Important Health Benefits Of Crayfish

Different people eat crayfish differently, some take it as a snack, while some use it as spice for all foods they cook. They are one of the most popular cuisine all around the world and they are categorized as seafood. Crayfish is very beneficial to human health and it can be taken as often as you like.

Below are some of the health benefits of crayfish:

Weight loss

Crayfish serves as a very good ingredient for weight loss because it contains low fats as well as traces of carbohydrates. Crayfish helps in making a healthy and nutritious diet. This seafood can go a long way is serving as salads and green vegetables.

Strong bone

Cray fish helps in development of bones because of the presence of minerals like calcium and magnesium which is essential. It can help in minimizing the chances of developing bone-related diseases that are caused by calcium and magnesium deficiency.

It serves also as a source of iron, daily intake of crayfish which aids in improving the production and circulation of blood in the body and can effectively reduce the chances of developing anemia and other low iron-related health conditions.

Brain development

Constant intake of crayfish can help to prevent the chance of Alzheimer’s disease. Crayfish is also very good for growing children because it will help in brain development. The omega-3 acids present in the seafood also aids in promoting the cognitive function.

Smooth skin

Crayfish is very good for the skin. This seafood aids in making the body smooth by removing spots and blemishes and also helps in promoting a beautiful and healthy skin.

Prevents depression

Constant consumption of crayfish can really help in dealing with depression because of the presence of omega 3 present in it.  Therefore it is advisable for those suffering from depression to always eat enough of this seafood regularly because it will really be of great help to them in combating stress and depression.

  

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Nigeria To Begin Local Manufacturing Of COVID-19 Vaccines By 2022 - NAFDAC

The federal government has said it is targeting to commence local manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines in the next 12 months.

This is just as the federal government yesterday said it has concluded the training of about 40,739 health workers across the nation for the phase two vaccine roll out.

The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, who revealed government’s planned local manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines while speaking on ARISE News Channel’s ‘The Morning Show,’ also said the agency has commenced clinical trials on three local herbal medicinal products for the treatment of the virus.

Adeyeye said the government was concerned about the absence of medicine security and its implications for the healthcare needs of the people.

She said the federal government was particularly worried about current challenges posed by inadequate supply of the vaccines to take care of millions of Nigerians, adding that the government was working diligently to start local manufacturing of the vaccine.

When asked to give update on the plan to establish a factory in Nigeria that would undertake local manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines, Adeyeye said: “In terms of local manufacturing, the federal government is working assiduously to ensure that there will be local manufacturing of vaccines within a year.”

According to Adeyeye, with less than two per cent of the country’s population vaccinated so far, the federal government was conscious of the constraints posed by lack of drug security.

Adeyeye further said NAFDAC has initiated a process to develop herbal medicine products in the country by setting up the Herbal Medicine Product Development Committee to advance the development of herbal medicine.

She added that the purpose was to bring herbal medicine practitioners and researchers together so as to subject their products to scientific investigation.

She described the development of herbal medicine as a very complicated process.

According to Adeyeye, NAFDAC undertakes a rigorous process in approving herbal medicines for the listing by inspecting the premises of the practitioner to ensure that it meets the required hygienic standards

She also said the agency runs a number of relevant tests before approving herbal medicine products for listing.

In addition, Adeyeye disclosed that NAFDAC has so far commenced clinical trials on three herbal medicine products with a view to confirming their efficacy for the treatment of COVID-19.

“Since the outbreak of COVID-19, we have approved 45 herbal medicines for listing for temporal approval but you cannot say that they cure COVID-19. Out of these numbers, two or three herbal medicine products have started clinical trials,” she said.

Adeyeye said listing a product only means that it is now safe for consumption but does not confirm how efficacious such a medicine would be until it is subjected to clinical trials.

“It does not confirm how efficacious such herbal drug is until it is subjected to clinical trials. To do clinical trial, it has to be well designed. It is not just that I gave it to 10 people in my village and it worked, but you have to do it in such a way that it will attract recognition across the world. That clinical trial stage is what is going on now,” she said.

Adeyeye also spoke of the Central Bank of Nigeria assisted initiative known as the Research and Development Intervention Scheme which provides funds to assist local production of medicine.

“It cost a lot of money, that is why the CBN is helping to put some money into this intervention scheme for those who are successful during the grant review process,” she added.

  

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Study Links Sleep Deprivation To Accelerated Aging In New Mothers

According to the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers, when new mothers complain that all those sleepless nights caring for their newborns are taking years off their life, they just might be right.

UCLA research published this study in the journal Sleep Health.

Scientists studied 33 mothers during their pregnancies and the first year of their babies' lives, analyzing the women's DNA from blood samples to determine their "biological age," which can differ from chronological age. They found that a year after giving birth, the biological age of mothers who slept less than seven hours a night at the six-month mark was three to seven years older than those who logged seven hours or more.

Mothers who slept less than seven hours also had shorter telomeres in their white blood cells. These small pieces of DNA at the ends of chromosomes act as protective caps, like the plastic tips on the ends of shoelaces. Shortened telomeres have been linked to a higher risk of cancers, cardiovascular and other diseases, and earlier death.

"The early months of postpartum sleep deprivation could have a lasting effect on physical health," said the study's first author, Judith Carroll, UCLA's George F. Solomon Professor of Psychobiology. "We know from a large body of research that sleeping less than seven hours a night is detrimental to health and increases the risk of age-related diseases."

While participants' nightly sleep ranged from five to nine hours, more than half were getting less than seven hours, both six months and one year after giving birth, the researchers report.

"We found that with every hour of additional sleep, the mother's biological age was younger," said Carroll, a member of the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA's Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. "I, and many other sleep scientists, consider sleep health to be just as vital to overall health as diet and exercise."

Carroll urged new mothers to take advantage of opportunities to get a little extra sleep, like taking naps during the day when their baby is asleep, accepting offers of assistance from family and friends, and, when possible, asking their partner to help with the baby during the night or early morning. "Taking care of your sleep needs will help you and your baby in the long run," she said.

Co-author Christine Dunkel Schetter, a distinguished professor of psychology and psychiatry at UCLA, said the study results "and other findings on maternal postpartum mental health provide the impetus for better-supporting mothers of young infants so that they can get sufficient sleep -- possibly through parental leave so that both parents can bear some of the burdens of care, and through programs for families and fathers."

Dunkel Schetter added that while accelerated biological ageing linked to sleep loss may increase women's health risks, it doesn't automatically cause harm to their bodies. "We don't want the message to be that mothers are permanently damaged by infant care and loss of sleep," she emphasized. "We don't know if these effects are long-lasting."

The study used the latest scientific methods of analyzing changes in DNA to assess biological ageing -- also known as epigenetic ageing, Dunkel Schetter said. DNA provides the code for making proteins, which carry out many functions in the cells of our body, and epigenetics focuses on whether regions of this code are "open" or "closed."

"You can think of DNA as a grocery store," Carroll said, "with lots of basic ingredients to build a meal. If there is a spill in one aisle, it may be closed, and you can't get an item from that aisle, which might prevent you from making a recipe. When access to DNA code is 'closed,' then those genes that code for specific proteins cannot be expressed and are therefore turned off."

Because specific sites within DNA are turned on or off with ageing, the process acts as a sort of clock, Carroll said, allowing scientists to estimate individuals' biological age. Greater an individual's biological, or epigenetic, age, the greater their risk of disease and earlier death.

The study's cohort -- which included women who ranged in age from 23 to 45 six months after giving birth -- is not a large representative sample of women, the authors said, and more studies are needed to better understand the long-term impact of sleep loss on new mothers, what other factors might contribute to sleep loss and whether the biological ageing effects are permanent or reversible.

Carroll and Dunkel Schetter reported last year that a mother's stress prior to giving birth may accelerate her child's biological ageing, which is a form of "intergenerational transfer of health risk," Dunkel Schetter said.

Co-authors of the new study included researchers from the department of psychology, the department of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences, and the department of human genetics and biostatistics at UCLA and from the psychology department at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

Funding sources for the study included the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute of Aging, both part of the National Institutes of Health. (ANI)

  

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Best And Worst Foods For Stomach Ulcers

    What Causes Ulcers?

Doctors used to think that certain foods could give you ulcers. But now we know other things cause them, like taking pain-relieving drugs for a long time or infection with bacteria called H. pylori.Although food doesn’t cause or treat ulcers, some can make your pain worse, while others may help you heal faster.

Best: Foods With Probiotics

Foods like yogurt, miso, kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, and tempeh are rich in “good” bacteria called probiotics. They may help ulcers by fighting an H. pylori infection or by helping treatments work better.

Best: Fiber-Rich Foods

Apples, pears, oatmeal, and other foods that are high in fiber are good for ulcers in two ways. Fiber can lower the amount of acid in your stomach while easing bloating and pain. Research has also shown that a diet rich in fiber may help prevent ulcers.

Best: Sweet Potato

It’s high in vitamin A, and there’s evidence that this nutrient can help shrink stomach ulcers and may also play a role in preventing them. Other foods with a good dose of vitamin A include spinach, carrots, cantaloupe, and beef liver.

Best: Red Bell Pepper

It’s rich in vitamin C, which can help protect you from ulcers in a number of ways. For one, vitamin C plays an important role in wound healing. People who don’t get enough are also more likely to get ulcers. Get this nutrient in citrus fruits, strawberries, kiwis, and broccoli, too.

Worst: Milk

Doctors used to tell people to drink milk to treat their ulcers. That was before better remedies, like acid-blocking drugs, came along. Today we know milk can’t help prevent or relieve an ulcer. In fact, it might actually make things worse by prompting your stomach to make more acid.

Worst: Alcohol

If you’re prone to ulcers or have one now, it’s best to limit alcohol or avoid it altogether. Research has shown that booze irritates and can even damage your digestive tract. It can make ulcers worse.

Worst: Fatty Foods

They take longer to digest, which can lead to belly pain and bloating -- bad news if you have an ulcer. If they make your stomach feel worse, take a break from them.

Spicy Foods: It Depends

For a long time, doctors thought spicy food was a major cause of ulcers. We now know this isn’t true. Still, some people find that it makes their symptoms worse. Avoid it if it causes you pain.

Citrus Fruits: It Depends

At first, it would seem to make sense that acidic foods like citrus and tomatoes would aggravate ulcers. But there’s no strong evidence that they have any effect on them. Still, we all have unique reactions to foods, so if acidic ones make your ulcer feel worse, skip them.

Chocolate: It Depends

Chocolate has lots of potential health benefits. But it often causes discomfort for some people who have ulcers. If eating chocolate makes you feel worse, wait to indulge until your ulcer has healed.

Caffeine: Ask Your Doctor

The research is mixed on whether caffeine -- coffee in particular -- makes ulcers feel worse. Yet it’s still common advice to cut it out if you have one. Ask your doctor, but you may not have to give up coffee as long as your symptoms don’t get worse.

Source: WebMD

  

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Fruit Compounds Can Prevent Parkinson's Disease - New Study

Researchers in the United States have shown that a compound found in fruit - farnesol - has the potential to play a protective role to dopamine-producing brain cells.

Research results published in the journal of Science Translational Medicine uncover important insights to how a naturally occurring compound could pave the way for potential treatments to slow or stop Parkinson’s. 

Protecting brain cells

In Parkinson’s, vital brain cells are lost over time but it isn’t completely clear what’s causing this. One clue is that damaging agents build up within cells over time to cause problems. 

Previous research has shown that in the brain cells of people with Parkinson’s, there is a buildup of a protein called PARIS, which reduces the protection of cells from damaging agents. 

What do the latest results show?

In this study, researchers tested a large number of drugs and natural compounds to see if any stopped the build up of this protein. Farnesol was selected and further investigated to see if stopping PARIS had a protective effect on brain cells. 

Researchers used a mouse model of Parkinson’s to understand the impact of a diet enriched with farnesol. The results showed that the animals receiving the farnesol diet compared to the normal diet had less damage to their dopamine producing brain cells. The mice showed improvement in strength and coordination tasks, too. 

Professor David Dexter, Associate Director of Research at Parkinson's UK said: 

"Parkinson's is what happens when dopamine producing cells in the brain die, so this study is important as it highlights a new pathway that could target and protect these brain cells in a person with Parkinson's. 

"145,000 people are currently living with Parkinson's in the UK and it is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world, so the need for a new treatment which could slow or stop Parkinson's in its tracks has never been more urgent. Designing more potent drugs which replicate the action of the natural compound - farnesol - would be the next steps for researchers to progress this into clinical trials and potentially hold the key for a groundbreaking new treatment."
 

  

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COVID-19 Won't Be The Last Pandemic, WHO Warns

The World Health Organisation has said the COVID-19 pandemic might not be the last the world would witness, even as it called for sustained fight against

the virus.

Country Representative, Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, disclosed this at the ninth General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Epidemiological Society

of Nigeria held in Port Harcourt.

Mulombo said the pandemic has provided Nigeria and the global community opportunity to strengthen immunisation, build capacity of health workers and strengthen

disease surveillance.

He noted: “COVID-19 pandemic has taught us a great lesson on preparedness. It is not yet over. It may not likely be the last pandemic. Therefore, we must

sustain the tempo.”

Earlier, Chairman, Local Organising Committee of EPISON’s ninth AGM, Dr Omosivie Maduka, said the event was imperative to evaluate the epidemic and intelligence

tools used in the control of the pandemic.

“At the end of the conference, we will issue a communiqué that will state our key observations concerning our successes and challenges with the COVID-19

response in various aspects and we will be proffering our expert opinion on what needs to be done, to be able to take us from where we are to where we

need to be, which is a complete and total control of the pandemic,” he said.

Nigeria, meanwhile, received 4 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from the United States, yesterday, as the country steps up efforts to battle

a third wave of infections.

The doses, which came on two planes, were received by officials from the UN children agency, UNICEF, on behalf of Nigeria at the airport in Abuja.

It was the second batch of vaccines to arrive in Africa’s most populous nation after 4 million doses were delivered in March under the COVAX scheme.

This came as the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and the United States (US) Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that the Delta coronavirus

variant appears to cause more severe illness and spreads as easily as chickenpox.

They said vaccination is not enough by itself to stop the spread of variants and recommended combination with non-pharmacological interventions such as

isolation and quarantine, physical distancing, use of facemasks and hand hygiene.

President, NMA, Prof. Innocent Ujah, told The media , yesterday: “We need to be more careful because the Delta variant of is spreading so fast and can

be very deadly. The government and the citizens have their parts to play. While the government provides vaccines and other materials, the people should

wear their facemasks. We need to appropriately use facemasks and wash our hands. We have failed in social distancing. Vaccination alone cannot prevent

the spread of COVID-19.”

He said further: “Nigerian doctors will continue to show commitment. We will continue to treat patients. The essence is to interrupt transmission chain

if we are able to follow Non Pharmacological Procedures (NPP). We are very lucky that many more Nigerians are surviving the pandemic. We should not over

stretch our luck. We have had several seminars to discuss what is happening and how to support government.”

A CDC internal document outlined unpublished data that showed fully vaccinated people might spread the Delta variant at the same rate as unvaccinated people.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky confirmed the authenticity of the document, which was first reported by The Washington Post.

“I think people need to understand that we’re not crying wolf here. This is serious,” she told CNN. “It’s one of the most transmissible viruses we know

about. Measles, chickenpox, this — they’re all up there.”

The CDC is scheduled to publish data that will back Walensky’s controversial decision to change guidance for fully vaccinated people. She said the CDC

was recommending that even fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors in places where transmission of the virus is sustained or high.

She said everyone in schools: students, staff and visitors should wear masks at all times. “The measures we need to get this under control are extreme,”

Walensky said.

She said the data in the report did not surprise her. “It was the synthesis of the data all in one place that was sobering,” she said.

The CDC presentation said the Delta variant is about as transmissible as chickenpox, with each infected person, on average, infecting eight or nine others.

The original lineage was about as transmissible as the common cold, with each infected person passing the virus to about two other people on average. That

infectivity is known as R0.

“When you think about diseases that have an R0 of eight or nine, there aren’t that many,” Walensky said. And if vaccinated people get infected anyway,

they have as much virus in their bodies as unvaccinated people. That means they’re as likely to infect someone else as unvaccinated people who get infected.

“The bottom line was that, in contrast to the other variants, vaccinated people, even if they didn’t get sick, got infected and shed virus at similar levels

as unvaccinated people who got infected,” Dr. Walter Orenstein, who heads the Emory Vaccine Center and who viewed the documents, told CNN.

But vaccinated people are safer, the document indicates.

“Vaccines prevent more than 90 per cent of severe disease, but may be less effective at preventing infection or transmission,” it read.

It said vaccines reduce the risk of severe disease or death 10-fold and reduce the risk of infection three-fold. The presentation also cites three reports

that indicate the Delta variant, originally known as B.1.617.2, might cause more severe disease.

Also, researchers have warned that vaccination alone won’t stop the rise of new variants and in fact could push the evolution of strains that evade their

protection.

They said people needed to wear masks and take other steps to prevent spread until almost everyone in a population has been vaccinated.

Their findings, published in Nature Scientific Reports, support an unpopular decision by the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention to advise even

fully vaccinated people to start wearing masks again in areas of sustained or high transmission.

“We found that a fast rate of vaccination decreases the probability of emergence of a resistant strain,” the team wrote. 

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