Daughter of Bariga Local Council Development Area (LCDA) ex-councillor, late Solomon Adewale Awokoya, yesterday said her father did not wait to eat the fruit of his labour.
Ayomide Awokoya spoke at the wake held at 4 Akinsola Street, Bariga.
The late Awokoya, represented Ward ‘C’ in the Bariga LCDA Legislative House, died on Saturday, a day to his 54th birthday.
He was survived by his mother, wife, Ibukun, 50, and two children Ayomide, 22 and Olajide, 20.
The deceased bought some empowerment materials, including a N125,000 industrial machine, to be distributed to the people in his ward on Sunday as part of activities marking his birthday.
Ayomide, a student of Tai Solarin University of Education, Ogun State, described her dad as very lovely, jovial and humble.
“I promise to make you proud even in death,” she said.
Many people, including All Progressives Congress (APC) members, neighbours and well-wishers gathered to bid the late Awokoya farewell.
Temitope Awokoya described his late brother’s death as shocking.
“He was a mentor and a good ambassador of our family,” he said.
Bariga LCDA Chairman Kolade Alabi said the council would make every April 8 a memorable day in Bariga.
According to him, the Health Centre in Oloja will be renamed after the deceased.
“I want to assure the children that their education will not stop. The council will not abandon them. We will set up a foundation in your dad’s name. The proposed poverty alleviation programme of Wale Awokoya will not be cancelled,” he said.
He urged those present to emulate the late Awokoya, who he said, lived a worthy life.
The party Chairman, Otunba Dengel Anifowoshe, said he spoke with the deceased few hours before his death and promised to attend his poverty alleviation programme.
Among those in attendance include a member of House of Representatives, Wole Diya, Lagos State House of Assembly member Rotimi Olowo, Bariga LCDA Vice-Chairman Adeola Kuponiyi, Jide Awokoya, Elder Ebenezer Adeleke, Elder Iyo Oyasodun, all councillors, supervisors and Special Advisers and Ward Chairmen.
The late Awokoya’s funeral rites continue today with a church service at Ebenezer African Church, Popoola Street, Bariga. His body will be interred at Pakuro, Mowe, Ogun State.
Mart Life Detox Clinic/Mart Life Wellness and Anti-ageing day Spa Managing Director, Mrs Idowu Ashiru, in this chat, tells OYEYEMI GBENGA-MUSTAPHA that a diet plan and others based on the principles of VIVAMAYR can guarantee good health.
You are what you eat is the bedrock of health. And this starts from training oneself in eating best parctice.
According to Mart Life Detox Clinic/Mart Life Wellness and Anti-ageing day Spa Managing Director, Mrs Idowu Ashiru, the principle of staying healthy includes learning to chew properly, a habit, which can be acquired with proper training.
She said Mart Life Detox Clinic/Mart Life Wellness and Anti-ageing day Spa abides by the principles of Viva Mayr, which stands for a lifestyle predicated on balanced diet, inner balance and a mindful way of living.
Mrs Ashiru, a food nutritionist, was trained by the head chef in Viva Mayr, Mrs. Emanuela Fisher, on the principles of healthy Mayr nutrition and Mayr cuisine.
She said Modern Mayr Medicine is based on the original Mayr cure, the famous detoxification programme developed by Dr. Franz Xaver Mayr almost 100 years ago in Austria.
“This Mart-Life Detox Clinic approach combines traditional and modern naturopathic healing methods, applied together with state of the art diagnostic procedures. This ensures that our guests receive only the best diagnostics, monitoring and therapy. Detoxification is the core of every treatment program, and great value is placed on the relaxation, thorough cleansing of the digestive system, and the change of nutrition habits.
‘’For instance, we do colonic irrigation on guest as our intestines are not just responsible for absorbing nutrients, but also for eliminating waste products.
She explained why. “This daily interplay may result in undesirable accumulations of waste products in the intestine. At the start of Modern Mayr Therapy at Mart Life detox Clinic guests go through the cleansing and detoxification of the intestine’s excretory function. This is to strengthen and support the detoxification process in the intestine. The treatment consists of water being flushed into the large intestine by means of a rectal tube to dissolve accumulated waste products. To support this process, the entire intestinal tract is gently massaged to encourage excretion in a gentle, yet highly efficient manner. Colonic irrigation has proven to be highly effective with all sorts of therapeutic reactions such as headaches, migraines, nausea, muscular and joint pain. Furthermore, detoxification via the large intestine is stimulated, optimising the success of the modern Mayr Therapy.”
The result? “As Mart Life Detox Clinic/Mart Life Wellness and Anti-aging day Spa combines advanced modern international medicine with traditional healing methods, to build a strong immune system and increase energy levels. After treatment our guest looks and feel amazing so naturally and happier and more confident. At Mart-Life Detox Clinic we are dedicated to helping our guests in their quest for better health.”
Shedding light on how the outfit operates based on the therapeutic principles of modern Mayr Medicine, Mrs Ashiru said: “Rest and simplification of the entire body and the digestive track in particular are the basis for treatment. This is by reducing the number of meals we consume and their content, through the way we prepare our food (light diet) and where applicable, by means of strict fasting (tea fasting, broth fasting), we ease the burden placed on our digestive system. When our guests come in, we normally let them realise that it is equally important that they regard modern Mayr therapy as a period of rest and relaxation.
“We tell them to just unwind and enjoy the therapeutic applications. Try as much as possible to leave the stresses of their daily routine behind and reduce their consumption of information provided by TV, internet or telephone, as a matter of practice, mobile phones are not permitted in the dining room and treatment rooms). So, guests learn to switch off- literally and figuratively – and dedicate their energies to their health and well-being, while they are staying at Mart-Life.”
So, what are the things involved in treatment? Mrs Ashiru explained: “Cleansing the body by detoxifying is the first step after diagnosis. The intestinal tract is cleansed by means of bitter salts, Mart-Life base powder, Glauber’s salts or other saline waters that are consumed once a day or according to our orders. These salts gently cleanse the intestinal tract from the inside out, removing traces of undigested food and faeces. Enemas or colonic irrigation therapy may be used to cleanse the large intestine. As a second step, the body’s tissue is cleansed. Accumulated waste products are transported to the excretory organs via the lymphatic system and the blood and then removed naturally. This cleansing of the blood and the body other juices is what finally provides us with new strength and vitality. Plenty of fluid, dry brushing, hot and cold showers and exercise all support these detoxifying processes.”
Thereafter, “We assist the guest to train his/her body to heal itself. The principle of learning how to help the body heal itself also includes learning to chew, a skill that can be acquired with proper training. Taking plenty of time over meals is just as important in this context as giving your body time to digest afterwards. Learning to stop to eat as soon as you have had enough and sticking to light meals at night, prepared in a gentle, easily digestible manner are important. Sometimes, self-discipline also means being able to say ‘No thank you’- especially after the therapy.
“The manual abdominal treatment according to Dr Franz X. Mayr that is performed by a physician is also part of this learning process. It supports all digestive functions, helps detoxification and should be applied as often as possible – which is once a day during the guest’s stay with us. Being aware of the interactions and links between the individual components of our health help us to behave in a way that fosters our overall health and wellbeing. For this reason, we are keen to provide the guest with as much information as possible. We therefore urge guests to attend our lectures and seminars. Guests can book for cooking courses- to help them bring together all the lifestyle principles I have discussed to make their own Nigerian cooking healthy and non-toxic,” she added.
Walnuts are in season. Oftentimes, the simplest foods are best for your health, and this is certainly the case for nuts, in which Mother Nature has crafted a nearly perfect package of protein, healthy fats, fiber, plant sterols, antioxidants, and many vitamins and minerals.
Among nuts, the case may be made that walnuts are king, as research shows they may boost your health in a number of ways at very easy-to-achieve “doses.”
Eating just one ounce of walnuts a day (that’s about seven shelled walnuts) may be all it takes to take advantage of their beneficial properties.
Walnuts belong to the tree nut family, along with Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts. Each has its own unique nutritional profile.
One-quarter cup of walnuts, for instance, provides more than 100 percent of the daily recommended value of plant-based omega-3 fats, along with high amounts of copper, manganese, molybdenum, and biotin. Some of the most exciting research about walnuts includes:
Cancer-Fighting Properties
Walnuts may help reduce not only the risk of prostate cancer, but breast cancer as well. In one study, mice that ate the human equivalent of 2.4 ounces of whole walnuts for 18 weeks had significantly smaller and slower-growing prostate tumors compared to the control group that consumed the same amount of fat but from other sources.
Overall the whole walnut diet reduced prostate cancer growth by 30 to 40 percent. According to another study on mice, the human equivalent of just two handfuls of walnuts a day cut breast cancer risk in half, and slowed tumor growth by 50 percent as well.
Heart Health
Walnuts contain the amino acid l-arginine, which offers multiple vascular benefits to people with heart disease, or those who have increased risk for heart disease due to multiple cardiac risk factors.
If you struggle with herpes, you may want to avoid or limit walnuts, as high levels of arginine can deplete the amino acid lysine, which can trigger herpes recurrences.
Walnuts also contain the plant-based omega-3 fat alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which is anti-inflammatory and may prevent the formation of pathological blood clots. Research shows that people who eat a diet high in ALA are less likely to have a fatal heart attack and have a nearly 50 percent lower risk of sudden cardiac death.
Eating just four walnuts a day has been shown to significantly raise blood levels of heart-healthy ALA, and walnut consumption supports healthful cholesterol levels.
Separate research showed that eating just one ounce of walnuts a day may decrease cardiovascular risk, and among those at high cardiovascular risk, increased frequency of nut consumption significantly lowers the risk of death.
Rare and Powerful Antioxidants
Antioxidants are crucial to your health, as they are believed to help control how fast you age by combating free radicals, which are at the heart of age-related deterioration.
Walnuts contain several unique and powerful antioxidants that are available in only a few commonly eaten foods. This includes the quinone juglone, the tannin tellimagrandin, and the flavonol morin.
Walnuts contain antioxidants that are so powerful at free-radical scavenging that researchers called them “remarkable,” and research has shown that walnut polyphenols may help prevent chemically-induced liver damage.
In another study, researchers found that nuts, especially walnuts, have potent antioxidant powers. Walnut polyphenols had the best efficacy among the nuts tested and also the highest lipoprotein-bound antioxidant activity. The researchers concluded:
“Nuts are high in polyphenol antioxidants which by binding to lipoproteins would inhibit oxidative processes that lead to atherosclerosis in vivo. In human supplementation studies nuts have been shown to improve the lipid profile, increase endothelial function and reduce inflammation, all without causing weight gain.”
Weight Control
Adding healthful amounts of nuts such as walnuts to your diet can help you to maintain your ideal weight over time. In one review of 31 trials, those whose diets included extra nuts or nuts substituted for other foods lost about 1.4 extra pounds and half an inch from their waists. Eating walnuts is also associated with increased satiety after just three days.
Improved Reproductive Health in Men
One of the lesser-known benefits of walnuts is their impact on male fertility. Among men who consume a Western-style diet, adding 75 grammes (a bit over one-half cup) of walnuts daily significantly improved sperm quality, including vitality, motility, and morphology.
Brain Health
Walnuts contain a number of neuro-protective compounds, including vitamin E, folate, melatonin, omega-3 fats, and antioxidants. Research shows walnut consumption may support brain health, including increasing inferential reasoning in young adults.
One study also found that consuming high-antioxidant foods like walnuts “can decrease the enhanced vulnerability to oxidative stress that occurs in aging,” “increase health span,” and also “enhance cognitive and motor function in aging.”
Diabetes
The beneficial dietary fat in walnuts has been shown to improve metabolic parameters in people with type 2 diabetes. Overweight adults with type 2 diabetes who ate one-quarter cup of walnuts daily had significant reductions in fasting insulin levels compared to those who did not, and the benefit was achieved in the first three months.
Why You Should Eat the Walnut Skin
The outermost layer of a shelled walnut – the whitish, flakey (or sometimes waxy) part – has a bitter flavor, but resists the urge to remove it. It’s thought that up to 90 percent of the antioxidants in walnuts are found in the skin, making it one of the healthiest parts to consume. To increase the positive impacts on your health, look for nuts that are organic
IF eyes are windows of the soul, Yeiza Uman’s eyes are giant panes. In her eyes, misery braids together with need, like tresses of a brooding bride. One sunny afternoon in February, Uman let loose her pain: “I need food. Give me food. Any type of food. I will eat it,” she said.
Suddenly, she slid into sleep and stirred again, like a seafarer shipwrecked on a strange island. Uman grimaced, then begged for food.
Uman starves because she is a ‘newcomer.’ The 83-year-old personifies the grief of every ‘new arrival’ at the Dalori camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Maiduguri, Borno State. Her greatest worry is food.
It is extremely difficult for the frail old granny to feed. Her four children can barely feed themselves let alone the 83-year-old. Hence since she fled her home in Bama, in the wake of the dreaded terrorist sect, Boko Haram’s attack on her community, Uman’s life has been dire.
“To feed is very difficult. That is why I sell groundnuts to survive but people hardly buy,” she said.
Uman falls outside the loop of government and non-governmental organisation (NGO) dietary support for IDPs in Dalori camp. But while she starves, she rejoices because her six grandchildren are fed. As IDPs besiege Dalori camp from Borno’s strife-torn areas, the World Food Programme (WFP) in concert with the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) devised a system by which new arrivals are registered and accommodated into the camp’s feeding programme. But of the new arrivals, the welfare of malnourished infants, toddlers and other underage children are prioritised above all others because as minors, they are more vulnerable than others.
While minors are placed on WFP’s ‘Plumpy Sup’ nutritional diet among other provisions, the fate of frail, old women like Uman beggars urgent intervention. Uman won’t get a bag of rice from the WFP or SEMA. Not yet.
“But we will accommodate her in the next cycle of distribution of food and other provisions to adult and infant IDPs in the camp,” said a WFP staff.
Until then, the 83-year-old will continue to scrounge for food remnants from fellow IDPs currently accommodated in the camp’s food distribution programme.
But while Uman’s misery is limited to food and displacement from her ancestral home in Bama, deeper agonies afflict the fragile frames and psyche of her peers in the camp.
For instance, Mai Musti, 65, stirs to torment and a lingering foreboding of ‘greater evil’ every day. As he hobbled to a makeshift hut he shares with four others, Musti recollected the sad day in Bama, when he became crippled by searing bullets from the gun muzzle of Boko Haram’s terror squads.
His greatest grief, however, is the tragic murder of his son, Muhammadu, by the terrorist sect. “After they killed my son, they went away with two of my daughters: Yanzie 18 yrs and Ba’ana Fanakau, 22 yrs.”
In the wake of the incident, Musti fled with his two wives and four surviving children into the bush. “From there, the military came to rescue us and they brought us to this Dalori camp…I was a cloth seller in Bama but Boko Haram Haram burnt all my clothes to ashes. I don’t have anything to my name now. They also took two sewing machines, one motorcycle and two yards of clothes. They burnt the rest to ashes. If the government asks me to go back to Bama today, I will go. I am tired of this place,” he said.
See Video
Standing in the middle of Dalori, the sprawling refugee camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Maiduguri, Borno State, you could squint and be transported back in time to similar scenes in places like Anwa and Ojike Biafran refugee camps; the Musuhura refugee camp for Hutus fleeing Tutsi persecution in war-torn Rwanda; and several similar settlements in Albania, Haiti, Afghanistan, Kenya, Central African Republic (CAR) and Congo to mention a few.
These awful places share a common scent — a mélange of dust, sweat and fermented grief — which oftentimes, is accompanied by the unnerving sound that sandstorms make against flapping tents. The grisly testimonies of massacres, executions, rape, ethnic cleansing, escape and survival merge into a single narrative; slightly different versions of the same horror movie.
In the mix, Ahmadu Bubaji’s grief resonates with a tragic peal. The resonance is bloodcurdling and replete with anguish and rage several months old. Bubaji’s misery is unbounded: the 73-year-old lost his wife, Aminatu – thus suffering a brutal and sudden end to a marriage of 52 years. They lost Lima, their only daughter and two grandkids in a bloody attack carried out by Boko Haram in Bama. This occurred one month after he received news of his son’s death in a gun duel between the Nigerian Army and Boko Haram in Baga, Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State. Umar, his son, was gunned to death in a duel that left no fewer than 185 people dead. Precisely 2, 275 buildings were razed to the ground while 65 motorcycles and 40 cars were burnt in the attack.
While Bubaji struggled with his grief, Boko Haram insurgents, dislodged from their camps in Sambisa Game Reserve by the military, issued an ultimatum to residents of his community and Gwoza local government area of Borno State. “They gave us one week to vacate our homes,” said Bubaji. Consequently, he fled with his daughter-in-law, Khadijatu and Idris, his surviving grandchild.
“We had no choice but to comply,” he said. Bubaji lamented the death of his wife and only son. He regrets the onset of age. At 73, he is unable to fend for himself neither can he provide his daughter-in-law and grandson food, protection and the care they deserve.
[quote font_size=”18″ color=”#000000″ bgcolor=”#d6c67a” bcolor=”#dd3333″ arrow=”yes”]“I am too old to do anything for anyone. I can’t even take care of myself. Every day, we have to endure hunger, insecurity and various discomforts. It is a sad thing that has happened to us. It is a very sad thing but I know that Almighty Allah will always help us,” Bubaji.[/quote]
Far from the insecurities that plague Uman and Musti, Samara Lantana, 67, dwells pitifully at the edge of Banki, off the highway leading from Banki to Mokolo in Maroua, Cameroun’s Far North Region. In the heat of the mayhem that caused the widow to flee her abode in Baga with neighbours, Lantana was able to gather her few belongings in a sack and travel light. This was because she had no husband and no child. All her worldly possessions were wrapped up in one large sack: four clothes, two slippers, cooking utensils, a mug, two plastic cups and a small bucket. This was all she could salvage before her house in Baga was burned to the ground during the invasion of her community.
“I saved what I could, but there wasn’t much time. Men were killed and homes were burned to the ground. I don’t ever want to go back. I have never seen anything so scary in my 67 years on earth. Life used to be peaceful in Baga. It is not anymore. Things have become too scary out there,” said Lantana.
The 67-year-old resides in a transit site for people fleeing the violence in Northeast Nigeria. Rummaging through her battered sack – each silent, dusty article in the sack clattered with gripping import: it accentuated the hopelessness and desolation of the 67-year-old native of Gwoza squatting vulnerably in abject destitution, in a foreign land.
Lantana shrugged off questions about her ability to survive in a foreign land given her vulnerability and language handicap – she does not understand French, the native language of her refuge. Neither does she have money or food to eat. “God will not let me die before my time,” said the 67-year-old who depends on the goodwill of Good Samaritans to survive.
The situation for thousands of IDPs seeking refuge at home and abroad, from the violence in Northeast Nigeria is so clearly defined. Life as an IDP is akin to dwelling in a purgatory, a place of suffering and expiation, where thousands of elderly folk and minors wander amid huts strung together of relief-agency donated plastic sheeting, trash-can fires and hastily dug pit latrines. They seek to scavenge the one thing that could sustain them through their period of misery; hope.
Like travelers between life and death, they wander between cities and displaced persons’ settlements, their host communities oftentimes reluctantly tolerating them. Many fear that if they return to their homeland, they would die by Boko Haram’s bullets.
“Many of us do not even have a home to return to,” said Yaqub Suleiman, 76. Suleiman was a farmer and cow seller with stalls in Maiduguri and Jibiya, Katsina State. When the “state of emergency was declared,” he had to rush back home to protect his newlywed wife and son. “She had just put to bed,” he said.
“I am already broke. These days, I simply make sure my wife gets at least two decent meals daily because she is breastfeeding our child,” said Suleiman with the grimace of one dreading what hardship may come when his meagre fund and luck eventually runs out.
Ultimately, many displaced people must fend for themselves, or rely on poorly run, often dangerous habitats or camps that are not always under the protection of the Nigeria Army or international agencies. Many of them disappear into cities, doubling up with family or friends, struggling to survive on their own.
Some grim picture
Until recently, older people’s needs in disasters and conflicts were addressed only by broader adult health and humanitarian programmes. This has changed as several recent emergencies highlighted this population’s vulnerabilities. Of the 14, 800 deaths in France during the 2003 heat wave, 70 percent were of people over 75 years. Of the estimated 1, 330 people who died in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, most were older persons. Worldwide, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has estimated that older persons make up 8.5 percent of the overall refugee population, and in some cases comprise more than 30 percent of caseloads. In 2005, approximately 2.7 million people over the age of 60 were living as refugees or internally displaced persons. Globally, the proportion of older people is growing faster than any other age group. In 2000 one in 10, or about 600 million, people were 60 years or older. By 2025, this figure is expected to reach 1.2 billion people, and in 2050 around 1.9 billion.
In developing countries, where 80 percent of older people lived, the proportion of those over 60 years old in 2025 will increase from seven per cent to 12 per cent. Moreover, life expectancy at birth has increased globally from 48 years in 1955 to 65 in 1995 and is projected to reach 73 in 2025.
Impact of displacement on the old
While older people vary greatly in their health status and ability to adapt, the risks to this population in emergencies remain significant.
But as the situation worsens, some elderly IDPs like Falimata Muhammed have learnt to devise strategies to survive. Muhammed has spent three years wandering about as an IDP. “I am 50 years old. I used to live in Bama but I left Bama after Boko Haram attacked us in the village. I sold blended maize in Bama. I never tried to return but since I came here (Dalori), I have been selling pepper, tomato and kola nut to survive. I don’t make much. I only do this petty trade in order not to stay idle. Even today, if Bama becomes peaceful and we are allowed to return, I will pack up my things and go,” she said.
Worldwide, it is estimated that more than 80 per cent of the disabled population live in developing countries, where the prevalence of disability is approximately 20 per cent, according to recent research figures. That rate is expected to increase dramatically as the population ages. By 2050 in India, the incidence of disability is expected to jump by 120 per cent, in China by 70 per cent and in sub-Saharan Africa by 257 per cent.
Even normal physical changes associated with aging that may not greatly impair daily functioning, such as reduced mobility and failing eyesight can become significant handicaps during an emergency. A WHO report noted that “An older person with arthritic knees and diminished vision, living alone in a high-rise apartment with no family members or friends nearby, can become incapable of getting food or water or of fleeing danger, and may be overlooked by neighbours.”
If that older person is living in a rural area like Bama, Baga, Gwoza or other Nigerian war-ravaged areas, his ability to flee from danger may wholly depend on his health status and the willingness of his younger and more agile neighbours or relatives to assist him in flight. For some older people, the loss of eyeglasses and walking canes can increase their dependency on others for sustenance and security.
Older people’s susceptibility to dehydration and shock can endanger them during flight, evacuation or other circumstances which place them in unfamiliar living conditions.
They may also experience greater adjustment difficulties as they usually have stronger ties and attachments to their former communities. Dramatic changes in their lifestyles and status also affect their well-being; the wider effects of a disaster or crisis may see older people lose their roles or status within a community, and they may find it more difficult to adapt to new and unfamiliar situations, such as living in camps.
At the Dalori IDP camp for instance, family and religious heads who once led their communities have lost much of their traditional authority as conflict has disrupted and displaced their communities, and their roles have largely been taken over by camp managers, local government officials, international agencies and new leaders chosen from among the younger refugee population.
Psychology of the refugee in flight
In traditional parlance, migration is explained by “push” and “pull” factors. The ‘push’ factor, according to Dr. E.F. Kunz, a renowned European psychologist, provides the migrant with reasons to leave the old country, and the ‘pull’ factor of the country of choice provides him with a purpose and a wish to migrate. According to Kunz, there are two types of refugee: the anticipatory refugee, who flees his country before the deterioration of crisis or escalation of violence. He flees to escape death among other disadvantages of being caught in the line of fire. The other, he explains, is the acute refugee who waits till the crisis degenerates before he flees. Consequently, he flees across the border to a neighbouring country where he hopes to enjoy relative peace and security. However, as time passes and the hoped-for changes do not materialise, the realisation gradually dawns on the refugee that somewhere in the course of the exciting and dramatic events, he miscalculated and there will be no comfort in his country of asylum neither would he enjoy a victorious return to his homeland.
At this stage, the refugee still does not look forward, but already knows that the doors are closed behind him. His main preoccupation is, therefore, the redefinition of his relation towards his country of birth, family and friends. He is taking the first step that will change him from a temporary refugee into an exile. “He has arrived at the spiritual, spacial, temporal and emotional equidistant no man’s land of midway-to-nowhere and the longer he remains there, the longer he becomes subject to its demoralising effects, argues Kunz.
In the same vein, Abiodun Iluyomade, a social psychologist and founder of Refugee Haven International (RHI), an NGO, argued that subsequent administrative, economic, and psychological pressures may force the refugee to renounce his homeland for relative safety and stability in his country of refuge.
A never-ending trauma
For many of them, the tragic massacre and devastation that marred their lives will continue to afflict their psyches like happenstances that happened only yesterday and reoccur in real time, according to psychological experts.
Indeed, many elderly IDPs are caught in the past by unresolved questions of missing husbands, wives, children and grandchildren. For instance, Hafsatu Banda cannot put into words why her daughter is missing and her husband is lying six feet under the ground. She cried every time she tried.
Hunched by a tree trunk in her tiny space amid Dalori camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), she fanned houseflies from her face with gnarled hands. Her wiry hands hovered delicately, quivering like moth wings, while her eyes fixed on a steel bowl holding her spoon and a rusty talisman. The blaze of the sun against the utensil cast a desultory glow that made her eyes gleam, in an outrage of bitterness.
When she spoke, a faint glimmer stole into her face, like the feral nuance of a cat, maddened by separation from its young. Her lips pursed as if she would speak but instead, a great glob of spit hung there, glittering; before she let it fall on the simmering sand. The spit sizzled like shea butter spread over freshly roast yam. It articulated the widow’s pregnant silences thus giving tenor to the grief she’s been cradling since she lost her husband and only child.
“God will reward those who killed my child,” she said, adding that she has given up on finding her missing husband. She lost contact with him as she fled Bama in the wake of Boko Haram attack three years ago.
Through her narration, Banda shed the sad tears of a woman who is childless in her twilight and uncertain if she had been widowed.
Many elderly folk like Banda have been traumatised in some way or another, but very few of them understand and appreciate the need for psycho-social support, partly because they did not know such a thing existed and partly because, it would be embarrassing to admit they needed help, according to Arifa Mahmud, a psychologist.
Mahmud narrated her experience with an elderly survivor and IDP from Baga who often attempted suicide. The latter saw her husband and son killed; she was then raped and had a gun thrust so deeply into her vagina that she will never be able to bear children. Unlike many other traumatised elderly folk, she gave vent to her miseries as a way to find a brief release not available in her daily life.
There is a whole body of literature on psychiatric treatment for torture victims and there are various schools of thought on rape counselling. But shockingly little attention has been paid to the effects of conflict on the psycho-social status of the elderly or on how they process and cope with their experiences. One very recent study of trauma in non-conflict situations indicates that there may be gender differences in the response to trauma. The study found that, although the lifetime prevalence of traumatic events is slightly higher for men, women run twice the risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorders, suggesting that certain types of trauma may have a deeper and longer-term psychological impact on women.
Of course, it is not only women’s mental health that is important. Healthy psycho-social adjustment of elderly men and boys who have experienced violence and conflict is also important to their families and communities. There are numerous indications that combat exposure and post-traumatic stress in men lead to higher levels of substance abuse and domestic violence. There is also some evidence that post-traumatic symptoms can abate for years, but then return in later life, particularly in stressful situations.
Like life and death travellers…
There is no gainsaying that life is tough on the elderly in an IDP camp. Many of them are destitute. They have no money. They feed poorly and some of them are nursing several wounds and psychological trauma. There are a lot of cases of mortality in the forest for lack food and appropriate health care according to an aid worker.
For those IDPs who have access to camps, provisions are minimal. There are rarely organised methods for distributing food or shelter, and families must devise their own ways to earn money to get these necessities. On one of The Nation’s visits to cluster IDP communities across the state revealed the miseries of Borno’s displaced citizenry, the elderly in particular. In one incident around Damboa, elderly IDPs were observed jostling with the youth to for tiny shares from a meagre morsel of bread. The bread, which was barely enough to feed one person, was cut into three or more parts and shared amongst them. You couldn’t distinguish the young from the old in the mad scramble that ensued as a visitor doled out bread and groundnut to the IDPs from a big basin.
Many displaced people have fled to cities where they live with virtually no assistance or protection. The reasons they go to cities rather than camps vary. Some are hoping to avoid violence in camps. Others flee to cities hoping to find jobs, training, medical help and access to other services.
Finding shelter is a major concern for those displaced in urban areas. Urban refugees and displaced persons often end up homeless, trying to survive by living and working on the streets, or they crowd together in the homes of local residents.
Vision, hearing and other sensory deficits and cognitive/neurological deterioration may make it more difficult for some older people to understand emergency warnings and directions. They may be unable to evacuate or seek safety, or become disoriented and confused in unfamiliar surroundings, according to health experts.
Older people’s health may also be compromised by poor diet and nutrition. Malnutrition’s causes may include poverty, responsibility for supporting grandchildren, living alone or age-related disabilities such as immobility, blindness and/or loss of teeth. During emergencies, older people’s vulnerability to hunger is often heightened by inaccessible food distribution points, difficult-to-digest foods, inability to prepare food and share scarce food rations with family members.
However, from a mental health perspective, older people have been found to be more resilient than younger people, in part because they have a greater life experience to rely on. Yet there is a growing awareness of disasters’ and conflicts’ magnified effects on older persons, as losses, displacement, poor health and social exclusion may act as cumulative and interactive stressors that can lead to trauma-related syndromes, anxiety, depression and other illnesses, according to medical research.
Indeed, older people in crises experience dramatic changes in their lifestyle and community standing; this too may affect their well-being. The wider effects of a disaster or crisis may see the elderly lose their roles or status within a community and they may find it more difficult to adapt to new and unfamiliar situations, such as living in camps.
At the Muna camp, for instance, family and religious heads who once led their communities have lost much of their traditional authority as conflict has disrupted and displaced their communities, and their roles have largely been taken over by camp managers, local government officials, international agencies and new leaders chosen from among the younger refugee population.
The life of the displaced remains insidiously bleak, some would blame it on the adversities of war. There is no school for children on the camp. Social workers from WFP and SEMA engage in a daily struggle to provide them succour and order, even as their efforts are persistently plagued by inadequate facilities, shortage of food, water and medical supplies. Displaced children enjoy no tales by moonlight, drawing lessons or reading. Their mothers are too busy, ruing their fate and braving each new day with its fresh ordeals. Most fathers are withdrawn; they regret their fading authority and influence over their fates and families.
The older men, however, sit around in clusters of twos and threes discussing the political situation with varying levels of despair. The older women too gather the children and tell them stories about life in their youth, when everywhere was stable and peaceful. Some, however, simply love to sit alone and stare into the distance.
Saliu
Uman dreams of returning home. Likewise Lantana and Banda. But Muhammad Saliu, 65, is wary of returning home so soon. At the time of The Nation’s visit to Dalori, he was 11 days old in the camp. “I just arrived from Golomba. Boko Haram attacked our community and we fled into the bush. For six days, I hid in the bush until soldiers came to rescue us. They brought us to Dalori. I have not been admitted here. When I am registered, I hope to get food ration and other provisions,” he said.
“Life is safer here at the moment but there is nothing for me here. I would like to go home. I know things will get better soon,” said Muhammed. It is a rare optimism that she affects. In the dark reality of her world, it glitters bright and clear like an emerald, dazzling with wit six decades old and the valiance of a tenacious spirit.
Like his elderly peer, Musti’s gaze burned into the mythic distance, his eyelids blinking as if to shut out the past. But he couldn’t. Vignettes of blood and the hastily carved corpse of his son, Muhammad stole from his lips, distressingly, into the air. The effect was spine-chilling to be precise. Bitterness bulged from the convulsive theatre of blood that brutally marred his life, into the russet radiance of the day.
“Boko Haram killed my son and stole my daughters,” lamented Musti, for the umpteenth time.
The clothier from Bama recounted with grief and a mien that suggested, among other things, a visceral lust for vengeance, his ordeal in the bloodbath that reduced Bama to a ghost town.
Then he fell silent and stared ardently into the distance. It was a macabre silence replete with spasms of blood-curdling angst, misery and discontent.
Hard as it was to picture the extent of his bitterness, a furtive glance at the ugly stump replacing what used to be his left leg indicated a man utterly torn apart. His good leg, that is, the right limb, seemed gnarled and wiry from wrestling with the sleight of years and the trials of flight. It dangled on a threadbare mat from which tufts of yarn spiraled and flared, as if in consonance with Musti’s sighs.
Some foods and eating habits harm the health. Mrs Idowu Ashiru, a Mayr therapy practitoner, says detoxification is the way to go. OYEYEMI GBENGA-MUSTAPHA writes.
Nigerians have been urged to watch what they eat and drink to avoid contracting diseases.
An expert, Mrs Idowu Ashiru, who made the call in Lagos, said diseases afflict the gut because of what one eats, drinks, and how one chews food. She said a digestive system is not completely healthy until it is cleansed by detoxification.
Mrs Ashiru Managing Director of Martlife Detox Clinic/Medical Wellness and Anti-aging Beauty Centre, said: “Nigerians should develop the habit of chewing their food properly before swallowing them to avoid auto-intoxication. When you eat morsels, otherwise called ‘swallow’ after 8pm, for instance, it doesn’t digest and can stay like that in the stomach for several days fermenting and decaying; likewise eating salad. When you do that, the body cannot digest it before you go to sleep. Best time to take salad is at midday during lunch.
Mrs Ashiru trained under Mrs Fisher the head chef in Viva Mayr in the principles of healthy Mayr nutrition and Mayr cuisine.
‘’Dr. Mayr, realised that such fermenting and decaying in the intestines would bring out a lot of alcohol, and the proteins would cause some biogenic amines that are in constant accumulation. ‘Swallow’ is carbohydrate and the place of digestion and breakdown is in the mouth by the amylase produced by the salivary glands, so when the ‘swallow’ goes into the stomach without being chewed, the body is not properly being given nutrients.”
The way out, according to Mrs Ashiru, is to do regular clearing and filtering of toxins and wastes (detoxification) of the body, as it allows the body to work on enhancing its basic functions and end auto-intoxication.’’
Explaining auto-intoxication, Mrs Ashiru said when the eliminative system of the human body is not in top-notch working order, particularly if it has become sluggish or clogged, it cannot properly process and eliminate food wastes and toxins. Medical science acknowledges that up to 85 percent or more of all adult Nigerians suffer from some form of intestinal stasis [i.e., constipation, sluggish bowels, etc). This virtually guarantees toxic build-up in the colon which, over time, inevitably results in one or more forms of serious illness or chronic degenerative disease. Intestinal stasis sooner or later causes the wastes and toxic by-products from the foods we eat to build up to such an extent that they start to become putrefactive. It, in turn (the putrefactive build-up in the colon), becomes a veritable breeding ground, encouraging the rapid growth of huge colonies of toxin-producing, disease-causing bacteria (e-coli) with known toxic chemicals and waste products.
‘’When the digestive and eliminative systems are not properly working to rid the body of this accumulating putrefactive build-up in the colon, the resulting toxins are then absorbed from the colon into the bloodstream, and are carried back into every part of the body. This process of self-poisoning is known as ‘auto-intoxication’. In a nutshell, because of intestinal stasis, the body ends up chronically poisoning itself with its own wastes and toxins instead of carrying out its designed purpose of eliminating them.
‘’This process of continued self-poisoning inevitably results in candidiasis and a dramatically weakened immune system, which can lead to such common ill-health conditions as chronic fatigue and body weakness, nervousness, depression and mood swings, skin disruptions, such as acne and eczema, ulcers and other gastro-intestinal disorders, headaches, arthritic joints, swelling of hands and feet, chronic allergies, bronchial problems, cardio-vascular irregularities (arythmias, high blood pressure, etc.), pathological changes in the breasts, premature senility, epilepsy, and many other serious and debilitating problems.
‘’In Africa, Nigeria in particular, this has been the case with appendicitis, ishemic heart disease, diabetes, obesity, gallstones, varicose veins, venous thrombosis, and hemorrhoids.
“As African countries develop and begin to adopt Western customs, a rise in the frequency of these disorders follows almost as surely as night follows day. They first appear and then become common in the upper socioeconomic groups, which are the first group of people to become westernised. In Africa, this has been the case with appendicitis, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, gallstones, varicose veins, and hemorrhoids.’’
On how Mayr therapy can helpful in cleaning the gut, she said the purpose of Mayr’s digestive cleansing programme can essentially be summarised in three major concepts: Training – By chewing every bite at least 50 times, eating slowly, and avoiding drinking with meals; Cleansing – (from the top-down) by promoting increased quantity and quality of saliva and; Respite – Predigestion of food by salivation, which rests the remainder of the intestines.
“The ultimate goal of what has become known as the ‘Mayr Cure’ is to improve one’s health through digestive detoxification. Since most illnesses are believed to originate from the gut – resulting in auto-intoxication, abnormal body shapes and postures, and enteropathy – this is where the attention of the therapy is focused,” she explained.
What is Enteropathy?
Mrs Ashiru explained: “Most people eat too much. They live from 1/4 and the physicians live from the rest. The belly is the middle point of life… 100 different diseases have their origin there. The first line of defence against what we take into our bodies through eating and drinking is our intestines. In fact, 80 percent of the immune system is found in the intestines and intestine-related tissue. A disturbance in the healthy function of our intestines leads to what is known as ‘enteropathy.’ Such a disturbance can be the result of genetic inheritance, fetal damage during pregnancy, or poor nutritional habits.’
She said: “Poor nutritional habits are the most common reasons for enteropathy and include eating too much, too fast, too often, too late in the day, and when tired. Acute reactions can occur from fermentation (e.g. eating too much raw food at the evening meal). When we sleep, the intestines also sleep and thus, can’t finish its work until the morning. Upon awakening, it must deal with toxins developed from stagnant food. Toxins absorbed from the intestinal tract are filtered either directly into the blood, or indirectly through the lymphatic system, before being transported to the liver and/or the kidneys. If the liver becomes overwhelmed, or the kidneys become overburdened, toxins are unable to be eliminated. They may then be deposited in areas of less importance (e.g. joints, sinuses, skin, etc.) or weakness and result in symptoms at a remote distance from the intestines. Fasting can help out.”
How does fasting differ from hunger?
She said: “It was the ancient physician Hippocrates (‘The Father of Medicine’), who once said: ‘Find your way to health through fasting and not medicines.’ Consistent with this philosophy, Mayr therapy is essentially fasting with control. Fasting differs from hunger in that fasting is the result of a personal decision reinforced from inner willpower and a sense of purpose. After the first few days, the physical hunger pangs are overcome, and the body feels full of energy. Instead of being hungry, the body lives off its reserves.
“As with any detoxification therapy, most symptoms will occur within the first few days as unwanted poisons begin to exit the body. However, after the initial reaction, the patient usually experiences an increase in energy and hunger pangs abate entirely. During the therapy, some medications (e.g. blood pressure medicines, psychotropics, etc.) may need to be adjusted downwards or weaned altogether. After completion of the cure, women of child-bearing age should be advised that they may be much more likely to conceive.”
She said the firm, reputed to be the first Mayr Medical Spa in Africa, was set up to enable Nigerians enjoy the benefits of Mayr wellness programme, and save some foreign exchange (forex) for the nation.
•Professionals meet at NiBUCAA roundtable in Lagos
A group, the Nigerian Business Coalition Against AIDS (NiBUCAA), has urged Nigerians professionals in the workplace to eat correctly to avoid health challenges or medical complications.
NiBUCAA noted that wrong eating habits could cut short their lives and careers.
The group spoke at a roundtable at the Civic Centre on Victoria Island in Lagos.
The event was attended by business officials from various companies, led by billionaire business, Dr. Pascal Dozie, who is the Chairman of MTN Nigeria and Co-Chair of NiBUCAA.
The keynote presentation, with the theme: Basic Nutrition: Tips for Healthy Living and Maintaining Healthy Living and Work-life Balance, was delivered by Dr. Anslem Audu, an HIV and AIDS specialist at the Lagos office of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Goodwill messages were also delivered by officials from the Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), besides the presentations by other speakers at the Access Bank-sponsored event.
NiBUCAA, whose members include Access Bank Plc, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), MTN, Julius Berger, Dangote Group, Total Nigeria Plc and Nestle, was set up in 2003 during President Olusegun Obasanjo administration as the voice of the private sector response to HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.
Nutritionists have said that healthy eating habit is a gateway to healthy living. They, therefore, advised Nigerians to eat good food for sound health and wellness.
•Dr Diran delivering a lecture
The call was made at the first free community health and nutrition fair organised by Phison Nutrition and Wellness Centre. Speaking at the event held at Rhema Auditorium, Bodija, Dr Diran Oyewole, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Public Health and Nutrition, College of Medicine of the University of Ibadan, revealed that human existence is influenced by many factors part of which, he said, is nutrition.
He said: “One of the components of nutrition is healthy eating which many claim to know much about but sometimes make mistake about; an action that makes them susceptible to non-communicable diseases.”
He noted that there is a need to create awareness on how to maximise the power of healthy living for sound health and wellness through preventive strategy.
His words: “At times, we eat more or less than what the body actually requires, unknowingly. Wrong food choices and combination, drug use, meal timing and health condition affect healthy eating. If you take a food item in the morning and you don’t have the sensation to eat more, the food is not good.”
To live a healthy life, he advised people against skipping breakfast. “Avoid late night meal, don’t eat legumes, oily and fried food late in the night. Never start your day with artificial or soft drink. Don’t drink chilled drink immediately after meal. And more importantly, seek information from reliable sources to know if you are eating well or not,” he said.
Speaking earlier, Mrs Shirley Isi-Ejoh of the Department of Human Nutrition, University of Ibadan, revealed that most of the nutritional problems that occur in human beings started when growing up, adding that “a malnourished pregnant woman will give birth to a malnourished baby.”
She added that nutrition brings together the complex social and biological factors of how individuals and populations maintain optimal function and benefit. “The same food that somebody eats and benefits from may not be good for another person,” she explained.
On why she organised the fair, 28-year-old Miss Tubi Ibukunoluwa said the programme was borne out of the need to answer some salient questions about health, nutrition and wellness.
“With diet-related diseases on the increase, messages on health, especially from health professionals, become priority. As the saying goes “information is power”, but there seems to be a gap between health professionals with the information and the people that need the message.
“The health and nutrition fair seeks to bridge this gap by providing a platform where nutrition-health professionals are brought to the community where people of all age groups can get information on how to use the power of food for sound health in a fun, interactive and educative manner.”
She said though the fair was the maiden edition “we have been harnessing several platforms to pass the message of health and wellness through nutrition programmes on radio, nutrition talks in gatherings and organisations when invited. We also operate nutrition blog but the free community health and nutrition fair is the first.”
On how to sustain it, she said the health and nutrition fair model is self-sustainable as “it gives corporate institutions several opportunities to advertise their services and products.”
Ibukun, who is an expert in human nutrition, was optimistic that the fair would become a national matter.
“Since a lot of people need to know how to develop a healthy eating habit and lifestyle, I see it going beyond Ibadan into other states in Nigeria for as many people to benefit,” she said.
Packing in quite a bit of soluble fiber (4 grams per medium apple) for a modest amount of calories (95) makes apples a filling, sweet snack. Plus, a medium apple counts as one cup of fruit, so after eating one you’re well on your way to meeting your daily fruit quota (around two cups for adults on a 2,000-calorie diet). They also are a good source of immune-boosting vitamin C (providing 14 per cent of the Daily Value).Weight Loss
•Apples satisfy hunger for few calories so it’s not surprising that they can be part of a healthy diet that promotes weight loss. And in a recent study, dried apples also helped participants lose some weight. Women who ate a cup of dried apples daily for a year lost some weight and lowered their cholesterol and heart disease markers. Florida State University researchers think apples’ antioxidants and pectin (a type of fiber) are responsible for the benefits—and think that fresh apples would be even more effective.
Sexologists, cardiologists, and psychologists agree: how much (and what) you consume has a huge impact on your sexual health.
Spinach and other Green Vegetables
Spinach is a potent source of magnesium, which helps dilate blood vessels, according to Japanese researchers. Better blood flow to the genitals, as you’ve learned, creates greater arousal for men and women. Spinach and other green vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, Swiss chard, and bok choy are also good sources of favorite sex nutrient—folate. Extra insurance for good reproductive health, folate may lower blood levels of a harmful substance called homocysteine.
Unsweetened Tea
The antioxidant catechin found in tea promotes blood flow all over the body for sex power and brainpower; it enhances memory, mood, and focus. One particularly potent catechin, a compound called ECGC prevalent in green tea, is thought to increase fat burn. A study in the Journal of Nutrition found that people, who consume the equivalent of three to five cups of green tea a day for 12 weeks, experience nearly a five per cent reduction in body weight. Drink freshly brewed green or black tea every day, hot or iced. Bottled teas don’t offer the same benefits. And keep the sugar out of it. Unsweetened tea is an excellent alternative to high-calorie, sugar-laden soft drinks and juices. One 12-ounce can of soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar in it.
Peaches and other fruits
If you are looking to add some deductions to your 1040 form, eat more grapefruits, oranges, and peaches. Men, who consume at least 200 milligrammes of Vitamin C a day improve their sperm counts and motility, according to research at the University of Texas Medical Branch.
Eggs
Over easy, hard-boiled, or scrambled, eggs aren’t the most sensual food on the menu, but it’s hard to beat them for a fit and healthy body inside and out. Eggs are rich in vitamins B6 and B5, which help balance hormone levels and ease stress, and are important for a healthy libido.
Seeds and Nuts
Pumpkin and sunflower seeds, almonds, peanuts, walnuts, and other nuts all contain the necessary monounsaturated fats with which your body creates cholesterol—and your sex hormones need that cholesterol to work properly.
Beans and Extra Protein
Protein is so important to weight maintenance that you should eat it with every meal and snack. Proteins boost metabolism a little more during digestion than any other type of food. Plus protein increases metabolism by helping to build muscle and stall the muscle loss that naturally happens as we age. Muscle is more metabolically active than fat is, so the more lean muscle on your body the better at burning calories it will be.
Fatty Fish
If, as doctors like to say, what’s good for your heart is good for your love life, oily coldwater fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, and tuna should figure heavily into your weekly meal rotation. The omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA found in fish help to raise dopamine levels in the brain that trigger arousal, according to sexologist Yvonne K. Fulbright, PhD. Other health benefits: anti-inflammatory properties that fight blood clots and heart arrhythmias, better brain function, and protection against dementia.
Oatmeal and Other Whole Grains
Eating oatmeal is one of the few natural ways to boost testosterone in the bloodstream. The male hormone plays a significant role in sex drive and orgasm strength in both men and women. Oats (as well as seeds, ginseng, nuts, dairy, and green vegetables) contain L-arginine, an amino acid that enhances the effect nitric oxide has on reducing blood vessel stiffness. L-arginine has been used to treat erectile dysfunction. Like Viagra, it helps relax muscles around blood vessels in the penis. When they dilate, blood flow increases so a man can maintain an erection. Oatmeal and other whole grains like whole-grain bread, brown rice, and barley also qualify as good-for-the-heart, better-for-the-gut foods.
Oysters and Other Shellfish
In addition to their reputation as the ultimate aphrodisiac (thanks to their resemblance to female genitalia), raw oysters actually do have a connection to sexual function. Oysters hold more zinc than most any other food, and it is believed that this mineral may enhance libido by helping with testosterone production—higher levels of the hormone are linked to an increase in desire. Zinc is also crucial to healthy sperm production and blood circulation.
Sexologists, cardiologists, and psychologists agree: how much (and what) you consume has a huge impact on your sexual health.
Spinach is a potent source of magnesium, which helps dilate blood vessels, according to Japanese researchers. Better blood flow to the genitals, as you’ve learned, creates greater arousal for men and women. Spinach and other green vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, Swiss chard, and bok choy are also good sources of favorite sex nutrient—folate. Extra insurance for good reproductive health, folate may lower blood levels of a harmful substance called homocysteine.
Unsweetened Tea
The antioxidant catechin found in tea promotes blood flow all over the body for sex power and brainpower; it enhances memory, mood, and focus. One particularly potent catechin, a compound called ECGC prevalent in green tea, is thought to increase fat burn. A study in the Journal of Nutrition found that people, who consume the equivalent of three to five cups of green tea a day for 12 weeks, experience nearly a five per cent reduction in body weight. Drink freshly brewed green or black tea every day, hot or iced. Bottled teas don’t offer the same benefits. And keep the sugar out of it. Unsweetened tea is an excellent alternative to high-calorie, sugar-laden soft drinks and juices. One 12-ounce can of soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar in it.
Peaches and other fruits
If you are looking to add some deductions to your 1040 form, eat more grapefruits, oranges, and peaches. Men, who consume at least 200 milligrammes of Vitamin C a day improve their sperm counts and motility, according to research at the University of Texas Medical Branch.
Eggs
Over easy, hard-boiled, or scrambled, eggs aren’t the most sensual food on the menu, but it’s hard to beat them for a fit and healthy body inside and out. Eggs are rich in vitamins B6 and B5, which help balance hormone levels and ease stress, and are important for a healthy libido.
Seeds and Nuts
Pumpkin and sunflower seeds, almonds, peanuts, walnuts, and other nuts all contain the necessary monounsaturated fats with which your body creates cholesterol—and your sex hormones need that cholesterol to work properly.
Beans and Extra Protein
Protein is so important to weight maintenance that you should eat it with every meal and snack. Proteins boost metabolism a little more during digestion than any other type of food. Plus protein increases metabolism by helping to build muscle and stall the muscle loss that naturally happens as we age. Muscle is more metabolically active than fat is, so the more lean muscle on your body the better at burning calories it will be.
Fatty Fish
If, as doctors like to say, what’s good for your heart is good for your love life, oily coldwater fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, and tuna should figure heavily into your weekly meal rotation. The omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA found in fish help to raise dopamine levels in the brain that trigger arousal, according to sexologist Yvonne K. Fulbright, PhD. Other health benefits: anti-inflammatory properties that fight blood clots and heart arrhythmias, better brain function, and protection against dementia.
Oatmeal and Other Whole Grains
Eating oatmeal is one of the few natural ways to boost testosterone in the bloodstream. The male hormone plays a significant role in sex drive and orgasm strength in both men and women. Oats (as well as seeds, ginseng, nuts, dairy, and green vegetables) contain L-arginine, an amino acid that enhances the effect nitric oxide has on reducing blood vessel stiffness. L-arginine has been used to treat erectile dysfunction. Like Viagra, it helps relax muscles around blood vessels in the penis. When they dilate, blood flow increases so a man can maintain an erection. Oatmeal and other whole grains like whole-grain bread, brown rice, and barley also qualify as good-for-the-heart, better-for-the-gut foods.
Oysters and Other Shellfish
In addition to their reputation as the ultimate aphrodisiac (thanks to their resemblance to female genitalia), raw oysters actually do have a connection to sexual function. Oysters hold more zinc than most any other food, and it is believed that this mineral may enhance libido by helping with testosterone production—higher levels of the hormone are linked to an increase in desire. Zinc is also crucial to healthy sperm production and blood circulation.
