WITHOUT DRUGS, SURGERY, ACUPUNCTURE CAN CURE MOST DISEASES

… Renowned acupuncturist lists benefits of alternative medicine

By ZIKA BOBBY

 “Should we become a workshop of invention and scientific discoveries only to be bought over by other countries and the by-products of our discoveries resold to us?” This was the question put to Nigerian leaders by Dr. Friday Thompson Udo Essien, a renowned Nigerian acupuncturist, as he delivered his speech at the launch of his book: Modern Clinical Acupuncture, in Lagos recently.

Visibly miffed at the attitude of our past leaders who, he noted, have over the years shown no interest in inventions and scientific discoveries, the octogenarian said if his tablet-moulding machine had received the necessary attention 26 years ago, Nigeria would have gained a step higher in the field of science.

“General Babangida was aware of my invention. Nineteen state governors at that time knew about this machine. I paid countless visits to my state governor. My retirement money got exhausted in my many attempts to get someone interested in this machine. But at the end of the day, it all resulted into zero. What I needed at that time to kick-start the project was N800, 000. Because of the type of system we operate in Nigeria, it did not see the light of day,” he said.

Dr. Essien, a one-time engineering lecturer at the Yaba College of Technology, said his love for acupuncture got boosted when One Dr. Obaze, using acupuncture, cured him of a lingering ailment.

“During the period I was ill, I went to all the best hospitals in Lagos at that time but orthodox medicine couldn’t cure me. It was when I met the late Dr. Godfrey Obaze who used acupuncture on me for about a year that I was completely cured. There and then, I told myself I was going to dedicate my life to the study of acupuncture. Due to lack of understanding, some believe that acupuncture is connected to spiritism. They ask, how could a mere insertion of needle into the skin result in such spectacular cure of sickness? This thinking permeates even the minds of educated medical men in Nigeria.

“Acupuncture, naturopathy and reflexology have been my profession for the past 30 years. Coupled with these, I prepare potent homeopathic remedy for my patients when the need arises. I have been tested and selected by a reputable Chinese company, and retained as of one of their international lecturers on acupuncture. I am also a member of the National Complementary and Alternative Medical Association in Nigeria and a consultant for Federal College of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (FEDCAM).

“Our health centre has successfully brought relief to people having stroke, diabetes, impotence, kidney, liver problem, sleeplessness, asthma lumbago, hypertension, stresses and hormonal imbalance, which causes infertility in women. Today, if you mention five acupuncturists in Nigeria, there is no way my name will be left out.”

He said many prominent Nigerians have benefited from the use of acupuncture. “We are trying to create more awareness on the benefits of acupuncture so that people will kill the idea that it is for the rich. That is the purpose of writing this book, so that people will know more about acupuncture. We have embarked on free treatments for the indigent. We cannot do it alone. We want governments at all levels and well meaning bodies to assist us in getting a befitting centre where Nigerians can go and check themselves and also get treated. This will go a long way in saving us a lot of foreign exchange that we spend on treatments abroad. What modern medicine cannot treat, we can treat. We treat nearly every disease. Do you know that acupuncture can stop that headache in less than five minutes? Our problem as Nigerians is that we are never proud of what we have,” he said.

He said as a professional, he was taught not to put money first in matters of health.

“In Sri Lanka, people get free acupuncture treatments. The only thing paid for are needles. Who says we too can’t treat free? If only our government can help in putting money in the treatment of acupuncture, Nigeria will be a better place to live in health-wise,” he said.

To those who may not like to take alternative and complementary medicine, he said: “To such ones, I lovingly wish to extend to them a wealth of knowledge and experience in complementary medicine.”

Dr. Essien said acupuncture was invented in Egypt, Africa but was developed by the Chinese over the years, saying the latter have become masters at it. “They discovered certain points of the body which, if massaged, punctured, heated or burned, relieved pain or had a beneficial effect on certain disorders. They kept this secret to themselves until 1972 when American President Richard Nixon visited China and saw how acupuncture was used to carry out anaesthesia for open heart surgery. Then the knowledge of it spread to America. Today, about 50 per cent of Americans uses acupuncture,” he said.

He added: “There are organizations, government agencies, companies and entire industries that spend billions of dollars trying to hide these natural cures from you. Acupuncture and naturopathy work better and safer without side effects than drugs and surgery, which only suppresses the symptoms and add more toxins into your body system, causing more secondary sicknesses to develop over the weeks, months or years.”

Following his father’s footsteps, Dr. Essien Jr. is the only ozone therapy doctor in West Africa.

According to him, ozone is oxygen with an extra molecule, a triatomic form of oxygen that is highly unstable and highly reactive with higher energy. It is the most powerful oxidizer known to man, next to fluorine.

“Ozone in water will kill viruses 3,125 times faster than chlorine. Ozone is the most potent anti-viral substance known to man that is safe to use in controlled doses and is effective against viruses even in low concentrations. Ozone therapy is a simple naturopathic medical procedure that improves both circulation and utilization of oxygen by the tissues. Ozone is a super-powerful form of oxygen, with strong anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-parasitic and detoxifying effects,” he informed

 

My Foray into Herbal Medicine, by practitioner

My foray into medicine
Dr. Idowu Olawale is a herbal practitioner based in Lagos. He speaks on the efficacy of herbs in treating ailments and his foray into the profession.

How did you get into herbal medicine?

I came into herbal medicine out of personal experience. I was privileged to have been born into the family of herbalists, but because of the superstition and mystery created into the practice, it became repulsive to my father. He stopped practicing. And as a result of western education, we didn’t consider it something to do, a no go area I should say.
I took ill in 1989 and that changed my perception because no orthodox medicine helped in any way, and I had recourse to herbal medicine.
They took me to all the notable hospitals in Europe and America all but to no avail. The sickness persisted. So, I told those taking care of me to take me to my country that I do not want to die in a
foreign land. Today, I say thank God for bringing me to Nigeria because I would have died. There was no way I could have made it. While trying to board the plane that brought me back to the country, the doctor gave me injections to sedate me because the pain was too much for me to bear.
I got to know about herbs in the United States when I met Mark Hughes of Herbalife in 1997 and I came back to Nigeria I 1999. Then I went to Lagos State Board, but to my utmost surprise, what I thought to be new was in the country.

Are you a member of any herbal medicine association?

We have an association, at the instance of the Federal Ministry of Health established the National Association of Nigerian Traditional Medicine Practitioners (NANTMP). So, it’s existing at the instance of the former Health Minister, Mrs. Adenike Grange in all 36 states of the federation.

What do you want the government to do for the association?

The government has been responsive, but I still want them to integrate traditional health practice into the national health care delivery by writing another memo to all the organizations that are involved like the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), so that they can accept us. We want to become primary health provider in the scheme. Each state and local government should identify their practitioners, train and give them accreditation so that they can be used to support primary healthcare delivery. Qualified ones can even become civil servants who will not charge exorbitant rates. The registered traditional practitioners on herbal
medicine should be integrated as civil servants. The government should put them on its payroll. We should be integrated in the area of work force and medicine.
The former commissioner for Health, Lagos, Dr. Leke Pitan and Dr. Bunmi Omoseyindemi, Chairman Lagos Traditional MedicineBoard, made the move for that to be done. The proposed regulation by National Food Drug
Administration and Control (NAFDAC) would be very difficult because of the money involved. It is too prohibitive. It should be free registration by NAFDAC like that of the bakers and in accordance to Herbal Doctor Magazine volume 2 No.3 Edition.

What are the major contrasts between orthodox and traditional medicine?

The orthodox is trained for emergency cases and surgery while herbal is not into such. Herbal medicine is good for chronic diseases management.
This is for those who have used various therapies with no result.these are the people who are vulnerable to charlatans and quacks. The healthcare delivery system is not well defined in the country, because if the structure of the delivery system is strictly adhered to, the deathrate will greatly reduce. They carry the primary health problem straight to Lagos University Hospital (LUTH) and we live in a country where everybody knowls what to use. Orthodox medical practitioners are learned while 95 per cent of herbal practitioners are unlettered.

Have you made any feat in the profession since you started?

Yes, I have researched into various drugs and at the moment, I have a product that heals diabetes. What to do is drink the herb judiciously and the healing process is on.

What advice would you give those patronizing herbal medicine?

Medicine is medicine, either orthodox or traditional. You are free to make your choice. None is greater than the other. They are both good medicines. However, if you want to combine the two, meet the
doctors in the professions to work as a team, not independently. For example, a herbal practitioner should explain the medical composition of his drug, otherwise, there may be complications whereby an ulcer patient also has hypertension and diabetes and there are drugs which a diabetic patient can use, but ulcer patient can’t.

Lagos and the craze for herbal options

herbal medicine on display

During the strike period by Lagos doctors, in which government-owned hospitals shut their doors against patients, many patients
resorted to use of herbs to treat ailments.
Even though the over 700 sacked doctors have since been replaced by the state
government, many Lagosian still patronise herbal clinics.
In many parts of the city, herbal medicine men boldly come out en masse into the streets promoting many products, which seem to have gained new heights in
patronage by people of different ages, gender, education and income levels.
At Mushin, Agege, Ojo, Badagry and Mile 12, areas which Daily Independent
visited, scores of herbal drug marketers were seen displaying processed and
semi-processed medicines which they claimed could cure pile, hypertension,
diabetes, malaria, hernia, diarrhoea, gonorrheoea, infertility and many other
ailments.
Sule Wonaka, indigene of Kano State, who has been marketing herbal drugs in
Lagos since 2002, boasted the power of herbs to cure all ailments. According to
the 30-year-old man, who said he inherited knowledge about traditional medicine
from his grandfather, “herbal remedies are a good option for irregular
menstruation, ovarian cysts, tooth ache, deafness, skin diseases, fibroids and
barrenness.” Confidently, he added: “I can use the root of plantain, extracts
from cabbage leaves and bitter leaf to treat obesity and diabetes.”
All the herbal medicine traders have bottles loaded with pieces of wood and
medicinal powder which they stated if blended with water, lime, lemon juice,
citrus or strong spirit become therapeutic wonder.
A co-trader, who plies his trade at the popular Mile 12 Market, is Ibrahim
Borno. He explained that the bark, wood and latex of Iroko, a popular tree in
the rain forest of Nigeria, can be used for the treatment of hernia while its
powdered bark is used as antiseptic or for wound or dressing. Bark of oak, tea,
acacia, bramble, nim, shea butter and rubber trees are said to be raw materials
for health-giving drugs.
Middle-aged Fatimo Salawu was holding a jar of herbal drug bought at Iyana
Oba, Ojo, Lagos, when Daily Independent accosted her a fortnight ago. The mother
of four disclosed that her ailment was painful monthly periods which western
medicine could not alleviate satisfactorily. “But since I started taking this
herb about six months ago, I enjoy comfort and peace whenever my ‘visitor’
arrives,” she said.
But the medical challenge of 38-year-old Queen Okafor, who lives at Idi-Oro,
Mushin, Lagos, is not related with body pain, but infertility, an emotional
trauma, especially in an African society that cherishes children and considers
infertile women almost as social misfits.
“I have been married for eight years now, but I have never been able to
conceive despite visiting many hospitals and doing many tests which have proved
that my general condition was satisfactory, my pelvic examination normal; even
my husband’s semen analysis showed no abnormality,” she sadly told Daily
Independent.Some herbalists have also claimed that the seed of cherry can be
useful in curing impotence.
Though doctors believe in the curative potential of herbs, nephrologists
however implored Nigerians to be wary of abuse of herbal medicine because it
could result in kidney damage.
According to them, management of kidney disease usually attracts huge
financial burden. For example, dialysis costs about N80, 000 per week while
kidney transplant costs about N7 million.
They also warned that many herbal medicines abused or blended with strong
alcohol are toxic and could result into heart failure or seizure, lower
breathing rate and ultimately cause death.
Two out of the six men, who said they patronize herbal medicine traders, said
they suffer from relapsing typhoid fever and acute dysentery.
They complained that the cost of hospital treatment of their cases was
exorbitant. The other four stated that their challenge was piles, which are
expanded blood vessels in the anus. They noted that they have lost hope in
western medicine as solution to their ailments, and would rather prefer
anti-piles herbs which cost almost N2,000 per bottle.
Doctors explained that piles are caused by excessive pressure in the
rectum.
One of them, Ayodele Eshinola, a carpenter, said the drug also functions as
aphrodisiac because it corrects erectile dysfunction or failed manhood erection,
a widely believed consequence of chronic piles.
Eshinola, who confirmed that herbal medicine is more effective for piles’
treatment than western medicine, confessed spending a fortune in hospitals
without improvement or cure to his health.
Another piles sufferer, Ayobami Omoyajowo, corroborated Eshinola, saying “the
disease makes manhood turgid during sexual relations.”
These men’s reasons could have informed why those who trade in piles-treating
herbal drugs in the metropolis – at roadsides, on train and public buses, local
markets and bus stops – lace their advertisement messages with lewd phrases and
sensuous images that evoke erotic feelings.
Although no woman was seen demanding piles herbs, but Mustapha Ilyasu, a
street herbal products seller at Ipaja Road, Agege, said some women also buy it
mostly for their “husbands and “to facilitate mutual sexual pleasure.”


culled from dailyindependentonline, may 22, 2012

Wonder yam cures infertility in women

This is good news for women who have not been able to conceive! There is a specie of yam, known as ‘wild yam,’ which, if combined with certain herbs, enhances and fertilizes women reproductive system.
According to a herbal practitioner, Dr Adetunji Lams, though, neglected because of its small size, “wild yam” combined with some local vegetables, like, winter cherry or koropo in Yoruba language, has the potentialities of making women fertile.

Dr Lams said: “It has to be prepared in a herbal form before it can give the desired result. For it to be effective, few things have to be taken care of.”
According to Dr Lams, some of the things which need to be done include, ensuring that the woman (patient) is treated of infections, fibroid if any.

In the case of men, he said tests are usually carried out to ascertain whether low sperm count, staphylococcus, pelvic inflammatory disease were responsible for the infertility.
After carrying out tests and treating the identified infections, Dr Lams said the stage is now set to administer the herbal medicine prepared with “wild yam.”

“It is even possible that the woman will later deliver twins,” he said.
Lams explained that yams, especially wild ones, are associated with fertility. No wonder, therefore, the Yoruba are said to have the highest number of twins in the world.

The herbal practitioner said most of the foods eaten by the Yoruba are prepared from yam tuber. He gave the names of the food as amala, iyan, akara, moimoi, roasted and yam porridge. He said because of yam consumption, Yoruba women are fertile while the men are usually sexually active.
The herbal practitioner told Daily Sun that “wild yam” is useful that its head region is used to cure lumps in the breasts of women, especially when mixed with honey, Aloe Vera or sheer butter.
“Most of the health disorders we operate on in this part of the world can be cured perfectly using herbs.
Women, who like to enlarge their breasts through operation need not to do that any longer as a combination of a herb, called “horse tail” and wild yam will do the magic.

More about the wild yam
It is everywhere, very common, but useful to those who know its importance. Since the yam is not big, like other species, people tend to ignore it. But the wild yam is medicinal. It is not planted by anybody, it grows on its own.

How it works
When mixed with the necessary herbs, wild yam acts like compose manure in women’s reproductive system. It boosts the fertility level in women. It is faster to conceive if a woman continues to eat wild yam. A woman that experiences miscarriage is also advised to eat wild yam.
It is a remedy for miscarriages. If pregnant woman, especially, the one that has been having problem of miscarriages, eats wild yam mixed with other herbs it will stop automatically. It helps to support the uterus. It is an excellent preventive medicine for miscarriages and useful for cramps in the region of the uterus during the later stage of the pregnancy.

Wild yam helps to relax the muscular fibres and soothe the nerves. It boosts the sperm, in terms of its quantity and quality. A wild yam enhances sexual performance in men because it contains steroids that store peroxidation of blood lipids (the principal cause of thickening or hardening of arteries or veins). The wonder yam also lowers the level of fat in the blood and very rich in potassium, which makes it very appropriate for heart diseases. Wild yam can also be used to manage or cure stroke.

Importance of information
People die a lot because of ignorance. Nature has provided many herbs for man’s use but many people are ignorant of their uses, just like in the case of wild yam. It is the amount of information that one gets that matters. Most of those curative herbs, fruits, tubers among others have been provided by nature but we are ignorant of them because of lack of information.

By CHRIS ANUCHA
Tuesday, February 19, 2008