By Sheila Chumba, Bungoma
John Barasa Munyasia,76, panicked when he started experiencing an urgent need to pee at night.
The former lawmaker could go for a short call four to six times on a single night and accompanied with pain occassionally.
It was during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and people aged 59 years and above had been advised to stay home due to their weak immune system that could be easily compromised by the deadly virus.
Munyasia was not taking chances and opted to go for a medical examination fearing that the sudden urge to urinate could be a pointer to a disease.
It turned out his overwhelming urge to urinate was due to old age, an announcement which came as a huge relief to him.
Experts argue that the bladder gradually starts losing elasticity as one gets older, making it hard for him or her to hold urine.
“At first, I was hesitant but decided to do thorough research and consulted widely with my friends who are medics, they assured me that leaves were safe. I could pluck young guava tree leaves, boil them and drink them as special tea. After two months, my problem was over,” said Munyasia.
“With movement restrictions, I had no option but to find something useful to do at home, I delved into reading books I had stocked,” Munyasia told The Standard.
Inside his home library, Munyasia, a former high school teacher, came across a book that made him discover guava fruits and leaves are medicinal and could cure his condition.
“At first, I was hesitant but decided to do thorough research and consulted widely with my friends who are medics, they assured me that leaves were safe. I could pluck young guava tree leaves, boil them and drink them as special tea. After two months, my problem was over,” said Munyasia.
The former Sirisia MP between 1991-2002 told The Standard in an interview that from that moment, he decided to do more research to help many people with a similar problem and true to his words.
He founded the Ten Star cottage industry and ventured fully into processing guava, avocado and bamboo ‘leaf tea’.
The seasoned teacher said he first produced guava fruit jam which he said ‘was very sweet’ when applied to bread and vegetables. “If you want to make guava leaf tea, just pick the young leaves and boil.”
Munyasia says one can also dry the guava leaves under the shed and then grind them in a posho mill then package the end product and store them in a conducive environment. The product has a shelf life of 12 months.
“When you take a cup of guava leaf tea every day, it will help in weight loss, improve fertility for men, who have low sperm count and women with experiencing irregular periods by ending stomach cramps and muscle pain,” he said.
He added: “Guava leaf tea, when taken daily for 2-3 months continuously, helps increase sperm and help men with that challenge to get children. In women, it will help clean the womb, stop irregular menses and make a woman conceive.”
It also stops diarrhoea, reduces cholesterol levels, manages sugar levels in the body, weight loss, fights cancer, improves skin texture and helps in good vision.
Munyasia read widely on the benefits of avocado leaf tea and bamboo leaf tea. He learnt they have massive benefits.
According to the veteran politician, bamboo leaf tea is best for making bones, teeth, and hair strong, while avocado leaf tea is a pain reliever, particularly headaches.
Eileen Mulaa, a nutritionist, concurs with Munyasia saying guava, avocado and bamboo leaf tea offer numerous health benefits.
“Avocado tea can be used to treat diarrhoea because it is rich in Vitamin C, have high protein, fibre, minerals and antioxidants with anti-inflammatory properties,” avers Mulaa adding that avocado leaves are a one-stop shop for whole body health.
Ms Mulaa said that avocado tea leaf has substances that play crucial roles in the solubility of calcium in urinary stones, like alkaloids, which breaks the stones in the urinary tract and make urinating easier.
“A cup of avocado leaf tea after a meal can help boost digestion, cure stomach ache, and reduce inflammation. It also helps to prevent the formation of kidney stones by reducing the risk of dehydration, which can lead to kidney stones,” said Mulaa.
According to Lewis Juma, a producer of bamboo leaf tea, the crop is ideal for boosting bone health, promoting the growth of hair and nails and acting as an anti-ageing agent.
“Bamboo delays ageing as it contains silica (collagen), one of the important proteins in the human body. It also gets rid of wrinkles, rejuvenates the joints and helps in the production of other skin-rich proteins,” said Mr Juma.
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