18/12/2025
🚨 Is Your Favorite Swallow Silently Poisoning You?
We love our Cassava. From Garri to Fufu, Lafun to Abacha, it is the backbone of millions of meals. It’s cheap, it’s filling, and it’s delicious.
But there is a hidden enemy lurking inside those tubers that doesn't care how hungry you are. Its name is Cyanide.
💀 The Science of the "Silent Killer"
Here is the scary truth: Raw cassava naturally contains chemicals called cyanogenic glycosides. In simple English? When you chew or digest raw or poorly processed cassava, these chemicals turn into Hydrogen Cyanide in your stomach.
Yes, that cyanide. The same poison used in spy movies.
Did You Know?
The "bitter" variety of cassava often contains much higher levels of poison than the "sweet" variety, but both can be dangerous if not treated with respect.
⚠️ What Happens When You Eat "Rush" Cassava?
We live in a fast world. Farmers want to sell quickly; producers want to process quickly. But when you shorten the fermentation days to make a quick profit, the cyanide stays in the food.
1. The Immediate Hit (Acute Poisoning)
If the cyanide level is high enough, your body reacts fast—sometimes within hours of eating.
Dizziness & Headaches: You feel like the room is spinning.
Vomiting & Stomach Pain: Your body tries to purge the poison.
Confusion: Your brain isn't getting enough oxygen.
Rapid Breathing: A sign of respiratory distress.
In extreme cases: Coma or death.
2. The Slow Crippler (Chronic Poisoning)
This is the one that should scare you the most. If you consistently eat poorly processed cassava over years, the cyanide slowly damages your nervous system.
Goiter: It interferes with iodine absorption, causing swollen thyroid glands.
Konzo (The Bound Legs): This is a irreversible disease. It causes sudden, permanent spastic paralysis of the legs. It mostly affects children and women in poor rural areas who survive almost entirely on bitter cassava.
🛡️ How to Eat Cassava Without Dying
The good news? You don’t have to stop eating Garri! You just have to respect the process. Our ancestors knew what they were doing when they spent days preparing food.
Here is how to kill the cyanide before it enters your body:
Soak and Ferment: This is the most effective method. Soaking cassava roots in water for 3 to 5 days allows natural enzymes to break down the glycosides, releasing the cyanide into the water (which you then throw away).
Grating and Crushing: This ruptures the cell walls of the plant, helping the poison escape.
Drying: Sun-drying helps, but it is not enough on its own. It works best combined with crushing.
Thorough Cooking: Heat helps evaporate the cyanide gas, making the food safe. Never eat raw cassava.
📢 The Bottom Line
Patience is not just a virtue; it is an antidote.
If you buy Garri, make sure it is from a trusted source that allows for proper fermentation. If you make Fufu, don't rush the soaking days. The sour taste of proper fermentation isn't just for flavor—it's the taste of safety.
Don't let "Fast Food" become "Last Food." Share this message and keep your family safe!
