Chioma Umeha

By: Chioma Umeha New studies have confirmed that eating food before bedtime can be dangerous to health. They have also offered tips to ensure that diets do not lead to sleepless nights. Spicy food Think twice before having chicken pepper soup for dinner. Eating a big, highly seasoned meal close to bedtime can interfere with your shut-eye. “It’s not that the spice interrupts your sleep,” said an expert, Mark Mahowald, a professor of neurology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. The spice causes heartburn, and that interrupts your sleep, according to studies. Fiery foods can lead to indigestion and reflux, and, as a result, to ‘sleep fragmentation,’ said Lisa Medalie, a behavioural sleep medicine specialist at the University of Chicago. She recommends eating heavy or spicy foods at least three hours before bedtime. Chocolate or other caffeine-filled food Your body can take up to five hours to get caffeine out of your system. And if you are susceptible to

By: Chioma Umeha The move towards arresting the increasing cases of cancer all over the world has been a focus of some selected institutions among which Apollo Hospital, under its special cancer care unit, Apollo Cancer Institute, is taking a bold and giant step in seeking solution. The spate of cancer ailment has become quite worrisome to medical professionals and other stakeholders across the world. It is estimated that over 15 million cases of cancer are diagnosed out of which eight million deaths are recorded on annual basis. It is against this background that Apollo Hospital, a leading global healthcare delivery firm based in India, organized a three-day conference in Hyderabad, India. The high point of the conference was a special round-table session termed “Cancer Menace: Global Perspective” which had 25 delegates and dignitaries from 18 countries from different regions of the world.  Participants in the conference agreed that there is an urgent need to galvanize massiv

By: Chioma Umeha Being angry could be dangerous to your heart. A new study in Australia found people’s risk of heart attack increases by 8.5 times two hours following an incident of extreme anger.  The researchers also found that high levels of anxiety can increase your risk even more – by up to 9.5 times. The findings were published in European Heart Journal: Acute Cardiovascular Care, an agency report said on Monday. Researchers at the University of Sydney found there is a two hour window following a burst of anger when the chance of having a heart attack spikes significantly. Some of the signs that anger has reached a dangerous level include a tensed-up body, clenched fists or teeth and ‘object throwing’, they said. Authors of the research also indicated that blood pressure reducing medication, like aspirin or beta-blockers prove beneficial. “Our findings confirm what has been suggested in prior studies and anecdotal evidence, even in films – that episodes of intense anger

By: Chioma Umeha Diabetes mellitus is a condition in which the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood is too high because there is not enough of the hormone insulin. Lifestyle disease, as diabetes is called, refers to disorders resulting from the way people live, eat and interact with their environment. Diabetes is one of the various lifestyle disorders which have gripped many today.  Statistics  Although Nigeria lacks an aggregate data; physicians state that no fewer than six million Nigerians are living with diabetes mellitus. In India alone there are around 77 million people with pre-diabetes and 64 million people with diabetes which makes India the diabetes capital of the world next to China. This is expected to go up to a whopping 87 million – 8.4 per cent of the country’s adult population – by 2030. Yet, the common beliefs on this exude a sense of unfamiliarity with the disease that is killer in nature.  Discard diabetes from your home, kitchen  Not easily de

By: Chioma Umeha Imagine you smash your thumb with a hammer. You might shake your thumb instinctively, though that would not be helpful. This familiar swelling process is inflammation. Inflammation is the body’s attempt at self-protection; the aim being to remove harmful stimuli, including damaged cells, irritants, or pathogens – and begin the healing process. When something harmful or irritating affects a part of our body, there is a biological response to try to remove it.The signs and symptoms of inflammation, specifically acute inflammation, show that the body is trying to heal itself. Inflammation does not mean infection, even when an infection causes inflammation. Infection is caused by a bacterium, virus or fungus, while inflammation is the body’s response to it. When you hurt yourself, you experience acute inflammation, but it is only half of the picture, an agency report said. The bad kind of inflammation is silent and you may never know you have it, even after the da

By: Chioma Umeha •Govt told to make disease eradication priority – NIMR  Experts have said that 35 per cent of all cancers are linked to nutrition issues, and when added to that of lifestyle, they account for 85 per cent of all cancer cases. They therefore stated that 90 per cent of cancers are preventable, with improved healthy lifestyle and right diet even as they advised the public to eat balanced calorie in accordance to energy demand, as well as exercise regularly. The experts who spoke during a symposium organised by the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) to mark the World Cancer Day recently, advocated for the inclusion of cancer in the government’s priority list with a view to tackling the recent epidemic of the disease in the country.  L-R: Prof. Innocent Ujah, Director General (DG) of Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) Yaba, Lagos; Prof Rosaline Anorlu, South West Cancer Coordinator; Dr Jerry Iwuora, Consultant Physician with interest in Hi

By: Chioma Umeha To reduce the rate of infant and child mortality in African countries, Nestlé Nutrition Institute Africa (NNIA) is in partnership with the European Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) to build capacity of young paediatricians. Dedicated to the science of nutrition in Africa, NNIA creates enabling platforms for health care professionals to discuss and share knowledge.  The ‘ESPGHAN Goes Africa’ partnership is a postgraduate course, which focuses on important clinical problems in paediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition. The course aims to give medical practitioners in the continent a platform for networking and interacting with each other on clinical and scientific problems in the various institutions and countries where they work. Since its inception, over 100 paediatricians have been trained from various countries in Africa so far.  This year’s participants were drawn from Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Ghana, Ca

By: Chioma Umeha …Affects blood vessels, kidneys, brain, others Physicians have provided evidence that even in the absence of increase in blood pressure, excess dietary sodium can adversely affect target organs, including the blood vessels, heart, kidneys and the brain. Sodium is essential for fluid balance and cellular homeostasis, or maintenance of a stable internal environment in an organism. But the amount of salt needed to maintain homeostasis in adults is quite low – about 500 milligrams (mg) per day. On the contrary, many consume more than six times that much, which leads to high blood pressure in many people.New research has suggested that not everyone can eat salty snacks and convenience foods without having low blood pressure. A review paper co-authored by two faculty members in the University of Delaware College of Health Sciences and two physicians at the Christiana Care Health System provides evidence that even in the absence of an increase in blood pressure