Why Some Woman Cannot Achieve Orgasm During Sexual Intercourse

According to a PsychologyToday blog by Lisa Thomas approximately 25% of women have difficulty achieving orgasm or have never experienced one, and even for women who are orgasmic, the frequency is only around 50-70% of the time.  Other researchers found that most women do not routinely (and some never) experience orgasm during sexual intercourse.
There are a number of physiological factors that can inhibit a woman’s sexual desire and her ability to reach climax: hormone imbalance, low testosterone, medications such as anti-depressants, her anatomy (the distance between the clitoris and the vagina), and, of course, partner issues. These can include the partner’s lack of appeal or insensitivity, and, in relation to a male partner, insufficient knowledge of the female body and premature ejaculation. To make matters worse, focusing on having a climax creates pressure in a woman that runs counter to sexual arousal; telling herself to “relax” simply doesn’t work.

Many developmental issues also affect women’s sexuality: Parents’ intrusiveness, emotional hunger, withholding of affection, indifference, hostility and intolerance of being loved leave lasting scars on their offspring. Women react to the resultant emotional pain by developing a poor self-concept or body image, distrust of their partner and other protective and pseudo-independent defenses that, in turn, predispose alienation in their relationships. Basically insecure (anxious or avoidant) attachment patterns they developed in childhood persist into adult life and strongly influence numerous aspects of sexual relating.

In this article, we focus on seven psychological factors that tend to negatively impact a woman’s sexual desire, arousal and orgasmic capacity.  The list is not meant to exhaust all possible psychological issues; however, in clinical experience, it has been found to be fundamental and understanding and useful in helping women achieve richer, more satisfying sexual lives.
1. Critical thoughts toward one’s body: Many women experience intrusive thoughts or critical inner voices about their body that interrupt the smooth progression of sexual excitement that typifies the arousal cycle of approaching orgasm. They can have self-conscious thoughts about their breasts: Your breasts are small. They’re not like other women’s breasts. Your breasts are misshapen. Or they may have negative thoughts about their genitals. Your vagina is too large. You’re too dry. You’re not clean, so don’t have oral sex.
Many women have internalized their parents’ negative attitudes toward bodily functions during toilet training, thereby developing images of their bodies and sexuality as dirty. In particular, the genital area becomes imbued with an anal connotation and is confused with excretory functions. Women’s shameful feelings about this area are extended to anything below the waist, (including menstruation) and they end up feeling dirty or contaminated in a manner that can interfere with their becoming aroused or achieving orgasm. When women have negative thoughts about different parts of their bodies they find it difficult to take pleasure in being touched in those specific areas. If they feel critical about their body image in general, it is more difficult for them to fully enjoy sex...
TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW.

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Mixing Energy Drinks And Alcohol Is Like Cocaine In The Brain

Drinking highly caffeinated alcoholic beverages has been shown to trigger changes in the adolescent brain. The changes are similar to taking cocaine. According to findings of a study published in the journal ‘PLOS ONE’, the consequences of drinking highly caffeinated alcoholic beverages, last into adulthood as an altered ability to deal with rewarding substances.
Cocaine, also known as coke, is a strong stimulant mostly used as a recreational drug. It is commonly snorted, inhaled, or injected into the veins.
Mental effects of cocaine may include loss of contact with reality, an intense feeling of happiness, or agitation while physical symptoms may include a fast heart rate, sweating, and large pupil. Cocaine has a small number of accepted medical uses such as numbing and decreasing bleeding during nasal surgery.
Science daily reported that Richard van Rijn, an assistant professor of medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology, looked at the effects of highly caffeinated energy drinks and highly caffeinated alcohol in adolescent mice.
According to researchers from the Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, U.S., these alcohol studies cannot be performed in adolescent humans, but changes seen in mouse brains with drugs of abuse have been shown to correlate to those in humans in many drug studies.
These energy drinks can contain as much as 10 times the caffeine as soda and are often marketed to adolescents. But little is known about the health effects of the drinks, especially when consumed with alcohol during adolescence.
Van Rijn and graduate student, Meridith Robins, published results in the journal Alcohol that showed adolescent mice given high-caffeine energy drinks were not more likely than a control group to drink more alcohol as adults.

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Too Much Watching Of TV Can Damage Children's Brain Structure

Watching too much television can change the structure of a child's brain in a damaging way, according to a new study.
Researchers found that the more time a child spent viewing TV, the more profound the brain alterations appeared to be.

The Japanese study looked at 276 children aged between five and 18, who watched between zero and four hours TV per day, with the average being about two hours.

MRI brain scans showed children who spent the most hours in front of the box had greater amounts of grey matter in regions around the frontopolar cortex - the area at the front of the frontal lobe.
But this increased volume was a negative thing as it was linked with lower verbal intelligence, said the authors, from Tohoku University in the city of Sendai.
They suggested grey matter could be compared to body weight and said these brain areas need to be pruned during childhood in order to operate efficiently.

These areas show developmental cortical thinning during development, and children with superior IQs show the most vigorous cortical thinning in this area,’ the team wrote.
They highlighted the fact that unlike learning a musical instrument, for example, programmes we watch on TV ‘do not necessarily advance to a higher level, speed up or vary’.
‘When this type of increase in level of experience does not occur with increasing experience, there is less of an effect on cognitive functioning,’ they wrote.

The authors said the impact of watching TV on the ‘structural development’ of the brain has never before been investigated.
‘In conclusion, TV viewing is directly or indirectly associated with the neurocognitive development of children,’ they wrote.
‘At least some of the observed associations are not beneficial and guardians of children should consider these effects when children view TV for long periods of time.’
The children in the study were an almost even split between girls and boys.
The findings, published in the journal Cerebral Cortex, highlighted an association between TV viewing and changes in the brain but do not prove that TV definitely caused the changes.
Scientists also cannot be sure whether missing out on activities such as reading, playing sports or interacting with friends and family as a result of watching TV could be behind the findings, rather than TV being directly to blame.
But they did say that the frontopolar cortex area of the brain has previously been associated with ‘intellectual abilities'.

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New Chip Raises Hope Of Blindness Reversal

In the effort to check rising vision impairment worldwide, scientists have produced a new prosthetic device that is designed to restore lost vision.
This is contained in a study published in ‘PLOS Biology’. The prosthetic device senses signals and transmits them to the brain by stimulating the cells in the retina – the area at the back of the eye that collects light focused from the lens.
The ‘bionic eye’ senses visual signals and transmits them to the brain, but requires extensive training to help patients’ brain learn to see again. Around the world, an estimated 40 million people are blind, with many of them reaching this condition after years of slow and progressive degeneration. The new study comes from researchers at an Italian public research university, the University of Pisa, who wanted to test the brain’s capacity to process artificial visual inputs.
They focused on seven patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa – an inherited disease that gradually leads to complete blindness. Retinitis pigmentosa is the name given to a group of inherited conditions of the retina that lead to a gradual progressive reduction in vision. With the development of this condition, difficulties with night vision and peripheral vision are the first things that are noticed. Later, reading vision, colour vision, and central vision are affected.
The age at which symptoms start is variable and the rate of deterioration often varies – for example with the different genetic types – but is generally very slow with changes occurring over years rather than months. In approximately half of all cases, there are other family members affected. The researchers then used functional magnetic imaging – technology that measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow.
This showed that patients learned to recognise unusual visual stimuli, such as bright flashes, and this ability led to increased brain activity. As the patient practiced seeing, the more their brain responded to visual stimuli using the prosthetic implant.
The researchers, led by Maria Concetta Morrone, said: “The boost in response takes a long time and intensive training to appear, being stronger in those subjects who used the prosthetic device more intensely and for a longer time.”
The results suggest that after the device is implanted, the brain undergoes plastic changes to re-learn how to process the visual signals. The fact that after years of blindness, the brain still has some plasticity is highly promising for the further development of new prosthetic implants.

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Why Colon Cancer Is Rising In Nigeria

Doctors treating colorectal cancer in Nigeria have raised the alarm over the rising number of Nigerians coming down with the disease. The doctors under the auspices of the Society for Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Nigeria (SOGHIN) disclosed that more Nigerians above 40 years were coming down with colorectal cancer, blaming the development on the lack of periodic screening to detect the disease early since colon cancer usually don’t have symptoms.
Also, lending his voice to the alert, President of SOGHIN, Prof. Musa Borodo, urged Nigerians to imbibe the habit of periodic screening, especially for colon cancer, which he said was becoming a huge burden in Nigeria especially among people above 40. Bodoro and his colleagues spoke at the opening day of SOGHIN 2016 Conference, which started with a workshop on modern technology and surgical skills at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital ( LUTH).
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), nearly two–thirds of annual mortality worldwide is attributable to non–communicable diseases (NCDs), with 70 per cent estimated to occur in low and middle income countries (LMIC).
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is said to account for over 600, 000 deaths annually. Similarly, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) estimates that CRC is the 5th most common cancer in sub Saharan Africa.
According to the president of SOGHIN, diseases such as CRC, liver cancer, helicobacter pyloris and other infections that occur in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are usually not easy to detect when looking out for signs and symptoms. Even when the symptoms are obvious, it’s often too late to treat, he added. Bodoro said that was the situation in hospitals at the moment and doctors treating GI diseases were disturbed about this development.

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New Technic Lowers Blood Pressure At No Cost

At a time of recession when households are faced with difficult choices and challenges, the possibility of developing high blood pressure, HBP, surely increases. Going by the findings of a new study, fully relaxing your body and mind for a few minutes a day could lower your blood pressure by about 10 points or more, at no cost and with no side effects.
The new research was conducted by doctors at Benson-Henry Institute for Mind-Body Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School.
The technique developed by Dr. Herbert Benson is called “the relaxation response” and indicated that 32 per cent of those who volunteered to experiment with it were able to eliminate one blood pressure medication and still keep their blood pressure under control, compared with 14 per cent in another group that focused on lifestyle changes to help reduce blood pressure.
Blood pressure is the force that a wave of blood propelled from the heart exerts on the arteries.
It is measured at two points; each measurement is recorded in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). Systolic pressure gauges the pressure in the arteries at systole, the instant when the heart contracts and pushes a wave of blood along the arterial tree. It is the top number of a blood pressure reading.
On its part, the diastolic pressure reflects the pressure during diastole, the brief period of relaxation between beats. It is the bottom number of a blood pressure reading. The report, titled “Relax your way to lower blood pressure”, is contained in the latest edition of Health beat, a publication of the Harvard Medical School.
The report reads: “The easiest way to lower blood pressure is by popping a pill. It takes just a few seconds and you are finished.
But pills cost money and often have side effects. Fully relaxing your body and your mind for a few minutes a day could lower your systolic blood pressure (the top number of a blood pressure reading) by 10 points or more—at no cost, and with no side effects.”

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10 Strategies To Prevent Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer for men (excluding skin cancer), but the good news is that there are things you can do to stop it from happening to you.

1. Eat your G-BOMBS. G-BOMBS (greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries and seeds) have powerful anti-cancer effects. Cruciferous vegetables (greens like broccoli, kale, bok choy, arugula, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, plus cauliflower, radish and more) contain phytochemicals that stimulate the body to detoxify carcinogens, and higher cruciferous vegetable intake is associated with lower prostate cancer risk. Men who consume three or more half-cup servings of cruciferous vegetables per week are 41 percent less likely to develop prostate cancer.
2. Reduce consumption of meat, eggs and dairy. It is widely recognized that a high consumption of animal protein has been linked to a greater risk of prostate cancer. Greater consumption of meat, poultry and fish is associated with higher blood level of IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor-1), which is positively correlated with an increased risk of prostate cancer. There is substantial evidence indicating that men who avoid dairy products are at a lower risk for prostate cancer. One study that spanned 41 countries reported a strong correlation between per capita milk consumption and prostate cancer deaths. For prostate health, avoid or limit animal products to two or fewer servings per week. Plant protein, however is protective—legumes and minimally processed soy products, are associated with decreased risk of prostate cancer.

3. Eat lots of tomatoes, especially cooked. A review of several studies revealed that those who consumed the most tomato-based foods reduced their total risk of prostate cancer by 35 percent and their risk of advanced prostate cancer by 50 percent. Lycopene, which is abundant especially in cooked tomatoes, is believed to be primarily responsible for this benefit. The lycopene in cooked tomatoes is more bioavailable than in raw tomatoes. Tomatoes are extremely nutrient-dense, containing a variety of other protective phytochemicals, such as flavonoids and antioxidant vitamins.

4. Eat plenty of yellow and orange vegetables. In studies, the greater the consumption of carotenoid-rich yellow and orange vegetables, including carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, winter squash and corn, the lower the number of people with prostate cancer.

5. Confirm adequate vitamin D levels with a blood test. Insufficient vitamin D levels are associated with an increased risk of several cancers, including prostate cancer. The safest way to obtain vitamin D is through supplements. Aim for a vitamin D blood level (25(OH)D) between 30 and 45 ng/ml.

6. Do not rely on PSA screening as a method of “early detection” to prevent prostate cancer. About 70 per cent of men with elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) do not actually have cancer. Many scientists think that PSA screening does not reduce prostate cancer-related deaths.

7. Avoid supplemental folic acid. Folic acid is the synthetic form of folate (one of the B vitamins), and is included in most multivitamins. Similar to breast cancer, folic acid supplementation has been associated with increased risk of prostate cancer, whereas food folate is associated with decreased risk. Get natural folate from green vegetables and beans instead of synthetic folic acid from supplements.

8. Avoid fried foods. Potential dietary carcinogens form in foods when high heat cooking methods, such as frying or grilling, are used. Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are formed in meats, aldehydes are produced in oils and acrylamide is formed in starchy foods and coatings. One study evaluated frequent (once a week or more) consumption of certain fried foods in relation to prostate cancer risk; French fries, fried chicken, fried fish and doughnuts were associated with increased risk.

9. Exercise at least 3 hours a week. Exercise, particularly endurance-type exercise such as walking, running, cycling and swimming, are effective forms of disease protection.

10. Supplement with a conservative amount of zinc. Zinc has been shown in scientific studies to suppress tumor growth and induce prostate cancer cell death. There is evidence that adequate levels of zinc are protective, while deficiency and excess may promote prostate cancer.

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How Environmental Factors Fuel Male Infertility - Prof Oluyemi Akinloye

Nigeria and other countries of the world have continued to witness a sharp rise in male infertility. Unfortunately in some cases, their causes are not known. A Professor of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnosis, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, CMUL, Prof Oluyemi Akinloye says several men can not achieve their desire to impregnate their female partners due to reasons beyond their control.

“Infertility is a disease of the reproductive system, defined by the failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular, unprotected sexual intercourse," He said. Akinloye linked involuntary male infertility to hormonal disturbances, environmental factors such as diet and toxic elements, genetic aberrations, improper medical waste disposal by healthcare workers, exposure to environmental pollutants, human activities like occupational factors and climate change. The Professor of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnosis while presenting his Inaugural Lecture entitled: “The Nigerian Milieu and Genetic Diversity: The Case for Personalised Medicine”, said despite these multi faceted factors, male infertility in Nigeria has suffered significant neglect in reproductive health. Noting that too much attention was being paid to female infertility factors, than that of their male counterparts, he said: "In Nigeria, the male factor contribution to infertility is estimated to be about 54 per cent, based on semen analysis and globally, the male contribution to infertility among couples has been estimated to be about 33 per cent.” 

Akinloye who accused the scientific and medical communities of paying more attention to female factors than that of their male counterpart, identified one of the factors that have contributed significantly to low sperm count and other abnormalities as exposure to heavy metals or toxic elements. “Two of such metals are cadmium and lead and they are in the Nigerian environment. In Nigeria, the burning of fossil fuels such as coal or oil accounts for their gross contamination of food chain and environments," he stated.

He affirmed that studies have shown that half of the cases of human male infertility of unknown causes may be attributable to various environmental and occupational exposures. He maintained that environmental discharge of cadmium due to use of petroleum products in addition to exposure to cadmium via contaminated food or paper, cosmetic remedies put many Nigerians at high risk of cadmium. “Cigarette smoking is also contributing significantly to Cadmium environmental pollution,” he added. He further called for strict implementation of law prohibiting smoking in public places adding that unwilling exposure to second -hand smoke is high in Nigeria and high level of cadmium had been reported as the possible cause of azoospermia, (complete absence of sperm in the ejaculate) in smokers. Continuing, he lamented the effect of lead on the reproductive health of the population, particularly pregnant women where it has been found to cause miscarriage, prematurity, low birth weight and problems with development during childhood. Akinloye said concentration of lead in blood is associated with a decrease in sperm count, sperm volume, sperm motility and morphological alterations.

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Malaria Outbreak: 382 Hospitalised, 48 Die In Sokoto

An outbreak of malaria has claimed no fewer than 48 lives in the Gandu area of Sokoto North Local Government of Sokoto State in the last one month. The Officer in Charge of Kofar Kade Clinic, Mrs Rabi Ahmed-Gandi, disclosed this in Sokoto on Friday when she received the second consignment of free anti-malarial drugs from the State Government. She said: “These deaths were recorded out of the 382 patients who were hospitalised in the hospital during the period under review. The problem had hitherto reached an epidemic level, although it has subsided now.” She attributed the problem to the contamination of the environment sequel to the prevalence of toxic refuse heaps. Ahmed commended the state government for its swift intervention, saying that it has helped to stabilise the ugly situation. The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Balarabe Kakale, said that the state government had provided essential drugs and medicament to the area. Kakale further said that health personnel have also been dispatched to the affected area to augment the staffers at the clinic.

He said: “The Ministry has also commenced a fumigation exercise against mosquitoes. In the same vein, sanitary inspectors have been deployed to the affected areas to help in the clean up. They are also conducting social mobilization campaigns on the need for the residents to ensure environmental and personal hygiene. We are also partnering with the Ministry of Environment and the State Environmental Protection Agency, to team up and evacuate the killer-heaps of refuse.”

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Recurrent Miscarriages Could Be Genetical

Recurrent miscarriages in the first three months of pregnancy in some women could be a result of genetic mutation. This is the findings of a new study published in the ‘Royal Society Journal Open Biology’. The Royal Society Journal Open Biology reported that mutations in the FOXD1 gene could be responsible for half of miscarriages while the other half could be tied to infections, hormonal balance or immune problems. Miscarriage, also known as spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the natural death of an embryo or foetus before it is able to survive independently.
Some use the cut-off of 20 weeks of gestation after which foetal death is known as a stillbirth. The most common symptoms of a miscarriage is vaginal bleeding with or without pain. However, recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) is the occurrence of two or more pregnancy losses in the initial 13 weeks of gestation and affects one or two in every 100 pregnancies. According to the study, the mutation of FOXD1 was first discovered in laboratory mice.
Five hundred and fifty women, who had been affected by RSA, were examined to find out if they had mutations of the same gene. Two hundred and seventy-one non- RSA patients were used as control for comparative analysis.
The researchers discovered that a majority of women with RSA possessed the gene mutation of FOXD1. However, findings from the control group led scientists to believe that the gene could have protective abilities when in its normal state:
“Our results have also shown that FOXD1 is possibly a new molecular actor modulating pregnancy maintenance, with mutations associated with ER in mice and RSA in humans".
 Human fertility, like most biological processes in mammals, is assumed to be the result of subtle interaction of gene variants located in different genomic regions, having a quantitative effect and thus called QTL for quantitative trait loci. The Medical Daily reported that FOXD1 isn’t the first gene linked to early pregnancy loss. The MTHFR gene is an enzyme that is involved in amino acid metabolism in the body.
Common mutations in this gene can affect how a person’s body processes homocysteine, an amino acid found in the blood. Women with MTHFR gene mutations are more likely to have elevated levels of homocysteine — a potential risk factor for miscarriages. These mutations can also lead to a decreased ability to metabolize folic acid and other B vitamins.

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Pregnancy: Red Wine Can Boost Female Fertility

A glass of red wine a day could help women who are struggling to get pregnant, experts claim.A chemical compound found in the popular tipple can combat a major cause of female infertility, a new research has revealed.Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is estimated to affect one in five women, but that number could be much higher as almost half of sufferers show no symptoms of the condition.
It causes a hormone imbalance, with the body producing too much testosterone – the male sex hormone which can prevent pregnancy.
But now, researchers in the United States and Poland believe resveratrol – a natural compound in the skin of grapes used to make red wine – can reverse the damaging hormone imbalance.
It adds to past studies that show the compound can help ward off heart disease and some cancers.
Dr Antoni Duleba, lead researcher from the University of California, San Diego, said: “Our study is the first clinical trial to find resveratrol significantly lowers PCOS patients’ levels of testosterone.
“This nutritional supplement can help moderate the hormone imbalance that is one of the central features of PCOS.”

What is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome?
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a common condition – a leading cause of infertility in women.
The three main features of the condition are:

1. Irregular periods – which means your ovaries do not regularly release eggs
2. Excess androgen – high levels of “male” hormones in the body, which can cause physical symptoms such as excess facial or body hair
3. Polycystic ovaries – enlarged ovaries that contain fluid-filled sacs around the eggs

If you have at least two of these features, it is likely you will be diagnosed with PCOS.
Signs and symptoms include:

• irregular or no periods at all
• difficulty getting pregnant
• excessive hair growth, often on the face, chest and back
• weight gain
• oily skin or acne
• hair loss or thinning hair on the head

Across the world, PCOS is one of the most common causes of infertility in women, the report, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, noted.
Women suffering PCOS can also suffer irregular periods, weight gain, acne and excess hair growth on the face and body, as well as chronic conditions including diabetes.
Researchers believe it is resveratrol’s anti-inflammatory properties that help tilt the hormone imbalance back to optimum levels for conception.
They tested 30 women with PCOS – giving half a placebo, while the other half took a resveratrol compound once a day for three months.
Blood samples were examined at regular intervals to monitor each woman’s hormone levels.
The researchers noted those women taking resveratrol showed falling levels of testosterone over the course of the trial.
On average testosterone levels in this group of women fell by 23.1 per cent.
That is compared to a 2.9 per cent fall in testosterone among those women taking the placebo.
Dr Duleba said: “The findings suggest resveratrol can improve the body’s ability to use insulin and potentially lower the risk of developing diabetes.
“The supplement may be able to help reduce the risk of metabolic problems common in women with PCOS.”
He said his team also noted added benefits in the fall of other harmful hormones, and the body’s ability to control insulin in the resveratrol group, that was not seen in the women taking placebo.

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High-Stress Jobs Lead To Early Death

Researchers have raised the alarm over the danger posed to employees engaged in high-stress jobs, saying the job might be killing them. A new study has found evidence to back up what many disgruntled employees have been saying all along – your job just might be killing you.
Stress is defined as an organism’s total response to environmental demands or pressures. Stress in humans results from interactions between persons and their environment that are perceived as straining or exceeding their adaptive capacities and threatening their well-being.
Analyzing more than 2,300 people during a seven-year period, the researchers found that employees in high-stress positions who have little decision-making freedom at work were more likely to die young.
Along with this, they said these people often have a higher body mass index, BMI, than employees who have more control at work, as they may eat more, smoke, or engage in other behaviours to cope with the demands of the job.
T he findings suggest that having a higher degree of discretion in your job could help to manage work-related stress, contributing to a longer and healthier life. In the study from Indiana University Kelley School of Business, researchers sampled 2,363 Wisconsin residents in their 60s over a seven-year period. Data were derived from the Wisconsin Longitudinal study, in which more than 10,000 people were interviewed at various intervals over the course of their lives, from 1957 to 2011.
The researchers found troubling trends among employees in stressful jobs: 26 per cent of deaths occurred in people with front line service jobs, while 32 per cent of deaths were among people in manufacturing jobs, who reported high demands and low control at work.
Overall, people in lowcontrol, high-demand jobs showed a 15.4 per cent increase in the likelihood of death compared with those in low demand jobs. But, those with highcontrol at work were linked to a 34 per cent decrease in the likelihood of death, compared with.

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Antibiotics Linked To Hospital Bed Infection

Scientists have raised the alarm over the spread of hospital bed infection, saying when a hospital patient is taking antibiotics, the next person to use the same bed may face an elevated risk of infection with the dangerous germ Clostridium difficile.
To this end, doctors have suggested the need to improve sterilisation procedures in hospitals, a measure to reduce the spread of infections in hospital environment.
This is the finding of a new report published in the journal ‘JAMA Internal Medicine’.
According to a Professor of Medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, Dr. Marc Siegel, “This underscores the idea that hospitals are not being sanitised enough or they can’t be sanitised enough.
There is an increased need for increased sterilisation procedures between patients.”  C. difficile, a bacterium that causes inflammation of the colon and causes life-threatening diarrhoea, is found in some hospitals around the world.
Scientists have known that antibiotic use can contribute to the germ’s spread, but a new report has shown that it is not just the patient taking the medication who’s at risk. According to findings in the study, because the germ spores can persist, patients later assigned to the same hospital bed may have increased risk of getting C. difficile.
Lead Researcher, Dr. Daniel Freedberg, a gastroenterologist at Columbia University Medical Centre in New York City, said: “This study provides evidence that there is a herd effect with antibiotics. “In other words, antibiotics have the potential to affect the health of people who don’t themselves receive antibiotics.”
According to the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, C. difficile causes nearly half a million infections a year in the United States and 29,000 deaths. Older adults are most at risk. In this study, researchers found that if the previous patient in the hospital bed was given antibiotics (not for C. difficile), the odds of C. difficile infection in the next patient were nearly one per cent, compared with less than half of one per cent if no antibiotics were given, the webMD reported.
“Antibiotics encourage the spread of C. difficile from patients who asymptomatically carry C. difficile to patients who are C. difficile-free, even if the C. difficile-free patients do not receive any antibiotics,” Freedberg said.

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Herbal Remedies For Premature Ejaculation

Premature ejaculation is uncontrolled ejaculation either before or shortly after sexual penetration. It happens with minimal sexual stimulation and before the person wishes. It may result in unsatisfactory sex for both partners. This can increase the anxiety that may add to the problem. It is one of the most common forms of male sexual dysfunction. It has probably affected every man at some point in his life.

Most cases of premature ejaculation do not have a clear cause. With sexual experience and age, men often learn to delay orgasm. Premature ejaculation may occur with a new partner. It may happen only in certain sexual situations or if it has been a long time since the last ejaculation. Psychological factors such as anxiety, guilt, or depression can also cause it. In some cases, it may be related to a medical cause such as hormonal problems, injury, or a side effect of certain medicines.

The main symptom is an uncontrolled ejaculation either before or shortly after intercourse begins. Ejaculation occurs before the person wishes it, with minimal sexual stimulation.

Treating premature ejaculation with chemical based, orthodox drugs does not yield results because the chemicals in the drugs in most cases contribute to the hormonal influence of the situation. In contrast most people who suffer from premature ejaculation have been able to solve the problem with natural/herbal medicine, especially when the premature ejaculation is not cost by psychological issues.

The reasons for this is obvious. Herbal medicine is organic in nature and is easily absorbed into the various body systems to cure any ailments that might be there.

The herbal remedy for premature ejaculation ranges from the raw leaves themselves to herbal formulations made into liquid, powder, tablets and capsule forms.However, most people always opt for liquid herbal formulations.

To get tested and proven herbal medications for premature ejaculation, call +2347031040178.

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GMO Foods: Federal Government Threatens To Shut Down Shoprite, Others

The Federal Government of Nigeria, through its National Biosafety Management Agency, has issued a seven-day ultimatum to retail store giants, Shoprite and Next Cash ‘N’ Carry to withdraw any product that contains Genetically Modified Organisms from their shelves or risk a total shutdown.

The warning was handed out to representatives of the two superstores at a briefing in Abuja on Friday.

The Director-General, NBMA, Dr. Rufus Ebegba, said the agency had received complaints from members of the public about the sale of GMO foods in the two stores.

He stated, “Recently, we carried out a survey of likely GMO products and we have been able to have some collections, some materials that we call GMO suspects. We call them GMO suspects because we have not been able to ascertain their status.

“Why we have invited the superstores basically is for them to understand that some of their products need to be properly ascertained before they are brought in, especially the imported ones that may contain genetically modified materials, so that they will not run afoul of the law.

“There is a law in place. We will not want any segment of the society out of ignorance to act in manners that will infringe on the law. The Biosafety Management Act empowers the NBMA to regulate the activities of modern biotechnology and the use of genetically modified organisms.”

According to him, the agency will not hesitate to shut down any of the stores found selling unregistered GMO products in the country.

Edegba called on representatives of the superstores to ensure that all GMO products on their shelves were duly registered by the agency by obtaining permits.

He said, “If they have any GMO food in their stores, they should withdraw them from their shelves within seven days. The NBMA will not hesitate to shut down those stores found selling GMO products. We will not want to see any GMO food in your stores. We urge you to comply with this Act.

“We have taken samples, which we are analysing. This information is not peculiar to only the superstores. We are not threatening anybody, we are just telling you the consequences of dealing in GMO products if found in these stores. Within the next seven days, we believe you will withdraw from your shelves all foods that are derived from genetically modified organisms.”

The NBMA boss added, “Please, it is an advice and this advice is not without a legal backing. So we urge you to withdraw all GMO foods from your shelves and formalise your dealings by obtaining permits.

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Why Hormonal Contraceptives May Cause Depression

A new study has revealed that hormonal contraceptives are associated with an increased risk of depression. According to the findings of this study published in ‘JAMA Psychiatry,’ Danish researchers studied more than a million women aged between 15 and 34, tracking their contraceptive and antidepressant use from 2000 to 2013.
While depression is a common but serious mood disorder that causes severe symptoms that affect how you feel, think and handle daily activities, such as sleeping, eating, or working, hormonal contraception refers to birth control methods that act on the endocrine system.
This pill works by preventing the ovary from releasing an egg, thickening the cervical mucus, making it difficult for the sperm to reach the egg and changing the lining of the uterus making implantation difficult.
This pill works by preventing the ovary from releasing an egg, thickening the cervical mucus, making it difficult for the sperm to reach the egg and changing the lining of the uterus making implantation difficult.
The study linking contraceptives to depression excluded women who before 2,000 had used antidepressants or had another psychiatric diagnosis.
The New York Times reported that over all, compared with non-users, users of hormonal contraception had an 80 per cent increased risk of depression. Some types of contraceptives carried even greater risk.
Women who used progestin-only pills more than doubled their risk, for example, while those who use the levonorgestrel IUD (brand name Mirena) tripled their risk.
The risk persisted after adjusting for age, age of first intercourse, educational level and other factors.
The JAMA Psychiatry study also found that the risk was greater in adolescent girls, but this may be because adolescent girls are especially susceptible to depression.
Reacting to the development, Dr. Oejvind Lidegaard, senior author and a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Copenhagen said: “Even though the risk of depression increases substantially with these drugs – an 80 per cent increase is not trivial – most women who use them will not get depressed.
“Still, it is important that we tell women that there is this possibility and that there are effective non-hormonal methods of birth control.”

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Is It Safe To Wash The Vigina With Soap?

For many, washing our vulva with our favourite shower gel or soap is a regular part of our daily routine. We grew up knowing our mothers, sisters, and friends did this and many of us were told that washing themselves with soap is necessary to stay clean and avoid unpleasant odor. How many of us ever stopped to think whether this is what we should be doing or was it just what we were told to do. There are a plethora of products aimed specifically for 'intimate freshness' for women, playing on an idea that we will smell unless we wash with fragranced cleaning products. What's worse is that more than half of the women do not even know that this can be potentially harmful to them and their bodies.
Many women will say soap is fine, even those who know the potential risks will say that a mild soap is still suitable, that they themselves use this without having any problems occurring. However, as true as this may be for those individuals, for a large number of women this can cause problems that can go on without the knowledge of the cause. Regardless of how fine cleaning with soap may feel, it still remains bad for vaginal health; an unnecessary act which is often seen as a necessity.
Women who use soap often do not know any different. It has been ingrained in our mind that to be clean one must use cleaning products but it is often a surprise to women to finally know how harmful this can be. Truthfully women's vaginas and vulvas are not as dirty as some people seem to think, certainly the smell of the vagina is not one that should be removed or covered up. It is not a foul smell and far from something that should repel men as it is a natural sexual attractant.
We as women are supposed to have a smell, we are supposed to have bacteria (both good and bad), we are supposed to have yeast and we are supposed to have fluids leaving our vagina both during menstruation and as everyday discharge. Left to it's own devices the vagina is a self-contained environment, it keeps itself healthy and is self-cleaning so needs little help from us unless an infection occurs, and then it is up to your friendly gynecologist to prescribe just what we need.
That is not to say women cannot take an active role in their vaginal health. Many doctors will support the use of natural remedies to help aid in vaginal health such as the use of yogurt or tea tree oil to treat infection rather than using medical treatments for infection, the more natural things used to treat this delicate environment the better.
For the vagina more problems can occur. Soap can cause irritation and inflammation of the mucosa much in the same way as it would cause irritation of the vulva. This not only causes discomfort but can also leave women more susceptible to STD's. The vagina has a very delicate bacterial and PH balance and with the effect of soaps having differing PH levels, it can affect the normal vaginal PH level and may lead to imbalances in the bacteria levels.
Bacteria are naturally occurring in the vagina however when the anaerobic bacteria, genital mycoplasmas and gardnerella vaginalis overgrow or lactobacilli are reduced, then this can cause bacterial vaginosis. Bacterial vaginosis is a bacterial infection that is common in many women, most commonly caused by this PH imbalance. The symptoms are not always present however when they are, women will experience excessive discharge and a foul 'fish' type smell. This infection is not necessarily serious, unless the women has a IUD or the infection progresses further into the vagina, however this infection can be very stubborn to get rid of and modern medicine cannot always guarantee successful treatment. The PH imbalance can also affect the naturally occurring yeast in the vagina, again leading to infection and further irritation through yeast infections.
It may be tempting to use soaps, douches or feminine sprays if an infection is already present, however these will only complicate existing infections. Douching can have these negative effects, as it pushes harmful bacteria farther up into the reproductive system as well as using soap which removes all vaginal bacteria.
There are also unseen risks, that of synthetic chemicals, many soaps and cleaning product contain synthetic chemicals as a way to improve the shelf life of the product. The majority of modern cosmetics are constructed from complex mixtures of synthetic chemicals. Alone these chemicals pose little risk, however, combined with other products, they can create a cause for concern, particularly if exposed to the delicate mucosa of the vagina and vulva.
Many commonly used chemicals cannot only cause allergic reactions but are suspected hormone disrupters and so are potentially harmful. The skin on our bodies absorbs chemicals in cosmetics but because it has keratinized squamous epithelium, which is the protective outer layer, it is largely protected. However, as the vaginal/vulva mucosa does not have this protective layer, its absorbency is higher.

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Calcium Supplements Could Damage Your Heart

Taking calcium in the form of supplements may raise the risk of plaque buildup in arteries and heart damage. According to findings of a study published in the ‘Journal of the American Heart Association’, a diet high in calcium-rich foods, however, appears to be protective. Cholesterol plaques can be the cause of heart disease.
Plaques begin in artery walls and grow over years. The growth of cholesterol plaques slowly blocks blood flow in the arteries. Worse, a cholesterol plaque can suddenly rupture. The sudden blood clot that forms over the rupture then causes a heart attack or stroke.
After analysing 10 years of medical tests on more than 2,700 people in a federally funded heart disease study, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine and elsewhere concluded that taking calcium in the form of supplements may raise the risk of plaque buildup in arteries and heart damage.
In a report on the research, published October 10, the researchers cautioned that their work only documented an association between calcium supplements and atherosclerosis, and does not prove cause and effect.
The ScienceDaily reported that the results add to growing scientific concerns about the potential harms of supplements, and they urge a consultation with a knowledgeable physician before using calcium supplements. An estimated 43 per cent of American adult men and women take a supplement that includes calcium, according to the National Institutes of Health.The same can also be said about Nigeria where more and more people are embracing the supplements culture, especially those in their mid 30s and 40s.

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Lazarus Syndrome: Dead Teenage Girl Wakes Up At The Point Of Interment

Many people ran in different directions in Warri, Delta State yesterday when a young girl of about 15 years presumed to have died suddenly woke up as she was about to be interred at the Warri Cemetery.
The girl, whose name could not be ascertained at press time, was said to have died about 5a.m. yesterday and was wrapped in a mat and placed on top of the soak away at Warri Motor Park. Sources said that the girl suspected to be pregnant, allegedly took concoction and went into deep sleep which ostensibly made people to suspect she might have given up the ghost.
It was learnt that sympathisers made up mostly of youths saw her completely naked and presumed that she had died, wrapped her in mat and headed for the cemetery.
“When we got to the cemetery, the workers there dug the grave for her burial. As the remains were laid into the grave and they were about covering it with sand, the deceased sneezed and jumped out of the grave and started shouting,” said a witness. Consequently, there was pandemonium within and outside the cemetery as scores of people thronged the cemetery to catch a glimpse of the ‘resurrected’ girl.
Sources, however, said that the girl was immediately rushed to Christ Mercyland Deliverance Ministry, Effurun, near Warri for spiritual cleansing. Attempt by policemen near the cemetery to take the girl to the station was rebuffed by sympathisers who insisted that the matter did not concern the police. They said it was a spiritual issue.
Nigeria Natural Health Online's investigation reviewed that what happened might not be unconnected to a medical phenomenon known as Lazarus Syndrome.Lazarus syndrome or autoresuscitation after failed cadiopulmorary resuscitation is the spontaneous return of circulation after failed attempts at resuscitation. Its occurrence has been noted in medical literature at least 38 times since 1982. Also called Lazarus phenomenon, it takes its name from Lazarus who, in the New Testament of The Bible, was raised from the dead by Jesus.
Occurrences of the syndrome are extremely rare and the causes are not well understood. One hypothesis for the phenomenon is that a chief factor (though not the only one) is the buildup of pressure in the chest as a result of cadiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The relaxation of pressure after resuscitation efforts have ended is thought to allow the heart to expand, triggering the heart's electrical impulses and restarting the heartbeat. Other possible factors are hyperkalemia or high doses of epinephine.
^{A notable case of Lazarus Syndrome is that of Daphne Banks. Daphne Banks overdosed on drugs in Huntingdon, England on 31 December 1996. She was declared dead at Hinchingbrooke Hospital early the next day. She was found snoring at a mortuary 34 hours later.
According to a 2002 article in the journal Forensic Science International, a 65-year-old prelingually deaf Japanese male was found unconscious in the foster home he lived in.Cadiopulmonary resuscitation.}
was attempted on the scene by home staff, emergency medical personnel and also in the emergency department of the hospital and included appropriate medications and defibrillation. He was declared dead after attempted resuscitation. However, a policeman found the person moving in the mortuary after 20 minutes. The patient survived for 4 more days.

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The Effects Of Sleep Paralysis

You suddenly find it difficult waking up, you try to open your mouth and call for help but no sound is coming out. Its as if someone is pressing you down with some evil power. Eventually you succeed in waking up with terror and fear spread across your face. You spend the next minutes "binding" and "casting" the devil. But, is it really the devil? more often than not, it is not a spiritual issue but a medical condition called sleep paralysis. Researchers conclude that, in most cases, sleep paralysis is simply a sign that your body is not moving smoothly through the stages of sleep. Rarely is sleep paralysis linked to deep underlying psychiatric problems.
Over the centuries, symptoms of sleep paralysis have been described in many ways and often attributed to an "evil" presence: unseen night demons in ancient times, the old hag in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and alien abductors. Almost every culture throughout history has had stories of shadowy evil creatures that terrify helpless humans at night. People have long sought explanations for this mysterious sleep-time paralysis and the accompanying feelings of terror.

Sleep paralysis is a feeling of being conscious but unable to move. It occurs when a person passes between stages of wakefulness and sleep. During these transitions, you may be unable to move or speak for a few seconds up to a few minutes. Some people may also feel pressure or a sense of choking. Sleep paralysis may accompany other sleep disorders such as narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is an over powering need to sleep caused by a problem with the brain's ability to regulate sleep.

Sleep paralysis usually occurs at one of two times. If it occurs while you are falling asleep, it's called hypnagogic or predormital sleep paralysis. If it happens as you are waking up, it's called hypnopompic or postdormital sleep paralysis.

As you fall asleep, your body slowly relaxes. Usually you become less aware, so you do not notice the change. However, if you remain or become aware while falling asleep, you may notice that you cannot move or speak.

During sleep, your body alternates between REM (rapid eye movement) and NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep. One cycle of REM and NREM sleep lasts about 90 minutes. NREM sleep occurs first and takes up to 75% of your overall sleep time. During NREM sleep, your body relaxes and restores itself. At the end of NREM, your sleep shifts to REM. Your eyes move quickly and dreams occur, but the rest of your body remains very relaxed. Your muscles are "turned off" during REM sleep. If you become aware before the REM cycle has finished, you may notice that you cannot move or speak.

Up to as many as four out of every 10 people may have sleep paralysis. This common condition is often first noticed in the teen years. But men and women of any age can have it. Sleep paralysis may run in families. Other factors that may be linked to sleep paralysis include:

• Lack of sleep
• Sleep schedule that changes
• Mental conditions such as stress or bipolar disorder
• Sleeping on the back
• Other sleep problems such as narcolepsy or nighttime leg cramps
• Use of certain medications, such as those for ADHD
• Substance abuse

So, when next you try to wake up and it looks as if someone is pressing you down, it is not witches or any other demons but sleep paralysis. So instead of "binding" and "casting", it is time to see your health provider.

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Painkillers Kill More Than Cocaine

A scientist has raised the alarm about the danger prescription painkillers pose to consumers’ health, saying they are killing more people than heroin and cocaine.
According to the State Pathologist for Northern Ireland, Professor Jack Crane, who raised the alarm, Tramadol is ‘claiming more lives than any other drug’ and should be upgraded to the Class A category. Tramadol is currently classified as a Class C drug – among the least harmful.
Although, Tramadol, an opioid pain medication, is used to treat moderate to moderately severe pain, Crane warned that they could be deadly when mixed with other medication or alcohol. Serious side effects may include seizures, increased risk of serotonin syndrome, decreased alertness, and drug addiction while common side effects include constipation, itchiness and nausea, among others. A change in dosage may be recommended in those with kidney or liver problems.
It is not recommended in those who are at risk of suicide.
While not recommended in women who are breastfeeding, Tramadol’s use in pregnancy is generally avoided as it may cause some reversible withdrawal effects in the newborn.
A small prospective study in France found that, while there was an increased risk of miscarriages, there were no major malformations reported in the newborn.
Its use during lactation is also generally advised against but a small trial found that infants breastfed by mothers taking Tramadol were exposed to about 2.88 per cent of the dose the mothers were taking.
There was no evidence of this dose having a harmful effect on the newborn.
The pathologist said although, they are taken by thousands of people each day to rid them of pain, Tramadol can be deadly when mixed with other medication or alcohol. But experts said the painkiller doesn’t cause any harm so long as it is taken correctly.
However, Crane said : ‘I don’t think that people realise how potentially risky taking Tramadol is'.
Even though the use of  Tramadol is not as widespread in sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, compared to its competitions like Panadol and Paracetamol, There is fear that these other pain killers could as well be deadly. But, there is no confirmation for these.

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The Difference Between Pure And Adulterated Honey

If you want to enjoy most of the benefits derived from honey, its purity is what you should consider before buying. Most of the honey in the grocery stores isn’t exactly what the bees produce but fake and impure honey. Without distinguishing the difference between pure and fake honey, you will end up buying bad products. There are a lot of adulteration of honey, which makes it not real yet sold as the real thing. Because of the high demand for pure honey resulting from its medicinal and nutrient value individuals and companies have taken advantage of this (high demand) in a move to make an extra buck by selling fake honey.
As you would expect, real honey should not come from a factory but from bees. The most common references to real and pure honey are organic and natural honey. By just looking at packaged honey on the shelves, it is almost impossible to tell whether the honey is fake or real. 
If you want to enjoy most of the benefits derived from honey, its purity is what you should consider before buying. There are some simple tests and experiments that can be performed at home, to verify the purity of honey.
Before carrying out any of tests, one basic and extremely simple “how to check the purity of honey” method is to read the label on the jar of honey, prior to its purchase. Manufacturers are required to mention the additives and additional substances that have been added to the produced honey. So you can make out, if it is organic or extra sweet or artificial flavorings have been added, simply by scrutinizing the label. If you are buying honey straight from a beekeeper, then the honey is of a raw and unprocessed quality as you are purchasing it straight from the source. We recommend you to learn the difference between fake and pure honey before doing tests.

In order to check the purity of honey at home, here’s what to do:
Thumb Test
Here’s the procedure to do a thumb test:

• Put a small drop of the honey you have on your thumb
• Check to see if it spills or spreads around
• If it does, it is not pure
• Pure honey will stay intact on your thumb

The Water Test to Spot Fake Honey
Here’s how to do the water test:

• Fill a glass with water
• Add one tablespoon of honey into the glass
• Adulterated or artificial honey will dissolve in water and you will see it around the glass
• Pure honey on the other hand will settle right at the bottom of your glass

The Flame Test to Know Pure Honey
Did you know that organic honey is flammable? Here’s a test to know 100% pure organic honey.

• Take a dry matchstick
• Dip its tip right into the honey
• Strike the stick on the matchbox as if to light it
• If the honey is pure, the matchstick will light with ease
• The flame will also keep burning off the honey
• However, if it is with impurities, it will not light because fake honey contains moisture as one of the impurities

These are some of the simple and common ways to test pure honey at home. Another common method to tell the difference is as follows: add some water and 2-3 drops of vinegar essence into the honey and mix well. If the solution becomes foamy, that is definitely adulterated honey.
Drop honey on blotting paper or a paper towel
If honey has been diluted with water, it may be absorbed or leave a wet mark on an absorbent material such as blotting paper. Pure honey should not be absorbed, but unfortunately neither will honey diluted with most sugar syrups.
There are also other ways to test for honey's purity but they have raised  debates. One major  test  that is controversial is the “ant test”. A group of individuals argues that ants are attracted to fake honey due to its sugar content but not attracted to pure honey due to a component that is a natural pest repellent. Not a lot of information exists to support this test and in addition there is no known reason why the little creatures (ants) would favor processed sugar over real honey not forgetting  the ants may not always be “available” at all places for a honey assessment. The reason why a sweet liquid is more attractive than another for the ants could also be due to other factors such as liquid density, flavors which vary depending on the floral types.
To get pure natural honey straight from the farm to your door-step, call +2347031040178.

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