Healing Tips

Guess what? You have different nutritional needs than the opposite sex. Discover the best foods for you both.

One in five women have a history of painful urinary tract infections. "I had three in one year," says Patty Buxton*, a Colorado middle-school teacher. Reading that cranberry juice may help prevent these infections, Buxton went on a regimen a year ago, and since then she's been infection-free. She thinks cranberry juice did the trick.

Cranberry juice isn't the only food that offers protection from specific illnesses. Here's a list of disease-fighting foods for men and women.

Foods for Men

1. Tomato Sauce. Men who eat a lot of tomatoes, tomato sauce, or pizza smothered with the stuff may be giving themselves a hedge against prostate cancer. So say researchers at Harvard, who studied the eating habits of more than 47,000 male health professionals. They found that men who ate tomato sauce two to four times per week had a 35 percent lower risk of developing prostate cancer than men who ate none. A carotenoid called lycopene, which tomatoes contain in abundance, appeared to be responsible. But scientists were puzzled: tomato juice didn't seem to have a protective effect. Other research showed why. For best absorption, lycopene should be cooked with some kind of fat. So pizza may be just what the doctor ordered.

THEY are native of Madagascar but have been domesticated in Nigeria. Recent studies have confirmed the folklore uses of periwinkle in treating diabetes, pain, cancer, inflammatory diseases, among others, CHUKWUMA MUANYA writes.     

NIgerian and United States (U.S.) researchers have demonstrated how a widely and safely used plant extract acts as a novel anti-inflammatory and diabetic agent that may one day be used for the treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), as well as other inflammatory conditions; diabetes and heart diseases.
Researchers say there is an urgent need for new therapies for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases, such as COPD, otitis media (ear infection), and atherosclerosis (chronic inflammation in the walls of arteries), because the most effective and commonly used agents–steroids–often cause serious side effects, such as liver damage, which prevent long-term use.

Researches indicate that inflammatory diseases are a major cause of illness worldwide. In people with COPD, airflow is blocked due to chronic bronchitis or emphysema, making it increasingly difficult to breathe. Studies suggest that long-term smoking caused most COPD, although genetics may play a role as well.

NIGERIAN researchers have established that a local drink made with zobo leaves and Lagos spinach protect against viral infections and liver damage, CHUKWUMA MUANYA writes.

TWO local plants, zobo (Hibiscus sabdariffa) and quail grass Celosia argentea have been shown to have antiviral properties as they protect against measles and organ damage.

Hibiscus sabdariffa is commonly called roselle in English. It belongs to the family Malvaceae. The vegetable is widely grown and commonly used as port herb or soup in the northern part of Nigeria. In Hausa, the plant is locally called yakuwa, the seed isontea while the fresh calyx is referred to as soboroto. The Yoruba call the leaves amukan and the flowers ishapa. However, it is commonly called zobo in Nigeria.

Commonly called quail grass, Lagos spinach, or lizard bean- because the plant is often frequented by lizards- Celosia argentea belongs to the plant family Amaranthceae. It is called sheiba in Arabic; aborra in Edo; farar alayyafo in Hausa; eriamionu or eriemio in Igbo; igyar in Tiv; sokoyokoto (make husband fat) in Yoruba.

THEY are known for their juices. They are bigger than their relatives – orange, tangerine, lime and lemon. But the seeds are showing promise in the control of non-communicable diseases like diabetes, obesity, infertility and heart diseases, CHUKWUMA MUANYA writes.    

CAN increasing the intake of grapefruit juice and seed extract lower blood sugar, fats, heart disease, urinary tract infections, testicular damage and obesity risk?      
  
Nigerian researchers have found that methanol seed extract of grapefruit (Citrus paradise) Macfad lowers blood glucose, lipids and cardiovascular disease risk indices in normal Wistar rats. The study was published in Nigeria Quarterly Journal of Hospital Medicine by Adeneye A. A. of the Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM), Ikeja, Lagos.

Until now, alcoholic decoction of grapefruit seed, which belongs to the plant family Rutaceae is traditionally used for the management of diabetes mellitus and obesity by the natives of South-West Nigeria. Despite its ancestral use, scientific validations of its therapeutic uses in the management of these conditions are lacking.

What do you see when you look in the mirror? According to Chinese medicine, your face is a window to your health. Your forehead, nose, chin, right cheek, left cheek: Each of these five face zones gives you clues to what is going on inside your body--if you know what to look for! Read on to decode what your face reveals about you.

How Traditional Chinese Medicine Reads the Body to Detect Disease

Most people don't realize that their face provides information about what's going on beneath the surface. Your body speaks a unique language to communicate the imbalances within it. Chinese medicine has mastered the art and science of reading the body's language over its five thousand year practice. Each part of your face reflects a different element from the Chinese 5-Element network (fire, earth, water, metal, and wood), which in turn, corresponds to a particular organ grouping. Your reflection offers visual cues to what may be happening within your internal systems--such as your heart, stomach, hormones and even your mind and spirit.

By Woman's Day Staff

You're never too young—or too old—to start lowering your heart disease risk. Of course, exercising, eating healthy and reducing stress are key throughout life, but due to physiological changes that happen as we age, certain risk factors do become more of a threat.

In Your 20s

Stub Out a Social Smoking Habit
Smoking is enemy number one when it comes to heart disease, and even just a few cigarettes can do damage: New research from McGill University in Montreal found that smoking just one cigarette a day stiffens your arteries by a whopping 25 percent. Plus, smoking erases the hormonal advantage you have from estrogen, which can leave you vulnerable to a heart attack before menopause, explains Dr. Bonow.

THE weather has been very hot and humid, making people more susceptible to viral infections like measles. CHUKWUMA MUANYA examines herbal cures for measles.

AS the temperature and humidity levels rise, they leave certain diseases such as meningitis and measles in their wake. Measles is in town. From Port Harcourt to Maiduguri, the story is the same; children, teenagers and even adults going down with measles. The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) says the country is in the measles transmission season.

Measles is an infectious disease caused by a virus. It can be prevented by the Mumps Measles and Rubella (MMR) immunisation. One can catch measles simply by sharing a drink with, or being coughed on by someone who has it. Measles is spread through the droplets breathed out of the nose and mouth, as well as saliva or mucus containing the virus. It takes about two weeks from the time one get measles until one start getting sick. This is called the incubation period. One can get measles at any age, but it is most common in kids aged between one and four.

RESEARCHERS have found that a local plant could be effectively used to prevent, treat and protect Nigerians from bacterial cerebro spinal meningitis. African cucumber, momordica charantia, has been found to be potent against meningococcal meningitis and Multi-drug Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). CHUKWUMA MUANYA reports.

CEREBRO Spinal Meningitis (CSM) is in the air. There is already an epidemic in Burkina Faso and Chad, and pockets of outbreaks in some northern states. An epidemic is expected to hit Nigeria by March if nothing is done urgently to protect the people.

Meningitis is basically an inflammation of the coverings of the brain, called meninges. Some of the classic symptoms of the disease are fever, vomiting, intense headache, and stiffness in the neck; CSM is often caused by a bacteria or a virus.

Notwithstanding the diverse faiths of people, everybody believes God is perfect. The perfection of God reflects in everything He created. But unfortunately, many people are not exploiting God‘s perfection to ensure survival and wellness especially during crisis.

Otherwise why should people die from snake or dog bite? God created snakes and dogs and equipped them with fangs and venom for self-defence. But their venoms could cause death for victims of their bites. However, the same God created what can neutralize the venom of snakes or mad dogs. (Oyinbo to se pensu lo se iresa) The maker of pencil equally makes eraser.

The Federal Government has said that it will establish experimental medicinal plant farms in the six geo-political zones to provide raw materials for the research and production of traditional medicine. Director General of the National Natural Medicine Development Agency, Mr. Frank Okujagu, said this in Abuja at the Annual Natural Products Expo.

He said the establishment of the farms would assist in promoting the cultivation and conservation of medicinal and aromatic plants for the production of pesticides that were on the brink of extinction.