Fresh Fish, Fruit, Vegetables Improve Sperm Health - New Studies

New studies have found that sperm quality is higher among men who eat more fresh fish, fruit and vegetables  and less junk food or red meat.

The quality of sperm was also improved among those who took brisk walks, compared with those who either did little physical activity or went running.

The three papers, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine in Florida, highlight the importance of the lifestyle of a prospective father as well as that of their female partner in determining hether or not they can have a baby.

In the first study, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health looked at what 188 students ate and drank.

They divided their diets into a "prudent" one characterised by high intake of fish, fruit, vegetables and pulses, and a "western" one full of pizza, red and processed meat, high energy drinks and snacks.

Those with the best diet had 11 per cent more motile sperm - better at swimming towards an egg - than those with the least healthy eating habits.
Lead researcher Audrey Gaskins said: "Motility is most important for couples who want to try to conceive naturally. A small increase could lead to a small increase in fertility."
A separate study at Harvard analysed the diet of 99 men who were already attending a fertility clinic because they and their wives or girlfriends were unable to get pregnant.
Academics found that consumption of Trans Fatty Acids - previously found in many fried fast food joints but now being phased out - was linked to sperm concentration.
Men who took 1.3 per cent of their calories from trans-fats had on average 48million sperm per millilitre of semen, compared with 79m among those who had consumed just 0.7 per cent of their calories in the form of the fat.
Dr Allan Pacey, a fertility expert at the University of Sheffield, commented: "The influence of a man's diet on his semen quality has been of interest for some time.
"For example, there is now good evidence from a variety of studies that men with a higher antioxidant intake have slightly better semen quality and are more likely to become fathers than men who don't. Similarly, there are also studies showing that men who consume key nutrients, ejaculate better sperm.
"Therefore the results of this study, comparing a Western diet with one which is more 'Mediterranean', is not really a surprise and nicely illustrates that a good diet is of benefit when trying to conceive."
A third paper, carried out at the Yamaguchi University School of Medicine in Japan, compared sperm motility among 215 men after analysing how much physical activity they did in an average week.
It found that those who did moderate exercise, such as brisk walking, had better swimming sperm than both those who did little physical activity and those who did strenuous activities.
Dr Pacey said: "There are a number of studies which have examined the relationship between physical exercise and semen quality, often with contradictory results.
"Therefore we have an unclear picture about what effect exercise plays in male fertility, if any.
"We know that obesity and poor diet can reduce sperm production so perhaps in this study we are seeing the positive effects of healthy living as much as we are seeing the benefits of exercise."

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The Effect Of High Blood Pressure On Your Sex Life

High blood pressure often has no signs or symptoms. But the impact on your sex life may be obvious. Although sexual activity is unlikely to pose an immediate threat to your health — such as a heart attack — high blood pressure can affect your overall satisfaction with sex.
A link between high blood pressure and sexual problems is proved in men. For women who have decreased sexual satisfaction, it’s not yet proved that high blood pressure is to blame.
High blood pressure’s effect on sexual problems in women isn’t well-understood. But it’s possible that high blood pressure could affect a woman’s sex life.
High blood pressure can reduce blood flow to the vagina. For some women, this leads to a decrease in sexual desire or arousal, vaginal dryness, or difficulty achieving orgasm. Improving arousal and lubrication can help.
Like men, women can experience anxiety and relationship issues due to sexual dysfunction.
High blood pressure medications that can cause sexual dysfunction as a side effect include:

• Water pills (diuretics): Diuretics can decrease forceful blood flow to the penis, making it difficult to achieve an erection. They can also deplete the body of zinc, which is necessary to make the sex hormone testosterone.
• Beta blockers:These medications, especially older generation beta blockers such as propranolol (Inderal, Innopran XL), are commonly associated with sexual dysfunction.

Natural therapy is not just to lower the blood pressure but to release some biomolecues to the body which check the root cause of increasing blood pressure.  Evidence from researches and alternative medicines have shown that the root cause of high blood pressure can be reversed and consequently eliminate high blood pressure and sexual problems attached to it.

If sexual side effects persist, ask your doctor about other medication options. Some high blood pressure medications are less likely to cause sexual side effects, such as:

• Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors
• Calcium channel blockers
• Angiotensin II receptor blockers

To help your doctor select the most appropriate medication for you, tell him or her all the other medications you're taking now — including herbal supplements and over-the-counter drugs. Sometimes a particular combination of medications or supplements contributes to sexual problems.
If your doctor says it's OK, you may be able to stop taking blood pressure medications temporarily to see if your sex life improves. To make sure your blood pressure remains within a safe range, you may need frequent blood pressure readings while you're not taking the blood pressure lowering medication that may be causing your sexual difficulties. This can be done with a home blood pressure monitoring device for convenience.

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Advanced HIV Prevention Drug Now Ready For Trial

After countless years of study, scientists announced yesterday that cure for HIV/AIDS has become a reality as trial for HIV prevention drug, Truvada, received approval in England.
NHS England, an executive non-departmental public body (NDPB) of the Department of Health, specifically confirmed that it would fund HIV prevention programme based around pre-exposure prophlyaxis (PrEP) with Gilead’s Truvada.
The announcement follows months of legal wrangling after NHS England axed plans for a national PreP programme, but was last month forced to reconsider after a court challenge from campaigners.
Truvada (emtricitabine+tenofovir) has been shown to have a protective effect, and can in some cases stop HIV becoming established in the body.
More than 10,000 people, most at risk of acquiring HIV will be offered a drug which prevents transmission of HIV after health officials lost a Court of Appeal battle over funding, a report said yesterday.
The report said: “After many years of studies and looking a cure, a drug has been discovered and will be given to the patients by NHS England.
“It is said to have been tried on over 10,000 people, most at risk of acquiring HIV. It will also serve as a way for them to figure out the duration in taking the drug, for them to get the right people and how popular it would be.”
Pre-exposure prophylaxis or PreP is a medicine that should be taken daily which helps in reducing HIV. Apart from saving money, it also helps to stop the infection from spreading in the body. It reduces the high risk of getting the disease from sex and can be lower with the use of condoms and methods for prevention.
The drugs – called PreP – have been described as a ‘game changer’ in the fight against AIDS but dubbed ‘promiscuity pills’ by critics, the report said.
Last month, the Court of Appeal upheld a High Court ruling which said NHS England did have the power to fund the drug despite its pleas that the responsibility lay with local authorities.
Now, the organisation has announced it will fund “a large scale clinical trial” for the drug, also known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, at a cost of up to £10 million.”
So far, studies suggest the anti-retroviral drug, also known as Truvada, can reduce the risk of infection by more than 90 percent.
Health officials said the large trial was needed to work out the best way to ensure take-up of the drug, examine the impact on HIV levels – and whether it increased rates of other sexually transmitted infections.
HIV/AIDS are first observed in the United States in the year 1981. The usual cases are from injection drug users, gay men with no known cause of impaired immunity, which shows symptoms of a rare opportunistic infection that occurs in a much compromised immune system.
Most of the people carrying the disease are not aware that they are infected with the virus. Sexual intercourse is the usual reason and the mode in transmitting HIV. It is present in the seminal fluid which is passed from male to female.
There are two types of HIV, HIV-1, and HIV-2. The first one is very infective that causes the majority of the infections globally. Studies show that HIV-2 is considered as the less infective one.

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Rape In IDPs Camps: Soldiers, Police Officerws, Air Force Officer, others arrested

As the quality of life continues to deteriorate amongst internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the north-east part of Nigeria, revelations coming up from the camps show that uniformed officers sent to protect them are actually the ones spare heading the orgy of sexual assaults against female IDPs. For allegedly raping Internally Displaced Persons, three soldiers, two policemen and a prison official have been arrested.

Arrested alongside the soldiers and policemen for the same offence were one prison official, a member of staff, Borno Ministry of Agriculture and two members of the Civilian Joint Task Force, Borno State.

The officials were accused of involving in sexual exploitation and abuse of IDPs in the North-East.

The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, disclosed this yesterday, in Abuja, adding that if indicted the policemen and other security operatives involved in the alleged crime would be dismissed and prosecuted after investigation.

A Non-Governmental Organisation, Human Rights Watch, had in its report accused camp officials, vigilance groups, soldiers and policemen of engaging in sexual harassment of women and teenagers in IDP camps in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.

A few of the victims told Human Rights Watch that they were drugged and raped while 37 were coerced into sex through false marriage promises, material and financial assistance.

Shocked by the allegations, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the IG and the state governments to carry out a thorough investigation into the alleged incidents.

But responding to questions shortly before the commencement of his monthly conference with senior police officers in Abuja, the IG said the police would liaise with the Army and the Air Force to make their indicted officials available for interrogation.

He said, “From the findings so far, we have succeeded in our investigation. A number of suspects have been arrested and they include two policemen, three army officers, one prison official; one Air Force officer, an employee of the Borno State Ministry of Agriculture and two members of the Civilian JTF.”

Idris stated that the force had put in mechanisms, including the deployment of female police officers to IDP camps in order to check recurrence.

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Nigerian Customs Intercept Yam Porridge, Jollof-Rice And Egusi Soup Imported From India

Despite repeated warnings by health officials on the dangers posed by imported preserved ready-to-eat foods, Nigerian importers have continued to pay deaf ears to the warnings.The Tin-Can Island Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted a 20ft container of “READY TO EAT FOODS’’ like Egusi Soup, Jollof Rice, Ogbono, Yam Porridge imported from India. The Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Bashar Yusuf, disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen on Monday in Lagos by the Public Relations Officer of the Command, Mr Uche Ejesieme. 

Yusuf spoke with stakeholders at the SDV/SCOA Terminal while handing over the container of imported prepared foods to officials of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). The controller described the scenario as an “aberration”, considering the fact that government granted zero duty for the importation of machinery for the packaging of agricultural products. 

“Why should indigenous menu be imported into the country at a time when investors are much sought after to boost local industries?’’ the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quotes Yusuf as saying. The controller told the officers to see training and re-training as a veritable tools that would sharpen their knowledge toward achieving desired results. He appreciated the Comptroller-General of Customs, Retired Col. Hameed Ali, for effectively re-positioning the service in spite of global recession. 

Many People have continued to wonder why local delicacies like yam porridge, egusi and jollof-rice should be reported into the country. Some even went further to say that India does not grow yam or melon - so how did they manage to get the raw food materials used in making those delicacies? 

In answering that question, an exporter in Apapa who pleaded anonymity, told Nigeria Natural Health Online that it is the hand work of some dubious exporters in the country.

" They export the raw food stuff to Asian countries where they make them into ready-to-eat foods which are then imported back into the country to be sold at very exorbitant prices," he told our reporter.

These foods which are laced with preservatives, according to health officials, are not save for the body. Unfortunately, most elite who live in high bro areas in Nigerian cities, tend to patronize these imported foods, preferring them to the one cooked in local restaurants.

Preservatives are chemicals used to keep food fresh. Although there are a number of different types of food preservatives, antimicrobials, antioxidants, and products that slow the natural ripening process are some of the most common. Despite their important function, preservatives can pose a number of serious health risks.

Some of the health hazard associated with preservatives include: increased risk of cancer, hyperactivity in children and reduced heart health.

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Starvation In Nigerian IDPs: Buhari Battles Foreign Agencies

Against the backdrop of media report of hunger and starvation in IDPs camps in northern Nigeria, the Presidency has accused some aid agencies providing some humanitarian assistance to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North East, of raising false alarm about mass starvation in the camps.
The Presidency said though it appreciates the increasing humanitarian assistance from the aid agencies which are  complementary to the efforts of the federal and state governments in the North East, a region it acknowledges is in the middle of a humanitarian crisis, it will not tolerate any hype meant only to attract funds rather than proffer solutions.
It described the reports as uncharitable and unnecessary attempts to portray the government as doing nothing even as hundreds of people of even a million are at the risk of dying.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, in a statement said the Presidency is particularly unhappy with one of the United Nations (UN)agencies which raised the alarm that 100,000 people will die of starvation in 2017.
“We are concerned about blatant attempts to whip up a non-existent fear of mass starvation by some aid agencies, a type of hype that does not provide solution to the situation on the ground but more to do with calculations for operations financing locally and abroad.
“There can be no doubt that the effect of the Boko Haram terrorism and their occupation of communities and destruction of houses, infrastructure and means of livelihood has been manifested in the decline of socio-economic activities throughout the North-East.
“Arising from this, farming, pastoralism, trade, exchange of goods and services and social interaction among the people have negatively been impacted leading to the displacement of more than two million people, mostly women and children.
“Consequently, there is death, there is hunger and there is poor nutrition.
“The displacement pattern, as revealed by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) indicates that there are currently about two million people who are displaced.
“Only about 20 per cent of this is however in IDP camps.
This much reduced numbers are in Borno in 13 formal and 16 satellite camps; four of such camps currently operating in Adamawa and about the same number in Yobe.
“The larger number of the IDP population is living either in self-settled camps or with host communities" the statement said.
It will be recalled that a couple of weeks ago, Nigerian Natural Health Online authoritatively reported the UN's damning verdict in which it stated that the lives of children in the northern part of Nigeria are currently hanging in the balance as the organization, warned that  75,000 children risk dying in "a few months" as hunger grips the country's ravaged north-east in the wake of the Boko Haram insurgency.
Boko Haram jihadists have laid waste to the impoverished region since taking up arms against the government in 2009, displacing millions and disrupting farming and trade.
Nigeria's president, Muhammadu Buhari, has reclaimed territory from the Islamists but the insurgency has taken a brutal toll, with more than 20,000 people dead, 2.6 million displaced, and famine taking root.
UN humanitarian coordinator Peter Lundberg said the crisis was unfolding at "high speed".
"Our assessment is that 14 million people are identified as in need of humanitarian assistance" by 2017, Lundberg said in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.
Of these, 400,000 children are in critical need of assistance, while 75,000 could die "in the few months ahead of us", Lundberg said.

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