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Tag: brain

  • How Multitasking affects the brain, lower overall productivity

    How Multitasking affects the brain, lower overall productivity

    Modern communication technology devices like cell phones, tablets, and laptops enable us to accomplish tasks more efficiently and quickly.

    Using mobile devices, we can sit in a meeting or seminar, text dinner plans to our spouse, browse email, and even pay a bill – all at the same time. “Very productive”.

    There are some instances when multitasking can be beneficial, but most of the implications of multitasking are negative

    Researchers from Stanford University state how multi-tasking can hamper and cause brain damage. During this research, the team found that those multi-tasked were unable to pay much attention and recall information accurately as compared to those who stuck to doing one task at a time.

    The Stanford team compared groups of people based on their tendency to multitask and their belief that it helps their performance. They found that heavy multi-taskers were actually worse at multitasking than those who like to do a single thing at a time. The frequent multi-taskers performed worse because they had more trouble organising their thoughts and filtering out irrelevant information. They were also slower at switching from one task to another.

    However, it is possible for our brains to multitask if one of the tasks is not cognitively demanding. Walking and chewing gum, for example, is quite possible because gum-chewing requires no actual brain power. The problem comes when trying to do two things at once that tax the brain.

    Read Also: NESG to fight brain drain, unemployment

    The human brain cannot actually give its full attention to two tasks at once. Instead, it toggles back and forth between the tasks, resulting in neither task getting the attention it deserves. With each switch, there is a loss in performance and accuracy. Try to multiply a number in your head while reading a book or watching a movie while having an intense discussion about the universe with a friend…you can’t do justice to both at once.

    “Distracted” driving is a perfect example. Most everyone agrees that texting and driving is dangerous. Most would also say that driving while using a handheld phone is risky. Although, most of these same people believe they themselves are quite capable of doing both successfully! The majority of drivers, as well as lawmakers, believe that it is perfectly safe to drive and talk on a phone as long as it is hands-free. They are wrong.

    The problem with talking on a phone and driving has little to do with what our hands are doing at the time; it’s all about what our brains are doing. Conversing is cognitively demanding, as is driving. Instead of doing both adequately, our brains keep switching from one task to the other. In addition to neither really getting our full attention, there is also a gap as the brain switches from task to task.

    Statistically, talking on a cell phone increases the risk of accidents, whether it is handheld or hands-free. It’s quite different from talking with someone who is in the car, as that person is aware of the driving environment. The person on the other end of the phone is not and therefore, requires your attention and concentration.

    Multi-tasking reduces your efficiency and performance because your brain can only focus on one thing at a time. When you try to do two things at once, your brain lacks the capacity to perform both tasks successfully.

    Those who considered themselves heavy multitaskers and believed it boosted their performances were actually found to be worse than those who undertook a single task at a time. The heavy multitaskers had problems organizing their thoughts and were even slower at switching from one task to another.

    Multitasking has also been shown to increase the heart rate and levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

    The results of these effects on the brain and body include:

    ·        Lower overall productivity

    ·        Less ability to filter irrelevant information

    ·        More mistakes

    ·        Increased stress, depression, and anxiety

    ·        Premature brain ageing

    ·        Poor impulse control

    Multitasking can become addictive, and for all of the reasons listed above, put lives in danger.

  • Tape worm in the brain, parasite cleansing (Part 2)

    If you are not seeing your stomach as a gateway to health or disease, and have not learned to fill only a third of it with food during meal-times, it is possible you have not heard of the warning of British surgeons years ago that … death begins slowly but surely in the intestine. This is not a tongue twister of sort. Nor is it a picture or reasoning from double exposure on a photographic film. The stomach holds the key to life or death, and the intestine processes whichever it lets pass through the gate.

    In this part of the series, the parasites world in the stomach and intestine will be linked, as events in one often affects the other. In Nigeria, many people do not even differentiate them when they fall ill. They keep talking about “The stomach” when they have abdominal pain caused by parasites or gas from digestive system disorder. All that many people see of the stomach is limited to peptic ulcer or to gastritis. They are unaware that bacteria such as Helicobacter pylori may have colonized or built “housing estates”, as it were, in the stomach. Even doctors did not know this until a few decades ago. They thought that a nerve, the vagus, was causing the overproduction of acid and often cut it surgically. When this did not stop the stomach filling up with acid and burning the stomach to the point of sometimes boring holes in it, to cause life-threatening events in the abdominal cavity, researchers thought the stomach had acid pumps which were over working whenever foods were eaten which required harsher chemicals for digestion. Thus, anti-acid medicines were developed which were intended to slow the “acid pumps” and literally lock their taps. One of such drugs was TAGAMET. It hit the market at a time Dr. Barry Marshall was disagreeing with his colleagues about the cause of stomach ulcer and the common treatment of the day, which was surgical removal of any part of the stomach that was damaged by the ulcer. Stomachs that were surgically tampered with became smaller and made digestion more difficult, apart from disposing the patient to compromised lifestyle. Dr. Marshall was determined to prove that bacteria, not overworking acid pumps or the vagus nerve, caused stomach or duodenal ulcers.

    One day, he cultured a piece of diseased stomach tissue that had been surgically removed, to grow the bacteria which he thought caused the problem. Then, he drank some of the cultured bacteria in a solution…. And developed stomach ulcer! He treated himself with antibiotics and … waoooh!, the ulcer disappeared. When he published his findings, which were confirmed by independent laboratories in animal and human studies, the powers- that- be in medicine threatened to withdraw Dr. Marshall’s license. To them, he has made nonsense of the huge investments made in the development of Tagament and was going to make recovery, and profit from this investment, almost impossible. Dr. Barry Marshall survived the onslaught, and we know today that Helicobacter pylori bacterium occurs on the ulcer sites in the stomach and duodenum. What may still be unclear is if it causes the ulceration, or if it merely takes advantage of it. So, we now know once we can deal with this bacterium, we can deal with the ulcer and we do not need pharmaceutical antacids for the purpose. Stanford University, for example, has taught us that cabbage juice taken over about 14 days wipes out Helicobacter pylori and heals stomach ulcers. The only contraindication which often recurs in publications of the reproduction of the experiment is that people challenged with hypothyroidism need not overdo it.

    Hypothyroidism is low or under functioning thyroid gland, which has been linked to many diseases. Cabbage juice contains goistrogens. These are chemical substances which lowers thyroids gland function and is good for hyperthyrodic people.

    Antacids may have their salutary effects, especially in life-threatening emergencies. But they have been linked also to many digestive system problem which encourage the overgrowth of parasite populations in the system. Thoughts of this become worrisome when it is recognized that people who are challenged with cancers and immune deficiencies often present parasite overloads in their system. Even uterine fibroid tissue habours large amounts or populations of bacteria, viruses, fungi and the likes of them. How does this happen?

    Researchers such as Dr. Robert O. Young, author of pH. MIRACLE have succeeded to some extent to persuade the medical community that the stomach has no acid pumps, that excess acid found in the stomach comes from food which, when digested, released its large acid content. An example cited is RED MEAT. Another source of excess stomach acid is said to come from the decay of food in the stomach when it overstays its allotted time. This prolonged stay may be caused by an insufficiency of enzymes to digest the protein and cuddle the fats in the food. Enzyme insufficiency may come from drinking too much water during a meal, which causes dilution and weakening of the enzymes, overloading the stomach to the point that the enzymes it produced for digestion is not enough for all the food loaded into it, or the stomach does not have enough hydrochloric acid (0.05 percent concentration) to trigger the production of Trypsin, the enzyme which digests proteins. To worsen matters, a habit of antacid use will neutralize hydrochloric acid and efface Trypsin production. Now, all germs and parasites which comes into the stomach with food are proteins which Trypsin would have digested and prevented from moving on to the intestine. Thus, if the egg of tapeworm or its lavaces escape the “gate keeper” that the stomach is, and survived digestive activity in the intestine because of enzyme insufficiency there as well, to arrives, someday, in the brain, in the heart or any other organs, it must be seen that the stomach was compromised in its service to the body as a whole.

    As a seeker for the TRUTH who is not a Moslem, I find value in the teaching of Prophet Mohammed (May the Peace of Allah be upon Him) that humans fill their stomachs one-third with food, one-third with fluid (I believe digestive juice) and one third with air (I believe empty space). How many Muslims follows him and do not fill their stomach till their eyes almost pop out? How many Christians are prepared to adjust their lives to this wise teaching? Overloaded stomach have longer food transit tenures.

    Longer residence of food in the stomach leads to food decomposition and decay there. Decomposition and decay not only bring their own acids but also create fertile grounds for germs to breed and overpopulates. Germs make gas and intensify the acid load. We experience the gas in stomach bloating and pain and the belching of foul air, or even mouth odour. The excess acid may cause gastritis or stomach ulcer for which you may have been taking antacids to further worsen the stomach’s condition. Gastritis suggests that the acid has “cooked” the raw flesh of the stomach to “boiled” meat status. The acid level may even rise up towards the esophague and burn the sphincter muscle which does not allow food in the stomach to return to the throat and the mouth. When the acid burns the lower part of the esophagus connection with the stomach, heart burn occurs. Doctors call it Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease (G.E.R.D)The acid may so burn the esophagus that it may cause esophageal cancer. I have seen cases where people who thought they naturally had excess acid in the stomach and took antacids for this condition tried a simple test of adding digestive enzymes to their diet along with Apple Cider Vinegar before a meal, and the condition cleared. If it does not that suggests the need for another action.

     

    Some Parasite Sources

    Apart from pork and beef not well cooked, we ingest parasites with fruits and vegetables. Some people do not soak vegetables in salt water or vinegar solution for about 30 minutes and them rinse them in clean water before lightly cooking them. Some people do not wash banana before peeling them. The fingers that will later cut the banana fruit for the mouth may have picked some parasites from the peel. Parasites are on door knobs, on your cell phone, on the rails of overhead bridge, on the toys of children which they can put in their mouths, in the soil from where they may be picked when we walk barefoot. I read the story of an American woman who wore a brassaire straight from the pack. Her breast itched a few days later. To cut a long story short, worms began to come out of them. Her hands may have picked some of these organisms. If she didn’t wash them well before cooking or eating with bare fingers, as we sometimes do here, she may injest some of these parasites.

     

    Symptoms or Signs

    The parasite list is endless. And I promised in the first part of this series, that we would explore their elimination and restoration to health as 28 American orthodox doctors who have added alternative medicine protocols are doing in their clinics with the treatment of CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME and FIBROMYALGIA, two major symptoms of parasite infestation and overload. A head of their contribution to this series, probably next week, I would like to lift the veil off some of their thoughts. Dr. Murray R. Susser, M.D., says:

    “The most common infections we find are yeast (candida albicans) and parasites… we also find hidden bacterial infections such as Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi) and absence in the teeth. Sometimes chronic prostatitis, chronic sinusitis, and chronic gastritis”.

    Dr. Martin Lee, Ph. D., Director of Great Smokies Diagnostic Laboratory, in Asheville, North Carolina, says:

    :    “Many doctors, hospitals and laboratories fail to diagnose parasite infection because they rarely allow the time for careful analysis and multiple procedure, using stool specimens collected over several days”. Dr. David case more, M.D., of the Public Health Laboratories in Bodewuddanryh, England says:

    “Parasitic infection is almost certainly under detected possibly by a factor of 10 or more”. Parasite infectation presents many symptoms to the careful observer. Sugar Cravings is one of them. Many parasites, like cancer cells, like sugar and thrive on it. That is why many women who suffer from vaginal candidiasis or people challenged with systemaic candidiasis or other yeast infections hardly overcome them if they have sweet teeth. Such people are always craving for sugar because these parasite are asking them for it and consuming their sugar supplies, thereby making them weak and hungry for sugar as energy fuel.

    Mental Confusion and Depression are other signs of parasite infestation which are not always linked to the condition. The brain runs on glucose. So do these parasites. Depriving the brain of enough glucose supplies may cause loss of concentration, mood swings, mental confusion and even depression. How often do we not seem to come alive after a drink of Orange juice or after eating some bananas? Fatigue is not too far away in this condition. The parasites are not only sharing nutrients with the cells or even crowding them out of the “paintry” they are also releasing into the cells and blood stream toxic waste products which inhibit the optimum performance of these cells in the production of energy for the body. You can imagine the cells of a car battery that function in a compromised environment. That battery will be flat and the car sluggish to start or drive.

    Bloating and Pain are members of this symptoms family. Within minutes of having a meal, some people bloat up all over and experience pain (Dyspeptic pain). The intestine mummurs, and these sounds are attributed to the movement of worms. They feel uneasy, and are afraid to have the next meal. Belching and Farting are in the league as well. The odour or smell can be so damming that, in the bus in Nigeria, curses are often rained on whoever “spoiled” the air.

     

    Intestinal Worms

    These days, many Nigerian adults forget to deworm themselves. They even forget to deworm their children. How long ago did you deworm? One of my doctor friends hasn’t in a year. I probably did about one year ago, after a long, long while. The trouble is our choice pharmaceutical drug may be targeted at one specie of worm which may not be the one in our intestine. In this habibat, there may be tape worm, flat worm, round worm, open worm or flukes. They may cause bloating, pain, diarrhea, dysentery, itching in the anus or vulva, nausea or vomiting, gas, fatigue, unexplained weight loss, anaemia and other scenarios. They may get into the body as eggs through contact with the foot in infected soil, food, water or meat, pork and fish not well cooked.

     

    Other Parasites

    Apart from tape worm and round worm, protozoa inhabit the intestine, sometimes traveling to their parts of the body to live in organs. Some are too tiny that they can be seen only with the aid of a microscope. Some of the common intestinal organisms are Giardia Intestinalis, which cause Giardiasis, and the single cell organism, Entamoeba histolytica which causes amoebiasis. Other members of the intestinal amoeba family include Entamoeba Coli, Entamoeba dispar and Entamoeba hartmanni. There are, also, organisms such as cyclospora cayetanensis, which causes cyclosporiasis, you also not have heard about Enterobius vermicularis, which causes enterobiasis.

    Before I close, I would like to mention bacteria again. There are two types… the friendly (or probiotics) or and the unfriendly, the bad ones. Friendly bacteria help us a lot. They not only manufacture useful nutrients for us, their activities keep down the population of unfriendly bacteria. Antibiotics to kill unfriendly bacteria kill them as well, exposing us to rapid population growth among the remnant unfriendly bacteria, and the vicious cycle of unfriendly bacteria.

    Bacteria are concentrated in three parts of our bodies… the mouth, the skin and the intestine. Seventy – five percent of the troops of our immune system are found in the intestine, where these bacteria are largely concentrated. The dangerous bacteria in the intestine include Salmomella and E.Coli, Clostridium.

    When British surgeons said years ago that DEATH BEGINS SLOWLY BUT SURELY IN THE INTESTINE, what they were seeing was a bacterial ecosystem of the intestine in which unfriendly or dangerous bacteria were gaining the upper hand our friendly or health- protecting bacteria. As already mentioned, increased reliance on antibiotics has a role to play in this. So is the overconsumption of sugar, which promotes the growth of unfriendly bacteria and weakens friendly bacteria and the immune system, the consumption of pro-inflamatory modern vegetable oils, pesticides, herbicide, chemical substances, physical, oxidative and emotional stressor.

    Intestinal diseases such as Crohn’s disease, Celiac disease, Colitis, Ulcerative colitis, Diverticulosis, and even colon and rectal cancers are growing in number and severity. They have been linked, also, to hormonal imbalances, pulmonary diseases, and brain problems.

     

    Enlarged Prostate

    Enlarged prostate and many more of today’s killer diseases. The question many people ask is: if antibiotics is not the best way method of ridding the body of parasites and bacteria, what is ? Some of the answers should come up in the next part of this series.

  • Tape worm in the brain, parasite cleansing (1)

    We live in a world filled with parasites which try to make comfortable homes of choice organs of our bodies. Last week, I mentioned the case of Jewish business man in whose brain a baby tape worm was found by surgeons, who were probing the cause of his persistent headaches they could not cure with drugs. I recalled this story, which broke in the United States, after a member of KUSA GREEN PASTURE HERBS chat group,  Mrs. Sola Sowemimo, informed us about a woman in Nigeria in whose brain doctors found a tape worm. She was lucky. For doctors said it may take about 15 years before the deadly symptoms begin to show. The parents of this woman were pig farmers. After my comment on this post, another post came in from a man, who said his girlfriend was not so lucky. She complained of headache early in September this year. Tests revealed only malaria parasites. She was placed on a drip and discharged next day. She became paralyzed, nevertheless, suffered mental disorder, anaemia, coma. She came round a few days later. A brain scan revealed parasites. She died on September 22 and was to be buried on September 25. This is a scary world in which we live, that is the world of killer parasites, about which many of us know little or nothing.

    Mercifully, Mother Nature protects us against them. They invade our organs and deal with us or kill us only if we disobey the rules of Mother Nature about how we should feed and care for our bodies.

    I find interesting or exciting the exploration we are about to undertake into these parasites and the various organs of our bodies. For they are present in the brain, in the eyes, nostrils, sinuses, ears, mouth and throat, in the stomach and the intestine and in the blood, the heart, the blood vessels and various organs of the body.

     

    The Brain

    Many worms can live comfortably in the brain. One of them is Naegleria fowleri. The CNN reported some cases of this brain eating amoeba between 2001 and 2010 in the United States. Taenia Solium (tape worm) infection are common in Africa and infect about 50 million people world wide. Tape worm eggs in the human intestine may burrow into the blood-stream and end up in the brain. There, they form cysts. The disease they may cause is called neuro cysticercosis. Quite a mouthful! This disease may cause headaches, seizures, epilepsy and even death. Yet another brain-infecting parasite is called Toxo plasma gon dii (T.gondii). Infected rats become unafriad of cat urine. If the infected rat is eaten by a cat, the cat may become infected, and infect humans. T.gondi may infect about one in four Americans because they are cat loving people, irrespective of huge investments in veterinary care. Infected persons may not immediately realise they are infected. A diagnostic marker is their sluggishness or slow reactions to stimuli which, in the United States and Germany, have been linked to automobile crashes. Psychiatrists in Germany believe this parasites drive women to sometimes deliberately harm themselves, a condition Nigerians would see as insanity. The brain can also come under threat from Loa loa, a thread like worm in the eye which may spend as many as 15 years travelling in other parts of the body before it arrives in the eye.

    When anyone tells me of skin itch, my mind immediately goes to worms travelling under the skin, eating and damaging tissues, including nerves. Amazon A-V may catch it, as may Help for skin disorders or Golden Seal Root. We will come to these later. Loa loa is dangerous. When drugs are deployed against it and it dies in large numbers, the carcases may be many enough to block blood vessels in and around the brain, causing encephalopathy, which may impair memory, alter the personality after affecting cognition. We have not addressed malaria parasites in the brain, which may cause cerebral malaria, vomiting and death within a few hours.

    Ordinarily, these parasites should not enter the brain cavity because of its protective Brain – Blood-Barrier (BBB) formed by a group of specialised cells, which may give way if they do not have enough of the right nutrients to do their work well.

     

    The Eyes

    I listen to the story of ABBY BECKLEY as told by www.popsci.com, which was reporting THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, a scientific journal. Abby, 26, felt an irritation in her left eye one day. She picked out a tiny worm some days after. “I was just pulling them out, I knew they were a lot”, she told National Geographic. Her doctor sent one of the worms to parasitologist Richard Bradbuny, of the center for Diseases Control and Preventions Parasitic Diseases Defense Laboratory where, every year, thousands of parasites are identified which doctors may not recognise. Abby’s eye worm was identified as a cattle eye worm named Thelazia gul osa.

    Abby was told the worms would not burrow into her eye ball or invade her brain. This parasite is not of much concern as its human infestation is rare. It only shows that the eye is vulnerable to parasitic infections, and needs care always. Many of us do not know it does.

    I believe there may be worms in the eyes of many people. In Nigeria, we often encounter roving eye care givers from the north, who wash the eyes of their clients with medicinal water and wriggling worms come falling off into a bowl placed beneath the eye in which they are caught as evidence of the efficacy of this treatment. Under Oshodi over-head bridge complex in Lagos, some medicine men insert a certain seed under the eye ball of volunteers and, in a jiffy, mucoid matter reels out. A person like me given to asking how things happen and with what effects cannot partake of such therapies. But it is going on.

    From the findings of many studies, some parasites end up in the eyes in error, having missed the way on their journey from one part of the body to another, most probably the brain. A type of amoeba is often spoken off. It lives in water and infects people, who wear contact lenses more than other people. These people may wash their contact lenses in infected water or contract the amoeba in infected swimming pools. This is a lesson for people, who have bought into the new culture of opening the eyes into a bowl of water in the morning to soak up cellular debris or wastes that may occlude vision some day. Tap water may convey these amoebas. Even the underground or overhead water tanks may harbour them. It makes good sense, therefore, to boil water and let it cool before using it for this purpose. While these amoebas may not burrow into the eye ball, they may damage or eat up the cornea, threaten vision or cause blindness.

    Pathogens in the eyes include bacteria, viruses and parasites. The symptoms of their activities include redness of the eye, which may not yield to simple medical blurriness, frequent tearing of the eye, temporary vision loss, swelling of the eye, itchiness and irritation in the eye, severe pain, pus, ulcers (white patches), floaters, they cause damage to the cornea, falling eye lashes, white flakes around the eye lid region, photosensitivity, cysts in the eyes.

    The list is endless. Our ophthalmologists will educate us better on parasite in the eyes and how they may endanger vision. It may not be enough for good vision to add to the diet such nutrients as Vitamin A, Zinc, Lutein and Zezanthin, Astazanthin, Alpa Lipoic Acid, N-Acelyl cysteine, cellgevity, Omega – 3 oil, Beta carotene and the phosphate tissue salts among others. Parasites must be prevented from getting into the eye and, getting into the eye and, when they do, they must be fought off locally and system ­­­wide.

    ­­­­Food should not just be what is pleasing to the tongue. It should contain things that would kill parasites. That is when the admonition is fulfilled which urge that “Let food be your medicine, and medicine your food”.

     

    Ear, Nose and Throat

    Lucopthalmologist E.N.T ( Ear, Nose and Throat) doctors were wonderful health ministers. You only have to have experienced a worm crawl up your throat and wriggle out of your mouth or nose to appreciate these doctors. Where do you turn in such circumstances, if not to the E.N.T docors.? About 1990, I signed to have one of my sons operated for adenoids. The surgery was terrific, but I did not enjoy the experience. So, by the time others adenoid issues came up in other children, I had learned to do away with them naturally. www.curezone.org, ENT sufferer, shares useful experiences of a spray of Golden Seal Root and Echinacea with worm wood and Black Walnut compounded by a doctor with a little bit of peroxide.

    “After much trial and error, I am finally getting some relief from my problems in the ENT area with parasites, fungal and bacterial infections, as drugs cannot reach this area. It has been a challenge to rid myself of (1) the worms there and hopefully, the bacterial and fungal will follow suit – as treatment progresses. I have holes in my ear canals from the parasites, so they have free range from my gut to my ENT area and back again.”

    “When the sprays the herbal remedy compounded by his doctor into his ears, …slowly, the substance moves along my nasal area and mouth and throat. I also spray nasal area., and mouth area and do a saline rinse for them afterwards. It is reducing the severity of the bacterial infection as well as the fungal and getting worms out. I have had problems using antibiotics and I have stopped using them for this on-going bacterial infection.”

    Many people worldwide are in the shoes of this ENT sufferes. A former bank manager in Nigeria obtained relief from the sinusitis which made him unable sleep well for about 30 years after I suggested Oregano mouth and nasal spray to him. He expelled thick, yellow mucus for many days. This was evidence of the deficiency of a tissue salt which was corrected with that tissue salt and the inclusion of Fenugreek in the diet to liquefy and dry phlegm. A former deputy commissioner of police in Nigeria found help after many troublesome years of sinusitis and insomnia from adding Orange peel powder to his diet. One of my shop keepers got over smelly post nasal drip by alternating the infusion of onion juice and Bitter leaf juice nasal drops. Some other people say they were helped with nasal drops of Coconut oil, Colloidal Silver either as eye, nose or ear drops, olive leaf extract or Essiac tea. Spelled backwards, ESSIAC is a code for CAISSE. That’s the name of a nurse who was given a cancer remedy by some monks. When an American President took ill with cancer, she offered this formula to his aids, and he overcame the cancer. Essiac is scare to find in Nigeria and it is expensive. When it comes to sinusitis, I give kudos to MAYO CLINICS. In 2010, the doctors carried out a study which involved thousands of ENT patients. Sinusitis had become a difficult to cure, and they wished to know why. Studying these patients for several months, they found they presented bacterial infections in the first three months or thereabout of their troubles. After that, the pathogen was very likely to be a yeast of fungal origin. So, they concluded that many doctors were unable to easily cure some variants of sinusitis because they were prescribing antibiotics, believing they were treating bacteria, whereas fungi, which required antifungals, were causing the trouble.

    After I read of this study, I sympathized with many people who said they had been on and off antibiotics almost all their lives, and that their conditions worsened whenever they got off them.

    One woman complained about certain movements in her ears. Her general practitioner dismissed her fears of an infection even when she repeatedly went to him to complain that “pieces” of the parasites she suspected were coming out of her skin and other body parts. Some doctors would vouch that this condition is eczema, or that parasites such as mites may be tickling the middle ear. Some speak about mineral deficiency, poor blood circulation especially of ringing-in-the-ear is involved, too little wax or too much wax. The throat is fascinating. Many people cannot sip water or swallow a little morsel of food without coughing, parting their chest or the back of their head. In yorubaland, it was wrongly believed that the drink or food had gone into the head. It was little known that the wind pipe is beside the throat opening, and that, whenever food is eaten, a lid on the wind pipe covers it, to prevent food or water from getting into the wind pipe. This lid is called the epiglottis. If the epiglottis becomes infected with parasites, either as part of a general infection in the region or otherwise, it may not properly cover or protect the wind pipe adequately. Thus, any infiltration of water, fluid or food into the wind pipe may provoke a reaction described above. In some cases, a narrowing of the esophagus may have begun, which may result in inflammation (oesaphagitis), or in a worse case scenario in esophageal cancer. A cancerous esophagus may be surgically removed and replaced with a new esophagus formed from a section of the intestine of a challenged person. For such people life may never be the same again, as tinsel cannot replace gold. This is one of the reasons parasites should never be allowed to gain foothold or assume control in any organ of the body.

     

    The Mouth

    If you have the courage to invite your neighbour to examine your tongue, and you his or hers, you may be let into a shocking find. The tongue may be grayish, lightly or heavily, at best with tinges of gray on a pinkish red carpet underlay. The pinkish red is the normal colour of the tongue. The gray is CANDIDA, a member of the fungi or yeast family which kills cells and tissues and organs, even if instalmentally. Looked at under a microscope, the Candida is like a mushroom. The white we observe is like the head of the mushroom. The Candida has a stem which sticks its roots into the tongues, from where it derives its sustenance and into which it emits its waste products or toxins. Some people tongues are unsightly to look at. When they open it, a slimy substance connects the tongues with the roof of the mouth. I often wonder if people who kiss just about any person have eyes and brains, and are seeing and thinking!.

    A few years ago, some scientists came up with the report of a mapping of the varieties of microbes and other parasites which live regularly in the mouth. The website www.scialert.net informs us of a study of micro-organisms or germs and parasites often found in the mouths of Malaysians. It says:

    “Major organisms identified include streptococcus pneumonia, staphylococcus aureus, streptococcus mitis, and Neisseria Subfla in the gingival crevice, streptococcus Oralis, Rothia Mucilaglnosa and Kingella Oralis on the teeth surface, Streptococcus Infantis, Streptococcus pseudo pneumoniae, Aeruginosa in the gingival crevice, Streptococcus sanguis on the teeth surface and Lautropia sp on the tongue surface. The presence of pathogenic organisms may have profound implications on the health of individuals habouring them. Knowledge of the type of bacteria that inhabits the oral cavity is important in predicting and preventing not only dental disease but, also, the associated systemic complications caused by them”.

    The website says there are about 700 species of microbes in the biofilm of the mouth which enjoy the habitat and are nourished by it. Dental plaque supports their existence and population growth and their excretions help them to bind to their various habitations. In the last two years, it says, evidence has grown to link periodontal (mouth) diseases with possible causes of systemic diseases such as “Cardiovascular disease, Osteoporoses, diabetes mellitus, and infections in other body sites”.

    What is being saids, in effect, is that there are friendly and unfriendly bacteria, among other pathogens, in the mouth. Immune deficiencies can make even the friendly bacteria wreak havocs.

    These havocs may include “bacterial endocarditis, aspiration pneumonia, ostcomyelitis in children, pre-term low birth weight, coronary heart disease and cerebral infarction (stroke)”.

    On the note the bacterial activities in the mouth may cause a stroke (in the brain!) I would like to close this section of the series today. We are seeing how, literally speaking, our bodies are like housing estates for parasites.

    The series continues.

  • Love and the brain (Part 2)

    Back in my secondary school days, I had a crush on my English language teacher. Hmm..he was tall, with sleek, dark hair..pink lips…his skin had a ruddy tone. As the class captain I had free access to him, I was very fond of him and eventually we ended up as …( This story continues in Love and the Brain Part 3 visit the website; http:// mindscopenaija.com/last-episode/ )

    Today I need to share with you the concluding part of my radio interview; Mindscope;Love and the Brain part 2, aired live at Eko89.7fm studio with my guest Dr Abayomi Aiyesimoju, a world-class consultant and trainer in brain management.

    Segilola; We are still discussing love and the brain..please tell us more about the connection.

    Dr Abayomi Aiyesimoju; According to Maslow’s theory, at the base of the pyramid are the physiological needs(air, food, drink, shelter…) and after comes safety, interestingly there is a brain correlate to that. When you talk about the physiological needs(first level) and need for safety(second level) the part of the brain concerned is the most primitive part of the brain, that is the instinctive survival part of the brain( also present in reptiles) that is where those two levels belong but when it comes to the third level which has to do with love, the part concerned is the center of the brain, the emotional center of the brain, that is where that aspect that has to do with love is anchored. It’s a higher level and a very powerful level that gives meaning to everything else you do with your brain. Another thing I would like to say in connection with love and the brain is that you’ll observe certain things when you study the brains of people who are in love. There is a part of the brain that produces dopamine, a neurotransmitter( passes information from one nerve cell to the other) that helps you become motivated. It has a driving effect on you, makes you crave something or someone. In this case those in love crave each other. If one is denied of the other, the effect is similar to what happens in drug addicts. The same part of the brain that lights up in people who are passionately in love is the same part that lights up when it comes to addiction. You can see how powerful it can be..that’s why they can’t leave each other alone.

    Segilola: Oh! I see…so what happens if one rejects the other?

    Dr Aiyesimoju; That is why rejection could be a very painful process. What has been found in the brains of those who are rejected is that most of the time they still continue to crave for the one who has rejected them; the part of the brain I talked about earlier is still lit up,.. longing..craving for this person but cannot be satisfied, as a consequence of that, they can begin to go into some degree of depression or they could become desperate that they would do anything to try and reverse the situation

    Segilola; This is serious…can you enlighten us further?

    Dr Aiyesimoju; This brings us to something else that happens in the brains of those who are passionately in love. This is interesting, the part of the brain with which you do your clear thinking, your logical thinking for you to face reality tend to be ‘quiet’. That’s why people in that situation cannot be as reasonable and think in a factual way or face reality as would normally be the case. Even the brain has been affected in such a way that it’s hardly possible for them to see clearly. In addition when you find those who have been in love for a long time there is another part of their brains that is very active, that’s the part that ensures that they are able to overlook the faults in their partners..we call it a state of positive illusion.

    Kindly visit www.mindscopenaija.com click episodes and listen to the full episodes (Part 1 & 2) of love and the brain. Remember love is a right attitude that wins always.

  • Walnut good for fertility, brain, heart, others

    Walnut good for fertility, brain, heart, others

    The ‘African walnut’ known botanically as Tetracarpidium conophorum, has been described as a good remedy for infertility, dreadful cholesterol, poor brain or mental function and cardiovascular diseases, among others.

    According to a natural medicine practitioner, Dr Gilbert Ezengige, people do not take advantage of the nut known as Ukpa in Igbo, Asala (Yoruba), Okhue or Okwe among the Edo people.

    Walnut, he said, has a spermatogenic property, which makes it promote formation of sperm cells in the testicles. “Walnut improves the quality and count of sperm produced. We often prescribe it as a form of treatment for infertility. Its leaf extract has been found to boost female fertility. The African walnut can also help to reduce bad cholesterol level in the blood,” he said.

    The naturopath said African walnut is different from other walnuts from other parts of the world but all walnuts can boost cognitive functions when taken regularly. This, he said, was due to the presence of high level of omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin B6. This helps to support brain functions, he said.

    He said walnuts are eaten across the world but people really do not know their huge benefits.

    “For example, walnut helps to prevent cardiovascular diseases. Heart attack and coronary heart diseases are greatly minimised with moderate consumption of walnut. The harm to the heart resulting from excessive consumption of fatty foods is preventable. People should eat walnuts regularly. It also possesses a heart friendly antioxidant,” he said.

    Ezengige, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), HealthBubbles Online, advised hypertensive patients to eat as much walnut as they can when it is in season to lower their blood pressure.

    Moreover, those suffering from insomnia or sleep disorder can get good sleep as walnut has been found to enhance good sleep.

    This, he said, was due to the high content of pyridoxine and melatonin found in the nut, which makes it support quality sleep. “This nut also relaxes and nourishes the brain. The nut itself from the law of signature resembles the structure of the human brain. People suffering from lack of sleep and other sleep disorders could benefit from regular intake of walnut,” he said.

    He said African walnut is a seasonal plant, adding: “People refer to it as the king of nuts due to the immense nutritional and health benefits derivable from it”.

    Walnut, he said, contains an array of vital essential minerals, vitamins and phyto-nutrients as well as non-nutritive phytochemicals known to impact positively on health.

    He said the plant’s nutrients have the capacity to renew, rebuild, restore and reactivate the human body and walnut is no exemption as it possesses antimicrobial properties and remedies for most stomach and intestinal health conditions.

    Some vitamins present in African walnut include thiamine (Vitamin B1), which is very useful in addressing tachycardia (fast heart beat) and cardiomegaly (heart enlargement).

    “It also has riboflavin (Vitamin B2), which is good for the reproductive health and vision because it alleviates eye fatigue. Walnut also has niacin, niacinamide, nicotinic acid or nicotinamide ( all Vitamin B3), which is an essential ingredient for sex hormone production and healthy nervous system.

    “The fruit has pantothenic acid (Vitamin B5), which plays major roles in fighting infection. It assists in production of antibodies; lowers cholesterol and triglycerides levels in the blood,” he said.

    What about pyridoxine (Vitamin B6), which the African walnut has? It helps in the treatment of premenstrual edema, Parkinson’s disease, nausea and edema.

    Others are toxemia in pregnancy, brain disorders and male sexual malfunctions. “Walnut also has folic acid (Vitamin B9). It is one of the most important nutrients for an expectant mother and the foetus. Folic acid helps to prevent spontaneous abortion and difficult labour as well as high infant death rate.

    The nut contains cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12) needed for the production and regeneration of red blood cells as well as ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), which is used to treat infections, allergies, respiratory disorders and urinary tract problems.

    Also on the list is vitamin E (Tocopherol). This is one of the vitamins that possess anti-thrombin property.  It helps to preserve the cardiovascular system as well as increases the oxygen available to the heart and other muscles.

    Ezengige said: “African walnut has many minerals, especially Manganese, selenium and L-arginine.

    Manganese, he said, nourishes the brain and nerves, and assists to correct pancreas disturbances while selenium prevents hardening of arteries. This, he added, also promotes healthy tissue elasticity and helps in regeneration of liver after damage, especially by cirrhosis. It also raises sperm count and increases fertility in men as well as alleviating hot flushes and menopausal distress.

    The natural medicine practitioner said L-arginine is also needed for the normal functioning of pituitary gland, production of insulin, glucagon and heamoglobin. It also enhances the immune system function.

    He said walnut has melatonin, which is the hormone known to enhance sleep and immunity. It helps to preserve the body’s internal clock mechanism, and as such protects cells of the body by arresting proliferation of cancer cells.

    Other nutrients present are ellagic acid, which acts like a powerful antioxidant and oleic acid. This reduces blood pressure and it helps to burn fat. It is useful in the treatment and management of type 2 diabetes, Ezengige said.

  • BRAIN TO PERFORM AT DUBAI SUMMER REUNION

    ORGANISERS of this year’s Dubai Summer Reunion Party has announced Brain as one of the guest artistes that will be gracing the occasion billed to hold in Dubai between August 7 and 15, 2016. The Magikal Entertainment hiphop act who recently dropped his debut EP, “Hurricane Season”, is scheduled to perform alongside artistes such as Dammy Krane, Jyhbo, Q-Dot, Opa6ix, Chinadex and others.

    The annual event which is being packaged by Billy Entertainment UK provides a big platform for showbiz and entertainment practitioners across the globe to converge in Dubai to have fun, party and network during the Summer time.

    The seven-day holiday package include activities such as pool party, clubbing, tourist attractions, shopping at the Dubai Mall, Dhow cruise dinner, Desert Safari, Aqua Parks and many more. The package also includes an exclusive All White Yacht Party for only 100 people on Thursday, August 11.

    Brain is currently in the studio working on new singles and collaborations.

  • What minerals do for the brain

    Many decades ago, a prominent Nigerian politician was interviewed on live television.  On being asked what minerals we had in Nigeria, he immediately rolled out in his beautiful northern accent: “pepsi cola, danta cola, coca cola…”

    The word “minerals” has several meanings depending on whether one is dealing with catering and hospitality, economics, or nutritional biology.

    The interviewed politician’s minerals are perhaps the best known.  Soft drinks, sodas, or “minerals” are those typically sugary, tasty, colorful drinks that we all take for leisure, pleasure, or as part of meals.  Many of them do not have nutritional value beyond supplying fluid (water) and energy, and if chilled, cooling us down.

    The economic minerals are those natural resources found in the ground which we need education, skills, intelligence, and virtue to put them into use for economic growth and national development.  These are the politician’s real minerals of interest.  Africa is often referred to as rich in these minerals.

    In nutritional biology, the word “minerals” refers to a number of inorganic substances such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, zinc, and chloride that the body needs to function well.  Some of them are called major minerals if they are needed in substantial quantities and others are called trace minerals if they are needed in minute quantities.  Both major and trace minerals are vital for life.

    Unlike the proteins, carbohydrates, and fats that we eat at each meal and which we can see and touch, minerals and vitamins present in our meals are too small for our sight or touch.  Thus they are micronutrients. These micronutrients should be present in our meals routinely.

    An adult man, on the average, weighs about 180 pounds.  Most of the 180 pounds is made up of water, protein, and fat but about five pounds of his body weight is due to minerals.

    The major minerals that we need for our well-being are: calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, and chloride.  There are usually more than 5 grams of a major mineral in the body.  The trace minerals that we require for our well-being are: iron, iodine, and fluoride.They are usually less than 5 grams ofa trace mineral in the body.  Calcium and phosphorus (found in bones) alone make up three quarters of the total mineral contents of the body.  Minerals are needed for good blood and body maintenance.   As far as the brain is concerned, it needs good blood to function optimally.

    The brain is full of nerves and calcium is important for nerve function.  For example, transmission of message from nerve to nerve involves calcium.  Magnesium is a component of enzymes.  If it is in deficient or excess supply, a person suffers from neurological disturbances.  Sodium is absolutely necessary for nerve function and body water balance.  Excess sodium can lead to high blood pressure in genetically predisposed individuals.  Severe hypertension causes end organ damage such as brain damage.  Similarly, potassium is needed for nerve function and body water balance.  Excess potassium leads to cardiac arrest, blood flow to the brain stops, and a person becomes brain dead in no time.  Chloride plays a role in acid-base balance of body fluids and excess of it can cause high blood pressure in predisposed individuals.  Iron is a component of the hemoglobin molecule which transports oxygen around the body, including the brain.  Iron is also a component of enzymes that support life functions.  It is needed for proper development of the brain and neurotransmitter synthesis.  Deficiency of iron leads to iron deficiency anemia, general weakness, and impaired body defenses (immunity). Deficiency of iron during pregnancy can cause permanent cognitive deficits manifested in mental performance and behavior in a child. Excess iron is toxic.  Acute or sudden increase in iron can cause shock and death.  Chronic or steady increase in iron can cause organ damage such as cardiac failure.  Zinc is also important for brain development. Zinc deficiency can cause brain malformations in a fetus anddeficits in learning, memory and attention in children.

    Foods that are rich in minerals include milk, cheese, eggs, dark green and leafy vegetables, meat, poultry, and whole grain.  Calcium is found in milk, cheese, dark green vegetable, and legumes.  Phosphorus is found in milk, cheese, meat, poultry, and whole grains.  Magnesium is found in whole grains and green leafy vegetables.  Sodium and chloride are found in salt and salt containing foods.  Potassium is found in meats, milk, fruits and vegetables, and whole grain.   Iron is found in meats, eggs, legumes, whole grain, and green leafy vegetables.  We do not need to worry about how much minerals we consume but we do need to try to eat regularly and to eat balanced meals.  Thus daily nutrition containing foods such as some green and leafy vegetables, whole grain (bread, breakfast cereals, etc.), corn, egusi, groundnuts,and some milk and meat can supply most of these minerals.

    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 08160944635

  • What vitamins do for the brain

    On asking an accomplished entrepreneur what were his main challenges, he mentioned money, a few bad people, and people who did not believe in what he was doing.  We can each expect challenges, even on a daily basis sometimes, and therefore mental fitness is very important for us to live our best lives, to accomplish good things, and to reach fulfilment.  Brain well-being can be seen in such functions as the ability to solve problems and the ability to control emotions and direct passions well.

    Vitamins that we obtain from our nutrition or from our nutritional supplements are important for the well-being of the brain. When the brain is not functioning well, one’s personality may falter, emotions may become odd, and passions may be displaced or misplaced.

    If you sometimes feel your memory is failing, you might be suffering from lack of nutrition or lack of sleep.  Deficiencies in many nutrients – especially essential vitamins, minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids – have been linked to brain problems.  A degeneration of the brain structure, its functioning, and its defenses may progress into diseases such as depression, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease.

    Depression is a disorder associated with major symptoms such as increased sadness and anxiety, loss of appetite, low mood, and a loss of interest in pleasures.  Brain malfunction predisposes a person to difficultyin making decisions or difficulty in concentrating.

    There are certain vitamins that help us in thinking, focusing, remembering, learning, or in general mental functioning.The B vitamins are good for mental and emotional well-being, preserving the memory, counteracting depression, alleviating stress, and they are thought to promote long life.  Why are they so helpful?  One reason is that vitamin B6, vitamin B12, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and folate are involved in the production of neurotransmitters.  Vitamin B-12 is also involved in maintaining the myelin or fatty covering of the nerve cells (neurons).

    Some of the neurotransmitters are serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline, and gamma-aminobutyric acid and deficiency in them is often associated with depression.  Serotonin (also called 5-hydroxy tryptamine (5HT)) deficiency is associated with anxiety, insomnia, low self-esteem, negative thoughts, obsessive-compulsive disorder, seasonal affective disorder, etc.

    Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) is involved in the formation of neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin and the hormone melatonin which is involved in the sleep-wake cycle. Vitamin B6 deficiency may occur in alcoholics, people with kidney failure, or in women taking oral contraceptives.

    Vitamin B12 (cynocobalamin)is important for red blood cell formation. It is stored in the liver and its deficiency is rare. Deficiency is usually due to lack of an enzyme called intrinsic factor which is needed for vitamin B12 absorption from digested food.  Intrinsic factor decreases with age.  Dementia can be caused by vitamin B12 deficiency. Supplementation with this vitamin enhances cerebral and cognitive functions in the elderly.

    Vitamin B9 (folate) found in foods is synthesized as folic acid in supplements.

    Depression is common in people with low blood folate levels and with folate deficiency. On the contrary, depressed people who fail to eat well can end up with folate deficiency.Folic acidis needed for DNA synthesis and is important for rapidly growing tissues, especially during pregnancy, in infancy, and at adolescence. It is involved in the production of red blood cells. Vitamin B9 is crucial for proper brain function and plays an important role in mental and emotional health. Deficiency in folate leads to irritability, forgetfulness, and mental sluggishness. Of all vitamin deficiencies, insufficient vitamin B9 tends to be the most frequently seen. Folate deficiency lowers brain neurotransmitter serotonin).

    Vitamin B1 (thiamine)is needed by the brain in conversion of glucose into energy. Alcoholism can lead to thiamine deficiencies and brain dysfunction.Vitamin B3 (niacin) if deficient(though this is rare) produces agitation and anxiety and retards mental activity.Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) deficiency, though rare, may be associated with fatigue and depression.B complex supplements are therefor useful when we pass through periods of intense or prolonged mental exercises.  They are sometimes called the “happy vitamins” or ‘anti-stress vitamins”.

    Vitamin Cdeficiencies can produce depression symptoms.  Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps to remove free radicals and toxins including heavy metal radicals. Vitamin C is required for the production of neurotransmitters and it is involved in the formation of the elastic tissue collagen that gives the arteries flexibility for improved blood flow.Some drugs that we take, such as aspirin, tetracycline, and birth control pills, can deplete the body’s supply of vitamin C.Vitamin D deficiency causes depression and vitamin D supplements can help some patients with depression.Vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps remove toxic radicals and protect brain tissues from damage. It is important for brain development in children.  Vitamin E supplementation may slow the progress of Alzheimer’s disease.

    Apart from the mentioned vitamins the human body needs all the vitamins to function well therefore a balanced diet and vitamin supplements as needed are very important for our general well-being.

     

    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 08160944635

  • Brain nutrition and mental fitness

    Brain nutrition and mental fitness

    Yesterday, I had an unusual breakfast.  I decided to have a balanced meal instead of a usual something.  Later in the day as I went through my emails, I got a rejection letter. The email actually came in three days earlier but I did not notice it amongst the many that I had opened.  Providentially, I must have seen it and opened it when I was mentally fit to open it.

    Mental fitness can make a big difference to how we respond to the ups and downs of life and how positive and negative experiences affect us.  Mental fitness enables us to reach mental heights. It makes a difference between mediocrity and greatness.  It is not so much about how much education we have received.  A stark illiterate could be more mentally fit than a university professor.  However, mental fitness does help us in acquiring knowledge and qualifications.

    Mental fitness is important for personal well-being, societal health, and nation building.   The progress of a nation generally depends on the contributions of individual citizens, the commoners and the ruling class. These contributions emanate from mental fitness when we are opportune to contribute in whatever sphere of influence.

    Good nutrition is an essential contributor to mental fitness just as it is to bodily fitness. Therefore we revise here what good nutrition means for the common man.

    Breakfast, lunch, and dinner is now global standard of eating pattern and has stood the test of time.   One could have a habit of eating once a day or twice a day.  This is seen amongst animals, some of which eat once every few days.  It is hard work catching a prey and they simply eat to satiety when they manage to kill and leave the rest to vultures.  Let us hope no human is forced to eat once every few days or only whenever kindness comes to a beggar.  There are many reasons one could opt to eat once a day or twice a day.

    For some time in California, USA, I was eating a big breakfast and doing long experiments in the lab throughout the day and eating a big dinner in the evening. I got into the habit of skipping lunch but I might have been eating more than somebody eating three meals a day because I was not getting slim.  I confess, I put on a few extra pounds.

    In many parts of the developed world, people eat once a day out of poverty.  In Lagos, this is styled 001, 010, or 100 depending on what part of the day is lucky.The world standard for good nutrition is breakfast, lunch, and dinner and we should try to have this standard.Missing meals leads to low blood sugar, low energy for the brain and muscles, and low mood, plus irritability and fatigue.  This way of life can hardly produce rocket scientists, wonder working engineers, radical technologists, magical entrepreneurs, or the brood of people that tows a nationunto greatness nor can  it achieve precision planning, brilliant logistics, astute  management, technical endurance, etc., – some of the stuff that makes great nations.

    Fresh produce tend to be more nutritious and safer than synthetic products, assuming everything were equally hygienic.An average adult should eat the following types of foods regularly.

    FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.The World Health Organization recommends that individuals consume a minimum of 400g of fruit and vegetables per day. This amounts to about 5 portions of fruits and vegetables, each portion about 80g, and not counting starchy tubers such as yams and cassava.  Thus theBritish authorities have been encouraging at least “five a day”.  The British Dietary Association says: “Try to eat one or two portions with each meal and make fruit or vegetables the first choice for a snack and it will be easy to eat at least five a day” (https://www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts/FruitVeg.pdf).  Because  a variety of fruits and vegetables is important for us to get different vitamins and minerals, we are also advised to “eat a rainbow”.  Therefore if you are including something green, something white, something red, something yellow, something orange, something  purple, etc., amongst your fruits and vegetables, you are most likely getting a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, and protective antioxidants and phytonutrients.

    Tropical foods, traditionally, are well cooked because of the risk of parasites in lightly cooked foods-  including those that have a variety of vegetables as ingredients.  Egusi soup, for example, has its own rainbow of vegetables:  tomatoes, onions, peppers, greens, and egusi.  Well-cooked food retains a lot of minerals but some vitamins are lost.  Therefore, fresh fruits need to be added to such diets.   The streets of Lagos and perhaps those of many cities in the tropics have many fruit vendors and city dwellers should take advantage to eat a variety of clean fruits regularly.

    The Telegraph in Britain, in 2014, reported a 12-year study by researchers at the University College London that found that “eating large quantities of fruit and vegetables significantly lowered the risk of premature death. People who ate at least seven portions of fruit and vegetables each day were 42 per cent less likely to die from any cause over the course of the study.” Thus ten portions of fruit and vegetables daily were recommended (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/10735633/Healthy-diet-means-10-portions-of-fruit-and-vegetables-per-day-not-five.html).  The average budget can do with five portions for good enough health.  It is not necessary to think too much about the numbers, five, ten, etc. We need to think about the idea – variety with constancy. To be continued.

     

    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 08160944635

  • Brain composition and function and why we need good brain nutrition

    Brain composition and function and why we need good brain nutrition

    More than ever before in history, the human brain needs to function well and has many more functions to do than before.  On the other hand, what we eat, drink, breathe, or consume in various ways in the twenty first century is very different from what our ancestors consumed. With an average person living in an industrialized country consuming an estimated 4 kilograms of food additives per year (http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/help-information/mental-health-a-z/d/diet/), how does feeding affect brain function?  There are clearly recognized brain degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and brain cancer.  There are also functional disorders such as schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, confusion, loss of memory, mania, the violent brain, the sluggard brain, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, sexuality disorders, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorders, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, etc.  Ultimately, brain disorders define personalities or result in personality changes and social disorders. How much of brain degeneration or dysfunction is due to the kind of food consumed?  How can we eat to keep the brain functioning well?  Surely, the internal physical and chemical conditions within the brain matter. The structure and functions of the brain are well summed up by Daniel Chiras in Human Biology, Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

    The brain controls the internal biological rhythms of each person.  The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus is thought to be the master clock, the automatic timer of many body functions. The pineal gland in the brain secretes a hormone that controls the SCN. Modern life and the environmental factors that it brings to us can affect our natural brain regulatory functions. Our bodies, including the brain, are ever tending towards a balance, a process called homeostasis. The more well-fed and fit we are, the better our balancing.

    Life is full of cycles.  Some are general, e.g. the sleep-wake cycle; some are sex-related, e.g. the menstrual cycle in women.  Life itself is a cycle from the dependent infancy, the transformed adolescence, the mature adulthood, to the waning geriatric.  The brain naturally plays a great part in all these changes.

    The brain maintains ordinary vital functions such as breathing and the functioning of the heart.  The breathing  center in the medulla of the brain is the principal controller of breathing.There are many centers in the brain that control various aspects of life. The nerve fibers in the brain operate through conduction of electrical and chemical signals.

    The largest mass of the brain, the cerebrum, forms 80% of the brain.  The cerebral hemispheres are involved with signal integration, sensory reception, and motor action. The cerebrum controls voluntary movements in the body, receives sensory information from the body, forms associations of  signals, produces complex intellectual activities such as planning and ideation, and stores memories of past sensations. Specific cortical areas function in hearing, vision, taste, and smell.  The cerebrum principally deals with functions that are under our consciousness.

    The other parts of the brain: the cerebellum, hypothalamus, and brain stem regulate functions that are not primarily under consciousness, such as the heartbeat, breathing, and various hormonal, neuronal, and organic homeostatic functions. The cerebellum controls the synergy of the body’s muscles and helps to maintain posture.  When damaged, the victim can suffer from such conditions as spasticity, or jerkiness. The hypothalamus controls many autonomic functions such as appetite, body temperature, water balance, blood pressure, and sexual activity.  It controls the pituitary gland which produces many hormones that regulate various body functions. Working with the hypothalamus, is the limbic system which is the site of instinctive behavior and emotion.  Instincts preserve life: a woman’s protective urge over her children, a man’s territorial assertion, and the fight-or-flight response to danger are all fundamental. Emotions such as fear, anger, hatred, love, pleasure, anxiety, happiness, etc., are regular responses in life.  The brain stem with its reticular activating system (RAS) controls many body functions in conjunction with the hypothalamus and also regulates swallowing, coughing, vomiting and digestive functions.  The brain stem connects the brain to the spinal cord. The RAS projects into the cortex and controls information to the cortex.

    The brain is cushioned by meninges containing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within the protective skull. Infections and toxins can affect the meninges and CSF, causing meningitis.

    The brain continually functions in learning and short-term and long-term memory, in the consolidation of short term memory into long term memory, and in the recall or remembering of information.   The brain is also important for processing pain and avoidance of danger.  The brain’s electrical activity is measured by the electroencephalogram which depicts various waves and these are seen to vary during sleep and wakefulness.

    Naturally, the brain is complex and important and every human being is dependent on its well-being and good functioning for living his or her best life.  Unnatural realities of modern life also require our brains to be fit.  There is a lot of evil in the world and we are constantly bombarded by it and our brains need to remain normal through good nutrition and mental fitness in thinking and prayer.  You never know when you would meet the effects of climate change and artificial atmospheric radiation or the “fallen man”: a cheating cashier,  a devil-like stalker,  a manic predator, a poisoning rival, a wicked saboteur,  a stupid vandal,  a  malicious oppressor, a hate-filled fanatic, an evil eye, a bad mouth, destructive envy, careless greed, a corrupt official, a disloyal member, a scheming banker, an atrocious fraudster,  a freakish  religionist, a dangerous zombie, an unchecked ideologist, a pathologic liar, a perfect player, a reckless capitalist, a heartless opportunist, etc.  No, I am not compiling an encyclopedia of evil.  In fact, each of us may wear one or more of these caps every now and then or even continually.  The beast in the world is real and we may all play predator and we may all play prey.  Many people end up with some form of mental illness actively or passively.  Presently, nearly 1 in 5 Americanssuffers from mental illness each year (http://www.newsweek.com/nearly-1-5-americans-suffer-mental-illness-each-year-230608).  What about the developing world lacking good statistics.  The World Health Organization (WHO) reported in 2001 that about 450 million people worldwide suffer from some form of mental disorder or brain condition, and that one in four people meet criteria at some point in their life (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevalence_of_mental_disorders). The best prophylaxis the world needs is for each of us totryto be our best selves and to be mentally fit for restraint or response rather than to allow evil to reign inside or outside of us.  We will examine nutrition for the brain as a factor of mental fitness.

    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 08160944635