Does garri (groceries) cause blindness?
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By Friday Blessing Chinasa
Garri is one of the foods in west Africa that cuts across tribes. Garri is made from cassava tubers. Despite the hike in food prices over the years, it is regarded as the fastest and easiest food to make.
The process of making garri starts with the cassava tubers been peeled, washed grated to produce a mash. The mash is then mixed with palm oil and placed in a porous bag, which is placed in an adjustable press machine to remove excess water. Once dried, it is sieved and fried in a large clay frying pot with little amount of palm oil.
Garri has many health benefits as it’s contains carbohydrates and dietary fibre, it is low in fat. Garri is a good source of iron as it aids red blood cells formulation.
However, there has been a myth, as many Nigerians has lived with the belief that it causes blindness. The presence of cyanogenic glycoside: linamarin and lotaustralin and cyanide are found in unprocessed garri which can be dangerous to the health and causes blindness.
A research paper by a group of Nigerian researchers titled visual defects among consumers of garri shows that illnesses due to consuming smaller amount of cyanide taken in over a long period of time can occur if cassava roots are not processed properly.
Cyanide is a chemical that contain carbon-nitrogen CN bond. Cyanide is toxic to the nerves and shouldn’t be consumed. Cyanide displace vitamin B12 from the body thereby making the body deficient in vitamin B12 which in turn causes losses of vision and blindness.
If properly processed and cyanide reduced to the barest minimum the frequency of consumption will not affect eyesight in any way.
Written by Friday Blessing Chinasa, student of Department of Mass Communication,
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
