Garcinia kola or in simple terms, bitter kola originated from West and Central Africa. The nut comes from the evergreen kola tree, which is found in the rainforests of Africa. Signifying the importance of this second largest continent, it produces many healing wonders for us.
Garcinia kola belongs to the species of a tropical flowering plant. It produces brown, nut like seeds, similar looking to kidney beans.
Side Effects of Bitter Kola
High Blood Pressure
Bitter kola contains loads of caffeine, and caffeine elevates blood pressure leading to possible hypertension. People living with hypertension should not eat bitter kola, because the active ingredients in the kola nut are stimulant to the body.
Mouth Cancer
According to researchers, chewing kola nuts can lead to mouth cancer. Bitter kola contains quite a big amount of caffeine , which means eating too much of bitter kola nuts can be quite unhealthy. Be careful with the amount of nuts eaten.
Poor Sleep
Using bitter kola nuts can lead to insomnia. Those with sleeping disorders may be advised to avoid stimulants that contain caffeine, which include kola nuts
Dizziness
Dizziness and muscle weakness are one of the effects of bitter kola nuts on the brain.
Diarrhea
Taking Bitter kola nuts can worsen your already existing diarrhea or even make you develop one.
Drying of Mouth
Bitter kola nuts have a way of making your mouth dry after eating it. It dries up the saliva in your mouth and throat.
Headache
Bitter kola nuts have CNS manifestation so it can cause you headaches. Don’t forget that bitter kola can cause poor sleep. So if you are not able to sleep well that means you will have a headache.
Kola nuts may be a helpful natural remedy for some common conditions. However, as they contain substances that act as stimulants on the body, kola nuts may not be appropriate for everyone.
If products containing kola nuts are intended to treat medical conditions, a person should talk to their doctor before consuming them. Kola nuts may interact with certain medications and, therefore, may not be recommended for use.
Cynthia resides in Nigeria and he his an expert on all Nigerian topics. His interests includes but not limited to Technology News and Nigerian Musics. He has interviewed and studied several musician in Nigeria.