apart from hydroxychloroquine,
there is something that we normally take and people don’t know that it is very
and also serve the purpose of hydroxychloroquine and it is non-toxic; that is
onions.
Onions contain a lot of flavonoids and one
of the flavonoids is called Quercetin. Quercetin is a free radical scavenger, it
is an anti-oxidant and also a transporter. So when Quercetin is present with
zinc, it also facilitates the entry of zinc into the system. So rather than
taking hydroxychloroquine, it is advisable to take onions alongside zinc.
Onions can either be eaten raw or cooked. You can serve it with rice or use it
as a spice in your food.
There are so many food substances that
contain zinc, one is ginger. When you do the analysis of the components of
ginger, you will discover that there are so many minerals in it and zinc is one
of them. So if you take ginger, apart from its already known numerous benefits,
you also have the advantage of enjoying the benefits of zinc; people should take
note of that. Ginger is very important, it is an ancient plant that has an
active ingredient called the gingerroots. It has a very strong
anti-inflammatory property. Inflammation is a very strong way by which COVID-19
destroys people. When you have anti-inflammatory agents, the inflammation is
attenuated and abated and at the end of the day, it disappears because the
unresolved inflammation that the disease causes is what actually makes people go
down and eventually die. Ginger also known as Ata Ile Funfun in Yoruba is
available in the market. All you need to do is remove the skin, you can slice
or grate it, it can be taken in form of tea, or it can also be sued as a spice
to cook meat or other foods. Some also take it in the form of powder but for you to
really benefit from its medicinal property, it is important that you take it
fresh as against the powdered form. Because when you take it fresh, you have
all the mentioned active ingredients very intact and available for the system.
The next one I would like to quickly talk
about is garlic. People don’t like to take it because of the smell but it is
very important and germane at this time. When you take garlic, you also find
out that it begins to smell. The reason is because of the presence of Sulphur
that it contains. One of its most potent ingredient is called allicin. Allicin
is formed as a result of certain reactions which individuals benefit from.
Garlic has strong anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. It helps in
the management of viral infections. Garlic is also a blood thinner because one
of the things that happen during COVID-19 is that you have a blood clot. When
there is a blood clot, apart from pneumonia and other things, somebody can show
emboli and when that takes place, the person can die. When you take something
that thins the blood like an anti-coagulant, you find out that it is very
relevant. That is one of the things that garlic does in the system. It is
important that people take note of that because it is very important during
this COVID-19. When you have garlic, ginger and zinc in your system, you will
be soundly protected from COVID-19.
Another thing I would like to talk about
which is the number sixth is Vitamin C. Vitamin C is very important at this
time, in fact, some people have referred to it as an anti-viral vitamin. In our
research, we call it water-soluble vitamin because when you take it, it
dissolves in your mouth and you can always add water. It is very important in
the management of cold and symptoms of COVID-19. That is why you see vitamin c
is part of what they give them in isolation centres. 1000 mg of Vitamin C that
is being administered to COVID-19 patients daily, aids their speedy recovery.
It boosts the immune system and is very important in the management of flu. You can
take it in the form of tablets (the white one) and if you see the one that is
called the lypospheric vitamin c or liposomal vitamin c, it is stronger. It
enables vitamin c to be more available and deployed to different parts of the
body and perform its functions in the system. It can also be taken in fruits
such as citruses that are available at this time. Fruits like lemon, lime,
tangerine, oranges, etc. that are available at the disposal of everyone. People
are encouraged to also invest in that at this particular time.
Another thing that people can take apart
from Vitamin C is what trado-medical practitioners know very well, which is in the form of seeds is Alligator pepper which the Yorubas call Atare. Alligator
pepper is also known as Aframomummelegueta is very important in the management
of viral infections. About 3-6 seeds can be chewed which when you do, it
becomes very spicy and can mildly burn the throat. After chewing, you can then
swallow. When you do that, you are benefitting from the strong anti-bacteria
and anti-inflammatory properties of alligator pepper. It also contains some of
the ingredients of ginger because they belong to the same family which is
called Zingiberaceae. It is not advisable for an ulcer patient to take
alligator pepper on an empty stomach but it can be taken after a meal.
The next one I also want to talk about is
Turmeric. It is more or less similar to ginger. It has been used for several
years as a very strong anti-inflammatory agent because of its curcumin content.
Curcumin is what is responsible for the pharmacological properties of turmeric.
Turmeric is known as ata ile pupa in the Yoruba language.
Lemongrass is used to treat malaria. One of
the symptoms of covid-19 is fever so when people take lemongrass, it has an antipyretic property which reduces the pains and feverish conditions.
The other food I will mention finally is the bitter leaf. Bitter leaf and Bitter Cola earlier mentioned are very bitter and
people don’t like them but there is this school of thought that says if you
take anything bitter, it is likely going to do you good. And on the contrary,
anything sweet that you take must be with caution because several researches
have shown that sugar may cause a lot of damage.
The above-listed items should only
complement your intake of balanced diet all the time. You must have the correct
intake of fat, protein, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals. Eating a balanced
diet at this particular point in time is not negotiable.
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