OF BITTER KOLA, SALT BATH AND OTHER EXPLOITATIONS OF OUR "COLLECTIVE" VULNERABILITY.

So this morning, a very respected relative woke me up with a call to my mobile phone, asking me to take what she is saying go to tell me very seriously. I accepted and listened with rapt attention so that I do not miss any part of the "important" instruction. And what was her directive?
She said to me:

"Borono, WHEN YOU WANT TO HAVE YOUR BATH TODAY, ENSURE THAT YOU ADD A SIZEABLE AMOUNT OF SALT TO THE WATER YOU INTEND USING TO HAVE YOUR BATH"

I was thrown off balance!! First, because what she asked me to do looked like some TRADITIONAL CONCOCTION, and I have always been wary of taking traditional concoctions. Second, BECAUSE OVER THE YEARS, I HAVE COME TO HAVE RESPECT FOR WOMEN INSTINCTS. This is because, each time my mum (GOD PRESERVES HER SOUL) follows her instincts to warn you about something, if you are not careful, that very issue she warned you of, might come to pass. Armed with this realization, I have been giving other than a passing attention to women instincts and intuitions. So you understand why the message from the female relative shook me a little bit. But then, in between the seed of fear that was just trying to sprout in my mind, and the nudge to immediately do as she has directed, I mustered the courage to ask what ADDING SALT TO MY BATH WATER WILL DO FOR ME. And I heaved a big sigh of relief on hearing that the directive was meant to act as a cushion against my contracting the dreaded Ebola virus.

Immediately after her call, I came online only to be greeted by a flurry of updates on the "NEW EBOLA PREVENTIVE MEASURE". And I was shocked to discover that it had gone viral within that short period.

Few days ago, we woke up to the rumour that BITTER KOLA had the medicinal power to cure the dreaded ebola disease. This origin of this touted cure was later traced to the former INEC Chairman, who was credited to have said that he has been working on a possible cure for ebola and that bitter kola is the major ingredient of the drug. This singular claim apparently got him a slot in the newly constituted Federal Government fact finding and advisory committee on Ebola.

My grouse with these unfounded claims is that it has the propensity to wreck more havoc in our society than we could ever imagine. I remember how a young woman lost her sight due to the misleading claim that applying petrol to her eyes could heal her of the conjuctivities (THE INFECTION WE POPULARLY REFER TO AS APOLLO) she was suffering from. And gbam! She did it and became blind afterwards. Do you know that even in the remotest part of Ibiono where I come from, up to Mushin in Lagos state, to Wuse in Abuja, scores of people have already had their bath, with salt added to their bath water.

I must say that the fact that a salt water bath is usually recommended to some people as a therapy for some health conditions, should not close our eyes to the danger that might come with this new "EBOLA CURE"

So the question is: For those of us who take our bath at least twice a day, WHAT IS THE RIGHT QUANTITY OF SALT WE SHOULD ADD TO EACH BUCKET OF WATER? OR SHOULD IT BE AS THE SPIRIT DIRECTS?

We should come to understand that ours is a nation populated by a good number of people who do not pause to ask questions. Even the educational system that we passed through had moulded us to ACCEPT ANSWERS WITHOUT RATIONALIZATION. Therefore, spreading rumours, especially the ones that have to with health is not a good idea. For in the end, it might leave us with more than we bargained for.

And to even think that some pastors might also want to cash in on this Ebola outbreak by enriching themselves from the sale of "SPIRITUAL ANNOINTING OIL" makes the issue more depressing.

Unduly exploiting our ignorance and vulnerability as a people is a form of terrorism and should be condemned.

Good morning people.

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Ebola In Nigeria: How To Protect Yourself And Family – Ebola virus

s now in Nigeria. It is very scary but my readers you don’t have to be afraid. Ebola is very deadly but you don’t have to contract it either.All we need at this time is to be informed and cautious and we all would pull through this. Below is what you need to know Ebola virus and how to protect yourself and your loved ones as well.

1. How Can Someone Contract Ebola Virus Disease?
Someone can get Ebola virus disease by the following:
a. Having contact with someone who is NOTICEABLY sick with the Ebola virus disease
b. Having contact with the body of someone who has died from Ebola virus disease
c. Having contact with animals that carrying the virus – especially fruit bats and monkeys.

2. How Can You Know Someone Has Ebola Virus Disease?
Now, the first and most important thing you would notice is a HIGH and SUDDEN FEVER and then any of these other 3 signs:
a. Stooling excessively (particularly with blood in the stool)
b. There would be vomiting
c. There would be loss of appetite
d. There would be weakness
e. There would be joint and body pain
f. There would be sore throat

with a Health Official if you live in Nigeria. The airtime is free on this number.
a. Don’t go to the church/mosque/prayer house – Simply ask your pastor, imam or spiritual leader to pray for you from where ever they are. You will be saving lives
b. Don’t go anywhere. Stay at home and keep yourself alone away from until the health officials handle your case.

4. How Can You Protect Yourself From Ebola Virus Disease?
a. Always keep a very clean environment
b. Try to wash your hands often daily and avoid unnecessary contact
c. Be at alert. If you notice someone is visibly sick, inform the authorities and avoid such persons.
d. Endeavour to educate everyone around you about Ebola. If the persons around you are educated about the disease, you are safer.

5. Lastly…
There are many false claims going round now. Be very careful!
a. Ebola virus disease was discovered after John G. Lake died. So how could he have cured it when he was already dead?
b. Nobody has been cured or protected from Ebola virus disease by taking bitter kola. If you feel like eating bitter kola, take it but still protect yourself!
c. No one gets protected against viruses by consuming salt and hot water. If it did protect, it would also protect and cure HIV!
6. Please spread the Word

Don’t assume everyone has heard. Tell everyone around you to keep yourself safe! Save and share this message!

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Bitter Kola As Ebola Cure: Medical Groups Refute Iwu’s Claims

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bitter kola

Bitter Kola As Ebola Cure: Medical Groups Refute Iwu’s Claims

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Ebola: Demand for bitter kola increases in Kano

From Mustapha Adamu, Kano

The demand for bitter kola is now on the increase in Kano State following speculations that it cures the deadly Ebola virus. A bitter Kola dealer at Kano Ujule Market, Mohammed Sani Yahya, who spoke to our correspondent, stated that the speculation has made people from in and around Kano State to demand for more of it, adding that in the last one month, the demand for it has been low until recent discovery of Ebola in Lagos, Nigeria.

Yahya said that a bag of bitter Kola goes for N25, 000, but according to him, it is likely to go up if the demand for it increases.

He also said the market is not same in the last one month as he was able to sell about five bags in the last few days. It can be recalled that there were several claims that consumption of bitter kola keeps Ebola away, though it is yet to be authenticated by the relevant authority.

Some residents in the state told News verge that they are ready to use bitter kola to prevent the spread of the dreaded Ebola virus if finally approved as the major cure. Though, they pleaded for more enlightenment from the media and government on the disease and the efficacy of Bitter Kola in curing it. There have been 729 deaths from 1,329 confirmed cases of Ebola in this year’s epidemic making it the largest Ebola outbreak in history.

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Garcinia kola, commonly referred to as bitter kola, is traditionally used by African medicine men for treatment of infectious diseases such as throat infections, head and chest colds and cough, but the idea that it is an effective cure from Ebola disease was one that some scientists are stating must be reaffirmed before Nigerians resort to it as a panacea to the deadly virus.

A 1999 laboratory study presented at the 16th International Botanical Congress in St Louis in the US by Dr. Maurice Iwu, who set up and heads the Bioresources Development and Conservation Programme, indicated that bitter kola has chemical substances that could give the body a chance to fight off the virus.

He declared that further tests were required to be done in animals and humans to prove the effectiveness of bitter kola halting the multiplication of this virus that causes Ebola haemorrhagic fever – an often-fatal condition given that his tests were still in their early stages.

“The discovery of these important properties in a simple compound – flavonoids – was very surprising. The structure of this compound lends itself to modification, so it provides a template for future work. Even if this particular drug does not succeed through the whole drug approval process, we can use it to construct a new drug for this deadly disease,” said Dr Iwu.

The active compound is what is known as a dimeric flavonoid, which is two flavonoid molecules fused together. Flavonoids are non-toxic and can be found in orange and lemon rinds as well as the colourings of other plants.

Can bitter kola really cure Ebola disease? Is it able to ward of this deadly virus? Kemi Odukoya, a Professor of Pharmacognosy, University of Lagos, Akoka, said although bitter kola has chemical substances in it that work against virus, relying on it to ward off Ebola is not advisable.

Professor Odukoya, stating that Ebola virus multiplies rapidly in the human body and quickly overwhelms it, said given the rate at which the virus kills its victims, what is most appropriate is to have minimal contact with infected individuals, avoid any form of crowding and maintain good hand washing practices.

She said Nigerians should not be gullible, believing that continuous chewing of bitter kola without other measures such as hand washing and avoidance of people infected with the virus would ensure they do not contact the virus.

“Though, bitter kola has antiviral properties, it is not to the extent that it will ward off such a viral disease that will overwhelm the body, causing that kind of destruction,” she said.

Professor Olatunde Farombi, a foremost researcher into Bitter kola medicinal uses at the Department of Biochemistry, University of Ibadan, although hesitant to comment on the finding of the study by Professor Iwu that Bitter kola can cure Ebola fever, said bitter kola’s antiviral properties was the basis of its consumption by people to treat upper respiratory tract infections like cough and catarrh.

Professor Farombi, who said that Prof. Iwu’s claims has not been through any test since he made a public claim about his so-called discovery in the 90s, declared that more research was required by different groups of individuals, including in humans, before bitter kola could be recommended as curative for Ebola fever.

“Researches have shown that bitter kola has both antiviral and antibacterial properties, so it is possible to consume it as a preventive measure against some viral diseases, but not for curative purposes.

“One cannot say that studies have shown that bitter kola is a cure or solution to Ebola disease, so one should not raise a false alarm that Bitter kola is the solution against the infection.

“People use bitter kola as part of many recipes, but up till now no study has shown that it is the cure for Ebola virus. However, bitter kola has worked for some viral and bacterial infections and these have been substantiated majorly through animal studies.”

Professor Farombi, while saying that bitter kola is also used in the treatment of liver diseases, diabetes and upper respiratory diseases, advised that bitter kola should be used alongside other drugs in the treatment of these ailments.

He said: “It can serve as an adjuvant, it cannot be used alone. Even if people will take bitter kola because of its antiviral properties to protect themselves against Ebola virus, it should be alongside other measures already established to work in preventing contracting the infection.”

The Ebola virus was first documented in 1976 after an outbreak in Zaire – now the Democratic Republic of the Congo – where 88 per cent of the 318 human cases died.

The virus multiplies rapidly in the human body and quickly overwhelms it, and in advanced cases the patient develops high fever and severe bleeding. There are four types of the virus – Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan and Ebola-Ivory Coast all affect humans, while Ebola-Reston has so far only affected monkeys and chimpanzees.

However, doctors have been unable to stop the virus once infection has taken hold – hence the disease has gained a terrifying reputation.

Bitter kola has been identified as a potent remedy that is effective in the treatment of many diseases. The fruit, seeds, nuts and bark of the tropical tree have been used for centuries in traditional medicines to treat many forms of ailments.

Chewing bitter kola relieves coughs, hoarseness, bronchial and throat troubles. Several studies discovered bitter kola to be a remedy for dysentery, osteo-arthritis, antidote against poisoning and considered an aphrodisiac. It also helps to suppress hunger.

Bitter kola has been used for centuries to treat chest colds in traditional medicine. A study in the 2009 issue of The Internet Journal of Pulmonary Medicine, performed on mice, reports that bitter kola improved respiratory function after 28 days of use of a bitter kola extract. It beneficial lung properties are attributed to its high antioxidant content.

Researchers reported that bitter kola had anti-malaria effect in the 2010 issue of Journal of Medicinal Plants Research. In this survey of plants used by traditional healers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the researchers attributed this to its quinones content.

Researchers at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State, who tested the effects of bitter kola against arthritis symptoms in the July 2008 issue of the Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research, concluded that bitter kola significantly reduced inflammation and pain and increased joint movement in subjects that had osteoarthritis symptoms. It is appeared to have clinically significant analgesic/anti-inflammatory effects in knee osteoarthritis patients.

The side effects reported from the bitter kola use in this study were “weight loss”, “increase in sex drive” and “extended sleep” which many considered helpful to meet their individual and marital demands.

In addition, researchers at Lagos University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria showed that the ophthalmic solution that contained 0.5 per cent extract of bitter kola significantly reduced eye pressure when used twice a day in their study, published in the January 2010 issue of Middle East African Journal of Ophthalmology.

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THE CURE TO EBOLA VIRUS IS BITTER KOLA–REPORT

Since the outbreak of Ebola Virus in Nigeria, Scientist in the world have taken it serious to make full research on how to cure the deadly virus. The good news is that a cure have been discovered which is Bitter Kola (Garcinia Kola).

According to Nature Cure: The Ebola and Marburg viruses are the only members of a newly identified family of single-stranded, unsegmented RNA viruses, the filoviridae. This family is closely related to the rhabdoviridae, which includes the rabies virus, and the paramyxoviridae. Viruses in this latter family cause childhood diseases such as measles. Filoviruses infect humans and other primates.

Ebola haemorrhagic fever outbreaks occur primarily in remote villages in Central and West Africa, near tropical rainforests.

The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission. Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are considered to be the natural host of the Ebola virus. Ebola first appeared in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks, in Nzara, Sudan, and in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo. The latter was in a village situated near the Ebola River, from which the disease takes its name.

The Ebola virus is comprised of five distinct species: Bundibugyo, Ivory Coast, Reston, Sudan and Zaire. Bundibugyo, Sudan and Zaire species have been associated with large Ebola haemorrhagic fever outbreaks in Africa, while the Ivory Coast and Reston species have not The Ebola Reston species, found in the Philippines, can infect humans, but no illness or death in humans has been reported to date.

Ebola is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals. In Africa, infection has been documented through the handling of infected chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines found dead or ill in the rainforest.

Later Ebola spreads in the community through human-to-human transmission, resulting from close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people. Burial ceremonies where mourners have direct contact with the body of the deceased person can also play a role in the transmission of Ebola. Transmission via infected Fluid can occur up to seven weeks after clinical recovery. Little is known of the molecular biology of these viruses or the mechanisms by which they cause disease.

Symptoms of Ebola.

Sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding. The incubation period (interval from infection to onset of symptoms) varies between 2 to 21 days. During Ebola outbreaks, the case-fatality rate has varied from outbreak to outbreak between 25% and 90%.

The seeds of the African Bitter Kolatree have properties that can kill the ebola virus.

To oder for a good bitterkola contact us +2348068808564

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