Kwara govt to begin HPV vaccine in secondary schools to stop cervical cancer
Health
Lifestyle changes that can lower your blood pressure
Hypertension is a medical condition that is associated with ageing, and which affects both men and women, once they reach 50 years or about that age. It has been established that a person could develop hypertension at a younger age. Nonetheless, when discovered early and properly managed medically, a person with hypertension can still live a fully functional prolonged life, without developing other health complications or even delaying their onset. Below are tips for lowering blood pressure.
Make small changes
If you have high blood pressure, there’s plenty you can do every day to control it. Eating healthier, exercising more, and tweaking other day-to-day habits can help keep your readings in check. That might keep you from needing medication to keep your numbers where they should be.
Eat a healthy diet
You can lower your blood pressure by eating lots of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy. Look for foods that don’t have much fat or cholesterol. This approach has a name: the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. It includes lean meats, poultry, fish, and nuts. It’s also high in protein and fibre and avoids sugary drinks, red meats, and sweets.
Lose extra weight
Shedding even a few extra kilograms can lower your blood pressure. It’s also important to watch your waist. Too much bulk around your midsection can affect your BP. For women, a waist of more than 35 inches is high. For men, it’s more than 40 inches.
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Be Active
Exercise can help you lower your blood pressure and lose weight. Aim to get at least 150 minutes of physical activity each week. Look for aerobic workouts that make your lungs and heart work a little harder. Try things like brisk walking, biking, swimming, or dancing. Even chores like raking leaves or washing windows count.
Watch your salt
Too much sodium can raise your blood pressure. You should aim for no more than 1,500 milligrams a day. You don’t get sodium just from the salt you sprinkle in foods. It can also hide in packaged foods. Read labels before you buy. Salt can lurk in things like soups, sandwiches, and pizza.
Get more potassium
Your blood pressure is likely to be higher if you don’t get enough of this nutrient. Shoot for between 3,000 and 3,500 milligrams each day. How much is that? A medium banana has about 420 milligrams. A baked potato with the skin gives you more than 900 milligrams. Spinach, beans, tomatoes, oranges, yoghurt, and sweet potatoes are also high in potassium. Some people with medical issues like kidney disease or who take certain medicines may have to be careful with potassium. So check with your doctor before changing what you eat.
Ease stress
Health
Artificial sweeteners found in bread, other food can damage kidney, experts warn
Artificial sweeteners in bread, other food can damage kidney, experts warn
Experts have expressed worry over increased consumption of artificial sweeteners found in bread, pastries and biscuits.
A report by The PUNCH says these are now being used by bakeries and food processing companies in place of sugar, which experts note as posing serious health risks to the people.
They also cautioned against using artificial sweeteners for weight loss or to reduce the ‘risk of noncommunicable diseases’.
They warned that long-term use could cause diabetes, heart-related issues and kidney problems.
According to the recent guidelines on Non-Sugar Sweeteners, the World Health Organisation warned against the use of NSS to control body weight or reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases, insisting that NSS are not essential dietary factors and have no nutritional value.
The WHO urged people to reduce the sweetness of the diet altogether and should start early in life to improve their health.
It noted that the recommendation is based on the findings of a systematic review which suggests that the use of NSS does not confer any long-term benefit in reducing body fat in adults or children.
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The report quotes Director for Nutrition and Food Safety, WHO, Francesco Branca, as saying, “Replacing free sugars with NSS does not help with weight control in the long term. People need to consider other ways to reduce free sugar intake, such as consuming food with naturally occurring sugars, like fruit, or unsweetened food and beverages.
“NSS are not essential dietary factors and have no nutritional value. People should reduce the sweetness of the diet altogether, starting early in life, to improve their health.
“The recommendation applies to all people except individuals with pre-existing diabetes and includes all synthetic and naturally occurring or modified non-nutritive sweeteners that are not classified as sugars found in manufactured foods and beverages, or sold on their own to be added to foods and beverages by consumers.”
The WHO listed non-sugar sweeteners as acesulfame K, saccharin, aspartame, advantame, cyclamates, neotame, sucralose, stevia and stevia derivatives, saying that long-term consumption of these may be harmful to health.
“The recommendation does not apply to personal care and hygiene products containing NSS, such as toothpaste, skin cream, and medications, or to low-calorie sugars and sugar alcohols (polyols), which are sugars or sugar derivatives containing calories and are therefore not considered NSS,” it added.
A Nutritionist and Founder, Corlerns Foods Ltd, Awka, Anambra State, Obiora Chukwunulu, said the reason many people use NSS following the over 150 per cent increase in the cost of free sugar is because many sugar substitutes taste sweeter than sugar.
He said, “A very little quantity of this is needed to sweeten foods and drinks, yet it is cheaper.
“The quantity of sugar you will need to sweeten a 50-litre of dough will cost you a fortune but just a little quantity of saccharin, which will cost you less, will do justice to it. What N500 saccharin will do, N1,000 sugar will not do.”
Artificial sweeteners in bread, other food can damage kidney, experts warn
Health
Fresh diphtheria outbreak kills four in Kano
Fresh diphtheria outbreak kills four in Kano
No fewer than four children have reportedly been killed in a fresh outbreak of diphtheria disease in villages in the Mingibir Local Government Area of Kano State.
According to a statement issued on Thursday by the local government’s Information Officer, Tasiu Yahaya Dadin-Duniya, and made available to a Kano-based radio station, Arewa Radio, 28 others have been hospitalized.
The statement read, “Four children have died of diphtheria, and 28 children have contracted the disease in Kwarkiya, Kuru, Kunya, and Minjibir Villages in Minjibir Local Government Area of the state.
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“The Interim Management Officer of the local government, Muhammad Yakubu Kunya, has called on the authorities and stakeholders to immediately reach out to the Minjibir local government to protect the health of the communities.”.
According to the statement, the district head of the local government has requested traditional rulers and Islamic experts in the area to enlighten the people and pray for relief.
When contacted, Ibrahim Abdullahi, the State Ministry of Health’s Public Relations Officer, stated that the report had been passed to the State Director of Public Health, who has yet to confirm or deny the outbreak.
Fresh diphtheria outbreak kills four in Kano
Health
Kwara govt to begin HPV vaccine in secondary schools to stop cervical cancer
The Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Hajia Sa’adatu Modibbo-Kawu, disclosed this on Tuesday in Ilorin when the Advocacy Team from the Kwara Primary Health Care Development Agency paid her a courtesy visit.
Modibbo-Kawu said that the ministry would do everything possible to ensure the success of the vaccination in the state, adding that every organisation and relevant stakeholders would be consulted.
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She expressed optimism that the programme would be given adequate priority while urging members of the team to abide by laid down principles guiding their work during the exercise and making the state the best.
Earlier, Dr Michael Oguntoye, the Team Leader and Director, Primary Health Care System, disclosed that the purpose of the visit was to inform the ministry of the forthcoming vaccination. He commended the state government for efforts toward bringing healthcare delivery to the doorsteps of the people at affordable rates.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the HPV vaccine is to protect girls between the ages of nine and 14 from cervical cancer before any exposure to the virus.
Kwara govt to begin HPV vaccine in secondary schools to stop cervical cancer
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