Eating Pepper May Make You Live Longer.

Eating hot chili peppers may help you live longer.

A new analysis, in PLoS One, corroborates findings from an earlier study of spicy food that was conducted in China and published in 2015.

The new report used data on 16,179 American men and women participating in a larger public health study.

There were 4,946 deaths over the 23 years of the study. After controlling for age, sex, smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and other health, diet and behavioral characteristics, they found that those who reported eating hot peppers had a 13 percent reduced risk for dying early.

The authors had no information about the quantities of peppers people ate. The study is observational, and therefore no causal connection can be proven.

Still, they write, capsaicin, the substance that gives peppers their punch, has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties that may be linked to disease prevention.

Should you eat more hot peppers?

“The evidence isn’t strong enough to make me change my diet,” said a co-author of the study, Benjamin Littenberg, a professor of medicine at the University of Vermont. “Don’t smoke, limit calories, don’t drink to excess, get a flu shot every year — those are things we have very convincing evidence will help you live longer. I don’t know how much chili pepper to tell you to eat.”

First posted on New York Times

Why Diabetic People Heal Slowly

In my previous post, I promised to write about diabetes and injuries. While gathering information online, I came across a post that discusses this issue so I decided to share it. 

Diabetes is a condition in which the body does not effectively use sugar. It is estimated that there are nearly 18 million Americans with diabetes, and approximately 15 percent of diabetics will develop a foot ulcer at some point. Foot ulcers are the most common wounds for this patient population.

Wound healing can be slowed when the patient is diabetic. An important point to remember about a diabetic patient wound is that it heals slowly and can worsen rapidly, so requires close monitoring. There are several factors that influence wound healing in a diabetic patient, and may include:

Blood Glucose Levels

It all starts here. An elevated blood sugar level stiffens the arteries and causes narrowing of the blood vessels. The effects of this are far-reaching and include the origin of wounds as well as risk factors to proper wound healing.

Poor Circulation

Narrowed blood vessels lead to decreased blood flow and oxygen to a wound. An elevated blood sugar level decreases the function of red blood cells that carry nutrients to the tissue. This lowers the efficiency of the white blood cells that fight infection. Without sufficient nutrients and oxygen, a wound heals slowly.

Diabetic Neuropathy

When blood glucose levels are uncontrolled, nerves in the body are affected and patients can develop a loss of sensation. This is called diabetic neuropathy. When there is a loss of sensation, patients cannot feel a developing blister, infection or surgical wound problem. Because a diabetic patient may not be able to feel a change in the status of a wound or the actual wound, the severity can progress and there may be complications with healing.

Immune System Deficiency

Diabetes lowers the efficiency of the immune system, the body's defense system against infection. A high glucose level causes the immune cells to function ineffectively, which raises the risk of infection for the patient. Studies indicate that particular enzymes and hormones that the body produces in response to an elevated blood sugar are responsible for negatively impacting the immune system.

Infection

With a poorly functioning immune system, diabetics are at a higher risk for developing an infection. Infection raises many health concerns and also slows the overall healing process.

Left untreated, infection can heighten the risk of developing gangrene, sepsis or a bone infection like osteomyelitis. According to statistics, diabetes is the number one reason for limb amputation in the U.S.

What You Can Do to Improve Healing

There are several things a patient can do to improve wound healing. The most important thing is to control the blood sugar level. Healing can be improved by taking these measures:

• Eating a healthy diet and maintaining good nutrition will help to regulate blood glucose levels and also provide the essential vitamins and nutrients to enhance the healing process. Adequate protein, carbohydrates and vitamin C intake are important factors to aid healing. Seek the advice of a registered dietician who specializes in diabetes, if necessary.

• Be aware of your body, especially if you experience diabetic neuropathy. Regularly check for open wounds or pressure points that could develop into a wound. Watch for signs of infection. Seek the medical attention of your primary care physician or other health care professional if you develop any areas of concern.

• Keep pressure off of a wound to aid healing.

• Chronic inflammation is a common symptom in many chronic diseases, including diabetes. By engaging in regular aerobic exercise, chronic inflammation can be reduced. Exercise lowers the blood sugar and also helps with weight management, another factor in keeping blood glucose levels controlled.

• Cardiovascular health is important to maintaining good circulation for both the healing of existing wounds and prevention of future wound development.

• Stop smoking to improve circulation and overall health.

The coordination of a multidisciplinary team of health care professionals to diagnose and treat a slow healing wound is critical to the overall health of a diabetic patient. Preventing the development of an open wound is important. Once a wound has manifested, it is critical to get the proper treatment plan in place as soon as possible.

source: http://www.woundcarecenters.org/article/living-with-wounds/how-diabetes-affects-wound-healing

9 Things You Probably Did Not Know About Diabetes

Either you've heard about Diabetes before and you just wanna discover something new or this is your first time of coming across the word "diabetes", this post is just for you. The following are 9 random facts about diabetes.

1. It is not sugar

"If you eat sugar, you'd get diabetes". This is what I almost always hear people say. Often, this is not the cause of diabetes. Let's get it right once and for all. People have diabetes either because their body can't produce the right amount of insulin(a chemical that helps regulate the amount of sugar in your blood) or their body can't utilize insulin well. 

2. It Is More Wide Spread Than You Think

In United States only, 21.9 people (9.3% of the population) are diabetic 8.1 million of these are not even aware of their diabetic condition. In contrast to popular believe, diabetes is no longer only an old man's illness. Even infants now have diabetes.

3. It's getting worse

According to WHO, total death from diabetes will arise by 50% in the next 10 years. In the upper middle income countries, it would arise by 80%.

4. There Is a Third Type Of Diabetes.

The 2 commonly known types of diabetes are the type 1 diabetes (characterized by lack of insulin production) and type 2 diabetes (characterized by the inability of the body to effectively us insulin). Notwithstanding (but withsitting ) , there is a third type of diabetes. It is known as the gestational diabetes. Just as it sounds, it is "gestational" meaning you can only be diagnosed with this type of  diabetes if you are when you are pregnant. That's minus one thing men need to worry about. Single men to be precise. 

5. It Causes Kidney Failure

The main function of our kidney is to get rid of wastes and excesses from our blood. When one is diabetic, (s)he has excess sugar in her/his blood. The kidney tries as much as possible to eliminate this excess from the blood but when this condition is prolonged, the kidney starts to get tired.

6. It Causes Cardiovascular Diseases

CVD's are diseases related to the heart and blood vessels. Diabetic people often show one or more of the following risk factors.

• High cholesterol
•  Obesity
• High blood pressure
• fatigue
• Inactivity

All these are risk factors of CVD's. To find out more about CVD's , follow this link.

7. Slow Healing.

Diabetic patients wants to avoid incurring injuries. Whenever Bam Kay gets a small wound, he leaves it for few days because often, this wound will heal itself. But if Bam Kay was diabetic, his wound might not heal in time if not given proper attention, giving chance for infection. Diabetic patients should always take slightly serious wounds to the hospital for proper care. I know a man who had a serious injury but chose to go for home based treatment. At the end of the day, one of his arm got amputated.

But why do diabetic patients heal slowly? I would write about that in my next post.

8. Diabetes Kills More People In Low- and Middle Income Countries.

Why this is so, I don't know. Probably it is due to 2 things.

The first reason is obvious. Many people in these countries can't afford healthy, balanced diet neither can they afford good medical care. Are there things that could be done about this. It's gonna take some changes in governmental policies to improve the lives of people in these areas. We all know how long such changes takes to occur. 

Secondly, people in these regions are too religious. Some people, especially in Nigeria believes that illnesses can be cured just by saying "I reject it". See? I highlighted it in red because that statement is killing more people than the Ebola Virus. I overheard a man saying "if my doctor diagnosed me with type 1 diabetes and told me not to eat pounded yam again, I would rather go to church for deliverance and start eating my  pounded yam.". As dumb as that sounds, he meant it.  Two years ago, a family friend died just because of this mentality. After being sick for a very long time, she was finally taken to the hospital. The doctor diagnosed her with type 1 diabetes. After all that, she refused to be admitted, neither did she accept any medication. She eventually died 3 months later. Since it seems this mentality is not working why don't you try something new. Maybe you should try this: when you have spiritual problem, handle it spiritually. But when you have health issues, handle it medically. Granted, if the medicine thing don't work for you , you can now go ahead and do whatever is in your mind.

9. Diabetes Can Be Prevented.

If Bam Kay was diabetic (of course he's not), it doesn't necessarily mean his son or son's son would be diabetic. Diabetes can be prevented by sticking to healthy diets and staying physically active. Prevention they say, is better than cure.

bonus: Just in case you don't know diabetes full name, it's diabetes mellitus. So just like you and I, diabetes has a first name and a last name. You can laugh to that ;)

Cashew Tree and Its Health benefits

Family: Anacardiaceae 

Genus: Anacardium

Specie: Occidentale 

Scientific Name: Anacardium Occidentale 

General Description

Cashew Tree(Anacardium occidentale) ,  is popularly known as cashew everywhere. No variation. At least, that is what I hear people call it everywhere I've been to. Even where there are local names for it, people still prefer to call it cashew. Where the soil is fertile, it can grow up to 40 feet(12 meters). Its leaves have an intense green color. They can exceed 20 cm in length and 10 cm in width. They are evergreen. Its nuts which are found on its fruits looks like  big beans and its fruits known as "cashew apple" is fleshy and juicy. And its bark is uhmm...  I guess you know what it looks like already. If you don't , you can look at the Opening image.  So lets move to where we are going.

Uses/Health Benefit of Cashew

Fruits

 Cashew apples are very rich in potassium and sodium which are necessary for building muscles, synthesizing protein, and controlling the electrical activities of the heart. present are The juice contains five times the vitamin C found in orange juice so in case you need a natural vitamin C supplement, cashew fruit is the answer. It contains 44 grams of healthy fat per 100 grams. It is also rich in dietary fibre and protein.  Ripe cashew fruits are Either yellow or Red.

Nuts

Cashew nuts are essential source of both micro and macro-minerals.  It contains zinc which is a co-factor for many enzymes that regulate growth and development, digestion, and sperm production and maintenance of prostrate health; selenium  which is a co-factor for antioxidants; potassium which is useful for protein synthesis and many other minerals like sodium, iron, magnesium,   manganese and so on.  Cashew nut are also rich in  dietary fibers. It is rich in vitamin E, and vitamin K which are useful for dissolution of Fat and and blood clotting respectively. Here is a little warning. the shell of cashew nuts contains urushiol(C₂₁H₃₆O₂₎ , a chemical capable of burning the skin,before consuming cashew nuts, roast very well to get rid of the urushiol. After roasting, you're good to go.

Leaves and Bark(see the opening image for recognition) 

Cashew leaves when chewed like gum can are used to maintain Oral hygiene. In West Africa, the leaves and bark are use to treat malaria and diabetes. Cashew barks and leaves are effective for treating diarrhea due to the presence of tannin.

So, either you are planning looking for supplements,  want to add new fruit to your diet list, or you are searching for a herbal cure to some certain illness, the cashew tree is worth consideration.

For more info about the medicinal use of cashew, read this journal.

2 YEAR OLD HAS TYPE 2 DIABETES

A Hispanic toddler got type 2 diabetes, a sickness rarely seen in  young people and more rare in people of her age. She weighed 35 kg as at the time she went to a medical specialist. It's Obvious that her condition was caused by unhealthy diet and lack of exercise.

After some changes in diets and lifestyle, her sugar level went back to normal.

This should serve as a lesson to all parents. Your lifestyle affects your children's health.Their future health is a sum of what feed them with, the hygiene you teach them(the hygiene they see you practice) and everything you do adds up gradually.

I won't forget to mention the common African believe that if you are not overfeeding your kids, you are not taking care of them well. Obesity is not  a sign of good health neither is it a sign of wealth. You are only storing up death for them. Give your kids good food in right proportion. You cannot start taking them to the gym at this tender age so give them enough space for play and stop choking them. That is the only way they can burn fat in this stage of their lives.  Moreover, If they are not playing in this early  stage of their life, when will they  get a chance to do so? 23?

 These kids are your future, treat them as such.
sourch:http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34259221

HOW TO GET SICK DURING EXAMINATION.

 WARNING: Readers discretion advised

kiksolynherbals.blogspot.com

17/09/2015

Dear Joe,

I received your letter showing your concern about how your school mates breaks down every semester. You've tried and tried to get sick too but you just can't make it happen. You can't just get to that point.

Hey Joe! I can help you out here. I've also been in school for a while now, I've seen people who cannot do breaking down during exams and I've also seen many never and might never get sick during exam. I looked into their lifestyle and came up with these five perfect tips to make you get sick during your next exam. Here is how to do it.

1. Drink excessively and smoke.

As soon as you resume next semester, make new friends. Friends like bottles and smoky sticks. Have them in excess in your refrigerator. Drink at least a bottle per day and at least three sticks per night. When its a week to exam, you can step it up to three bottles and a packet per day. Before exams, your lungs should be ready for the clinic.

2. Visit the gym everyday

Yes! You need to be respected. You need that body. you deserve that body you dream of. You can use this to your advantage; you can get sick and still have that kind of body that you want. Just visit the gym everyday for 10 weeks, 1 hour or more per day. you can step it up to 3 hours per day when it's two weeks to exam and 6 hours when it is a day to he exam.  If you can do this, the probability of you picking a pen up the next day is zero.

3. Eat junk

Come on! Who wants to eat healthy? There are way too many food in this world to stick to one good for nothing diet all in the name of not getting sick. I'm sure you want all the pizza and all those french fries, and fried chicken and hamburger and hot dog and meat pie. Hell yeah! I want them too. But you need them than I do. You need to break down during exam. Not me.

4. Drink all the beverages

Did I just say all? Oh sorry. 3 bottles of cocacola  and one bottle of lacasera for each day for 4 days would give you the diarrhea you want. 

5. Prepare late for your exams

Why read everyday when you can have all the fun for 12 weeks and you can cover the syllabus in just a week. Come on, got to clubs; hangout with friends, travel and explore the world. When it's a week to exam, you can make up for all those weeks of enjoyment. Study 19 hours  per day. 4 hours of rest is enough for you. Never mind how to achieve that, what are caffeinated drinks for? Drink them as much as you can in order to stay awake. By the time you get to the exam hall, an ambulance would be waiting for you.

So, Joe. If you want to carryover that 4 unit course, want to spend an extra year or two on campus, if you want to get rusticated or you simply need a lower credit, follow those suggestion. Should you change your mind, you can stay healthy during exam and after by doing just two things

1. Like us on facebook at www.facebook.com/kiksolynherbals for health tips and news

2. Check out the tips above and add "do not" before them.

You're smart!

Bam Kay Jr

SEVEN THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT MALARIA

1. BEGINNING

No one knows the beginning of Malaria but earliest reports of symptoms of malaria date back to the Egyptians in 1550 BCE. Who knows, malaria may be as old as man himself, or even older.

2. THERE ARE MORE THAN 1 TYPE OF MALARIA

There are far more than 125 types of malaria parasites(plasmodium) of which only 4 species are of threat to humans. These are Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium vivax, and Plamodium ovale. 

3. ANIMALS CAN ALSO BE INFECTED.

Birds, reptiles, and various mammals can also suffer from malaria. So the next time your dog becomes dull and starts to vomit, bear in mind that it might also be having headache. LOL.

4. MOSQUITOES ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES.

Lets stop blaming mosquitoes alone. Malaria parasites starts from the liver. While in the liver, you don't get sick. Once the malaria in the liver becomes matured, it is released into the bloodstream and that is when  you start feeling sick. How does the other person get infected? If a mosquito bites an infected person, it gets the parasite too and passes it to the next person it bites. But not only mosquitoes. If you share sharp objects with an infected person, you also risk being infected. If you get transfused with the blood of an infected person, you'll get infected too. So next time you talk about malaria and you mention mosquitoes, also remember to include the rest.

4. "MALARIA" IS NOT MALARIA. 

Okay, don't get it twisted. But I mean what I mean.  Malaria is not malaria. I mean "malaria" is not a sickness caused by plasmodium. That word (malaria) means "bad air" and was derived from two Italian words , Mala(bad) and Aria(air). This is based on an early believe that malaria was caused by the bad air coming form the marsh.

5. FATHER OF MALARIA. 

Come on, every scientists deserves a title. Someone needs to take the above title. Who else is worthy of being the father of malaria if not this French army surgeon,  Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran. He broke the long believed myth that malaria is caused by bad air. He is the first man who noticed the parasites in the blood of patients suffering from malaria on November 6, 1880. This is why I dub him FATHER OF MALARIA

6. MALARIA CAN AFFECT THE LIVER AND EVEN THE BRAIN.

Malaria, if not treated for a long time might appetites. There is even a more severe complication known as cerebral malaria.  Victims of this complication may suffer from various disabilities such as epilepsy, impaired memory loss, depression and other abnormalities.  There are over 550,000 cases of cerebral malaria  every year.

7. MALARIA AND SICKLE CELL. 

Sickle cell barely suffer from the deadliest malaria "asymptomatic malaria" caused by plasmodium falciparium. This is often associated with the inability of sickle cells to get enough oxygen.

BONUS FACT

In Nigeria, malaria is considered as a normal illness. It is believed that it can't kill and If it happens that someone dies of the illness, an average Nigerian will never associate the death with malaria but with a supernatural evil.

Tell us which of these fact are new to you and which ones have you known before now. You can also add yours by commenting.