INTERROGATING THE RELEVANCE OF INDIGENOUS ORGANIC FOODS AND PLANTS IN HEALTH SUSTENANCE IN THE ABAKALIKI AREA, EBONYI STATE, 1980-2023

Abstract

Before the inception of modern drugs, people in the Abakaliki area derived their nutrition and health sustenance from organic food and plant-based medicines. In recent times however, the use of chemicals for food production and preservation has caused a radical shift in the behaviour of plants in their natural habitat and in the human body. Ultimately, organic food becomes inorganic thus deteriorating people’s health instead of improving it. This study focuses on the healing potency or otherwise of good nutrition in the Abakaliki area. The stages of change model of health provide a theoretical framework of analysis for the study. The work is derived partly from literature focusing on plant behaviour and also from oral interviews gathered from botanists, healers and individuals. On the whole, the study analyzes the impact of plant behavior on the health of Abakaliki residents and makes suggestions for its sustenance.