$400 Million Networth

 Be inspired  Please Read 

Source: Internet

Acupuncture effective for reducing hypertension

Some people swear by acupuncture as a cure for pains such as migraine and back pain. Other remains sceptical, dismissing the ancient practice as a fluke. Now, scientists investigating actions of acupuncture have substantiated its age long usefulness in reducing blood pressure significantly in hypertensive patients.

In a new study, the scientists suggested that with regular use, electroacupuncture could help people manage their blood pressure and reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke in the longer term.

Electroacupuncture is a form of acupuncture that applies low-intensity electrical pulses through needles inserted at specific points on the body.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is an indicator that a person has a high risk for heart disease, stroke, kidney disease or heart attacks. If this pressure stays high or rises over time, it can cause damage to organs. But the drugs used to treat it must be taken daily, usually for a lifetime. And they may have side effects, such as fatigue, depression and dizziness, which often make many patients discontinue their treatment.

 Lifestyle interventions, such as exercise, weight loss, and salt intake restriction, can also lower blood pressure(BP), but these practices can be difficult to achieve and maintain. Therefore, there has been a growing interest in acupuncture as a treatment for hypertension.

Acupuncture is an ancient treatment technique anchored in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that has been used to treat symptoms related to hypertension for centuries. Physicians and patients in China, South Korea, and Japan have considered it as an effective adjunctive treatment, while, in the west, its use has been increasing.

The efficacy of acupuncture for lowering BP was suggested by many published case reports and uncontrolled trials that have shown significant associated reductions. However, other reports have not shown significant effects in comparison to control subjects.

An acupuncturist, Dr Bade Adewale of the Subol Hospital, Egbeda-Ikotun, Road, Idimu, Lagos, remarking that although many people link acupuncture with curing pain, described acupuncture as a credible form of treatment for hypertension.

Adewale, saying that acupuncture, an ancient mode of Chinese’s treatment, has a way of regulating body processes back to normalcy, said “with 20 minutes of treatment, the blood pressure can be regulated back to normal.”

The alternative medicine expert, stating that the treatment course is usually determined by the cause of hypertension, the person’s body constitution and lifestyle, assured that acupuncture can be used solely or in combination with other forms of therapy and lifestyle modifications to ensure the treatment of hypertension.

One of the ways that acupuncture can help, he added, was that it can help relax a patient or correct inability to sleep, thus relieving the stress that might be the root of high blood pressure in some individuals.

This single-blind trial was conducted at the University of California-Irvine (UCI). It was also the first to “scientifically confirm” that the ancient Chinese practice was beneficial in treating mild to moderate hypertension. It recruited 65 patients with hypertension who were not taking any drugs to treat their condition. Each patient was randomly assigned to one of two groups.

Both groups were treated with electroacupuncture, except that one group (the treatment group) had it applied to both sides of the inner wrists and slightly below each knee (acupoints thought to reduce blood pressure). The other group had it applied to other acupoints along the forearm and lower leg (the control group).

The results published in the journal Medical Acupuncture showed that 70 per cent of the 33 patients in the treatment group experienced a noticeable drop in blood pressure.

On average, the reduction was between six and eight mm/Hg for systolic blood pressure and 4 mm/Hg for diastolic blood pressure. These improvements persisted for six weeks after treatment.

They also experienced several other improvements including reductions in dizziness, pain of the knees and waist, and palpitations. This can mean less intense and less frequent headaches, clearer vision, less irritability, and more consistent energy throughout the day.

There was also an average drop in blood concentration of norepinephrine (also called noradrenaline), a hormone that constricts blood vessels and increases blood pressure and blood sugar in the treatment group by 41 per cent.

The treatment group also showed a 67 per cent drop in renin - an enzyme released in the kidneys that helps control blood pressure - and a 22 per cent drop in a hormone that regulates electrolytes (aldosterone).

However, there were no significant blood pressure changes in the 32 patients in the control group.

Although the blood pressure reductions were relatively small – mostly with four and 13mmHg range – the researchers said they were clinically meaningful and claimed the technique could be especially useful in treating hypertension, especially in people in their 60s and older with high systolic blood pressure.

Given that electroacupuncture decreases both peak and average systolic blood pressure over 24 hours, they indicated it might also help to decrease their risk for stroke, peripheral artery disease, heart failure and myocardial infarction.

Several randomised controlled trials of acupuncture to treat hypertension had been conducted. In 2013, a multicentre randomised controlled trial conducted in 11 hospitals in China published in the journal, Trials, indicated a significant decrease in blood pressure.

For this study, 428 men or women aged between 40 and 75 years with mild hypertensive were, recruited from 11 hospitals in China. They were not taking any antihypertensive drugs.

Also, the 2013 edition of Acupuncture Electrotherapy Research on the effect of acupuncture on high blood pressure of patients using antihypertensive drugs reported that acupuncture facilitated a significant reduction in blood pressure and reduced the patients’ complaints.  Due to this, they strongly suggest that acupuncture should be in the hypertension treatment guidelines and widely used for blood pressure regulation.

Why does acupuncture lower blood pressure? In acupuncture, invisible pathways connecting one body part to another are called meridians. They are located over major [nerve] pathways that are accessed when you put a needle in. Stimulating the pathway “sends impulses to the brain, activating different areas.” Some affect pain, which explains why acupuncture can control pain and others regulate the cardiovascular system.

SOURCE: NIGERIA TRIBUNE

D&C much more than abortion!

Often times, women are told to plan their families appropriately and refrain from resorting to abortion as a family planning option. Rather than have an unplanned pregnancy, experts advise use of contraceptive devices and condoms because of the untoward effects abortion could have on a woman.

Unlike family planning methods, experts warn that when women resort to abortion with a common gynecological surgical procedure, known as dilatation and curettage (commonly called D&C), it could be a reason for them in future to have premature babies.

In a new study, experts found that women who have undergone dilation and curettage who later become pregnant may be at increased risk of giving birth before the baby reaches full term.

They end up with premature babies because of damage to the cervix, the opening at the bottom of the womb that normally stays closed during pregnancy but opens during labour.

In understanding more the risks of D&Cs, the scientists analysed 21 previously published studies that included more than two million women.

They found that compared with women who had never had a D&C, women who had undergone the procedure prior to giving birth were 29 per cent more likely to deliver their babies before the 37th week of pregnancy. Pregnancies are generally considered to reach full term at 37 weeks.

Also, women who had not undergone a D&C had a six per cent chance of having a preterm delivery, compared with 7.6 per cent for those who had undergone the procedure.

In addition, the procedure also increased women’s risk of preterm births, or those occurring before 32 weeks of gestation, by 69 per cent. The risks were higher for women who had multiple D&Cs.

According to the World Health Organisation, about 15 million babies are born before 37 weeks of gestation and complications arising from premature birth kill one million children a year worldwide. This makes it the leading cause of death for children under the age of five.

Professor Dapo Olayemi, a consultant obstetrics and gynecologist, however, linked the increase in possibility of women who have undergone dilation and curettage in their future pregnancies giving birth before the baby reaches full term to cervical incompetency.

He declared: “The weakening of the mouth of the womb of a woman makes her unable to carry a pregnancy to term. As a result of the neck of the mouth of the womb been loose, when pregnancy comes to put pressure on it, it opens up.”

“Also a complication of D&C is the puncture, adhesion or scarring of the walls of the womb.” When the linings of the womb stick together, this usually leads to infertility and may be a reason for the womb repeatedly aborting any implanted baby. These abortions take place early after conception,” he added.

Professor Olayemi, who assured that improvement in the conventional way D&C is done had made it far safer than before, stated that the use of D&C exceeds abortion purposes as many presume.

Sometimes a D&C is medically necessary. If a woman has unusually heavy bleeding as a miscarriage complication, a D&C can even be lifesaving because it stops the bleeding at the source.

In other cases, a D&C might be used if the doctor feels the miscarriage is unlikely to complete without intervention. In other cases, some women request a D&C because they prefer to get over the miscarriage rather than waiting for it to begin naturally.

A D&C may also make it easier to collect a usable tissue sample for couples who want to pursue chromosomal test on the baby.

D&C is one of the most common surgical procedures performed for abortion and miscarriage. During the 15-minute procedure, doctors dilate, or open, the cervix, then scrape the wall of the womb using either an implement called a curette or a vacuum suction tube.

Professor Olayemi, however, declared that many things aside miscarriage and abortion can predispose a woman to premature births, including infections, genetic problems and birth defects.

Common causes of preterm birth include multiple pregnancies, infections, bleeding in pregnancy, and chronic conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure; however, often no cause is identified. There is also a genetic influence.

Also, women with certain abnormalities of the reproductive organs are at greater risk for preterm labour and birth than are women who do not have these abnormalities.

 More than 60 per cent of preterm births occur in Africa and South Asia, but preterm birth is truly a global problem. In the lower-income countries, on average, 12 per cent of babies are born too early compared with nine per cent in higher-income countries. Within countries, poorer families are at higher risk. Babies born prematurely have reduced chances of survival and even when they survive, they are forced to contend with life-long ailments and conditions.

SOURCE: NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

Lack of sleep increases common cold risk, say researchers

A NEW study published in Sleep has reinforced the importance of getting a good night’s sleep. Researchers have demonstrated that not getting enough sleep could increase the risk of catching a cold.

The team reports that people who only get six hours sleep a night or less are four times more likely to catch a cold after exposure to the virus than people that get seven or more hours sleep a night.

“Short sleep was more important than any other factor in predicting subjects’ likelihood of catching cold,” says lead author Aric Prather, assistant professor of Psychiatry at the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF).

“It didn’t matter how old people were, their stress levels, their race, education or income. It didn’t matter if they were a smoker. With all those things taken into account, statistically sleep still carried the day.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have previously referred to insufficient sleep as a “public health epidemic,” linking it with motor vehicle crashes, industrial disasters and occupational errors.

In the past, Medical News Today have reported on studies finding that poor sleep may be linked to poor metabolic health and could raise the risk of heart attack and stroke.

While Dr. Prather had previously found that people who get insufficient sleep are less protected from illness after vaccination than people who get adequate sleep, the aim of his team’s new study was to learn how sleep affects how the body responds to real infection.


SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Liver-healthy foods

Maintaining the health of the liver and the need for liver cleansing. The liver is the most important organ in the body as it relates to the issue of detoxification. Detoxification is the physiological process of waste elimination from the body thereby reducing the risk of diseases from acids, toxic substances, heavy metals, other chemicals and microorganisms that may have found their way into the body.

The sources, which these pollutants come from have not only increased, the amount of wastes generated by each one has more than doubled in the past hundred years or so. No thanks to civilization, and the negative effects that have come with it; which have affected man adversely over the years. The increase in the number of cars in the big cities of the world today together with the increase in the number of factories all around us have perfected the case of air pollution every where. The air all around has become severely polluted by carbon monoxide from these cars and factories.

The human population has so increased that farmers all over the world now use fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides to increase their yield to meet the food needs of the teeming population of the world. This was not so some 50 or more years ago in this part of the world.

The food that we ate as little children in the 50s and 60s were organically grown, without fertilizers or any other kind of chemical. Furthermore, our food was fresh, straight from the farm to the kitchen. There were no preservatives, colourants, or other such chemicals added.

The water human beings drink is also contaminated by the chemicals farmers use. These chemicals are washed into streams and rivers by rainwater. They also sip down into the under ground water from where we get drinking water. These chemicals will eventually get to our drinking water.

Microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, parasites etc.) are now a common finding in the water we drink. This is so because every body is now producing and selling drinking water in this country. Such water is loaded with all sorts of particles in them because their purification processes are suspect and there is no proper supervision by the government agency that is in charge. Drug manufacturers have also contributed their quota to the load of contaminants that must pass into and through the body. These drugs are all chemicals and together with all other contaminants mentioned, they will have to be detoxified by the liver.

Whatever passes through the stomach, food, water, beverages, alcohol and drugs have to be carried in the blood after absorption to the liver for detoxification. Detoxification is one of the primary functions of the liver.

Specifically, the blood from the intestines to the liver is loaded with the following items: nutrients (carbohydrates, proteins and fats), acids, toxins from the intestines, acid stored in fat tissues and other toxins generated by the metabolic processes that take place in the body. The toxins that are stored in the fat tissues can be released during exercises, fasting and stressful moments in ones life.

The need to store toxins in fat tissues is the genesis of obesity and one who is obese may have to contend with liver problems as a result of excess toxins in circulation. Other items coming from the intestines to the liver are microorganisms like bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi. These could be coming from contaminated water and food prepared in unhygienic conditions. Along with the bacteria are bacterial endotoxins, antigen-antibody complexes and other toxins.

How the Liver Detoxifies
The liver is the first port of call of all these pollutants and microorganisms. As a major organ of detoxification and the first organ to be exposed to toxins, acids, chemicals, heavy metals and microorganisms, the liver plays a very critical role in maintaining the wellbeing of the human body. It is of utmost importance that the liver itself is in a state of optimal performance and protected from the negative effects of all that pass through it.


SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Experts Advocate Nutrition, Lifestyle Modification for Disease Prevention

Following increased rate of  Non Communicable Diseases (NCD) in the country, experts have called on Nigerians to maintain adequate nutritional diets, as well as abstain from lifestyle that predisposes one to health issues like diabetes, cancer, respiratory disorders, among others.

The experts who spoke at a one-day workshop organised by Coca Cola Nigeria in Lagos recently, tagged: 'Adequate Nutrition and Lifestyle : Essential for Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases,' said Nigerians must make deliberate attempts to prevent the numerous health issues in the country.

Speaking at the workshop, a Consultant Nutritionist and Dietician, Dr Chika Ndiokwelu, said eating unhealthy diets have been implicated to cause a number of preventable diseases, adding that, processed foods contain more harmful elements than the well known African foods and vegetables which the country was used to.

While stating that poor food intake, smoking, harmful use of alcohol and sedentary lifestyle were risk factors responsible for NCDs, she advised that eating of fruits, legumes, vegetables, engage in regular physical exercise, reduction of salt intake, reduction in alcohol intake, as well as quitting smoking, would help a long way in preventing NCDs.

She described NCDs as chronic but non-contagious medical conditions which could lead to deformity or death. "NCDs represent a major threat to health and development in the 21st century, as they account for 60 per cent of all deaths and 43 per cent of disease burden globally," she said.

She listed four major NDCs to include; cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes mellitus, adding that, these four were the world's biggest killers as they account for 36 million deaths annually.

"With the increasing level of NCDs, if proper measures are not taken, the country may be forced to allocate more than three per cent of its healthcare cost for the management of the diseases within the next 10 years," she said.

Ndiokwelu, called on the Federal Government to develop a national policy and action plan on food and nutrition, including the control of diets related to non-communicable diseases. Statingthat, manufacturers and producers of food products should provide accurate nutritional information on their products to help consumers make informed choices.

In his speech, a Research Fellow, National Institute for Medical Research, Dr. Bartholomew Brai said with improved healthy lifestyle and right diets, NCDs will reduce drastically in the country, adding that, Nigerians must shun risky factors that predisposes them to various kinds of health issues.

He charged health writers to continue to educate the public on ways to preventing diseases and general health education.

Meanwhile, the Director of Public Affairs and Communication, Coca-Cola Nigeria, Mr. Clem Ugorji, said that the company has been striving to provide clear nutritional values, offer low calorie or non-caloric beverages to the public.

Ugorji said the workshop was organised to educate the public on issues of nutrition as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR).

"The recipe of coca-cola has remained unchanged for 129 years, with more than 3,600 products in several countries and over 500 brands. ''This was achievable due to our acceptance by the public. We shall continue to support and provide the public with health information because a healthy nation is a wealthy nation.

''The only way to reach the public is through the media which is why we are organising this workshop for them to relate and know our level of acceptance in the public. The media also have a role to play by ensuring that they publish accurate and factual information so as not to misinform the public, '' he said.

The forum had in attendance over 40 health journalists across the country, who also had a tour of the company's plant facility in Ikeja.

Anna Ebiere cute daughter with Nigeria Finest singer Flavour(Photo)

Photos from the swearing in ceremony of new SGF, NSA & Adesina

Your diet can turn you to a dullard

The ultimate reason we eat is to achieve good health and retain it. Good health also suggests being in good mental state; because, as psychiatrists note, there is no good health without mental health.

When we eat good foods, our bodies get nourished from the head down. On the other hand, wrong foods can affect the way our brain works.

Scientists say our brains need sugar every day to function, as brain cells require two times the energy needed by all the other cells in the body – roughly 10 per cent of our total daily energy requirements.

This energy is derived from glucose (blood sugar), the gasoline of our brains, scientists say. In other words, sugar is not the brain’s enemy; rather, added sugar in foods is.

Research indicates that a diet high in added sugar reduces the production of a brain chemical known as Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor. Without BDNF, they note, our brains can’t form new memories and we can’t learn (or remember) much of anything. Levels of BDNF are particularly low in people with an impaired glucose metabolism such as diabetics and pre-diabetics; and as the amount of BDNF decreases, sugar metabolism worsens.

So, what foods are likely to injure your brain? These ones…

Sugary products

The list is endless, and they include biscuits, canned and bottled drinks, canned fruits in syrups, sweetened ‘fruit’ juices, dissolvable powdered drinks, candies (sweets), cakes, dried fruits, jams and other sweetened spreads, energy bars, milk shakes, etc.

Experts say it isn’t that you don’t eat any of these foods at all; what they are concerned about is their percentage to the content of your entire daily meal intake, and also if your entire meal chain revolves around these foods.

A group of researchers, led by the University of California Los Angeles biology professor, Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, discovered that bingeing on soft drinks, sweets and sugary snacks for as little as six weeks may impair brain function.

The study shows that a diet high in fructose (sugar) slows down the brain, and hampers memory and learning.

Gomez-Pinilla says, “Our findings illustrate that what you eat affects how you think. Eating a high-fructose diet over the long term alters your brain’s ability to learn and remember information.”

Scientists regularly warn that sugar harms the body through its role in diabetes, obesity and liver problems. A study published in Psychology Today states that overeating, poor memory formation, learning disorders and depression have all been linked to too much consumption of sugar.

So, instead of feasting on sugary snacks, try wholesome fruits.

Junk foods

As far as some people are concerned, patronising fast food outlets is status symbol. But scientists say the bad fats in junk foods can actually clog up the brain and interfere with the way it sends messages. The effects are even worse in growing children, they warn.

A study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health states that the IQs of children who ate fatty, sugary, processed foods appeared to suffer years later, while the IQs of those who ate healthy foods improved.

Again, researcher, Dr. Alex Richardson, of the University Laboratory of Physiology in Oxford and co-director of the Food and Behaviour Research Charity, says trans fats displace healthy fats in the brain.

She warns, “Every time children eat crisps, biscuits or cakes, they are filling themselves with what are essentially toxic fats. There are no health benefits to these hydrogenated fats, yet they are all that some children and adults are eating.

“They are replacing the essential fats that would make their brain and body work properly with ones that are clogging up the machinery. In layman’s terms, the brain gets thicker,” Richardson says.

Fried foods

Besides the fact that regularly eating fried foods can give men aggressive prostate cancer, scientists warn that their effects on brain function are as terrible.

A study by researchers at the University of the Basque in Spain, published in the journal Food Chemistry, reveals that compounds released from common cooking oils significantly increase the risk of neurologic degenerative diseases and a variety of different cancers. They conclude that toxic compounds from fried foods cause cancer and deteriorate brain health.

Foods such as French fries, crispy fried shrimp and classic fried chicken, among numerous others, could only fry your brain.

In the United States, for instance, many schools have cut out fried foods in the café, all in a bid to help kiddies’ brain power. Instead, they serve baked chicken, baked chicken wraps, strawberries, peaches, sweet potatoes, carrots and kale.

Experts also recommend alternate food preparation methods such as roasting, steaming and broiling.

Salty foods

Again, scientists say too much salt and too little exercise are hard on the heart. However, new research suggests that they can be hard on the brain, too.

A three-year study of more than 1,200 people, led by Carol Greenwood, a nutrition scientist and interim director of the Baycrest Kunin-Lunenfeld Applied and Evaluative Research in Toronto, has linked a salty diet and sedentary lifestyle to cognitive decline in old age.

In fact, scientists say salt affects your brain the same way hard drugs do!

Of course, we don’t cut off salt from our diets totally; rather, what we need is a balance between things. A physician, Dr. Louise Chang, notes that the iodine in iodised salt helps the body make thyroid hormone, which is critical to an infant’s brain development.

So, a little salt is essential to good health.

The bottom line

Eat your foods as naturally as possible.

SOURCE: PUNCH