Ebola: Plants, herbs can help protect against virus

What are your misgivings concerning the Ebola virus?This is not the first time there has been an outbreak of a virus. In 1918, there was viral influenza in Russia, and in 1965 in UK. What did people do? Before vaccines were discovered, people looked at quick natural remedies which could be termed as supportive management. […]

What are your misgivings concerning the Ebola virus?
This is not the first time there has been an outbreak of a virus. In 1918, there was viral influenza in Russia, and in 1965 in UK. What did people do? Before vaccines were discovered, people looked at quick natural remedies which could be termed as supportive management. What we should do, is look for medicinal plants or foods with antiviral properties. We need to tell our people to eat those foods. And if we want them to have medicinal value, we have to tell them how to prepare it.
In 1965, the influenza outbreak, the government called it the garlic care. The government flew in 500 tonnes of garlic into the country. People were asked to eat garlic, more garlic was added in food, they chewed cloves of garlic just to boost their immune. If you don’t kill the virus, the virus will kill you, so you need to prepare your body. The body has a self healing mechanism, but what it wants at times is nourishment. That’s why we have the immune system. Microphages are produced in the body to fight diseases, so how do we make better production of white blood cells? We need plants that can support the immune system to do more work, and when your immune system is strong, the virus and its replication will be reduced. Garlic has strong antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties.
Moringa is also a strong contender. It is one of the best known stimulants of the body. It is an immune stimulants, which stimulates the white blood cells for more production. Some quantity of moringa with carrot, ginger, blended and given to the family, with honey added for children who can’t tolerate it.
Others include blood purifiers and cleansers too. This is when you look at the green vegetables, cucumbers, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower. Buy more of them for juice and eat them as salad. This is what the body wants. Nature doesn’t have a vacuum. You cannot tell people that we are at loss; we don’t have anything to give them. That’s why they go and get engaged in doing the wrong thing and taking salt, because we don’t have anything to give them.
Bitter kola has antiviral properties, quote me anywhere. Because of the content of bitter kola which has antiviral, mucolytic, Gastrointestinal Tract (GIT) stimulating properties, this makes it supportive as an antiviral agent. There are different ways to kill a rat, and different ways to stimulate the body. Ebola is telling us to be alert, to reduce our eating of processed foods and take more of natural, raw foods, in terms of green juices.
Bitter leaves, carrot, a touch of onions, blended with some lemon gives you green freshly prepared juice and contains haemoglobin and cholorophyll which feeds the blood. Lemon juice stimulates capillaries and reduces bleeding from Ebola. God cannot leave us [stranded]. I feel sad when we say nothing can be done. Something can really be done.
Aloe vera has a substance which has the ability to stimulate production of white blood cells. People might begin to rush these plants but it is good to help our people with what they know. A tea spoonful, with warm water, honey is all you need. Yes we need to wash our hands and use sanitisers but what is in our soil can also be used to help us.
In places of outbreaks, the first thing they do is look at “granny” remedies. Onions on corners of the house traps microbes, and they are burnt. The product of honey bees, has been documented to have antimicrobial properties. My focus is boosting the immune system and we have the answers to that.
They ask you to bathe with clean water: that’s good. This is the time we use our plants like guava leaves, lemon, orange, eucalyptus oil. Boil them and bathe with them. Our grannies use it to steam their body and tone their body organs—liver, GIT, skin, increase vasodilation of peripheral nerves. You can encourage our people to have that kind of bath. When you have that bath, you are keeping your body clean and stimulating your immune system.
There are also hepatic plants, that stimulate the liver, which has a role in removing waste products. The liver removes waste products of white blood cells. When they are broken down, they are destroyed in the liver, excreted. That means there is going to be a lot of work for the liver. You need to feed it, nourish it with hepatic plants—ginger, onions, garlic, celery, parsley, effirin, nchianwu, bitter leaf, bitter kola. The bitter kola they are talking about can indirectly stimulate the immune system. If you stimulate the GIT if you stimulate the liver, tonicity is increased, activity is increased. When you are stronger, you can do anything. These are indirect benefits, and we can look at that for the benefit of our people.
You have spoken about government not involving pharmacists in fights against Ebola?
I am a government employee. My minister has said in his broadcast the relevant personnel will be brought together. A medical team is multipersonnel—you need the doctors, pharmacists, virologists, medical lab scientists, all to come together and delegate duties accordingly, so that we have better results. I speak as a pharmacists and medicinal plants expert. If you want to add religion to it, in any epidemic you must pray to God, and I delegate that duty to our pastors and imams to tell our people. Our Muslim brothers must have heard of habbatus sauda [black seed]. It is supposed to be a remedy for most ailments. Mix it with honey. If the Prophet used this plant, we can use it. For the Christians, when Jesus Christ was born in a manger, there were three gifts—gold, for business; frankincense, a medicinal plant that improves memory; myrrh, an extremely bitter plant that is a powerful immunostimulator. Maybe because he was delivered in a manger.
If he was delivered there, and these animals are there, and these three wise men came with these gifts, don’t you know those gifts were supposed to be analysed and you know that myrrh has antiseptic, antiviral properties. We have it in different forms. Some of the bitters sold have myrrh in their content. Use it to help our people. I don’t want people to feel so disenchanted, depressed, disorientated because Ebola is around. I am coming from the positive angle, because this is what I believe in, and I know definitely it will help our people.