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We often think of health at the level of the physical body. This would be sufficient if the body was never affected by the mind or the spirit. The truth is that the three parts of us are inseparable and interdependent. In fact, many diseases of the physical body are actually psychosomatic, arising from disorders of the mind. Our state of mind can precipitate some forms of hypertension, nervosa, neurodegenerative disorders, etc. The spirit may be even more powerful in determining our state of health by harnessing good or evil principles and incorporating their powers within our physical being.

Our mental and bodily activities are actually constantly affected by our spirit which harbors the power to love and hate, to will good and to will evil. The love and hate is manifested in the good and evil released in our emotions.

A new born babe knows little and therefore does not harbour much love or hate. As a child grows, with experience of various aspects of life, he or she develops the capacity to love or hate and begins to harbour love and hate for respective aspects of life including persons and things. Eventually, the child develops a characteristic personality with virtues and vices, i.e. actions brought about by repetitions of particular emotions.

A person may turn out right or turn out wrong (in personality) depending on how his or her emotions relate him or her to other people and to his or her environment. Some scientists believe that some people are “born bad”, i.e. they have genetic dispositions that determine that they will do bad things in life, becoming criminals, rapists, serial killers, arsonists, rebels, oppressors, etc. Even if such a “born bad” phenomenon is real, a person “born bad” still has a possibility to turn out right through effective management of emotions.

We are able to love and hate things and to love and hate people. The love and hate becomes actualized in our emotions. As we mature, we observe how emotions relate people with one another and relate people with their environment. We all love and we all hate. What each person loves and hates are unique to that person. A person may love his father but hate his brother, for example. We release emotions selectively based on who and what we love or hate. Within society, this determines such principles as fairness, justice, harmony, and peace or the lack of such principles and bias, prejudice, discord, and strife.

You know if someone loves you because you feel good about his or her emotions towards you (interest, attention, concern, responsiveness, generosity, humor, cheer, etc.). On the contrary, you know if someone hates you because you feel bad about his or her emotions towards you (apathy, coldness, disgust, rudeness, meanness, vengeance, etc.).

Control and balancing of the emotions cannot be done without relating the effort to the love and hate within us. We tend to love things that we consider are good for us and hate things that we consider are evil for us. Our judgment of good and evil may be correct, incorrect, or imperfect. Nevertheless, emotional control relates to controlling and balancing the love for the good and the hate for the evils in life.

When a material is placed on fire it gains heat and becomes full of heat, or hot. Away from the source of heat, it loses heat, cools and becomes cold. Our states of love and hate are analogous. Some theologians of various faith traditions believe that the human spirit, connected with our origin, or God, gains Godliness, or love, or capacity to love. When we gain or develop our capacity to love and will to do good, we keep expressing the positive emotions that are characteristically good habits or virtues. On the other hand, as believed, the absence of love yields hate and incapacity to do good; or rather, it yields evil by default. In another analogy, there will remain darkness when we do not turn on a light.

If we want a healthy family life, we need to encourage good habits amongst the family members. Good habits belong to emotions that emanate from love. The more love we get or gain, the better the chances that good emotions will be coming out of us.

Dr. ’Bola John is a biomedical scientist based in Nigeria and in the USA. For any comments or questions on this column, please Email bolajohnwritings@yahoo.com or call 07028338910

The Emir of Gwandu in Kebbi, Alhaji Muhammad Bashar, has warned parents in his domain against preventing their children from immunisation against Polio and Measles.

Alhaji Bashar gave the warning in Birnin Kebbi on Friday, as part of his address to the people to mark the Eid-El-Kabir. He said that allowing children to participate in immunisation was part of efforts to reduce child mortality and prevent permanent deformity.

The royal father said two cases of measles outbreak were recorded in the state and called for cautionary measures to prevent further spread of the disease especially considering change in weather.

“The change in weather calls for proper environmental sanitation and personal hygiene.”

Bashar used the occasion to also call on victims of flood disaster “to take heart as it was an act of God”. He however, commended the state authorities, individuals and groups for assisting the victims. Bashar advised the farmers to engage in vigorous dry season farming.

He commended security agencies in the state on the low level of crime and advised people to always assist the agencies with information on criminal activities.

Bashar prayed for continued peace and unity of the nation and safe return of Nigerian pilgrims from Saudi Arabia.

In his sermon during the Eid-El-Kabir prayers, the Chief Imam of the state, Alhaji Liman Mukhtar, enjoined Muslims to embrace the teachings of Islam, considering the fact that the religion preaches peace.

About 20 people were killed in multiple auto accidents in Kwara State between Wednesday and yesterday.

Seventeen people died on Wednesday evening at the Osin River, Ilorin East Local Government Area of the state, in an accident involving five vehicles, including an 18-seater commercial bus coming from Niger State.

A trailer loaded with bags of beans was said to have rammed into the commercial bus at the bad portion of the road.

One of the survivors of the accident was a 10-year old boy who was brought out from the wreckage.

Another set of three people were killed yesterday when their car burst into flame, after it was hit by a trailer.

The Kwara State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Chris Ademoluti confirmed the incident to The Nation at the scene of the accident.

Ademoluto said, “the first one happened on the 24th of this month and we recovered 17 bodies. 16 from the bus and one from the trailer, they all perished there.”

Speaking further on how the accident happened, Ademotu said: “I learnt the bus with the 16 passengers was coming from Niger State, carrying goods and women. In an attempt to reduce his speed at the bad portion of the road, a trailer coming from behind rammed into the vehicle and fell on it. Sixteen people died in that commercial, while only one person survived. One person also died in the trailer.

“On Friday, three people were burnt to death in an accident involving a taxi cab and a trailer. The trailer lost control and rammed into the cab and other vehicles on the road before one the vehicles burst into flame.

“We have engaged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Federal Controller of works and Kwara State Roads Transport Management Agency (KWARTMA) to clear the vehicles from the road, so as not to cause another accident. I am using this opportunity to appeal to our government to effect repairs on this portion of the road.”

The normal menstrual pattern in women of reproductive age(usually 15 -49 years) is characterized by regular predictable monthly bleeding periods lasting 2-5 days

The menopausal transition is a progressive decline in this pattern to a final period when menstrual periods no longer occur. The average age at the onset of menopausal transition is 47 years, and in most women it develops over a period of 4 to 7 years. At the early stage the menstrual cycles may remain regular, but the interval between cycles may be altered by 7 or more days

Women passing through the menopausal transition often find them selves with many concerns and issues which require long and short term solutions. The problems associated with this period and the ways and means of handling them depend on which part of the word a woman comes from, her family medical history with regards to susceptibility to illness, diseases, and causes of death. It also depends on her own health status, in terms of how often she falls ill, whether or not she had had acute, chronic, or acute on chronic disease conditions. Beyond that and for those who are surrounded by friends, family members, are active socially, go to church, or mosque, the period and even in the post menopausal period is less stormy

In developed countries, the internet is a regular source of information for over 90% of the female population. More than 50% have an idea what to expect, but not so in low income countries where symptoms associated with the transitional menopause can be mistaken for others like fibroids, going crazy or husband bringing imagined diseases from prostitutes.

First we distinguish between premature ovarian failure which comes with more aggressive symptoms and natural menopause. The former can occur before the age of 40 and inability to achieve pregnancy is one of the issues that will bring the patient to the Gynecologist

The average age of the final menstrual period(FMP) has been put at 51 years, and the term menopause usually refers to one time in the downward trend of declining ovarian function when there are not enough mature ovarian follicles to produce the two main female hormones, estrogen and progesterone. This usually takes place 12 months after a woman has observed she is no longer menstruating. Premature ovarian failure is usually suspected when cessation of menses occurs in a woman who is generally below 40 years of age. Though scientists have not yet come to agreement that African women are going into menopause earlier, some studies have reported such findings. However women aged 37 or 38 whose husbands are biologically functional going to see a Gynecologist for fertility issues may may feel disappointed with the Surgeons lack of enthusiasm He may not be in a hurry to suggest a battery of tests and subject exhausted ovarian follicles to fruitless hormonal challenges

Some authors have provided evidence linking malnutrition and low socioeconomic status with early menopause, while in some texts nulliparity as opposed to multiparity is associated with early menopause

Clinical anatomy

Methods using autoradiography, immune histochemistry and others have demonstrated that the events leading to the menopause are orchestrated along the hypothalomohypophyseal gonadal axis, and centered around the anteroventral aspects of three nuclei may be more; the Peri ventricular nucleus, the Preoptic and Arcuate nuclei. The mechanism involves molecular signalling along the axis with Kisspeptin acting via the G-coupled GPR54 receptor to act directly on the Ggonadotropin releasing hormone(GnRH) neurones to cause release of luteinizing hormone(LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) Kiss Peptin is a metastasis surpressor protein product of the Kiss-1 Peptin gene. Current knowledge is that kisspeptin fibers which express estrogen receptors are anatomically located close to the GnRH neurons. Absence of ovarian follicles /low or no estrogen causes much hypertrophy of these neuronal fibers.

Evidence that the human ovary will function normally occurs between 6 to 8 weeks of intra uterine life by rapid(mitotic) multiplication of germ cells, this reaches a maximum 0f 6-7million oogonia (ovarian egg cells before the oocytes) by 20 weeks. From about 15 weeks of gestation, in the life of a woman, the number of these eggs will continue to reduce without replacement; in fact, a new born female begins her life in the world with a loss of about 80%of her egg cells until about 50 years when oogonia will be finally exhausted. At approximately age 38-45, the ovarian follicles which will by this period have diminished response to gonadotropins and ovulation begins to appear less frequently. With time these follicles are unable to grow to maturity and produce estrogen which in turn fail to support growth of endometrium (womb lining) and so menstruation ceases

Further consequent diminution and depletion in the level of circulating estrogen and progesterone is responsible for the anatomical features associated with the menopause

During the perimenopausal stage, Stress induced production of androstenedione may explain some of the masculine features and the regression of typical female ones

Increase in peripheral conversion of androgens to estrogens is in direct proportion to age and weight. Thin women are more likely to surfer more estrogen deprivation symptoms than women who are obese. Large and obese women on the other hand are more likely to surfer abnormal uterine bleeding due to dysfunctional conversion of non ovarian steroids to estrogen in the setting of no or low amounts of protective progesterone

MANIFESTITATION

Changes in the menstrual cycle involving the length, number of days bleeding occurs , regularity, quantity of blood loss, changes in the color and presence of clots are the hallmarks. Some patients may experience menstrual patterns similar to what it was before, during and after their first ever menstrual flow(menarche). Also in some women this pattern may be followed by complete cessation, only to be followed by one isolated episode of menstrual bleeding, in which case your gynecologist or family physician should be consulted to avoid among other issues, unwanted pregnancy, and cancer.

The experience of hot flushes is common, but the percentage of women in the illness continuum reporting this symptom has been variously reported to range from 15% to 75%. Studies on African women shows they are less likely to make sense out of it and characterize it compared with American and European women. Described as sudden sensation of loss of strength, hotness of the face, head, neck, chest hands and legs, feeling of impending collapse, dizziness, cold about three minutes and as many as 30 times a day. There is usually a remarkable increase in body temperature, followed by increase in basal metabolic rate; patients becomes aware of heart beating faster than usual (palpitations), sweats pour out all over the body and will be accompanied by coldness chills. Studies utilizing brain amines have confirmed that these events have their origin in the thermo and chemo regulatory centers of the brain involving nor epinephrine, and not a peripheral vasoconstrictor affair as was initially thought .Hot flushes usually lasts from 1 -3 minutes, and may occur as many as 30 times a day making some women feel something terrible could be developing .They should be taken seriously in the late reproductive years as they have been known to occur in concert with ovulation and unwanted pregnancies . Hot flushes in the presence of thyroid disorders can be very challenging and as such women with thyroid problems are advised to get regular with their medical exams as they approach menopause. Hot flushes may also appear before true menopause, with ovulation and unwanted pregnancy