Wellness Curated

The healing wisdom of African medicine: Reviving traditional healing methods

• Anshu Bahanda • Episode 3

Share episode

In this episode of Wellness Curated, Anshu explores the rich traditions of African herbal medicine with KhadiYah Preciado, an expert in African-based herbalism and the founder of Yah's Apothecary— a renowned holistic herb school and store. KhadiYah is passionate about empowering others with the tools to care for themselves and their families.

In the episode, KhadiYah shares her personal journey of overcoming a decade of menstrual and hormonal issues through the healing power of herbs. Her story unfolds in a conversation that goes deep into the cultural roots of natural healing and how these age-old practices are thriving today. Her approach highlights the importance of intuition, ritual, and the powerful connection between physical and spiritual health. 

Whether you’re intrigued by ancient healing practices, want to explore natural remedies, or are curious about the link between nature, spirit, and health, this episode is packed with wisdom and inspiration. Learn how these traditional methods are being revitalised for today’s world, bridging the gap between wellness, culture, and spirituality.

For a transcript of this show, go to https://wellnesscurated.life/the-healing-wisdom-of-african-medicine-reviving-traditional-healing-methods-2/

If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any of the major podcasting platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts. Please leave us a review on Apple iTunes and help others discover this podcast. You can visit wellnesscurated.life and follow us on Twitter @WellnessCurated,
On Instagram @wellnesscurated.life,
On Facebook @Wellness Curated by Anshu Bahanda,
On LinkedIn @Wellness Curated by Anshu Bahanda,
And on YouTube @wellnesscuratedbyanshubahanda.

for more wellness tips to help you live your best life.

Anshu Bahanda: Deep in the forest of Ghana, among the Akan people, there lived a revered healer called Okomfo Anokye. Now we're talking 17th or 18th century, and Okomfo actually means priest. He used to use a miracle leaf… It was like a plantain plant. It was called kalanchoe, the plant. He used to use a miracle leaf from there and combine it with a number of rituals. So one time the village was affected by an epidemic and hundreds of people were suffering. So Okomfo actually used a combination of the herbs, anointing people with the herbs and the like, along with rituals and prayers, and people were miraculously cured. This makes us really look into nature and believe and learn that every single healing tradition we've talked about, nature is very important.

Welcome to Wellness Curated. This is your host, Anshu Bahanda. And today we're going to talk about traditional african medicine and the series is ‘Healing Traditions Across Cultures.’

Please do not forget to subscribe to our channel, Wellness Curated on all the podcasting channels and Wellness Curated by Anshu Bahanda on YouTube. Thank you. 

Joining us today is KhadiYah Preciado. She runs Yah’s apothecary in Memphis, Tennessee, and she's revisited this ancient practice with her T.E.A method. You'll find that on YouTube she's engaging a whole different generation and getting them interested. KhadiYah, welcome to the show and thank you for being here with us today.

KhadiYah Preciado: Thank you so much for having me.

AB: So tell me, KhadiYah, we just talked about this miracle leaf. How do you decide what leaves and herbs and roots to use?

KP: What I'm gonna use is always based on… I always say everything's on an herb by herb, case by case basis. So it can be seasonal. I may choose different things. It may be based on what's going on with myself, my body, personally. And so it's always changing. And so I just like to look at what's needed. I always look at, you know, what I'm actually looking for, what's actually causing the issue, and that's how I can narrow it down to be more specific for what's going to be best for me.

AB: Okay, and why did you decide to take this knowledge to the world?

KP: So it's funny because I'm probably the least likely person to be doing what I'm doing right now. I grew up in Queens, New York. We didn't have very much greenery at all, and I was fine with that, I didn’t like bugs or anything like that. I was always not interested in getting dirty or anything like that. But then when I went away to college is when I actually had to make my own foods and do my hair. My mom always did my hair, so I had to relearn everything on my own. And because I had a choice, I decided I wanted to go natural. So I went natural with my hair, then I went natural with my skin. And naturally I started caring more about what was going on inside of me. And at one point, once I thought I got pretty good with it, I decided I wanted to tackle this issue that I had been dealing with for a decade. And it was my absent period. Since I first had my periods, they were always sporadic. I never knew when they were coming. And so I decided to try and test and see with herbs. And I actually saw good results. But what I noticed was I was being more reactive. So when my period wasn't there, I would eventually take something and it would bring it about. But I wanted it to be rhythmic, I wanted it to, you know, be natural. And so that's when, using African herbalism and African wisdom, I was able to actually get healing from it. So I never have to take tea, you know, every month. And for the first time I had learned how long my cycle was. It's not talked about as much. A lot of people don't even know that African herbalism exists. I wanted to share it with the world and I wanted to give this new perspective so that it's more than, you know, memorisation; it's more of [an] embodiment of actual herbalism and [it] exudes from you. And it's the confidence that I don't see that a lot of newer herbalists have.

AB: Lovely. Now, KhadiYah, I've done a little bit of travelling across Africa and I've come across many, many different herbal and other traditional methods of medicine. So why did you decide to choose herbalism of the many, many methods? And how is this different from, say, a lot of the other African traditional methods of medicine?

KP: So for me, I always wanted to get to the source. And so when I'm eating healthy, you know, the healthiest that I could be was gardening, growing my own food, so that I know what soil, you know, what's in the soil and what exactly is in the food. And I can make sure there are no pesticides or herbicides or things like that. I always think it's important to actually get firsthand knowledge. You know, a lot of people wouldn't even know what a lot of the foods, their favourite vegetables and fruits, they wouldn't even know… they could walk right past them and they wouldn't even be able to recognise them. And so I really wanted to get more intimate. And I started first with natural skincare, and I was using all natural ingredients and so I wasn't using any preservatives. And it seemed like a challenge at first, but then it actually made it better because now I really had to think outside the box. And so I use that perspective for everything. And so I like to teach this more simplistic and more intuitive type of teaching that I've basically gained from doing it for so long.

AB: And your skin is glowing, by the way. That's the first thing I noticed when I saw you— was how much your skin glows.

KP: Oh, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

AB: So your, you know, your natural products in your skin are obviously doing you lots of good. 

KP: Thank you. And lots of water. But, yeah, thank you.

AB: Now, KhadiYah, from the story that I related at the beginning and from my experience with African traditional medicine, I've seen that there's a deep, deep connection between physical and spiritual health. So now tell me, how would you help someone using both these, taking both these into account.

KP: Yes, I do agree. Also with that sentiment I always say everything is connected, everything is a system. And so just to illustrate that, you know, I talked about menstrual issues that I had, but that was due to hormones or chemicals. So the chemical can affect the physical if a person's nervous, you know, those are emotions, but it can be sweating, it could be your stomach in knots, you know, it could be your heart beating fast if you have anxiety. So all of it is interconnected. Whenever I'm looking or choosing an herb, it's based on not just what the symptom is or how it's presenting itself, but then also, what actually is the cause you could look at. Like, I always use high blood pressure, for instance. It could be due to poor diet, it could be due to different things like stress. And so depending on what the actual cause is, then that's going to determine what [herbs] you use for other things. You know, is it a child that we're looking to help? Is it a pregnant woman? Is it someone who's elderly and maybe they're frail also as well? So based on all of those things, the more information that we collect, we can kind of see, and I get, like, an image of, okay, that's the herb. With each herb I associate, like, it's [for] this type of person. So whenever someone fits that, I choose the right remedy based on that.

AB: So do you do any rituals as well before giving them the herbs or before making the herbs?

KP: Yes, I do have a process on how I like to make what I call my custom blend. I don't just give the same thing to every person, I always want to give something customised and personalised to them. And so what I like to do is I like to listen to music. I like to listen to gospel music and just pray. And I just use my intuition to know it's done or it needs more different things like that. And as I'm pulling the herbs, I'm seeing other herbs as well. And so it's just all just being, I guess even though I may have music, a lot of times it's silenced inside, just kind of listening intuitively to prepare the best preparation for the person. The first thing that happens is I actually take a whole day to meditate on the person and just, you know, think of the different herbs and all of those things so that when I come together, I have an idea, but based on other herbs that I see, another herb might be right behind it. And it's a long process, really meditating on the details and really just going with the flow because I might think I want to focus on some herbs, but then I see something else and I'm like, that one calls to me more at the moment 

AB: And do you have a process like meditation or prayers or something that you do before you make the remedy?

KP: I do that during the process. Prayers are very important. Pray without ceasing. So I do it in the morning. And that's what also helps me to quiet my spirit, my soul, to be able to listen and have guidance.

AB: You know, we were talking to a lady from India, who is a herbalist and who's very well known, and she's got the highest award that you can get in India. It's called the Padma Shri. And she actually said that the herbs call out to her. So she says when I go into the forest, there'll be trees who will say, take me, take me. You know, she actually feels like she communicates with them. Do you feel, like, a sense of communication with the herbs? 

KP: Yes. I remember when I was walking through the forest, I just turned around and there was an herb right in front of me. And so I was looking at it and I was like, that looks like an Oregon Grape. But the funny thing is that it’s said we don't have any here. And so when I was doing more research about it, that indeed was the Oregon Grape. And so it just showed itself to me. But actually, if a person sees it other than me, I guess they would actually uproot it because it's invasive. But they didn't think that we had [them here] anymore. So it was just… It was funny how it showed itself, you know, showed itself to me, but I'm sure it doesn't naturally always do that. So I guess it knew and wanted or invited me to, you know, make medicine from it.

AB: When you give it to them, do you recommend any form of prayers or meditation?

KP: So some people I've dealt with are with tubes in their mouth. So sometimes all that we can do is the physical and we can just anoint. So I like to use things like frankincense or things like that. Just those little things that can be anointing. Or using sals, maybe putting it on their feet. So it is personal. I also do like lifestyle changes. So it's a lot of different things that they can incorporate naturally as well. Like I said, everything's on a case by case and herb by herb basis. And so it really just fluctuates from person to person and also I get to know their preferences. So there are some people who say, I don't want to have, you know, a tea or, you know, I'm really busy. And so I try to make suggestions that are going to go with their lifestyle, so that it’s something that they want to do and want to keep up forever. And so it's not really even about me per se. It's just finding that happiness or that sweet spot for them as well.

AB: And, you know, how we talked about the story at the beginning of Okomfo Anokye and the Kalanchoe plant that he used to help people. I'm sure there are many, many such stories, and there must be many such plants which are revered and which are meant to be very special. So how did these stories and cultural narratives influence you?

KP: I think all of herbalism first started with a story. And specifically for African herbalism, there are some places like Ethiopia or Egypt that do have more written text, but for the majority or most of West Africa, it's usually through oral. I think it's unique being a part of the African diaspora, because we don't know a lot about specific countries or even specific tribes. And so what we do usually is maybe a march of different things or a celebration of all of those different things. And so you see it even play out in many different stories. So I did want to actually share about a few throughout the diaspora who actually had healing traditions that were way back from in Africa. We may not know where they're from, but, like, for instance, we have Onesimus, and he was an enslaved man. He actually had a smallpox inoculation method that he taught the enslaved person. It was actually in the newspapers as well. And that is a method that he learned from Africa. So this was actually in Boston. And then we have another person called Nathan Nearest, and he's gotten popular, and there's actually a brand called Uncle Nearest that is based around him. But he actually taught Jack Daniels, which is, you know, the popular whiskey, he taught him that distillation method and that charcoal filtering method which was from Africa as well. And so he's just now, you know, getting more known for that. But we see that all throughout. There's others as well, like Doctor Caesar. He is the one who got his freedom as well. For snake bite venom. He talked about plantain. So he used plantain and he used horehound.

AB: Did he use it for snake bite? Amazing.

KP: And the horehound, which you would think that wouldn't be maybe the first thing that we think of today, but if you think about it, it does make sense because plantain is more of a pulling, and it will pull all kinds of debris and I've heard even glass being pulled out of wounds. And then, horehounds are very antibacterial, you know, antifungal. So I could see how putting those two together would make sense, but I wouldn't think of that necessarily on my own. So it's just really wonderful and powerful. Some of these healing traditions that were passed on as well.

AB: Let's talk about herbs to maybe boost immunity. Let's take that as an example, because a lot of people get seasonal illnesses. I live in the UK. When winter comes, October is the month where everyone's getting sick. Currently, a lot of people are getting Covid again. So are there any herbs that you can recommend? And how would you suggest people take them?

KP: Actually, I pick on that boost immunity a lot. Things like boost immunity, anti inflammatory, just because I feel like those phrases, they're not really specific about what's really going on or how it works. And so, like you said, for seasonal illnesses, it can be colds and coughs, it could be flu, it can be allergies, etcetera. And so I would go about boosting immunity. I have my… I say my three stages of illness. So the first one is before anything happens, it's really proactive, where you're trying to build up and boost and fortify your system so that you don't get sick. And that's where a lot of times we'll focus on some of our adaptogens, maybe like stragglers that we might use, ashwagandha, things like that. And then when you actually feel the onset, so, like, if you feel that little tickle in your throat, that's when I might use something like echinacea that's going to stimulate the white cell production to hopefully ward off the sickness from happening. And then when you're full blown sick and you may have a fever, so then you might use some diaphoretic type herb, or you might have congestion, so you might use maybe a decongestant, or you may have a dry throat, so you might use a plant with mucilage. And so that's why I don't, you know, like that term per se. We have to be more specific, but based on what's going on, you can even say, okay, you have a fever, but you also have congestion. Okay, now we have an herb that does both of those things. And so that's how we kind of tailor which herb is for the person. So, like, for congestion, even things like onions or garlic can be beneficial. I like to use that especially for children. Put it in their socks. That's like a remedy that's used, like grandma remedy, that's used pretty commonly. And people do it without really realising that, you know, is herbalism. Marsh mallow is another one I like to use or malva for the mucilage as well.

AB: Oh I see, marshmallows!

KP: Yes.

AB: As in the sweet marshmallow? 

KP: Oh, no, no, no. The plant marsh mallow. It's in the Malva family. 

AB: Okay. Okay. So what would you use that for?

KP: It’s safe for children. So I would use that for dry conditions to add moisture.

AB: And what about things like allergies? Because there's so many allergies. That's such a big seasonal issue, right?

KP: So you could use things like nettle, but for the same reason I say, just knowing, you know, what it is. If it's more like hay fever, you might use something, but there's plants like butterbur that you might use; like I talked about nettle or the histamine, just settle in the histamine, which is what gives us that allergic resource. So there's different ways you can go about it. Like if it's affecting your eyes or, you know, you have dry eyes, things like that, or irritated eyes, you might use eyebright. So it just depends on what the allergic reaction is that you're having.

AB: So from what I understand from you, there's prevention. There's early stages, or rather very early stages, and then there's later stages, and each one is specific to you. So it's not like you can generally just pop in a herb. It's specific to the person and the reaction that they get with it. 

KP: Right. Because even our average person has one to two colds each year, and all your colds may not have been the same. Sometimes you may have a dry throat and sometimes you may have congestion. So each individual time is different. And there's like, you know, a dozen different symptoms that you can have and you might not display all of them. So each time you might choose something a little bit different.

AB: Okay, but tell me another thing. So say you make someone a bunch of herbal remedies, right? If they're on some sort of medicine as well, like modern medicine, would you tell them to go speak to their consultant and tell them what herbs they're taking? Could it interfere? 

KP: Yeah. So you always want to be mindful of herb drug interactions, as they're called. And so for those who are doing it yourself you would always look at contraindications or calls Those are the warnings associated with the different herbs. But yes, I always say, just as a rule of thumb, if you're taking medicine for something, then you're not going to take an herb to take care of the same thing because the medicine is going to take care of it. If you're taking something for high blood pressure, then you're not going to take an herb for high blood pressure, because then you can go from the right blood pressure to low blood pressure by doing that. So you might want to look at other ways that you can support your body, and that's going to be beneficial for what's going on, but you're not going to try to tackle the same thing. But yes, I always do say consult with your physician. You want to be transparent with all the people that you're using, all the different healers that you are going to. So everyone should know. And I also request to know what type of drugs that they may have taken, any medicines, any supplements, all those different things. Because what a lot of people don't know about modern medicine is that a lot of times it can lead to different vitamins or minerals from the body as well. So knowing that you also need to know that about herbs as well. So, like, if you take a diuretic, they'll usually give you a diuretic and they'll give you potassium because they're diuretics. Take away potassium while the herbals do the opposite. So that's something you need to know because if they're already taking the potassium, you want to make sure that you're not going to be giving them too much potassium in that way.

AB: And KhadiYah, you talked about putting onion and garlic into the food. So sort of building in the herbs into people's diets. You know, like the Ibok people of Nigeria, they have this bitter leaf soup, or Ofe onugbu, as they call it. And it helps with, I think it helps with immunity and it helps with detoxification. And exactly what you said, it helps with providing essential nutrients. I'm sure you've got many, many food recipes like that. Is there anything you want to talk about? Any particular recipes which are absolutely amazing for helping people with various ailments?

KP: Very strong, helpful. Yes. So I'm all about, as you said, like using herbs every day. I have a book called Everyday Herbs, and that's really what I promote. And using them as food. And so there's many ways. So like nettle, actually, nettle is also indigenous to Africa as well. And you can use that in foods. It's used a lot of times in stews, pesto, and you can also make seasoning blends. I have a seasoning blend recipe that I use for that. I also have used it in oxymels, which is you use nettles, you use honey, and you use vinegar. You usually use apple cider vinegar when you're using herbal medicines. And so, yes, I love to use those as food. And, you know, they're delicious. Then also in African traditions, you see a lot of bitter, so bitter melons or bitter yam, a lot of bitter foods as well. Bitters are really wonderful to take right before a meal because it can help with the digestion and then all of those processes as well. There's other foods that people don't think about as medicinal, but they are very medicinal, like the okra, which is, of course, from Africa, but also African Americans use it as well. We use it in different foods. It's like gumbo from New Orleans, but it does have medicinal benefits. It's in that same malva family. It's slimy, but it can be used on the skin as well to protect the skin. And then it also is wonderful for the bladder and add in that moisture. So it does have a lot of wonderful benefits as well.

AB: Okra reminds me of the story growing up. My mom used to make us eat okra. India has okra. My mom would make us eat okra every day, and we would run away from it because apparently it's very good for the brain. And she used to just insist we eat it. And it got to the point where, you know, we'd see okra on the table and we'd run for our lives.

KP: I didn't like okra as much either, because of the slimy texture. But I do find that I like it very, very much raw because it's less slimy. It still has that slime because it reacts to your saliva really. But, yes, I do, I do love okra. And it's a beautiful, beautiful plant with beautiful flowers if you ever grow it.

AB: Now, the other thing I want to ask you about is baobab. This was when I was in Zanzibar. I saw a lot of baobab. Can you tell me a little bit about that? I mean, because they were using it on skin, they were using it for fevers. They were using it for asthma. All kinds of things— they would apply to the hair, they would apply it on the face…

KP: To go right into what you were saying about baobab. I love bridging the African traditions with the African diaspora. And so there was a very popular, you probably heard of this product line called Shea Moisture, but they had lines with a baobab, and it was used in hair for strengthening the hair. And also, I believe they had it for skin products as well. But like, as you said, too, it has its antibacterial. It does have a lot of wonderful properties, but also for eating— it's antioxidant, has high vitamin C and iron. And then a lot of times what you'll see is for a lot of the plants, they are used, like, for sustaining you. So, like, you can, from the fruit of the baobab, you can actually make them into pancakes and dry them out, and they can last for, like, several months.

AB: So you're saying a lot of the reverence for these plants has come out of the fact that they can be stored well, and that's what was available. So it was used for lots of different things.

KP: Right, right.

AB: Okay. Also, the other thing I want to talk about before we go is mental health. Now, I mean, one is just consuming the medicine, but the chants and the utterances and the kind of rituals around. It also helps us, like you said, it helps you get to a place of quiet, the prayers. It helps you get to a place where you're feeling better about what you're going to ingest, the medicine. You're going to ingest the herbal medicine. So do you think this whole process that went into taking a medicine, this physical, spiritual process, helped people with mental and emotional health?

KP: Yes, definitely. I think that's one of the most powerful ways. Everything also starts in the mind as well. As a man thinketh, so is he. So even if you're taking the right ‘herbs’ we'll say, if your mentality or you don't even believe that it's going to work, I think that definitely… Just like there is a placebo of you thinking that it's going to work and it works, if you don't think it's going to work, then I think that also can heed or be a hindrance to you, to you and your healing. And so I like to do things like herbal steams. And I feel like they really just kind of draw out everything, including emotionally. And you see that a lot like inhalation. And out of African herbal tradition, it's just really powerful. And then I also feel like or I think about like anointing, anointing oneself with oil and like you say, praying and meditation, I feel like that is really powerful. So a lot of times I may be using herbs and everything, but I always, I always, ask my mom as well to come to pray with me and she'll anoint me as well. And that anointment just makes it, we believe, even two times or maybe 100 times stronger as well. All those different things. And as you talked about mental health, it is really important. And so some of these things can be done in self care as well. So, like I talked about the herbal steam, that's the time when you're you know, you're by yourself, your head's covered. You know, sometimes people need that time to be vulnerable as well, by themselves, or even just rubbing themselves with oil. That can be therapeutic as well, loving yourself, self care. So we do a lot of things and we don't even realise that that's like medicine for us. Or even just walking outside barefoot, all those different things, that's just another way to interact with the plants. That's just another facet of herbalism.

AB: And, KhadiYah, tell me, have you seen any sort of serious illnesses getting cured with herbal medicine or African traditional medicine?

KP: Honestly, and it may just be the people who would come to me. But a lot of times when things are chronic, you can see the progress just from, like I said, the frankincense and all of that. And part of that, I will say, is also with the mental belief that you can be healed and that it's not over for you. Not accepting what the doctors say as well, and having that fight to live just from that willingness inside, that mental [belief], they're able to believe that herbalism can actually work. And that's one of the things that modern medicine can't do, is it can't do some of the things like helping to regenerate the pancreatic cells, like the honey bush can or helping to regenerate the liver, like the milk thistle. Thistle also is another plant native to Africa. So there's a lot of different things that it's just like, how does it, you know, how does it even do that? And they're really powerful. Even, you know, turmeric, I know that it is very much used in India in the food and different curries and different things like that, but it's also very much used in Africa. They use it also on snake bites. So I would say that also is another way. But also in some areas, I believe it's Mauritiana, where they use it as an emmenagogue to bring about menses. But it's being studied for its curcumin, for cancer, as a neoplastic herb to help get rid of tumours. And so, yeah, the herbs can really do powerful things. 

AB: So what was your most amazing story, where you felt like, ‘Oh, my God, I never thought this illness could be reversed?’

KP: Well, I would say that it started first with me, with my absent periods, and it got worse and worse. So I started having constipation, horrible, you know, cystic acne. And I dealt with it for ten years. None of the doctors were even able to give me a reason why it was happening. So, you know, I didn't know for sure that it was something that I could do to be able to have my periods come again. And after that, after seeing that and having that issue for that long, I knew that it's possible to do anything 

AB: Fantastic. And anything that you would like to say to the listeners?

KP: Oh, yes, I definitely say books are, books are wonderful, but sometimes they can be a crutch to us. So we really need to get out, use our intuition more, maybe 50-50, you know, with the knowledge that we have in the books, but get on and experience, experiment more and learn that way. That's the best way to learn. Use your hands and get dirty. You know, get intimate with a plan to be able to actually see the healing that you want to see. If you find that you're not getting the healing, it's probably because you just need to keep digging deeper. Just be more curious and listen more than we speak.

AB: Thank you so much, KhadiYah, for sharing your passion and your knowledge with us. It was lovely to have you on the chat. Thank you. Thank you for being here with us today. I hope for two things today. I hope you learned something new, and I hope we'll help you lead a healthier and happier life. And I hope you learn to revere nature the way that a lot of the healers all over the world are doing. See you next time.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Anshu Bahanda

Host