The harmattan season comes after that of rain and presages the dry spell of the atmospheric heat, sweat, thirst and some SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDERS (SAD), some of them seasonal diseases. Simultaneously or thereabout, herbs and fruits thrown up by this season step forth for eating and use, such as in nurture and medicine. Often, we thank our stars, as we say in gratitude for their appearance or provision, without realising that the stars actually brought them forth in the will of God.
The stars do not hang out there in the sky as cosmic ornaments or decorations. They are well ordered sources of radiations which bring everything on earth into being and maintain them by providing different channels through which their varied energies pour onto the earth. Some of these channels are responsible for our coming into being on earth and departure from it, as well for our fate, karma or destiny. This is a subject for another day. What is of interest to me today, which I believe should be fascinating to you, too, is that
1) These stars move in groups or constellations.
2) They pour energy or radiations onto the earth
3) Every organ of our bodies is affected by particular radiations
4) Too much or too little of these radiations may hurt an organ or group of them
5) We receive some of these radiations directly during sleep.
6) Our forebears placed vessels for their bath water under moonlight for stellar radiations to be infused into the water, and they believed bathing with the water helped them to cure certain diseases.
7) Some of them treated their drinking water likewise or fetched them from streams on starry nights, especially when the moon was full and bright.
8) When the star constellations move away, whatever their radiations helped to produce on earth also disappeared.
9) One of such disappearances are the dinosaurs, which became extinct because radiations which supported their existence went out of their cyclic circulation.
10) Every zone of the earth has stellar radiations specific or specially designed for it, which is why, anthropologically, human bodies in different zones are different, like the vegetation and combinations of the constituents of their herbs, fruits and food crops.
11) This is why naturalists encourage us to enjoy every herb, fruit and food crops in season. This is because, in that season, these are what our bodies need most for nurture and medicines. This is also why we are not meant to live permanently or for too long periods outside the zone of the earth in which our bodies were born or anchored. Disregarding this makes the body feeble perhaps even sickly, and the spirit unable to flower and to flutter to its highest potentials in that land strange to body and spirit.
12) In the wisdom of the creative will of God, the laws of nature arranged the stars and their constellations for this purpose, and that is why only the herbs and the fruits we require in a particular season are provided in that season.
13) If we wonder why this is so, the answer is simple… We humans live on earth in a sea of radiations. Everything radiates, broadcasting its existence. Do we not know this from even LITHIUM which has become Nigeria’s most popular and sought after solid mineral? The earth is radiating into our bodies. The sun and the moon are. So are the rocks, the rivers, oceans and seas and forests. What does not? In the midst of their radiations, our bodies could wither if they cannot withstand the storm. To help them withstand the storm, the radiations required at any season are provided in the foods, fruits, vegetables and herbs of that season.
14) That is why some Nigerians who have lived abroad for too long regain some vibrance in their health when they return home for even brief spells. I have acquaintances who often fall ill in Lagos or appear frail in health but bounce back within a few days of returning on vacation to the villages where they were born, rekindled by the stellar and other radiations of those places. Isn’t that why those of us resident in Lagos often procure village palm oil, yam, cocoyam, periwinkle and vegetables such as Afang, Nkong, Atama, Aditan, Ebolo, Bokonisa, Efo Abalaye, Ewedu ( Jute mallow) etc.
Fruits in season
It is for the same reason that we cannot forsake or disregard fruits in season at this time without harming or hurting our bodies. I have chosen four of them for discussion. They are avocado pear, mango, cashew and African Star Apple. They are all in season right now. They do not tarry for too long, because their existence depends on the constellations of the stars which govern them. Some persons believe they cannot afford them and, so, close their mind, nay spirit, to the fruits in season. I have found they can, with dexterious budget management. What shall we miss if we fail to enjoy the fruits currently in season, namely again… Avocado pear, Mango, cashew and African Star Apple?
Avocado Pear
It reminds me of the eyes, stomach, intestines and other organs, among other matters. Its purple colour is a signature tune that it may have something to do with the eye. The light sensitive portion of the retina of the optic nerve, which takes light to the brain for vision, comprises cells which look like rods and cones. rhodopsin, a chemical substance, gives the rods their purple colour. This makes us see well in dim lighting. People who do not see well in dim lighting lack Vitamin A and may suffer from night blindness. Vitamin A regenerates rhodopsin. Avocado pear does not directly have Vitamin A. It has Vitamin A precursors or building blocks such as beta carotene (retinol). Avocado does not have rhodopsin as well, but it has eye defenders such as lutein and zeaxanthin, relations of beta carotene. Avocado is a signature tune for eye health because of its purple colour, as the light sensitive part of the optic nerve which tales light impressions to the brain for vision is purple in colour. About 23 percent of the fat content is loaded with precursors of Vitamin A which is good for healthy vision and for building high resistance against infections. The vitamin A content, which is about 290 i.u. per 100 grams recommends avocado pear as a possible remedy against night blindness. In this condition, the challenged person does not see well in dark environments or at night. Such a person may wish to keep a glass of water on a dining table and place it just before the edge. Some persons hit objects around in an unlit room. Some motorists have missed the white and Black painted kerb stones on a highway and plunged over to the next lanes because they could not properly guage the access. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) is about 5,500 i.u. One Avocado, at about 290 i.u as a dietary source, is not a bad idea.
Avocado pear reminds me of DR Max Gerson, the German who taught his generation of doctors and patients that Potassium deficiency is the cause of tumours and cancers. ( see Gerson therapy on the internet).
From 100 grams of Avocado pear, it is possible to dietarily obtain between 45 to 707mg of Potassium, depending on the variety and degree of ripeness. The approximate RDA for adults is 4,700mg. Thus, 100 grams of Avocado pear may provide 10 to 15 percent of the RDA for Potassium. One may upscale this amounts by snacking on or having a full meal, as I often do in this season, of oven-roasted unripe plantain, which is rich in Potassium with one or two avocados. Alternatively, one may do banana and avocado!
The Gerson Therapy
As you should find on-line, it is an elaborate discussion of how Dr Gerson used Potassium from fruit and vegetable juices to treat and to heal some cases of cancer, tuberculosis of the skin etc, after employing it to heal his own terrible migraines.
Eating Avocado should help persons with digestive system problems especially after surgery to remove tumours in the stomach or colon or where inflammation and ulceration have been ravaging. Inflamed and crippled cells have been animated by abundance of its vitamins and the blandness of its nature. Chinese doctors prescribed it for colic and chills in the stomach, while Japanese doctors give it for intestinal ulcers.
The intestinal flora can be changed by avocado to fight auto-intoxication, colitis (inflammation of the colon) and bilious liver. In bilious liver, the bile duct(s) may be blocked, and the bile may reflux into the liver and throat, especially during menstration, causing cough and vomitting of a greenish, bitter stuff, bile, after which the woman has some menstrual peace.
Some doctors suggest Avocado for Bad breath because they believe it stops intestinal putrefecation, a cause of coated tongue and Bad breath.
In nephritis or glomeronephritis, that is inflammatory conditions in the kidneys formerly called BRIGHT’S DISEASE, Avocado pear is seen as good because of its small protein content. Protein in avocado is about 1.7 percent in 100 grams. This protein is believed to be of high quality, almost like milk protein. In nephritis or glumerulonephritis, too much dietary protein overloads kidney work and may worsen its condition or even damage it.
The Mango
Different things about a fruit appeal to different persons. Almost everything about the Mango appeals to me. I would like to begin the narration with the seed kernels because I once did herbal healing work with it. In this regard, my gratitude goes first to the Almighty Creator and the Nature BEINGS Who, at His Command, make mangoes to grow, and then to H.K. Bakhru, author of Foods that heal; herbs that heal and fruits that heal.
I used to discard the mango seeds after I ate the flesh or fiber till I encountered Bakhru in Fruits that heal.
He explained how Indian women dried and ground the seed kernels to powder and massaged it into their secret places about half an hour before sex. That had contraceptive-like effects because it killed the sperm. How would it not when it also killed bacterial, fungi and viruses in there. I suggested the recipe to many women who confirmed that it addressed vaginal candidiasis, vaginitis and leucorrhea (discharge of whites). From these experiences, I graduated to taking the powder with meals as an anti-microbial for stomach and bowels.
The young leaves of the Mango Tree are interesting as anti-diabetic tea or powder which can be eaten with meals. I guess they should be more potent in the fruiting season. When my teeth were like hammer mills about 20 years ago, I ate plenty of Mango peel with the succulent fruit or with meals. The peel is a good anti-microbial. Its rich fiber resources is good for digestion. The Vitamin A is necessary for healthy vision. Immunity gets a boost from the Vitamin C. Anti inflammatory and anti- oxidant properties, added to those which challenge cancer, going by some studies, are reasons the peel may be eaten by persons who enjoy them. Watch goats when we throw away Mango peel…they rush for it!
The green, unripe Mango does not appeal to many persons. Yet, it is a nutritional gold-mine. In this Heat season, a Drink which protects against exhaustion can be made, as Indians do, by cooking one or two unripe mangoes in hot Ash, blending the pith and mixing it with pure honey and water. H.K Bakhru is an Indian. Indians say it prevents Heat exhaustion and Heat stroke. Some persons prefer to treat it with salt for taste and the loss of sodium chloride during perspiration. The green mango has more accolades. For example, it is said that eating it with salt and honey may resolve certain intestinal challenges. These may include pile, nausea, constipation, diarrhoea, dysentry and chronic dysepsia. When the gall bladder causes such problems as yellowing of the eyes, the acids in mangoes eaten with pepper and honey may solve food decay, especially when bacteria decomposes proteins. The liver, too, profits from this remedy. Vitamin C is present in Green mangoes and, so, helps in the treatment of scurvy in which gums may swell and teeth fall out from their socket.
We are all familiar with, and eat, the ripe Mango. The colour yellow, red or Orange, depending on the species, is a nutrition code or story. The story is that it is loaded with ALPHA carotenes, beta carotenes and other carotenoids. Vitamin A is in the picture, too. So are lutein and zeazantin, two carotenoids which protect the eyes against the damaging blue spectrum of the sun’s rays which may cause or worsen glaucoma in susceptible eyes. There is no responsible vision supplement without lutein and zeazantin. Some even present Astazanthin in addition. This one does not occur in mango. The Vitamin A and those carotenoids are good news for night blindness sufferers. There are persons who do not see well in dim lighting. Vitamin A also solves itching and burning and some other vision problems. Mango has little zinc, which the body requires to effectively use Vitamin A in the eyes. Thus, Mango lovers may obtain zinc through food sources or from other food supplements.
The cashew
In my mid-fifties about 20 years ago, I learned to not over-eat cashew nuts and fruit. I used to run up the stairs to my second floor office before I learned this lessons in a cashew season.
Before I knew what was happening, my knees began to ache and would not spring my weight. It all had to do with an imbalance in calcium/phosphorus ratio. Some authorities say phosphorus is about 593mg in 100 grams but Calcium, a paltry 37mg and 292mg for Magnesium. This means one part calcium to 16 parts phosphorus against the normal of about two parts calcium to one part phosphorus and one part magnesium for bone and joint health. High phosphorus justifiable in conditions such as diabetic keto acidosis, chronic alcoholism, malabsorption and low brain energy. In the Nigerian high school of the 1960s, school children took PHOSPHERINE and PRO-PLUS, two phosphorous- based food supplements, for sleepless nights over exams. I once suggested onion juice and honey meal for the phosphorus of the onion to the mother of a convulsing child and it mitigated the frequency.
Nevertheless, the cashew nut can be a wonderful remedy for many ailments, including stomach and duodenal ulcers which present pain when the organs are empty . According to Mellie Uyldert in her book, The Psychic Garden, homeopathic phosphorus is useful even in depression and possession. As she says:
“In high dilutions, this homeopathic substance is used against shingles, nettle rash and eczema with itching and blistering, and also against exhaustion, over stress and loss of memory. It is remarkable that the patient to whom this is given says he has ‘two wills’, seeking to fufil contrary purposes. The one will is felt as one’s own, the other as an outside one, against which no headway can be made. This may be an invisible being by whom the patient is possessed; it can also be the will of a person close by who threatens to dominate the patient. Characteristically, the subject tends to sway, in order to drive off the overbearing force. Anacardium D30 is then the means of freeing the patient from this force. (Another substance is Lycopodium D12.) In addition, the patient should eat cashew nuts”!
African Star Apple
Many persons familiar with this fruit and enjoying it now may not know it by this name, for they mistake it for CHERRY, an European fruit. The Yoruba name is AGBALUMO (d:m:d:m). Somehow, I do not get along with it because it gums on my gums and teeth. What put me off as a young man was that, when it is not opened up in two halves but sucked from the tip, worms may later be found nestling or crawling within! What living thing doesn’t like something good?
Agbalumo is a dense house of vitamin C and, therefore, good for boosting immunity. The leaves are goodfor stomach pain, diarrhea and skin eruptions. I walk away from plant medicine with detrimental side effects. So, the seeds and I are not on the same page, although some herbalists in Yoruba land add the contents to ointments for vaginal and skin infections. Anti- oxidant rich, the fruit goes for hypertension, cholesterol management. These are besides anti-inflammatory and anti- microbial properties. Iron and calcium have a recognisable presence as well.
I can sometimes be jealous at home when everyone is enjoying agbalumo as a snack but I cannot. To not be left behind, I get some scooped out and served with hot pap, stew or soup. What I am after are the radiations which the stars and nature beings have factored into this star apple at this time.
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