An alternative medicine practitioner, Mr Maryvincent Obi, on Friday, attributed the increasing rate of terminal diseases and reduction in life expectancy of Nigerians to the love for chemical foods and drugs.
Obi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that natural medicines help to promote healthy cells that would lead to longer lives than using artificial and formulated medicines.
He said “our forefathers lived on natural medicines and they married several wives and gave birth to more children, yet they lived very long and looked younger and healthy.
“These days we have moved from natural to artificial and chemical foods in the name of technological advancement but the result has been from one serious illness to another.”
He added that artificial and formulated drugs though proffer immediate healing, some of them had long term effect.
He said “terminal illnesses like diabetics, stroke, prostrate, blood pressure, HIV and the resent Lassa fever are biting hard on citizens because they have refused to embrace natural foods and herbs.
“We should come back to what our forefathers used instead of running to quick treatment and solution that will eventually have
long term effect.”
The alternative medicine practitioner explained that some international organisations had gone as far as picking up these natural herbs from Nigeria to produce internationally-accepted natural drugs, thereby promoting their economy.
He said government should encourage local natural herbs practitioners to boost their small-scale herbal stores into commercial and expanded businesses and to create awareness on the efficacy of alternative medicine.
He, therefore, urged Nigerians to go back to natural foods and medicines for healthy living and for long life “just the way our forefathers did.” (NAN)