Palm wine might be known as a tropical local alcoholic drink that has a sweet taste when freshly tapped and is enjoyed by as many that loved it either when sweet or sour, thus refreshing them all the time but it is really more than that!.

In as much as it does all of the above, most people still fail to understand that palm wine contains rich nutrients that provide the body with lots of amazing benefits which are discussed below.

Here are surprising health benefits of Palm wine you may not know

1. Improves Eye Vision

This is one of the primary functions of palm-wine which many people are aware of but may not really know what nutrients actually do the work. The presence of the vitamins in palm wine such as vitamin C and B’s have a vital role which they play in improving eye vision.

While vitamin C helps in building the connective tissues of the body and the blood vessels of the eye preventing related eye problems like cataracts, macular degeneration, etc.,  Vitamin B1 and B12 help in solving vascular-related issues that concern the retina which could result in chronic inflammation and more.

Generally, vitamins help in keeping the eye healthy and reduces the chances of getting eye problems as much as possible.

Potassium also helps in keeping the eye healthy and moist as its deficiency can cause eye twitches or eye muscle spams as a result of eye dryness caused by the lack of potassium.

This benefits can’t be gotten from any other alcoholic beverage even those that promise it does, and this could be the sole reason people who live in the villages, especially our grandparents, tend to have better eyesight due to their intake of palm-wine which seems to be their top alcoholic drink.

2. Build the Body’s Structure

Protein is an essential nutrient which the body cannot do without, and palm wine contains lots of amino acids whose main function is to act as the building block of the macro-nutrient – Protein.

Thus, it helps in building and improving the body cells and as well help to store nutrients in the body which is vital for the functions of the body’s organ. It also plays a major role in the repairing of the body’s tissues, structures of the bones and muscles.

3. Improves Hair and Skin

Palm wine does more than is expected of it, it contains nutrients that help in nourishing the skin, the hair and even the nails (fingers and toes alike), such as the vitamins, zinc, magnesium, and others which plays a very important role in the improvement.

It also helps in the promotion of new body cells by removing the dead cells in the body and replacing it, thereby giving the skin a soft, smooth and better appearance.

4. Used to Treat Skin Rashes

In most places, palm wine can be used externally in the treatment of skin conditions such as rashes, eczema, etc., especially in small children. It is done by rubbing the affected areas with un-adultered palm wine, its content of vitamins will help soothe the skin and relieve such skin issues.

5. Increases Breast Milk

This is one of the functions of palm wine in the body that most people especially those in the villages are aware of. Though it is widely believed that taking of palm wine help increase breast milk in lactating mothers but scientifically, it hasn’t be proven.

But still, that doesn’t make the saying all wrong as most of the diseases and cure for the treatment of various health conditions are from naturally occurring plants and vegetations which our forefathers have practically been using.

Palm wine has long served as the main beverage for lactating mothers in many African countries like Nigeria, Cameroon, etc., where it is mostly cultivated and can be easily gotten, and have been locally proven to help mothers whose breast milk are low by increasing the flow for adequate breastfeeding.

6. Improves Heart Health

Its potassium content makes it a good source of drink to help combat various related cardiovascular diseases. Potassium is good for the body and helps it function better, and the expected level in the body is between 3.5 and 5 mmol/L.

It helps the nerves and muscles to function well and as such helps in normalizing the rate at which the heart beats and well helps in reducing or lowering the blood pressure.

Palmwine should be taken in moderation to provide the heart and the entire body with the potassium it needs as either too much (hyperkalemia) or low (hypokalemia) content of potassium in the body can cause irregular heartbeats which can lead to serious and deadly health problems.

7. Fights Cancer

Food rich in antioxidant properties is known to help in reducing cancer risk, as they help prevent oxidation processes in the body which could cause some chemical reactions in the body thereby leading to damages of vital organs and cells, ulcer, inflammation, etc.

Palm wine contains antioxidants that help prevent free radicals from damaging the cells in the body and fight cancer. An example of such antioxidants in palm wine is vitamin B2 (Riboflavin).

Nutritional Values of Palm Wine

It may not be surprising to say that palm wine contains sugar, bacteria and yeast (which causes fermentation), but it is surprising when nutrients like protein, carbohydrates, vitamin C, Amino acids, potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron, vitamin B’s are mentioned but it surely contains them all and even more yet to be proven.

Where Palm Wine can be found!

Palm wine is a common traditional alcoholic drink in tropical areas due to the favorable climate and is widely cultivated in West and Central Africa like Nigeria, the Caribbeans and Asia, and even some parts of South America.

In Nigeria, it is mainly found in tropical regions such as the Southeast, South-west, and South-south, and their favorable climate and weather condition is suitable for its growth in such areas.

Kinds of Palm Wine

Most people may not know that palm wine comes in various tastes and flavors, especially as a result of geographical areas which can be attributed to many factors like soil type, climate condition, and others.

Majorly, the Nigerian palm wine is gotten from the oil palm tree and Raffia palm by palm wine tappers, but in various Africa countries and other areas where it is found, there could be other different types of palm.

1. Palm wine from the oil palm tree is called “nkwu enu” in Igbo, “emu” in Yoruba.
2. Another kind of palm known as “iti” is common in Anambra state and involving the tapping of palm wine from the stem of the oil palm tree, it is also known as Stem tapping.
3. Raffia palm wine is tapped from the raffia tree and is known as “Ngwo” in Igbo, “Ukot” in Efik and “Ogoro” in Yoruba.
4. Another type of palm wine is gotten from felling the palm tree and is known as “down-wine”, it is common inGhanaand in some parts of Cross River like Boki LGA but abolished by the government as it discourages forestation.

In some countries of the world, it is known with different names such as “Mbu” in Cameroon, “Ukwu or Ngwo” in Igbo (Nigeria),” Doka” in Ghana, “Panam culloo” in China, “Emu” in Yoruba (Nigeria), “Lambanog” in the Philippines, and more.

Side Effects

In as much as palm wine is vital for our health, and is being recommended by many because of its nutritional benefits, yet it should not be taken in excess especially when it has undergone fermentation.

As it can result in hypertension, neurological problems and can as well lead to failure of the body’s vital organs such as the liver and kidney, the alcohol content in fermented palm wine is 2 or 3 times more than that in other alcoholic drinks which gives the liver work overload while trying to detoxify the system.

Many local gins can be produced from palm wine too depending on the duration of the fermentation process which still has adverse reactions to the body when taken in excess.

Conclusion

Palm wine is more than just a refreshing drink and is rich in minerals and vitamins that help to provide the body with the necessary nutrients which prevent deficiencies and improves the hair, skin, fight cancer, improve vision and promote heart health.

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Palm Oil business is fast becoming a money spinner in Nigeria.

The palm oil business is one of the lucrative businesses in Nigeria because of its diverse usefulness and the huge profit involved. In Nigeria, palm oil is one of the essential needs for cooking most meals. The interesting part of this business is that every part of the palm tree (fruits, leaves, trunks, and sap) is used for different things.

The palm fruits are processed to produce palm oil, the leaves on the other hand are used for roofing homes in rural areas. While the popular palm wine which is the sap is a refreshing and widely loved beverage in Nigeria.

Gone are the days when people think that the only sector to make cool money in Nigeria is oil and gas. Nowadays, industries that are being overlooked are the ones raking in huge profits for the business owners.

An aspiring entrepreneur must be able to look wide and deep when investing in a business. Not long ago, Nigeria was the third-largest producer of palm oil, with over 2.3million hectares (5.7×106 acres) under cultivation.

This article covers everything you need to know about starting and running a successful palm oil business in Nigeria. Additionally, you will also learn about the different areas of the palm oil business so you can choose the best that works for you depending on your start-up capital.

Palm Oil Business Defined

Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the fruit of palm trees and it is reddish in colour. It is a native oil with rich components found in Nigeria and some parts of Africa. Palm oil can thicken when you store it in a cool place for a long time.

Palm tree plantation

This aspect of palm oil business is highly capital intensive. It requires the purchase of large expanse of land, preferably acres of land. The soil must be tested for appropriateness of its use for palm tree plantation, since the quality of the palm oil depends on the land used for cultivation.

So you must decide on the size of the land and its location for easy access to production plants and market. The incubation period after plantation of the palm trees can take between five years and ten years before harvesting. So as a farmer, you must be very patient. And once the harvesting begins, it is a regular exercise since different palm trees will produce ripe palm oil seeds at different times and must be harvested.

The palm tree plantation owner has to make a choice whether to set up a mill to extract the palm oil, or to sell the palm oil kernel seeds to those who do the processing. The capital requirement for this type of project runs into millions of naira.

So in summary, to set up Palm oil tree plantation:

• Purchase a land or make use of family land
• Test the soil to see if it is good for plantation. Not all soil are suitablle
• Be certain that there is access to the land to move your palm produce
• Plant the palm tree
• Wait for five to 10 years
• Harvest your palm produce

Setting up palm oil mill

This is another aspect of palm oil business. This is relatively capital intensive since it requires the installation of palm oil milling machines for the processing of the  palm oil kernel seeds. The processing of palm oil kernel can be done in two ways;

• Commercial processing This is a situation whereby the milling machines are rented out for processing other peoples palm oil kernels and such people pay hire fee for the use of the milling machines. It is a very good business since the machines are used to capacity through out the year particularly during the season of palm oil kernel harvesting, between January and May. During the off season, July to December, the processing business is fairly stable.
• Installation and use of the milling machines for own use. The second category of palm oil business is to process the palm oil kernel and sell the palm oil to users. In this exercise, the investor installs the milling machines and arranges to buy the harvested palm oil kernel in relatively large quantity from different sources of farmers. The purchased palm kernel seeds are then processed (extraction of oil from the palm kernel oil seed) and the oil sold to resellers or users.

You have to look for a good location to site your Pal oil milling machine. It should be close to farm and also close to major road for easy transportation.

Trading on palm oil

This is the category majority of investors in palm oil business engage in because it is in the buying and selling you make quick money. This business involves the buying of palm oil in large quantity, storing them for months, relatively in large quantity and selling during the off peak period, when the supply to the market has reduced. During this period, the traders will bring out their stock for sale and make reasonable amount of profit. From the background analysis, it is assumed you understand the different aspect of the business.

The steps  you need to take before starting your palm oil business are as follows:

1. Formal and/ or informal market research to understand the nature of the business, the volume of the business, who are the existing buyers and seller of the product, where are they concentrated and which states you have the chief producers of palm oil. You must also find out the prevailing prices of buying and selling and from which states you can obtain the palm oil cheaper and at the right quality.

2.  Capital to be invested. From the research report, you will be able to assess the capital requirements of the business and where to access it. The amount of capital required must be able to meet all of the following:

• Working capital : This is the minimum amount of money required to buy the palm oil for sale.  Also, there will be sufficient amount of cash for transporting the palm oil from where they are purchased to the warehouse.
• Cost of acquiring the warehouse where the palm oil will be stored during the period of low sales until business picks up again in the peak period.
• Cost of means of storage – kegs of mainly twenty five litres . The quantity to be purchased depends of the level of investment to be made in the business.

3. You need to know how to preserve palm oil. So, Storage space and means of storage must be arranged. The storage space (warehouse) must be spacious, have security, access road and conducive for the storage of oil. Also, the kegs for storing the oil must be arranged.  You can rent a room for storage too.

4. Contact suppliers You must find out where sellers (suppliers) of palm oil are and which state produce the best quality at reasonable prices. You must compile list of suppliers and make efforts to find out whom they are, how reliable, quality of oil they sell, credit facility offered and possibility of establishing long term relationship with them.

5. Decide on the mode of transportation of purchased palm oil . There are so many commercial carriers available and you can approach many of them to compare transport fares, how reliable they are, security of goods on transit and the ability of the carrier to maintain the condition of the oil carried from where they picked up to their destination. If at all possible, buying own vehicle for transporting the palm oil is better for continence and reliability.

6. Market your products. From the outset, it is important to contact the would be retailers (buyers) of your products and intimate them that you are going to be a reliable supplier for palm oil during the season and off season. Compile their list and do get in touch with them occasionally since they are the reason you are in business.

Finding Palm Oil  Exporters and marketing your Palm Oil Business

If you are planing to export your palm oil. You can search for palm oil exporters.

One of the best places to market your palm oil business and find international buyers online is Alibaba. Alibaba.com is a website that connects suppliers, manufacturers with buyers. So you can go to Alibaba and promote your product.

Ensure that you do adequate background check before entering into business with anyone.

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