Kidney Cancer: The Fried, Barbecued Red Meat Connection

Lovers of barbecued meat (otherwise known as suya in most African countries) are in for a tough time as pan-fried, grilled or barbecued meat, cooked at high temperatures or over an open flame, may increase the risk of kidney cancer, a new study has claimed.

The study indicates that a meat-rich diet may increase the risk of developing kidney cancer through mechanisms related to particular cooking compounds. These associations may be modified by genetic susceptibility to kidney cancer. The study illustrates how diet and genetics may interact to impact cancer risk. The incidence of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), the most common form of kidney cancer in adults, has been increasing in the US and other developed nations, researchers said. Researchers suspected that factors related to a western lifestyle – such as a diet high in meats, processed foods, and starches – may play an important role in this trend.

To investigate, a team led by Xifeng Wu, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston, studied the dietary intake and genetic risk factors of 659 patients newly diagnosed with RCC and 699 healthy controls. Researchers found that kidney cancer patients consumed more red and white meat compared with cancer-free individuals. Also, cancer patients consumed more cancer-causing chemicals that are produced when meat is cooked at high temperatures or over an open flame (particularly pan-frying or barbecuing). Finally, the investigators discovered that individuals with certain genetic variants were more susceptible to the harmful effects of these cancer-causing chemicals.

While the study was small and limited to non-Hispanic whites, the findings suggest that reducing consumption of meat, especially when cooked at high temperatures or over an open flame, might serve as a public health intervention to reduce the risk of developing RCC. In addition, genetic testing might help to identify individuals at especially high risk.

For effective natural cure for cancer, call Dr E.E Hunphrey on: +2348069223334, +2349092770089.

Read More

Belly Fat Can Lead To Premature Death

Those who have big bellies (which in most African societies, is seen as an evidence of good living) we have to do a rethink of their eating habits after reading this story.  A new research has confirmed that excess weight around the belly increases the risk of premature death even for people that are considered normal weight.

The research was published two days ago in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Belly fat, also known as visceral fat, which builds up in the spaces between and around the viscera — internal organs like your stomach and intestines is considered to be the most harmful form of fat in the body, medical experts said.

“Belly fat is bad fat,” said Dr. Paul Poirier, from the Institute of Cardiology at Laval University in Quebec, Canada, and the author of an accompanying editorial in the same issue of the journal.

Similarly, Eric Jacobs, PhD, a researcher at the American Cancer Society, said in recent years, scientists have uncovered links between belly fat and cancers of the colon, esophagus, and pancreas. Furthermore, an endocrinology specialist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, Michael D. Jensen, M.D, said regardless of your overall weight, having a large amount of belly fat increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2
diabetes, colorectal cancer, and sleep apnea.

The resent edition of Harvard Women’s Health Watch examines the connection between abdominal fat and heart health and found extra body fat increases the risk for conditions that contribute to heart disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. “The fat around the belly is particularly metabolically active, meaning that it produces a number of factors that increase the risks for heart disease,” explained Dr. Paula Johnson, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Read More

Eating Homemade Meals May Lower Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes

Eating homemade meals around twice a day may reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes, researchers have found. Study coauthor Dr. Geng Zong, a research fellow at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, MA, and colleagues suggest eating more meals prepared at home may reduce weight gain over time, which they say could explain their findings; excess weight is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes.

The negative health implications of regularly dining out in restaurants – particularly fast food restaurants – have been well documented.

Earlier this year, for example, Medical News Today reported on a study that found eating out leads to significantly higher calorie and salt intake, which may lead to weight gain and high blood pressure – risk factors for diabetes and heart disease.

For their study, Zong and colleagues set out to investigate whether increasing consumption of homemade meals may protect against type 2 diabetes.

The team assessed the homemade meal intake and the type 2 diabetes development of almost 58,000 women who were part of the Nurses, Health Study and more than 41,000 men who were part of the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study.

All participants were free of diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease at baseline and were followed for up to 36 years between 1986-2012.

Diabetes entails a number of serious complications, including heart disease. Individuals with obesity are more likely to develop insulin resistance and subsequently, diabetes.

Read More

Why Consuming Soft Drinks Can Lead To Heart Failure - New Research

Soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages can seriously damage heart health, a new research has found. The added sugar in sodas, fruit drinks, sweet teas and energy drinks affects the body in ways that increase risk of heart attack, heart disease and stroke, said research author Vasanti Malik, a nutrition research scientist at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston in the United States (U.S).

Consuming one or two servings a day of sugarsweetened beverages has been linked to a 35 per cent greater risk of heart attack or fatal heart disease, a 16 per cent increased risk of stroke and as much as a 26 per cent increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the report concluded.

In recent time, Nigerians, especially the youths who are largely known to crave for soft drinks and consume them excessively are concerned about the risk they pose to health. Among these groups are some Nigerians who consume two to three bottles of average 35 CL or 50 CL soft drinks daily. For now, the researchers urge consumers to reduce the amount of added sugar in their diet. Limiting or eliminating sugar-sweetened beverages is a solid first step, Malik said, noting many foods also contain added sugar.

Although, the dangers of excess sugar to health especially heart health has been well publicised, while some doubt, others who believe lack the will power to either reduce the consumption or stop consuming them altogether. With this new review however, experts are echoing information that was in the public domain even before the release of the review.

Commenting further on the new development, Malik said, “Reducing the consumption of these drinks, it’s not going to solve the heart disease epidemic, but it’s one step that can have a measurable impact; “It’s not the only thing that needs to be done, but it’s a very important thing.” The report, published September 28 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, is part of a new focus on excess sugar as a risk for heart disease, said Marina Chaparro, a clinical dietitian at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, Fla.

“Previously, everything focused on low fat, and reducing fat and cholesterol,” said Chaparro, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “The dietary guidelines that are about to come out really focus on added sugars, and not as much on cholesterol and total fat. Those are important, but the impact of sugar has become much more profound.” One can of regular soda contains about 35 grams of sugar, which is equal to nearly nine teaspoons. Manufacturers most often use either table sugar or high-fructose corn syrup to sweeten beverages, researchers said.

Read More

Cooking With Vegetable Oils Can Cause Cancer - Experts

Cooking with vegetable oils releases toxic chemicals linked to cancer and other diseases, according to leading scientists, who are now recommending food be fried in olive oil, coconut oil, butter or even lard.

The results of a series of experiments threaten to turn on its head official advice that oils rich in polyunsaturated fats – such as corn oil and sunflower oil – are better for the health than the saturated fats in animal products.

Scientists found that heating up vegetable oils led to the release of high concentrations of chemicals called aldehydes, which have been linked to illnesses including cancer, heart disease and dementia.

Martin Grootveld, a professor of bioanalytical chemistry and chemical pathology, said that his research showed “a typical meal of fish and chips”, fried in vegetable oil, contained as much as 100 to 200 times more toxic aldehydes than the safe daily limit set by the World Health Organisation.

 

“The human brain is changing in a way that is as serious as climate change threatens to be"

Professor John Stein, Oxford University’s emeritus professor of neurosciencesaid.

In contrast, heating up butter, olive oil and lard in tests produced much lower levels of aldehydes. Coconut oil produced the lowest levels of the harmful chemicals.

Concerns over toxic chemicals in heated oils are backed up by separate research from a University of Oxford professor, who claims that the fatty acids in vegetable oils are contributing to other health problems.

Professor John Stein, Oxford’s emeritus professor of neuroscience, said that partly as a result of corn and sunflower oils, “the human brain is changing in a way that is as serious as climate change threatens to be”.


Because vegetable oils are rich in omega 6 acids, they are contributing to a reduction in critical omega 3 fatty acids in the brain by replacing them, he believes.

“If you eat too much corn oil or sunflower oil, the brain is absorbing too much omega 6, and that effectively forces out omega 3,” said Prof Stein. “I believe the lack of omega 3 is a powerful contributory factor to such problems as increasing mental health issues and other problems such as dyslexia.”


He said sunflower oil and corn oil were now banished from his own kitchen, replaced by olive oil and butter.
NHS advice is to replace “foods high in saturated fat with lower-fat versions” and warns against frying food in butter or lard, recommending instead corn oil, sunflower oil and rapeseed oil. Saturated fats raise cholesterol levels, increasing the risk of heart disease.

But Prof Grootveld, of De Mont fort University in Leicester, who carried out a series of experiments, said: “For decades, the authorities have been warning us how bad butter and lard was. But we have found butter is very, very good for frying purposes and so is lard. People have been telling us how healthy polyunsaturates are in corn oil and sunflower oil. But when you start messing around with them, subjecting them to high amounts of energy in the frying pan or the oven, they undergo a complex series of chemical reactions which results in the accumulation of large amounts of toxic compounds.”

The findings are contained in research papers. Prof Grootveld’s team measured levels of “aldehydic lipid oxidation products” (LOPs), produced when oils were heated to varying temperatures. The tests suggested coconut oil produces the lowest levels of aldehydes, and three times more aldehydes were produced when heating corn oil and sunflower oil than butter.

Read More

"Why Government Policies On Natural Medicine May Find It Difficult To Succeed In Nigeria" - Dr Egbaredon Ehis Humphrey, CEO, Save Soul Natural Clinic

(Being the concluding part of an interview started yesterday between Nigeria Natural Health Online's editor, Dumbiri Frank Eboh, and Dr Egbaredon Ehis Humphrey, the CEO Of Save Soul Natural Clinic, a Lagos based natural health facility).

Accessing Save Soul Natural Clinic services

Accessing our services is very simple. We are leaving in the computer age, in the internet age. It is possible for you to be anywhere in the world and access any product or service anywhere in the world. I have various media platforms through which I could be reached. Besides this, getting the product that I use in the clinic also has its own side to the whole thing. First, if a patient calls me to complain of an ailment, I would ask him/her to go for a laboratory test or to a doctor who will carry out a medical investigation about the ailment. When the result is out, the person sends me the document and I prepare the medicine, package it and send to him/her where he/she is in the world. The person takes it and get well, people have come to put their trust on my medicine because I’m the only one that gives money-back guarantee. I do it because I know the efficacy of my medicine.

Terminal diseases can succumb to natural medicine

Let me take this issue from another dimension, based on my background. I grew up seeing all these ailments being cured with natural medicine. There is no disease that cannot be cured with natural medicine, I have never heard of any such sickness. However, we believe that there are some diseases that can terminate life. But there can be perfectly managed and the ailer can live for a very long time before he dies of that disease. I speak of what I have seen, and what I have been involved with and what I have been practicing for a very long time.

The role of government in promoting natural medicine in Nigeria

Well I think government is playing a role in the sector but it is not a well defined role. Government has not done enough for the natural health industry in Nigeria. We have an office, we have a board, we have a chairman and we have various board members. They are all there. But the sad thing is that, the board is being managed by medical doctors, and not natural health doctors. So how do you expect government role to be visible in the sector? Of course the medical doctor will always think along the line of orthordox medicine and not in the line of natural medicine.

The challenges of providing health care in Nigeria

Of course there are challenges. If you had come on the day that my herbs are delivered, you would have seen one of the challenges and even experience it yourself. You would be here all day but would not be able to interview me. Why? Some of my medicines come from Benin Kingdom, some come from Abeokuta, and some come from Benue, Kogi and other parts of Nigeria. It depends on the particular ailment I want to cure. If it is such that demand that I should go across the sea to get the cure, I go across the sea to get that medicine to cure the patient. That’s why you can never find my medicine in any shop. They are prepared specifically for specific patients, on individual examination. I examine you and find out what is wrong with you and prepared your medicine according Benin tradition. So, there are many challenges but because I’m from Benin Kingdom, they don’t affect me as much as they affect other practitioners in the industry.

Herbal medicine as a course of study in Nigeria universities

Yes, I heard the news when it broke out last year that the government was contemplating putting herbal medicine in the curriculum of Nigerian Universities. It was actually a health editor in one of the national dailies that brought the news to me and I received it with mixed feelings. I was happy because, it was a step in a right direction. But I have my doubt as to it success. Do you know why? Because it is going to be managed by medical doctors and not natural health providers so it will be difficult for that policy to succeed. If they want to develop traditional medicine in Nigeria, they should pick managers from among natural health practitioners so my advice to government is that if they create that department, lecturers should be drawn from natural health practitioners and not from medical doctors.

Integration of orthodox and herbal medicines

It is good. Orthodox and herbal medicines can go a long way if they walk hand in hand. If for instance a patient is brought here with a certain heath condition that can be cured only when the headache is reduced, I can administer an analgesic to bring down the headache while I threat the ailment with herbs. That’s a good integration. I advice my patients, if there’s a need to use orthodox medicine while they are using my medicine, they should please do so as long as the medicines are not such that can interact with each other. So the orthodox needs us as much as we need them.

Those who can access Save Soul Clinic products and services

Everybody and anybody can access our product and services; however, you can see that this clinic is not a small one. It takes a lot to manage it but that does not mean that coming here would drill a hole in your pocket. It actually depends on the patient's ability to pay. I’m a very considerate person when it comes to charging my patients. If you talk to me in a way that I can understand, I can give you premium service at a highly reduced fee. So both the rich and poor can have access to me. I have treated Governors, company directors and other big shots in the society. I have also treated petty traders, hawkers and people of low income bracket. People also come from overseas, including United States, Germany, Canada, South Africa and other countries in world.

What differentiate Save Soul Clinic from others

I have told you what it is. It is beyond medicine, it is not just about taken tablets or liquid. It is the ability for you to trace the course of an ailment to it root and cure it from the source. Sometimes when patients come here, I look at the source of the problems, whether spiritual, physical or emotional. If it demands that I go to the spiritual to handle it, I do that. Whether the ailments are physical or spiritual, we cure it from the source. That’s what set us apart from others. In Save Soul Natural Clinic, it is beyond medicine. It is spiritual

Read More