According to online health portals such as www.outpost.health and https://healthguide.ng › “with over 43% of Nigerians suffering from high blood pressure and the lack of adequate health care facilities, drinking a beverage like Zobo can reduce medical costs and prevent complications such as stroke, heart disease, and even death”.
What is ZOBO?
Scientific Name(s): Hibiscus sabdariffa L. Family: Malvaceae (mallows). Common Name(s): Theroselle is known as the rosella or rosella fruit in Australia. It is also known in Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Benin and Niger.
Zobo in South-West Nigeria (the Yorubas in Nigeria call the white variety Isapa (pronounced Ishapa)), Zoborodo in Northern Nigeria. Zobo has a unique taste that makes it pleasurable to all classes of people. In Nigeria and Senegal.
Zobo is served cold, while it’s served warm in Egypt. It is a sharp-tasting herbal infusion taken as tea or juice. The flower is also used in making wine, juice, tea and spices. It can also be used in preparing raw salad. Serve chilled with snacks.
Roselle is high in calcium, niacin, riboflavin, vitamin C and iron. And the beverages have no trace of caffeine. In East Africa, “Sudan tea” is consumed as medicine to cure coughs. In Guatamala, roselle is believed to cure hangovers. In Senegal, a roselle extract is said to lower blood pressure. In India, Africa and Central America, infusions made from roselle calyces or seeds are prescribed as a diuretic; to stimulate bile production and to treat fever.
Health benefits of Zobo drink
1.Thirst
Hibiscus tea can be drunk hot or cold. As iced tea, the infusion is known to satiate thirst quite effectively. It is often recommended as an alternative to artificially made commercial “sport drinks” that are marketed to physically active individuals. Hibiscus tea’s ability to cool the body is well documented by cultures that include it in their diet or medicinal practices. This benefit is probably associated with the diuretic properties of hibiscus, a property that helps in the excretion of excess fluids from the body.
2. High blood pressure
The antihypertensive properties of hibiscus tea were noted by a study in which 70 people were involved; half of them drank hibiscus tea once daily and the other half took 25 mg of antihypertensive medicine twice daily. After a month, 79 percent of the tea drinkers experienced a ten point reduction in blood pressure, 84 percent of the ones that took pharmaceutical medicine also experienced the same reduction in blood pressure. Hibiscus is an antioxidant. It has properties that prevents the oxidation of low-density lipoproteins; a substance in our blood that if increased beyond normal quantities may cause high blood pressure.
3. Weight loss
Some tea drinkers use hibiscus tea to aid in weight loss. The body produces an enzyme known as amylase which functions to break down complex sugar and starch molecules in food. When a person consumes too much carbohydrate-rich food (full of sugar and starch) that individual is most likely going to gain weight. According to pubmed.gov, hibiscus contains a substance that can inhibit the production of amylase. A person regularly drinking hibiscus tea can thus prevent too much absorption of carbohydrates and consequently not gain excess weight.
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4. Cough and colds
According to the book “Healing Herbal Teas,” fresh hibiscus flowers contain around 6.7 mg of ascorbic acid, a form of vitamin C, which is one of the more essential nutrients needed by the body. Along with this significantly beneficial substance, hibiscus is known to have anti-inflammatory and mild anti-bacterial properties. Thus hibiscus tea is often used as a supplement to help treat coughs and colds. Because of its cooling effect, it is especially effective in reducing the discomfort of fevers that may accompany such ailments.
5. Nutrition
Besides containing a significant amount of ascorbic acid, hibiscus is made of the following nutritional substances such as protein, fat, fiber, calcium, phosphorus, iron, carotene, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin. Given all this, it can be said that hibiscus tea can serve as an excellent food supplement and an aid to boost the body’s immune system.
Extracts of the flower is alkaline in nature and has been known to have cleansing properties. The red flower contains antioxidants including flavonoids. The flesh Hibiscus flower is also rich in riboflavin, Vitamin C, niacin, carotene, calcium, and iron which are all nutritionally necessary.
Health Benefits of KUNU Drink
Kunu (also known as kununzaki) is a popular drink consumed throughout Nigeria, mostly in the north. KUNU drink is good for nursing mothers to produce milk, aids digestion, protects the heart, skin, relaxes the muscles and prevents colon and colecteral cancer.
It is usually made from a grain such as millet or sorghum, although it can be made from maize as well.
The variety of the drink made from sorghum is a milky light-brown colour, whilst that which is made from millet and maize is whitish in colour.
Kunu is made by first allowing the grain seeds to germinate, then soaking the seeds in water for a few days and blending the soaked grain with sweet potatoes and ginger or pepper to form a smooth paste.
This paste is then divided into two parts. One part is placed in a vessel and has boiling water poured on it, then it is stirred to give a thick mixture. The other part of the paste is then added to this mixture and it is stirred some more.
The mixture is then left for a day or two for the grain husk to settle. After this, the husk and other sediments are filtered out of the mixture, and the filtered liquid is bottled for consumption.
Preparation
Pick stones from the millet and wash. Soak for 10 hours in cold water (preferably overnight).
Wash the millet in the morning with clean water, add ginger, sweet potatoes and blend.
Reserve one cup from the paste and set aside. Boil 2 litres of water and prepare the remaining paste like pap.
Allow cooling, then pour the reserved 1 cup inside the mixture and stir properly. Cover it and let
it stay till evening. Filter the mixture with sieve to remove the chaff. Mix with sugar and refrigerate.
It is best served chilled. According to healthdiaries.com, millet contains a polynutrient called lignan, which has cancer fighting properties and is beneficial in the treatment of heart disease.
It is also known to reduce the risks associated with diabetes.
Kunu is good for women that have reached the stage of menopause as it helps them relax their muscles. It contains fibre, thus helping to promote a healthy digestive system. Kunu helps in the prevention of chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.
It is also recommended for nursing mothers as it helps increase the flow of their milk. Due to the ginger content, it lowers the cholesterol level and prevents the formation of blood clots.
