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London-based bishop, Raymond Opia
By Akpan David, Calabar
Increasing number of vegetarians have claimed that they are immune to attacks by assorted ailments, including the ongoing ravaging COVID-19 variants.
In different interviews conducted separately, they claim, too, that the practise enables them to stay ever young.
According to them, such lifestyle has tremendously and almost permanently enabled them to be healthy and stronger all year round because eating of seeds, grains, fruits and vegetables which they depend on have too many curative properties.
They are the best foods for man, Mrs Glory Bob Akpan in her late forties insist.
She said they are not claimed also that they are not vulnerable to any health pandemic such are currently ravaging the world, saying their immune system can usually block any ‘foreign attacks’.
“Check throughout the world and see whether you find any true and ardent vegans falling victims to attacks of any of COVID19 variants. This is because eating of animals and their byproducts greatly put many at risks of being attacked by any ailments because animals are majorly carriers of assorted diseases and viruses which are transferred to consumers, said a practitioner, James Bennard.
A London-based Nigerian, Bishop Raymond Opia has been a vegetarian for nearly 35 years. Most times he cooks his own foods. “I have hardly been sick for these many decades. I am over 60 yet I am often mistaken for one in early 40s.”
Opia said his vegetarian lifestyle has been great for him because it had eliminated so many things in his body system.
“Heart burn was something I experienced when I eat white rice and stew. However, after becoming a vegetarian it stopped. Malaria fever which comes almost quarterly also stopped completely until date. Although I had my first expression lines on the face when I started vegetarian lifestyle I must say that at well over sixty I look much younger than many people in their forties.”
Not only that he frowns at cruelty to animals, and gets mad at actually killing them, saying they may have been humans in previous lives.
“Killing and eating animals is a terrible thing. These creatures worship God as we do. Imagine calling your dog Bruno or any other human name and suddenly you turn round to kill and eat the dead body.”
He said he started the practise in the late 80s. He got enthralled by a motivational talk of a practitioner.
The man had spoken about the immunity against ailments even voodoo.
“That caught my fancy. I went home and pulled out all the meat in my source and the soup in the refrigerator. I gave them to neighbour’s children across the road. The next two days I ate all my food without chewing anything in the food. Since then I have not looked back until date.
My first three months was tough because I was always hungry. However after that my body adjusted very well to the new practice.
I was also to cook for the next six months without chewing anything. I later discovered a a woman who could produce soya chunks which tastes like meat. I gave her money she bought the raw soya and prepared it for me. That opened my new cooking method of using mushrooms and soya bean fried chunks.
“Residing in the UK makes the practice much easy as Chinese and Japanese shops sell variety of vegetarian stuff for preparing meals.
“Being a vegetarian will also save one from village jealousy and wickedness because anytime they present their food with meat and fish spices with poison a vegetarian will simply not eat.”
A Civil War veteran, Colonel Afaha Nsudo (retired) now 79 years old, said he jogs for three hours at least three times per weeks around streets of Calabar. “I am as fit as a fiddle. For over 20 years, I no longer fall sick. I cook my foods. I can’t stand meat or fish please.”
Another, practitioner is Mr Parkson Edjeketa. He said being a vegetarian is not a big deal but an individual choice in life which depends only on his own volition.
Edjeketa said, “I can not remember if I have swallowed a pill in the last many decades. I have no reason to do so. I got all I want for healthy living from fruits and vegetables which have relied on these number of decades.
“I do not have such urge or desire to eat other foods. Once my plane had a stop over in a particular Western country and ‘normal’ foods were scarce except vegetarian diets. I feel I have lot of strength. If you research, you see that vegetarians live longer and are healthy throughout. I encourage the willing ones to take to this lifestyle even at these times..
“Not that i don’t fall sick occasionally but I don’t take drugs for any treatment what so ever because the immune system is strong and capable of taking adequate care of any sickness as a result of my plant base diet. My food is my medicine and my medicine is my food”.
A former airline captain, Paul Ugochukwu now in his mid 70s said he has been a vegetarian for over 30 years and has never been sick. “I am stronger than a 40 year old man that eats everything…”
He advises people to go the vegetarian way, save money and live in peace with themselves and nature.
These vegetarians have collected themselves together under an umbrella body called International Vegetarians Fellowship where they advise themselves and project their lifestyle.
Barrister Evans Nwansi is their chairman. “We essentially meet to amplify the ideals of vegetarianism and to encourage many persons to become join us in view of the lifelong benefits.
Nutritionists Stella Tom Inyang and Eyoanwan Otong, formerly of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, affirmed that the practice is well recommended for those who can but that it demands a lot of discipline. Vegetarianism can keep you away from the doctors permanently, said Madam Otong.
“Doing away with animal and poultry poultry products and concentrating only on plantains, fruits, seeds, grains, vegetables can keep one alive almost forever”, said Stella.
