Skin-Lightening Creams Could Damage Health

Consumers have been cautioned  to steer clear of skin- lightening creams over the danger they pose to the populace using them.

According to the Local Government Association in the United Kingdom (UK), which issued the warning, skin lightening creams should be “avoided at all costs,” based on their bleaching agent hydroquinone and their mercury contents, both of which endanger health.

Hydroquinone, described by the LGA as “the biological equivalent of paint stripper”, could remove the top layer of skin, increasing the risk of skin cancer, and causing fatal liver and kidney damage. Mercury could also cause similar life-threatening health problems, the bbc reported.

Unless they were issued on prescription by a doctor, creams containing hydroquinone, steroids or mercury are banned in the UK – because of their potentially serious side-effects.

However, the British Skin Foundation has advised people who have any concerns about their skin to speak to a doctor.

Chairman of the LGA’s Safer and Stronger Communities Board, Simon Blackburn said: “Skin creams containing banned ingredients are very dangerous and could seriously damage your health, scar you for life and even kill you, so they should be avoided at all costs.

“Consumers should always check the ingredients of their skin creams, be suspicious of very low prices, which are likely to indicate the lotion is fake and potentially harmful, and never use a product containing hydroquinone.”

Read More

Too Much Salt Increases Risk Of Weight Gain

Researchers in the United States (US) said the consumption of too much salt may be involved in weight gain.


This is the findings of a new study published in the “The Journal of Clinical Investigation’’.

Traditional thinking has been that salty foods make people drink more water, but the scientists found that it actually reduced thirst and makes people more prone to overeating, weight gain, and even develop metabolic syndrome, which could lead to diabetes and other serious medical conditions.



Previous researches have also associated too much salt with high blood pressure and one way to help control blood pressure is to reduce salt intake.



Considering that people tend to eat more salt than recommended on a daily basis, the research carried out  at Vanderbilt University in Teansee in the United States (US) suggested finding ways to cut back on salt.

Highlighting one of the methods to cut back on salt, the National Kidney Foundation suggested limiting prepared foods with a high salt content.





Packaged foods with high salt content include smoked and cured meats, like frankfurters, frozen dinners, canned meals, salted nuts and seeds.

In addition to packaged and deli meats, some canned and frozen foods, from beans to vegetables, can have very high salt levels, “so, always read labels,” the ‘Newsmaxhealth’ reported, adding that foods that may not be associate with being salty could still have sodium in the ingredients.



To this end, consumers were advised to look for no-salt-added brands and when that’s not possible, rinse the food under cold running water to remove as much salt as possible.

The team advised: “When cooking and seasoning foods, replace salt — including garlic salt and onion salt — with herbs and spices.

“Pure granulated garlic and freeze-dried onions should be acceptable alternatives.”

Furthermore, consumers were advised to ask restaurants or the chef to limit the salt in your food and reach for the pepper, not the salt shaker, if a dish needs more seasoning.

Read More

Purple Onion, Best For Alleviating Blood Pressure — Expert

BY now, we know that garlic and onions reduce cholesterol level, and alleviate diabetes and hypertension. However, a new study expanded on that by saying that purple onion works better in alleviating blood pressure than garlic or white onions.

Benefits of onion and garlic have long been studied for their blood pressure-lowering content in people that have hypertension. They contain chemical substances that exert antidiabetes and antihypertensive properties.

Now, researchers found that purple onion had a higher inhibitory effect on angiotensin converting enzyme than white onion and garlic. Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) inhibits the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II, which is involved in high blood pressure.

Furthermore, white onion had a significantly stronger inhibitory effect on alpha-amylase than garlic and purple onion. Alpha-amylase are enzyme inhibitors that are widely used in the lowering of high blood sugar.

The present study was designed to assess antihypertensive, antidiabetic, and antioxidant properties of water extract of garlic, purple onion, and white onion, which are the most common and readily available Allium species in Africa.

It was to provide insight into some mechanisms by which garlic, purple onion, and white onion could be used in the management of diabetes and high blood pressure.

This 2019 study in the Journal of Dietary Supplements involved Ganiyu Oboh, Adedayo O. Ademiluyi, Odunayo M. Agunloye, Ayokunle Olubode Ademosun and Bolaji Grace Ogunsakin at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria.

The researchers suggested that garlic, white onion, and purple onion exert antidiabetes and antihypertensive properties by an inhibitory effect on ACE, á-amylase, and á-glucosidase coupled with their ability to improve lipid profile.

Onions and garlic are valued herbs endowed with culinary, nutritional, and medicinal value, and they are commonly eaten raw or cooked. Culinary spices such as onions and garlic possess many therapeutic benefits.

Their characteristic strong odour is due largely to sulphur-containing compounds, strongly believed to account for most of the medicinal potential.

The various health properties of garlic and onions have been studied for years. Researchers have looked at how these can help boost absorption of key compounds in common staple foods such as rice and chickpeas.

According to results published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, garlic and onion may boost iron and zinc absorption from cereals seven-fold, so offering opportunities to tackle iron and zinc deficiency, two of the globe’s major concerns.

The bioavailability of both micronutrients is said to be particularly low from plant foods. Fortification of foods with iron poses several challenges, depending on the types of iron used.
In an attempt to enhance the uptake of these minerals from plant sources, the Mysore-based researchers used a model of the gastrointestinal tract to simulate the passage through a human intestine.

Two kinds of cereal – rice and sorghum – and two pulses – chickpea and green gram – were used in their raw and cooked forms, and in the presence of two levels of garlic (0.25 and 0.5 g per 10 g of grain) and onion (1.5 and 3 g per 10 g of grain).

Results showed that iron and zinc uptakes from both cooked and raw kinds of cereal were significantly increased in the presence of both garlic and onion, with increases up to 70 per cent recorded.

Improvements in the bioaccessibility of zinc were also observed for both spices, with increases in cereals ranging from 10.4 to 159.4 per cent, and in pulses from 9.8 to 49.8 per cent.

Previously, preliminary data from a study with mice indicate that supplementing the diet with onion and extracts from the vegetable may protect the brain from additional damage linked to stroke.

This study that provides extra motivation for the consumption of onions and published in the peer-reviewed journal Nutrition, suggest that onion extract may be a beneficial nutrient for the prevention of ischemic damage (blood-brain barrier), and that the underlying mechanisms may include, at least in part, its antioxidant effects.

Consumption of a cholesterol-rich diet can lead to the formation of cholesterol gallstones (CGS). But supplementation of this diet with garlic and onion reduced the incidence of the gallstones, according to findings published in the British Journal of Nutrition.

Eighty per cent of gallstones is cholesterol-related. They occur when cholesterol hardens and this then blocks bile ducts. A diet high in cholesterol is reported to be a potential cause of gallstones. Symptoms include pain, nausea, and clay-coloured stools.

Read More

Why Eating Yogurt Daily Could Reduce Lung Cancer Risk

Scientists in the United States (US) said eating a cup of yogurt daily may reduce the risk of developing lung cancer. According to the findings of a new study published in ‘JAMA Oncology,’ eating a daily serving of yogurt lowered the risk of lung cancer by 20 per cent, compared to those who didn’t yogurt every day. Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant lung tumour characterised by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. This growth can spread beyond the lung by the process of metastasis into nearby tissue or other parts of the body. Eating a high fibre diet also lowered the risk of the disease by 15 per cent.

In addition, the study showed that people who ate a serving of yogurt a day – along with a high fiber diet – were able to lower their risk of lung cancer by more than 30 per cent. Previous studies have shown some probiotics, live bacteria found in yogurt, have anti-inflammatory and cancer-fighting properties.

The researchers believe the benefits come from prebiotics found in a high fiber diet and probiotics found in yogurt. Prebiotics are a kind of fibre that is indigestible by the human body, and are food for probiotics, which are live bacteria and yeasts. Both prebiotics and probiotics promote digestive health, gastrointestinal health and a healthy immune system. Some probiotic strains have been found to prevent lung cancer growths as well as anti-tumour and anti-inflammatory properties. Further research will however be needed to confirm this hypothesis, the team said. The researchers examined 10 cohort studies from the US, Europe, and Asia involving more than 1.44 million people. Similarly, they analysed the participants’ intakes of dietary fiber and yogurt, and then tracked how many of those patients developed lung cancer.

Read More

How Herbal Remedy Could Help In The Future Treatment Of Hypertension - Experts

People have used herbs as medicine for thousands of years. Today, with medical researchers continually hunting for better alternative treatments, some are revisiting these remedies. A recent study looks at herbs that people believe can treat hypertension.

Lavender was one of the plants that the scientists tested in the recent study. Currently, hypertension affects an estimated one in three adults in the United States.

Although dietary and lifestyle changes can sometimes be sufficient, medication is necessary in some cases.

Antihypertensive medications work well for some people but not for others, and the side effects can be unpleasant.

For these reasons, researchers are keen to find innovative ways to tackle the growing issue of hypertension.

Some scientists are turning back the clock and looking to ancient herbal remedies. Humans have been self-medicating with the herbs that they find since before history began.

The fact that people have used these treatments for millennia is certainly not evidence that they are effective, but they are surely worth a second look.

Researchers from the University of California, Irvine recently zeroed in on a group of plants that have, historically, been a treatment for hypertension. They published their findings in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The scientists took herbal extracts from a diverse range of unrelated plants, including lavender, fennel seed extract, basil, thyme, marjoram, ginger, and chamomile.

Under the leadership of Professor Geoff Abbott. they identified a bioactive trait that all of the extracts shared. This trait, the scientists believe, might help explain why some herbs appear to have mild antihypertensive properties.

Specifically, they found that these herbs activate a particular potassium channel called KCNQ5. This potassium channel and others are present in the vascular smooth muscles — the muscles that line blood vessels.

When vascular smooth muscles contract, blood pressure increases; when they relax, blood pressure drops. The activation of KCNQ5 results in the relaxation of these muscles. The authors think that this might help explain some herbs’ antihypertensive properties.

“We found KCNQ5 activation to be a unifying molecular mechanism shared by a diverse range of botanical hypotensive folk medicines.”

The researchers also tested a range of other plants that research has not shown to reduce blood pressure, such as wheatgrass and parsley. In these cases, they found no activation of KCNQ5.

When they compared plant species, the researchers found differing levels of KCNQ5 activity. “Lavandula angustifolia, commonly called lavender, was among those we studied,” Professor Abbot explains. “We discovered it to be among the most efficacious KCNQ5 potassium channel activators, along with fennel seed extract and chamomile.”

Next, the scientists drilled down to determine which plant compound is responsible for activating the potassium channel.

They isolated a chemical called aloperine, which is an alkaloid. In a further set of experiments, they demonstrated that aloperine opens KCNQ5 by binding to the foot of the potassium channel.

Interestingly, current medications do not target the KCNQ5 channel. Spotting this gap in the drug market, Professor Abbott hopes that the “discovery of these botanical KCNQ5-selective potassium channel openers may enable development of future targeted therapies for diseases including hypertension.”

Of course, the road that runs between identifying a mechanism and getting a drug to market is long. It is also worth noting that the KCNQ group of receptors are relative newcomers and, as such, scientists do not yet know the full range of their functions.

However, because hypertension is so widespread, and because it increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke, there is likely to be significant interest in taking these ideas to the next stage.

Read More

How To Use Okra For Diabetes Treatment — Scientists

Traditionally, drinking “okra water” has been used as an alternative treatment for diabetes. It is assumed that its large amount of soluble dietary fibres will retard glucose absorption from the intestinal tract. Some have even suggested that drinking it helps to lessen diabetes symptoms.

Like many other traditional treatments, knowing the appropriate dose that is latent and safe has always been a challenge. Now, researchers reveal that 10:90 per cent (seeds: peels) formulation is the most suitable for the development of okra-based antidiabetic nutraceutical formulation for the management of diabetes mellitus.

In this study, researchers revealed that 10:90 per cent (seeds: peels) formulation retarded an increase in postprandial blood glucose level than the other combinations.

Various proportions of the powdered seeds and peels samples were thoroughly mixed in a ratio of 90:10; 80:20; 70:30; 60:40, 50:50 per cent, respectively and vice versa.

The proximate composition and some functional properties such as antioxidant capacity (AC), glucose absorption capacity (GAC) and glucose dialysis (GD) were assessed.

Ex-maradi (a commercially available dry-okra fruits) commonly found in the northern part of Nigeria was used in this study designed to develop appropriate okra-based antidiabetic formulation in the 2018 Tropical Journal of Natural Product Research.

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common problems challenging public health in the 21st century. It is a disorder marked by high blood sugar level which occurs when the pancreas cannot produce enough of insulin or the body cannot effectively use the produced insulin.

Treatment measures of diabetes include diet control, physical exercise, and use of oral medications for type 2 diabetes only or use of insulin in type 1 diabetes.

Recently, a high-fibre diet is being used as a supplement in controlling diabetes. Water-soluble dietary fibres have the potential to reduce glucose absorption, increase the liver extraction of insulin and increase insulin sensitivity at the level of cells in the body.

Okra is one of the economically important vegetable crops that have been used for a long time as a daily food in many countries because of its nourishing components. It is characterised by mucilaginous properties and high fibre content.

It is a multipurpose crop due to the various uses of its parts (leaves, buds, flowers, pods, stems and seeds). The immature okra fruits are consumed as vegetables and can be used in salads, soups and stews.

Apart from being an excellent source of dietary fibre, okra contains significant amounts of vitamins, minerals, and potent antioxidants that may help prevent or treat many ailments.

Okra is low in calories and low on the glycaemic index (GI) scale, making it beneficial for people trying to lose weight. Among many other health benefits, okra is also gaining ground as a superfood for cancer.

Moreover, okra is known to improve and benefit health in a number of ways, including preventing and treating constipation, lowering cholesterol, improving symptoms of depression, helping to treat sore throat and lung inflammation, reducing the risk of certain cancers like colorectal cancer.

Now, a study published in the Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences in 2011 using rats found a potentially beneficial effect. Diabetic rats were given powdered okra peel and seed had reductions in their blood sugar levels at the end of the 28-day study, compared to rats in the control group that didn’t get powdered okra.

Another study published in “ISRN Pharmaceutics” in 2011, found that a solution made from okra helped decrease the absorption of glucose in rats with diabetes.

Moreover, a 2017 study published in PLOS One reported that myricetin in okra increased the absorption of sugar in the rats’ muscles, lowering their blood glucose levels. Myricetin is a substance present in okra and some other foods, including red wine and tea.

Furthermore, a 2012 Food Science and Human Wellness review highlights a number of other laboratory and animal studies that have linked myricetin to reduced blood sugar.

Recently, the possible interaction of the soluble dietary fibre fraction of okra with oral metformin has been a matter of concern because this vegetable is being widely used by diabetics as an adjunct to diabetes treatment.

In the study, the water-soluble fraction of okra fruits made by soaking sliced okra pods in water for 10 to 15 minutes and collecting its filtrate significantly reduces the absorption of glucose.  The 2011 study was published in the journal, Pharmaceutics.

Read More