Quail eggs saved my life
George Ochieng loved the good life. He recalls a time in his life when he would visit the pub daily with friends for drinks and nyama choma.
“We would start at 10am and by 5pm, we would have eaten an entire goat over alcoholic drinks,” says Ochieng.
As a result of this lifestyle, he was diagnosed with gouty arthritis in 1990 and admitted to Nairobi Hospital for treatment.
His doctor also discovered that he had a kidney problem. This condition limited his mobility even though his work schedule required that he travel extensively.
“I used to go on tours a lot, but after I was diagnosed with gouty arthritis, I could neither drive nor walk,” says the former managing director of Lake Basin Development Authority.
Gouty arthritis, or simply, gout, is a type of arthritis caused by too much uric acid in the blood.
Many think gout only affects the big toe but it can affect any joint in the body.
Although George had a medical cover and received help from the government, his treatment was too costly and eventually his family had to take him home and hire a nurse for him.
In 1991, Ochieng got the opportunity to travel to China for a month-long official tour and that is when his view on the efficacy of conventional medicine changed.
In China, Ochieng and his team had to walk for hours in the forests, which he found difficult since he always wore sandals.
His Chinese hosts advised him to try quail eggs.
“I ate quail eggs for about a week and I felt better. I continued for the rest of the period and even felt much better than when I was on medication,” he says.
When he started, he would wash the raw quail eggs in hot water and then blend them together with the shells because of their high calcium value.
He started by eating three raw eggs a day, before he increased to four and later five. By the time he was leaving China, he had eaten about 100 eggs without taking his medication.
Upon his return, he went for a check-up and the doctor told him that his kidney had improved. He also began regaining strength in his muscles and the pain reduced slightly. He also started eating healthy meals and exercising regularly.
When he retired in 2001, he ventured into game bird farming, mainly quail keeping, on his Rimpa farm in Kiserian.
“I started with quail because of their eggs,” he says.
He also keeps turkeys, guinea fowl, star winged geese, chicken, peacocks and ostriches.
In 2007, Ochieng wore shoes for the first time in 16 years. He could also drive, walk and farm at will as the pain was gone, although the joints are still swollen.
Although eating too many chicken eggs can cause heart disease due to high cholesterol, quail eggs contain good cholesterol.
“I suggest that when using quail eggs as medicine, start by eating three eggs a day for three months. You can later reduce this to one or two eggs a day,” he says.
His parting shot: “Do not necessarily stop your medication but add quail eggs to your diet. I’m a living testimony that these eggs can heal and they don’t have any negative side effects.”
The price of one quail, slaughtered and plucked, is about Sh350, while the tiny eggs sell for about Sh50 each.