The Nation Newspaper

Tag: health

  • Experts: Birth defects are preventable

    It was a gathering of specialists. Academics, gynaecologists, obstetricians and general practitioners were there. So also were national and international personalities, including the wife of the Lagos State Governor, Mrs Abimbola Fashola; a laboratory medicine scientist/researcher from the University Medical Centre Groningen, The Netherlands, Prof Frits Muskiet. Women from various backgrounds; dieticians, nutritionists, food technologists and other stakeholders were also present.

    The colours: pink and blue, used for decoration, were thematic. Pink indicates the female gender; blue male. It was at the presentation of Frisomum Gold. The only milk for mothers with prebiotics and probiotics. It contains DHA and AA to support baby’s early brain development. It is high in folic acid, iron, and calcium and also contains Beta-carotene, Selenium and Nucleotides. All these are essential nutrients and trace elements vital to the development of a healthy baby, and prevention of neural defects, such as Spina Bifida, hole in the heart, Hydrocephalus and others.

    According to Associate Professor/Consultant Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH)/Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM), Prof Adetokunbo Fabamwo, who addressed the gathering, the ultimate aim and expectation of an obstetrician is to have uneventful pregnancy, normal labour, safe delivery and healthy mother and baby.

    “These do not always happen as there are unpredictable and unavoidable factors derailing these expectations. These may lead to complications during the course of the pregnancy, in labour, at delivery and even after delivery.

    “Of all these factors, maternal nutrition remains within the control of the woman and her attending physician. In other words, this is one factor that can be modulated. The demands of pregnancy necessitates additional dietary requirements. Poor maternal nutritional status is related to adverse birth outcomes. Maternal nutrition plays a major role in maternal and child health. Maternal nutrition refers to the nutrient intake and dietary planning that is undertaken before, during and after pregnancy.”

    He said a study by Ojofeitimi Ebenezer, Institute of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, Osun State, and others published in international Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics titled – “Diet restriction by pregnant women in Nigeria,” indicated that low income illiterate women in pregnancy gave four reasons for food aversions – health, tradition, economy and religion.

    “Two thirds or more avoided milk and bournvita for fear of having big babies and difficult labour ending in operative delivery. Nutritional counselling served to correct these erroneous assumptions.

    “The nutritional status of a woman before conception is related to the birth weight of her child. Deficiencies of energy, fatty acids and micronutrients in women either before conception or very early in pregnancy have all been implicated in causing low birth weight in infants, infertility, foetal structural defects and long-term diseases, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), i.e the poor growth of a baby while in the mother’s womb during pregnancy. And consequences of fetal illhealth are increased risk of fetal, neonatal and infant death. Intrauterine growth retardation; low birth weight and prematurity; birth defects, cretinism; brain damage and increased risk of infection.

    “Certain steps have to be taken before conception or in early pregnancy to maximise health outcomes. But it is not commonly practiced in our clime. Preconception care is a set of interventions that aim to identify and modify biomedical, behavioural and social risks to the woman’s health or pregnancy outcome through prevention and management by emphasising hose factors that must be acted on before conception or early in pregnancy to have maximal impact,” he stated.

    Prof. Fabanwo said most studies relating to the effect of maternal nutrition on pregnancy outcomes had been largely observational and retrospective, “Nevertheless, the overall data indicate that micronutrients may affect fertility, embryogenesis and placentation. The prophylactic use of some micronutrients may be useful in preventing several adverse pregnancy outcomes.

    “It is known that acquiring a desirable weight and diet during the weeks before and around conception is highly recommended. Energy (calorific) intake is required to support recommended weight gain. Energy requirement in pregnancy is increased by 17 per cent over the pre pregnancy state. A woman of normal weight should therefore consume an additional 300 Kcal/day of energy contained in a high nutrient density food.

    He identified consequences of maternal malnutrition to include increased risk of maternal complications and death; increased risk of infection; lower productivity; anaemia; lethargy and weakness’ increased risk of fetal neonatal and infant death; intrauterine growth retardation; low birth weight and prematurity.

    The don said there is increasing evidence that disturbances in bowel microbial composition play a role in the pathophysiology of immune mediated disorders such as allergic disease; “The microbial flora in the bowel are key  players in the early development of both local immune maturation and systemic immune programming.”

    Prof Muskiet said there were double burden of malnutrition as concurrent underweight and stunting among young children and overweight and obesity in older children, adolescents and adults within the same population are rife.

    “The deadly quartet are too high body mass; disturbed glucose homeostasis; Dyslipdemia and Hypertension. A lot of factors deprive women of (natural) nutrients and micronutrients. Most of the foods in the Northern part of Nigeria, for example are not good source of vitamin D.

    “Being Muslim, the women have limited benefits from Vitamin D-generating sunlight due to their dress habit. Childhood ricket is common in the region. Rickets in Nigeria mostly is a low calcium issue. One of the best things you can do for your children is to give them an excellent intra-uterine start,” he stated.

    Mrs Fashola advised women of child bearing age to avail themselves of the nutrients and other micro nutrients that “are readily available in Frisomum Gold.”

  • Why govt may not achieve HIV prevention goal, by DG

    HE Director-General, National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Dr. John Idoko, has warned that Nigeria may fail to achieve prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission by 2015.

    According to him, unless  state governments begin to actively participate in the campaign against HIV/AIDS, the goal would be a mirage.

    Idoko is worried that despite the country’s little  improvement, the statistics on mother-to-child HIV/AIDS transmission overrides the efforts to combat the disease.

    The DG spoke at the dissemination of a report on Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) Scale-Up, organised by Centre for Integrated Health Programmes (CIHP)  in Abuja.

    He said in the last four years, the country has  not achieved significant result in the battle against HIV/AIDS despite interventions from the Federal Government and development partners. He advocated a change of approach and push for better  partnership from state governments.

    Idoko said: “The problem is the problem of the people, the  people who are contracting HIV at the community and state levels. It is the health of the states that is being affected; it is the development of the states that is being affected.

    “Therefore, in this problem, neither you nor I from the centre for the development partners can really make progress in this area. Unless states understand the good in it and we obtain political commitment, ownership and shared responsibility from them, otherwise the response cannot be suitable and we will not make progress at the end of the day.”

     

     

  • Team on universal health coverage inaugurated

    Team on universal health coverage inaugurated

    The Federal Government has set up a 12-man technical committee to help work towards the goal of providing universal health coverage for Nigerians under health insurance scheme.

    This is in compliance with World Health Assembly’s resolution urging member nations to provide universal health coverage for their people,

    Head, Media and Public Relations, National Health Insurance Scheme Mrs. Hannatu Ardo, who disclosed this to reporters, said the committee is expected to work on frameworks that will culminate in Presidential Summit on Universal Health Coverage later this year.

    Setting up the committee in Abuja, Minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu who was represented by General Manager of Planning and Research, of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Dr Kenneth Korve, said the country was taking some steps to ensure all its citizens were covered under health insurance scheme.

    According to him, it had increasingly been acknowledged worldwide that the most important strategy to improve the health outcomes of any nation “is to provide to its citizens an unfettered access to health services when the need arises.”

    The minister added that: “Over the years, various stakeholders in Nigeria have espoused the need for providing access to equitable and affordable health services to our population. Unfortunately, these efforts have not yielded optimal results. Achieving this goal goes beyond rhetoric and symbolic demonstrations, but requires decisive action, especially providing adequate resources to finance healthcare for all.”

    According to him, at the recently concluded 66th Session of the World Health Assembly, following approval of Mr. President, the assembly was informed about efforts to move towards universal health coverage in Nigeria. In the end, in recognition of the consensus of member nations, the assembly approved a resolution urging all member states to aspire to provide universal health coverage for their people.

    He added: “This meeting today is in furtherance of Mr. President’s directive for us to chart the way towards ensuring universal health coverage for Nigeria through a cohesive, comprehensive, realistic and coasted roadmap.

    “The work of the technical Working Group to be inaugurated today is expected to set in motion, the implementation of series of activities that will culminate into a Presidential Summit on Universal Health Coverage as directed by Mr. President.

    He said the major outcome expected from this Summit is a detailed and coasted roadmap that will put us on track towards providing universal health coverage for Nigerians in a sustainable manner.

    The committee chaired by Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Mrs Fatima Bamidele, has four weeks to submit its Terms of Reference which include: to review the Draft Concept Note of the Universal Health care Summit; identify relevant topics under UHC for technical papers and documents to be developed and collected, if existing; to identify and contact experts/resource persons to develop technical papers.

  • ‘Imported frozen poultry products dangerous to health’

    Importation of frozen poultry products such as chicken, turkey, among others, could be harmful to human health following their method of preservation, Director General of Poultry Association of Nigeria, Dr. Onallo Akpa, has warned.

    He said most of the livestock products imported into the country, especially through the borders of neighbouring countries, were leftovers.

    Speaking during a briefing on the challenges of the sub-sector at the weekend in Abuja, he urged Nigerians to embrace local agric produce.

    He stated that there were some types of chickens that were not consumed in the exporting countries and treated as wastes, but those products found their way into Nigeria through some neighbouring countries.

    According to him, before the products could get to Nigeria, the products would have gone bad, but the marketers preserve these poultry products with toxic chemicals which is dangerous to health.

    Akpa further said that Nigerians consume these products because they are cheap, adding that the poultry products are by-products of production process and does not have sufficient demand on the domestic market of the exporting countries, while their necessary disposal incurs huge costs of the country of origin.

    “No wonder the advent of all kinds of diseases in Nigeria with the attendant depreciating life expectancy,” he added.

    He also decried the huge amount of money spent on importation of these poultry products, adding that this has impacted negatively on the Nigerian economy.

    He revealed that the Nigerian poultry services had been faced with many challenges, which include high electricity tariff and poor infrastructure.

     

     

     

     

  • MamaYe urges FG to increase health budget to 15%

    The federal government has been urged to abide the 2001 Abuja Declaration to increase allocation to   health spending in the national budget to 15%.

    The call was made by MamaYe Campaign  in a statement issued on the on going Abuja 12+ Summit by African Heads of States to discuss and review the promise they made 12 years ago to increase health budgets in their country.

    “Nigeria is hosting the Abuja +12 Summit and yet it has not kept its promises. We call on President Goodluck Jonathan and the Minister of Finance Dr Ngozi Okonko-Iweala to keep the Abuja promise,” MamaYe stated.

    The organization recalled that in a July 8 presidential statement about the summit, President Jonathan claimed that African Union member states with the support of our development partners have through the years sought to implement these commitments with significant results to demonstrate.

    In 2013, Ghana according to MamaYe  is much closer than Nigeria to keeping its Abuja promise with the allocation of  12.5% of its budget to health .

    It noted that keeping the Abuja promise is important and could have a large impact for Nigeria through spending an additional $51 per person on health, decrease the percentage of total health spending financed directly by households without insurance from 60% to 44% and achieve MDG 4, which aims to reduce under-5 mortality rates to less than 71 per 1,000 live births.

    Speaking on behalf of the MamaYe campaign, Dr Tunde Segun said many more mothers and babies could be saved in the country if they had access to quality health services.

    “Somewhere in Nigeria more than 108 women die every day from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Too many babies die, we lose 240, 000newborns each year. This amounts to one newborn death every two minutes. It does not have to be this way. Ensuring our health facilities are safe for our mothers and babies requires more funds be allocated to maternal and newborn health, and this in turn will encourage increased use of these facilities,” Dr Segun stated.

    MamaYe is a campaign initiated by Evidence for Action (E4A), a multi-year programme which aims to improve maternal and newborn survival in sub-Saharan Africa.

  • Abia scores another first in health sector

    SIR: All is now set for the Abia State government to score another first with the commissioning of the first Dialysis Centre in the South-east zone of the country.  The centre which is at Abia Specialist and Diagnostic Centre Umuahia was made possible by the state government when it acquired the defunct Alaoma Hospital on Aba road through private-public partnership with international health and specialist organization’ MECURE of India to construct the centre.

    The centre was part of the numerous completed and ongoing projects embarked by the present government in the state. After inspecting the equipment installed there, the Governor Theodore Orji happily said that all the facilities needed for the take-off of the centre are ready, adding that government is waiting for the technical partners from India who will man the machines. The state government had also concluded plans on how indigenous health professionals will be trained to work there.

    With the take off of the centre, it is obvious that the centre will bring succour to many people suffering from renal problem as they do not need to travel far or outside the country or spend so much money on dialysis.

    Another good thing about the centre is that majority of doctors and nurses that will be in-charge are Nigerians who will undergo training. There are also enough machines to attend to several patients at a time, unlike the case in several public hospitals where there is inadequate machines for dialysis. No wonder recently Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) approved the centre for medical students’ internship.

    Since 2007, the Theodore Orji-led administration has recorded massive giant strides in the area of health care delivery in Abia. So far, the government has equipped and upgraded one hospital in every three senatorial zones of the state into a referral hospital for specialist treatments and diagnosis. It has also undertaken a massive re-equipping and modernization of the Amachara General Hospital as the pilot hospital for Abia Central Senatorial Zone and the Abia State University Teaching Hospital Aba to serve the people of Abia South Senatorial Zone, while the Umunnato General Hospital is to serve as the Specialist Hospital for the Abia North Senatorial Zone.

    With the completion of centre, the state government has set another pace in the health care delivery in the country.

    • Dr. Romanus Uwa,

    Aba, Abia State

     

  • Breast milk and Breast feeding

    Studies done in the past five years have revealed that only about 33% of children under the age of six months are currently being breast fed. This is in spite of efforts by the world health organization (WHO),United nations educational, scientific and cultural organization (UNESCO), Pediatricians 0bstetricians and many others to educate women on the benefits to them and their children on the benefits of breastfeeding

    Women are generally encouraged to give their children only breast milk exclusively for six months and then gradually continue with mixed nutrition with breast milk and cereals for another six months.

    Components present in breast milk are species specific and apart from humans, no other primates will knowingly consume or give breast milk from another species to her offspring, and hence Animals in the wild are comparatively free from allergenic disorders.

    Children born to women in towns and cities are increasingly being diagnosed with diseases that were alien in this part of the world- Autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, celiac disease, trichotillomania, etc. Advanced Cases of bronchiolitis, bronchopneumonia, allergy, diarrhea etc are increasingly being brought to children emergency wards with some of them having the common history of either having been abandoned, or mothers failing to establish successful breast feeding, thereby resorting to alternative methods of nutrition

    There are only very few conditions in which advice concerning alternatives to breast feeding and lactation can become necessary. Non medical people giving lectures on such issues based on their personal experiences may do more harm than good by giving incorrect or very bad advice

    Particularly in children born with congenital abnormalities the risk is high of such children being thrown away or abandoned if an affected mother is told she can’t breast feed, in a similar way, much care is needed when an HIV.AIDS positive woman is delivered and there are no trained health officials around. Any incorrect or badly constructed advice could precipitate the woman either taking her own life or killing her child. This is because women who are willing and able to breastfeed their children do so with strong emotional attachment rooted in natural love, happiness and fulfillment. When disrupted or removed, the reactions are unpredictable.

    What Is Breast Milk And How Is It Produced?

    Breast milk may be defined as a biological fluid, produced in the breast of a mother in response to pregnancy and sucking

    Breast feeding is the natural act of providing a young baby with vital nutrients produced and stored in the breast

    How Human Breast Milk Is Produced

    Breast milk is formed from salts, sugars, protein fat in your own blood as they flow through tiny blood vessels in your breast. The mammary epithelium is a modified epithelium much like many such cells in the retina of the eyes and vascular endothelium of the Heart. The mammary epithelium has been credited as being the leader of the milk synthesizing orchestra, integrating a number of endocrine events involving certain pathways ,some of which have not been completely clarified—Exocytose, Transcytosis, transmembrane and paracellular mechanisms.

    The products of these mechanisms are the oligosaccharides which seal and protect the intestinal mucosa(covering).The baby on artificial milk lacks this protection and comes down frequently and may die from diarrheal diseases

    The mammary epithelium also guides the B lymphocytes to the specific apparatus(homing) in the mammary gland for the synthesis of immunoglobulin without which the new born or infant would die from overwhelming infections – mostly respiratory.

    The specialized epithelium is also involved in the synthesis of lipoprotein lipase, this is linked ultimately to the production of membrane lipids

    Membrane lipids are essential layering structures in the brain of growing children.

    Lactogenesis

    Once the placenta is expelled, a woman feels much more like a mother, because, levels of the pregnancy hormone Estrogen and Progesterone , particularly Progesterone drop, allowing the lactating hormone-Prolactin to rise.-

    Unlike goats and cows, not much human breast milk is stored after it has been produced, and just looking at her baby alone activates the pituitary mammary axis ; the mother experiences the oxytocin effect, and the myoepithelial cells contract to gently pump breast milk into baby’s mouth ,continuous flow aided by the sucking action of the mouth ,which when firmly and completely wrapped around the nipple areola complex ensures very successful breast feeding. The law of demand and supply holds here, once the breast is full, a feedback inhibitor lactation protein is introduced ,the prolactin receptors are all occupied and further binding is suspended until the child has sufficiently reduced the quantity of breast milk.

     

  • Importance of exercise

    Importance of exercise

    Exercise and healthy weight loss not only help your heart, they also trim the threat of developing diabetes by up to 58 percent and cut your risk of cancer.

    Whether you prefer to walk, run, swim, or pump metal, it’s important to add aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities to your daily routine. Even moderate levels of physical activity can improve sleep, sharpen your mind, and decrease your odds of developing heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

    Exercise is good for the body due to the following reasons:

    First, it helps you cut weight. When you exercise like jog or run you burn the fats in your body. This happens because the body undergoes respiration to yield energy needed for the exercise. The extra carbohydrates in the body are respired in presence of oxygen to give energy. Consequently, this burns away the fats that would otherwise have been stored as fats hence cutting weight.

    Second, it slows the rate at which gets old working out eliminate the inflation which comes along with aging. Moreover, some exercises like yoga minimize production of stress hormones which hasten aging. In-addition the stretching assists in smoothing lines which make you look aged.

    Third, it improves your physical appearance. Bodybuilding exercises burn fats and increase lean muscles. Cardiovascular exercises increases metabolic rate which removes toxins in form of sweat from the skin. This rejuvenates the skin and makes you look presentable.

    Fourth, it reduces stress through the release of endorphin hormone. The hormone works with various organs in the body like the brain and other receptors to ease how you view pain. When exercising instance playing football, you forget the pain and the stress as you only pay attention to your movements.

    Fifth, it boosts self-esteem as well as physical appearance. The proper blood circulation ensures that nutrients reach the scalp hence healthy hair and less gray hair. The lean muscles obtained during bodybuilding exercises improve the physique in men as they gain six packs and shoulder muscles.

    Sixth, it is used to relax and derive some fun. Some exercises like swimming and cycling have become hobbies. This is because the endorphin hormone released initiates motivation.

    Lastly, is the health benefit . Cycling increases metabolism hence reducing chances of stroke. The functioning of the brain is improved through adequate supply of air and nutrients to the brain that occurs during exercise. Obesity is controlled through burning of excess fats. Weight lifting strengthens cardiovascular muscles and reduces blood pressure which combats heart diseases.

     

  • Understanding the family

    Dear Reader,

    I count it a great privilege to bring God’s Word your way in this wonderful column. I want to let you know that God’s intervention for you this month, is a done deal. All through this month, via the Word of God, I will be sharing with you, Understanding The Family.

    So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth … (Genesis 1:27-28).

    No nation can be better than the health of the individual families that make up that nation, because the central unit of any nation and any people, tribe or race, even the smallest nation, is the family. It stands as a fundamental social group of a typical society.

    Mother Theresa, the great saintly woman of God and founder of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, when asked what the solution to world peace was, said, “Let every one go home and love their families.” She was literally saying that the chaos in the world, today, has its foundation in the way the family structure and values are being misunderstood and misused.

    The Family Unit

    The word “family” in the Longman’s Dictionary of Contemporary English means: a group of people who are closely related to each other, especially mother, father, and their children representing the nuclear family. There is also, however, the extended family set-up, which include aunts, uncles, grandparents, distant relations, etc.

    The family unit can also be defined as two or more people who share common goals and values, have a long-term commitment to one another, a common ancestry, and usually reside in the same dwelling place, under one roof or live in the same house.

    Another word for “family” from the Bible is “household” or “house of” as in Psalm 115:12. Speaking about God’s desire for the family circle, it says: … He will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron. Also, Genesis 18:19 says: For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him …

    A household has much more than just husband, wife, and children, but can refer to all who live under that roof and authority of the householder or owner of the house. Such persons may include close relations, distant relations, in-laws, servants, housemaids and domestic staff (some people have their drivers, gardeners, security personnel, etc, living with them under the same roof, and treat them as members of their family).

     

    The Marriage Relationship

    Marriage is the legal union of a man and a woman as husband and wife. It is the foundation on which the lives and relationship of family members are initiated or built.

    The Longman’s Dictionary defines marriage as “a relationship between two people, who are married or who have been joined together as husband and wife according to the law, custom, or church demands.”

    Although having children is one of the blessings of marriage, marriage means much more than just having children or co-habiting with someone of the opposite sex. Marriage is actually a covenant, a fusion, a blending of a man and a woman in a lifelong, inseparable relationship. It is an agreement and commitment of two people before witnesses. It is a relational structure through which a man and a woman join as husband and wife, become one flesh, and together rule in earthly dominion.

    God is the originator of the first marriage. In Genesis 2:18, the Bible says: And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

    The first miracle ever that Jesus performed during His earthly ministry was at a marriage ceremony at Cana of Galilee, where He turned water into wine, thereby restoring the missing joy and excitement in that marriage (John 2:1-11).

    Does your marriage seem to be joyless right now? Do not lose hope. God who did it at Cana, will do it again in your life, and will give you a miracle, because He is still a miracle worker! Expect a miracle! However, you must be ready to obey His instructions, like they did at the wedding in Cana, before their water was turned into wine.

    God, as the Originator of marriage, is the Foundation for a successful marriage. You cannot enjoy success in your marriage except you accept Him through His Son Jesus Christ and become born again. If you will like to be born again now, please say this prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner. I cannot help myself. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me with Your blood. Deliver me from sin and satan, to serve the living God. I believe You died for me and on the third day, You rose that I might be justified. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom”.

     

    Congratulations, you are now born again! I believe that you will begin to experience the reality of the price that Jesus paid for your sins at Calvary. All-round rest and peace are guaranteed you, in Jesus’ Name!

     

    Call or write, and share your testimonies with me through:

    E-mail: faithdavid@yahoo.com Tel. No: 08141320204; 07026385437; 07094254102

     

    For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Making Marriage Work, Marriage Covenant, Building A Successful Home and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored)

    The Nation Saturday July 13, 2013

     

  • Bitterleaf healing power

    Bitterleaf healing power

    Bitterleaf is one of the widely use cooking vegetable in Africa and it can grow in any part of the world

    Very few people are aware that this vegetable is highly medicinal and can be used to cure diseases as well as help to keep our body in good health condition. The important thing this leaf does is to clean the blood, hence prevent sickness. This made by squeezing the fresh leaves to get the juice. Drink about a glass of the juice 3 times a day.

    •Bitter leaf also cleans the lymphatic system as well.

    •For smokers or those that are been exposed to secondary smoke, bitter leaf is useful by protecting the body against pollutants that come from cigarette smoke and some dangerous gas.

    •The juice prevents malaria sickness due to the presence of Natural Quinine. Regular intake of this bitter leaf juice will prevent malaria sickness

    •It also yield the healing power of Sexually Transmitted Diseases(STD). The drinking of the bitter leaf juice daily and also squeeze the leaves and paste it on the patches and warts that appear on the skin will vanish in course of days.

    •It is useful for treating of ringworm, eczema and other diseases, just squeeze and paste it regularly, drink the fresh bitter leaf juice, this will clear them off in no time.

    •It is useful in curing loss of memory. It could be a symptom of diabetes or a sickness on its own. Whatever the nature, bitter leaf is very good for treating this ailment.

    •If you often feel weak and tired or you lack vitality and vigour, squeeze the bitter leaf in water, take a glass 3 times daily.

    It is good in treating stroke, strengthens the muscle and cleanses the system.

    •In treating pneumonia, squeeze the fresh leafs of the plant in water. Take a glass full thrice daily. Warm the solution on fire each time before you drink.

    •Insomnia is an inability to sleep well, take 2 glasses of bitter leaf juice every night. You may add a little honey if you wish.

    •It prevent Arthritis or rheumatism in patients. It soothes swollen joints and eradicates the pain.

    •Chew the tender stem and swallowing the juices is a well known remedy for stomach aches. Alternatively, pound the fresh leaves in a mortar to extract the juice, add a pinch of salt to three tablespoons of the undiluted juice and drink. This version is reported to bring immediate relief.