The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Medicine

  • Orange peel: 2016 Upcoming Herbal Medicine

    •Asthma • Diabetes • Prostate enlargement • Cancer • Weight Loss • High Cholesterol • Digestion • Many More

    What’s on the shelf? This question pops up now and then, especially at the beginning of a new year. Many of the readers of this column have wondered since the middle of last month if there won’t be any thing up the sleeves of 2016. There will be, I have found myself re-assuring them, especially since new products and processes are rituals on this page at this time of the year. So, what’s new on the shelf? Today, and perhaps next week, I will speak about orange peel and Kale.  Beet root, too, will be no push over. There hasn’t been enough beet root in the Lagos market since I began to mention it from about June last year. So, I have had to be suggesting the capsulated or tablet form to many enquirers who cannot find the fruit to buy. Mrs. Florence AkibonFusi, who lives in Iju, tells me it had become the rave in this Ogun State boundary area with Lagos, and predicts that it may become more popular than Moringa. Today, I wish to present Orange peel as medicine. It has worked wonders for me and many people. It should for you, too. If it doesn’t fit the health bills ascribed to it, there wouldn’t have been such worldwide demand for it which had led to the growing abroad of orange tree plantations which provide orange peel powder for a billion naira orange peel medicine business.

     

    Some health benefits of orange peel

    Dr.Edward Group, Dc, Np, DAC BN, DCBCN, DABFM, is reported by www.globalhealingcenter.com to have published an article updated on  July 17, 2013 in which he pleads that you do not throw away the peel of any orange or other citrus fruit from which you obtain the juice. Says Dr. Edward:

    “Although orange peels are common addition to the compost pile, next time you are about to toss them, don’t. They are packed with beneficial compounds and nutrients that can do your body some extra good, especially if you are suffering from respiratory distress. When toxins or allergen in the air we breathe irritate delicate lung tissues, they can become irritated. Orange peels assist the lungs in cleansing themselves with it redness and histamine –reducing properties and actions. Why is orange peel beneficial? Like most fruits, oranges are full of nutrients and enzymes that help our bodies perform better. Orange peels are rich in flavonoids, powerful antioxidants that help reduce oxidative damage and fight free radicals. Orange peels is also loaded with natural histamine -suppressing compounds. If you have allergens or are close to someone who does, you understand how the sleepiness associated with some anti-histamines can be fast as disruptive as the histamines reaction itself. Orange peel may provide an alternative. Perhaps of the amazing and beneficial qualities of orange peel is its histamine and irritation-reducing action, which adds to its already long list of reasons for being highly effective as a lung-cleansing herb.”

    Dr. Edward says the rind and peel are loaded with Vitamin C (more than in the juice), Vitamin A, enzymes, fiber and Pectin. He suggests that dehydrated orange powder may be added to bath water for aromatherapy effects to relieve lung congestion or other respiratory irritations.

    y friend, Mr. Danson Sunday Danson, should be a witness of truth in this matter. His tickling muscle spasms in the throat disappeared on the first day he ate orange peel. Persuaded by this to continue, he has been delivered of a “pregnancy” he has bourne for years. One of my sons is a beneficiary of orange peel healing power. He came home last month with a bad gastric problem which made him belch foul gas almost every five minutes. He ate the peel of a whole orange on a Saturday evening. I eaved dropped on his breathing at night. Nothing amiss happened. The following day, Sunday, all was well… till this day! From www.lifestrong.com, we learn of a Purdue University contribution to this subject. The website says, “raw orange peel orange peel has 1.5 gramme of protein and is a source of potassium, riboflavin (Vitamin B1), Vitamin A, it adds that while oranges provide Calcium, for bone and tooth health, for example, Purdue University shows the peel is a richer source of them. Says the University:

    “One hundred gramms of edible orange fruit contains 40 calcium milligram of Calcium while the same amount of orange peel has 161 miligram of calcium.”

    Beta carotene, that great antioxidant, is one of the valuable nutrients thrown away when you give your orange peel to a goat, as we do in Nigeria.

    Lifestrong says: Orange peel contains Beta carotene, a pigment in orange and yellow fruit and vegetable. Beta carotene is converted to Vitamin A in your body which is beneficial for your immune system as well as vision health.The University of Maryland Medical Centre says, “Beta carotene is also an antioxidant which helps protect your body from free radicals that can cause cell damage.” The University Michigan Health System, too, bears scientific testimony, according to Lifestrong. The University says that, “simmering one to two grammes of dried peel in three cups of water to make a tea might relieve indigestion and heart burns. It adds: ‘orange peel has been used to treat insomnia and as a laxative.”

    In September 2014, Bhavyajyati Chilukoti wrote in www.the healthsite.com: Most of us who eat oranges normally throw out the peels, but what many of us are unaware of is that these peels are loaded with highly nutritious compounds that are beneficial for our health. Orange peels contains more than 60 types of flavonoids and over 170 different types of phytonutrients, in addition to being rich in various pectin, vitamins, minerals and fibre.” Here are top 7 benefits of orange peel which might make you think before discarding the peels.

    ONE: ”Helps in weight loss. One of the key reasons why people dislike orange peel is because of its bitter taste, but these peels act as an excellent weight loss aid, as it contains good amount of fibre and is low in calories. It also exerts anti-obesity effects by suppressing weight gain by the body and formation of adipose tissues.”

    TWO: “Reduces respiratory problems. Orange peel provides excellent support against respiratory stress is also found effective for treating asthma. It exerts a lung cleansing by playing a vital role in breathing down and expelling congestion (phylegm). It also contains high level of histamine- reducing compound and anti-oxidants which help in reliving various respiratory complication like bronchitis, and colds, flu and lung cancer.”

    THREE: “Prevents digestive complications.Orange peel is a rich source of non-soluble polysaccharides types of dietary fiber, like Pectin, tannis, and hemicellulose. These compounds prevent constipation by increasing the bulk and reducing contact time of food with intestine. It also plays an active role in reducing acidity (gas trouble) and prevents vomiting and heart burn.”

    FOUR: “Improves canal health. Do you suffer from bad breath? Chew orange peels instead of a gum or mouth fresher to get rid of the foul odour naturally. Orange peels are also an effective and cheap measure to whiten stained teeth in addition to preventing sensitive teeth, you can either run inside of an orange peel or apply its paste on the teeth to whiten it naturally.”

    FIVE: “Protects from cancer. Several studies have shown that increased consumption of orange peel in the diet lowers the risk of human cancers. Orange peel offers protection against colon cancer by binding to the toxic chemicals in the food, thereby hindering their exposure to the intestinal mucus membrane.”

    SIX: “Acts as a natural skin bleach. Vitamin C, present in orange peels, act as an effective and safe natural scrubber and bleach for skin.The peel extract when applied with curd or milk can lighten dark blemishes and spots on the skin. You can also rub the peel directly in the skin or use diluted paste to prevent skin burns and remove sun tan. It also helps tone the skin, protect from harmful sun rays and cleanse pores naturally.”

    SEVEN: “Improves heart health. Orange peels contain nobiletun, a type of polymethoxyiated flavones compounds to exert positive effects on the heart. These compounds lower your risk of heart disease and inflammation in addition to lowering the blood cholesterol levels in the body.”

     

    Orange peel extracts/supplements

    In inflammatory conditions, orange peel extracts and supplements and concentrated orange peel extracts are used with satisfactory result. This is why people challenged with Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH) or friendly enlargement of the prostate gland, may find it helpful.

    University of Paris experimented with D-Limonene, a compound found in orange peel. It wanted to know if D-Limonene had anti-inflammatory action: In a series of animal and human trials, D-Limonene reduced intestinal inflammation in rats, “with efficacy comparable to Ibuprofen, the pharmaceutical anti-inflammation agent. The rat also exhibited lower levels of Tumour Necrosis factors alpha (TNFa), one of the chemicals found in the system where tumours and/or cancers are developing or D-Limonene are likely to be found to inhibit TNFa actively in fibroblast human cultures. Human subjects given D-Limonene for 56 days had decreased plasma levels of inflammatory indicators or markers when compared with those who did not take D-Limonene supplement. The researchers concluded:

    D-Limonene indeed demonstrates significant ant-inflammatory effects both in VIVO and in VITRO, suggesting a beneficial role of D-Limonene as diet supplement in reducing inflammation.”

    The website www.globalhealing.com backs the finding with these suggestions.  “The Limonene and flavonoids found in orange peel seem to have anti cacenogenic properties, by acting as a blocking agent. Studies have shown that Limonin and Lemonene, both found in high concentrations in the peel, can induce the enzyme activity of Glutathione S-Transferase, which is an important detoxifying enzyme. The citric acid found in orange peel also helps starve cancer cells by cutting off their energy supply. A number of studies have shown decreased risk of several cancers, linked with the increased consumption of orange peels. In addition, orange peels and orange extract can provide and extra benefit to diabetics and those looking to reduce overeating. This is due to the fact that orange peels are a natural source of pectin, a natural fibre that helps decrease the rise in blood sugar after a meal. It may also be helpful in lowering cholesterol. In a May 2004 Journal of Agricultural and food chemistry article, Canadian researchers and the United States Department of Agriculture reported that isolated compounds from orange and tangerine peels showed promise of a natural alternative for reducing LDL cholesterol without the side effects of Mainstream anti-cholesterol drugs. D-Limonene, another biochemical found in orange peels, is helpful in dissolving kidney stones. In fact, the use of D-Limonene mixed together with concentrated, unsweetened cranberry juice or capsules has a proven track record in dissolving kidney stones. In addition, orange peel has antiseptic, bactericidal, fungicidal properties which are extremely beneficial in eliminating kidney or urinary tract infection. This is why you would find orange peels as an ingredient in Jon Baron Kidney, Gall Bladder and pancreas optimisation formula, KGP flush. Orange peels may also help with heart burn. According to a 2007 Alternative Medicine review article by Jidong sun, Ph.D.

    D-Limonene possesses the ability to neutralise gastric acid and support normally peristalsis. Allergy sufferers may benefit from consuming more orange peels as well as. The peel contains natural histamine- suppressing compounds. Orange peels also may play a role in lungs cleansing by helping in breakdown and help in congestion.

    1. Stephen Daniells offers hope to diabetics in a sugar-balancing hope, in orange peel when he says in www.nutraingridients.com: ”A daily supplement of an extract from citrus peel could reduce insulin resistance in hamsters, suggesting the extract might also help prevent diabetes in humans, says a North American study. The citrus peel extract, polymethoxylated flowers (PMFs) have been reported to have beneficial effects on cholesterol levels, but this is said to be the first study that looks in details, of the benefits and reports that the extracts have positive effect on inflammatory cytokine levels. This study provides novel evidence that PMF reverses hyper triglyceridimia and restores insulin sensitivity, said researchers from the University of Hawa…, in collaboration with KGK synergise, a Canadian neutracellbrical company. PMFs are similar to other plant pigments found in citrus fruits that have been increasingly linked to health benefits, including protection against cancer, heart disease, and inflammation. The main PMFs in the extract are tangerine, anobiletin, as well as small amounts of synephrine. The new study, published in the Journal Life Sciences, investigated the effect of a daily supplement of PMF on insuling-resistance hamsters. Twenty-eight hamsters where fed a fructose-rich diet for two weeks to induce hypertriglyceridemia and insulin resistance. The animals were then divided into four equal groups and fed one of the four diets: Chow, control fructose diet, fructose plus low close PMF (62.5mg per kilogramme body weight per day), fructose plus high close PMF (125miligramme per kilogramme per day).

    After four weeks of the text diet, the researchers found that both PMF groups showed a significantly decrease in serum triglycerides (td) and cholesterol levels compared to the fructose-fed hamsters. The decreases in TG were Limited to the heart (33 percent for the 125grm PMF group) and liver C 42 percent for the 128 PMF group) with no challenges observed in the epididamal fat and muscle. After PMP supplement action for four weeks, significant reductions in TG and cholesterol were observed on a close dependent manner related to lipids, cholesterol and inflammation, indicating that the response was specific to PMF, because insulin resistance diabetes and obesity are recognised as inflammatory disorder, say the researchers. They measured concentrations of the mediators for inflammation, Tumour Necrosis factor alpha (TNFa) and interleukin -6 (IL-6) and markers of immune response, the cytokeine FN gramma.

    The researchers found decreased levels of these biomarkers in the PMF supplemented groups and the effect appeared to be close dependent. The mechanism of PMF in increasing insulin sensitivity in this study can be explained at least in part by its regulatory effect on cytokines, said L!”

  • Improve your service, alternative medicine practitioners told

    Improve your service, alternative medicine practitioners told

    Complementary and alternative healthcare and healing practitioners have been advised to improve on their practices to enhance public health.

    Nigerian Council of Physicians of Natural Medicine President Bishop Magnus Atilade gave this advice at the council’s commendation ceremony at the MRC Hall, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja.

    Bishop Atilade described complementary and alternative healthcare and healing practices (traditional medicine) as relevant to survival.

    He said: “This area of health represents a vast and as yet unrealised sector of the public health systems of developed and developing nations. Moreover, the limits of our current biomedical knowledge and capabilities cannot be denied. We do not, as yet, have all the answers, or even, for that matter, know all the questions. There are more things in heaven and earth than can be dreamt of in our current biomedical philosophies. Stagnant biomedical orthodoxy cannot achieve the fullness of public health’s potential and has no role to play in human progress. Maintaining openness to this reality may serve to help marshal the resources of indigenous, complementary, and alternative health practices in the service of public health, now and in the future.”

    Prof Atilade added: “For us to be taken more seriously, let us hone our skill. Our professionalism will stand us out and thereby uproot the charlatans among us.  That progress, like a moving train will reposition us in the scheme of things, at the Federal and we will be able to get the bill passed into Act, and one day get minister for traditional and alternative/complementary medicine, as it obtains now in China.”

    Vintage Press, publisher of The Nation was a recipient of an award for its extraordinary performance in the promotion and development of Healthcare, Education, Science and Humanity coverage.

    Other recipients  include Dr Olufemi Bankole, now a professor of Complementary and Alternative Medicine,  specialising in Osteopath; Prof Adebukunola Adefule-Ositelu of Guiness Eye Centre for her innovative orogbo (garcinia cola) eye drop, an iridologist, Dr Titi Oduye, Acupuncturist, Dr Adewale Bade, Dr (Mrs) Ani Adepeju Kuju (DC) among others.

    An ophthalmologist, Dr Mosunmade Faderin, enjoined the practitioners to know their limitations when treating patients, especially those with eye complaints or diseases. “I have seen a lot of patients that were badly managed. Some even ended up with blindness just because they patronised some of your colleagues. Please know when to refer appropriately. Do not introduce  strange preparations that have not been proven scientifically as being beneficial to your patients,”she said.

    Present at the event were Mr. Babatunde Ogara, a legal practitioner, Mrs Nwokeke Chinyere represented the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Adeleke Ipaye represented the Osun State  Governor, Dr (Mrs) Omotosho represented Chairman of the occasion, Chairman, Bond Chemicals Limited, Sir Debo Omotosho, Chief medical Director (CMD), Prof Chris Bode represented the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osibajo, Dr G.O Ajayi represented Provost, LASUCOM and others.

    Students of the School of Complementary Health Science of the lagos State College of Health Technology, Yaba were also inducted.

  • Food as medicine

    Food as medicine

     The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Health Forever Products Limited, Otunba Olajuwon Okubena writes on the role of food as ‘medicine’.

    Hippocrates lived about 2,500 years ago. The interpretation of his quote is that the ideal food should have, in addition to normal food, nutrients, such as sugar, elements, vitamins and fatty acids.

    The quote is a confirmation of what the scriptures had says from beginning of creation. Going through the scriptures, Genesis 1:29 said: “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food”.

    In Ezekiel 47:12, the Bible says: “ Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river, their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, every month they will bear fruit because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing. Another interesting portion of the Bible is Daniel Chapter 1:5-15, where Daniel in captivity refused to defile himself with portion of the King’s meat, nor the wine which he drank, but preferred to eat vegetables and drink water.

    At the end of 10 day’s trial, he looked much better than those who were fed with the King’s meat. The last chapter of the Bible, Revelation Chapter 22:12, also confirms the importance of plant that it is for the healing of the nations.

    The Holy Quran contains an interesting portion in Chapter 16:69, where it states: “Then eat of all fruits and walk in the ways of your Lord submissively. There comes forth within it a beverage of many colours, in which there is healing for men”.

    Holy Prophet Muhammed lived about 1600 years ago and with this portion of the Quran prophesied what in modern times is known as Antioxidants. They are produced from plants with colours. Examples are Acai berry, tart cherry, blue berry, etc.

    All health authorities, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) confirm that it is only food and nutrition that could prevent you from chronic diseases, such as cancer, heart  diseases, diabetes, arthritis etc. No drug has yet been discovered to play this role.

    First, about half of all American adults—117 million individuals—have one or more preventable, chronic diseases, and about two-thirds of U.S. adults—nearly 155 million individuals—are overweight or obese. These conditions have been highly prevalent for more than two decades. Poor dietary patterns, overconsumption of calories, and physical inactivity directly contribute to these disorders. Second, individual nutrition and physical activity behaviours and other health-related lifestyle behaviours are strongly influenced by personal, social, organisational, and environmental contexts and systems. Positive changes in individual diet and physical activity behaviours, and in the environmental contexts and systems that affect them, could substantially improve health outcomes.

    Humans require a wide range of essential micronutrients and macronutrients for normal growth and development and to support healthy aging throughout the life cycle. Essential nutrients, including most vitamins, minerals, amino acids and fatty acids, water and fiber, must be obtained through foods and beverages because they cannot for the most part be endogenously synthesised, or are not endogenously synthesised in adequate amounts to need recommended intakes.

    Nutrition is coming to the fore as a major modifiable determinant of chronic disease, with scientific evidence increasingly supporting the view that alterations in diet have strong effects, both positive and negative, on health throughout life. Most importantly, dietary adjustments may not only influence present health, but may determine whether or not an individual will develop such diseases as cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes much later in life. However, these concepts have not led to a change in policies or in practice. In many developing countries, food policies remain focused only on under nutrition and are not addressing the prevention of chronic disease – WHO.

    Unfortunately, no single food item has been identified to prevent these chronic diseases  to fulfill the famous Hippocrates quote that: “Let food be thy medicine and let thy medicine be food.The pharmaceutical companies in an attempt to fill the gap have formulated dietary and  food supplements to supply the nutritional items in the ordinary man’s food intake.The companies have assembled synthetic equivalent of the essential nutrients as  supplement. In most cases, they are not bio-available.‘’

    Researchers from various parts of the world have published documents pointing in the direction of Sorghum as the a grain that would fulfill Hippocrates quote because it combines both food and medicine. There are different varieties of the Sorghum plant. These are mainly the edible and the medicinal Sorghum. The latter contains food and almost all the essential ingredients but it is poisonous. At the time the Americans saw the potential of this plant and decided to propagate it in the United States, they were only interested in the edible variety which they have improved over the centuries using the plant genetic engineering.

    A recent publication by Nancy D. Turner Associate Professor of Nutrition, Food Science and Genetics Texas A&M University, College Station  advocated that the  national goal is to “avoid preventable diseases from occurring in the first place “ and suggested that Sorghum is the grain that Americans should be consuming for this purpose. She concluded that Sorghum grain and their bioactive phytochemicals appear to contribute toward the suppression of several chronic diseases , that the national goal is to “avoid preventable diseases from occurring in the first place”and that to achieve the  Target to double whole grain consumption ,  Sorghum should be included in our food supply to derive these health benefits.

    In another recent publication by Anita Stefoska-Needham School of Medicine, Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Australia , it was stated: Sorghum is an important cereal grain food, grown globally, that is rich in nutrients, dietary fiber, and bioactive components yet is considered of low value to humans and often used as an animal feed. This review provides an overview of key sorghum grain components, including starches, dietary fiber, protein, lipids, and phytochemicals, with functional properties that have potential to impact on health. Though acknowledging the impact of the whole food will reflect the synergy between the components, studies of these components implicate effects on energy balance, glycemic control, lipids, gut microbiota, and cell-mediated immune responses, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. For these to be confirmed as contributory effects from sorghum consumption, evidence from quality randomised controlled trials is required. If proven effective, there may be a role for sorghum grain–based diets to assist in the prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. Future research addressing effects of sorghum consumption may help drive a paradigm shift from sorghum as a low value food to a potentially health-promoting, highly valued human grain food.

    From Nigerian folk medicine, the medicinal sorghum, which had been in the custody of the people of the Southwest, had been developed to a product (Jobelyn) that had been researched to contain food and medicine.  Recent laboratory research from GMP Laboratories in the USA confirmed that it contained Vitamins, Selenium, Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Iron, Zinc, Phosphorus, Sodium, Copper, Omega3, 6 & 9 and other  fatty acids.

    For millennia, the indigenous people of western Africa have relied on this botanical to support whole health and a balanced inflammation cycle.

    A simple bunchgrass, Sorghum bicolour’s superior antioxidant capacity is revealed only through a traditional folk preparation of its leaf sheath.

    Modern science has been working hard in the past 15 years to isolate the plant’s antioxidant components in an effort to create a synthetic version. The results? It doesn’t work. The impressive ORAC rating, higher than grapeseed extract and well-known antioxidant berries and fruits, is seen only within the traditionally prepared African remedy using the sorghum leaf in its complete natural state.

    We call our Sorghum ingredient “Jobelyn” after the Jubi River where it originally grew wild. Now a domesticated plant, it is grown on our own organic plantation.

    3-Deoxyanthocyanidins are rare flavonoids found in only a few plant species. These unique flavonoids are the major pigments in the flowers of Sinningia cardinalis, and they are found in silk tissues of certain types of corn. Sorghum is the only dietary source of 3-deoxyanthocyanidins.

    Many plants use secondary metabolites, such as flavonoids, to protect themselves against pathogen attack. In sorghum, this defense is an active response resulting in the accumulation of high levels of 3-deoxyanthocyanidin phytoalexins in infected tissue. This defensive mechanism is the power that Jobelyn uses to strengthen the body and promote whole health.

  • Scientists win Nobel Prize for medicine

    Three scientists from Japan, China and Ireland whose discoveries led to the development of potent new drugs against parasitic diseases, including malaria and elephantiasis have won the Nobel Prize for Medicine.

    Irish-born William Campbell and Japan’s Satoshi Omura won half of the prize for discovering avermectin, a derivative of which has been used to treat hundreds of millions of people with river blindness and lymphatic filariasis, or elephantiasis.

    China’s Tu Youyou was awarded the other half of the prize for discovering artemisinin, a drug that has slashed malaria deaths and has become the mainstay of fighting the mosquito-borne disease.

    She is China’s first Nobel laureate in medicine.

    Some 3.4 billion people, most of them living in poor countries, are at risk of contracting the three parasitic diseases.

    “These two discoveries have provided humankind with powerful new means to combat these debilitating diseases that affect hundreds of millions of people annually,” the Nobel Assembly at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute said.

    “The consequences in terms of improved human health and reduced suffering are immeasurable.”

    Today, the medicine ivermectin, a derivative of avermectin made by Merck & Co, is used worldwide to fight roundworm parasites, while artemisinin-based drugs from firms including Novartis and Sanofi are the main weapons against malaria.

    Omura and Campbell made their breakthrough in fighting parasitic worms, or helminths, after studying compounds from soil bacteria.

    That led to the discovery of avermectin, which was then further modified into ivermectin.

    The treatment is so successful that river blindness and lymphatic filariasis are now on the verge of being eradicated.

    Omura, 80, said the real credit for the achievement should go to the ingenuity of the Streptomyces bacteria, whose naturally occurring chemicals were so effective at killing off parasites.

    “I really wonder if I deserve this,” he said after learning he had won the prize.

    “I have done all my work depending on microbes and learning from them, so I think the microbes might almost deserve it more than I do.”

    Omura is professor emeritus at Kitasato University in Japan, while Campbell is research fellow emeritus at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey.

    “This was the work of a team of researchers so it is by no means my work, it’s our work,” said Campbell, 85, who learned of his prize in a pre-dawn phone call from Reuters that woke him at his home in North Andover, Massachusetts.

    “In the first decade, there were 70 authors that I co-authored papers with. That gives you some idea of the number of people involved,” he said.

    Tu, meanwhile, turned to a traditional Chinese herbal medicine in her hunt for a better malaria treatment, following the declining success of the older drugs chloroquine and quinine.

    She found that an extract from the plant Artemisia annua was sometimes effective but the results were inconsistent, so she went back to ancient literature, including a recipe from AD 350, in the search for clues.

    This eventually led to the isolation of artemisinin, a new class of anti-malaria drug, which was available in China before it reached the West.

    Tu, 84, has worked at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine since 1965.

    World Health Organisation spokesman Gregory Hartl said the award of a Nobel prize for the discovery was a great tribute to the contribution of Chinese science in fighting malaria.

    “We now have drugs that kill these parasites very early in their life-cycle,” said Juleen Zierath, chair of the Nobel Committee.

    “They not only kill these parasites but they stop these infections from spreading.”

    Death rates from malaria have plunged 60 percent in the past 15 years, although the disease still kills around half a million people a year, the vast majority of them babies and young children in the poorest parts of Africa.

    The eight million Swedish crowns (960,000 dollas) medicine prize is the first of the Nobel prizes awarded each year.

    Prizes for achievements in science, literature and peace were first awarded in 1901 in accordance with the will of dynamite inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel.

    Last year, the medicine prize went to three scientists who discovered the brain’s inner navigation system.

  • Food as medicine

    Food as medicine

     The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Health Forever Products Limited, Otunba Olajuwon Okubena writes on the role of food as ‘medicine’.

    Hippocrates lived about 2,500 years ago. The interpretation of his quote is that the ideal food should have, in addition to normal food, nutrients, such as sugar, elements, vitamins and fatty acids.

    The quote is a confirmation of what the scriptures had says from beginning of creation. Going through the scriptures, Genesis 1:29 said: “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food”.

    In Ezekiel 47:12, the Bible says: “ Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river, their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, every month they will bear fruit because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing. Another interesting portion of the Bible is Daniel Chapter 1:5-15, where Daniel in captivity refused to defile himself with portion of the King’s meat, nor the wine which he drank, but preferred to eat vegetables and drink water.

    At the end of 10 day’s trial, he looked much better than those who were fed with the King’s meat. The last chapter of the Bible, Revelation Chapter 22:12, also confirms the importance of plant that it is for the healing of the nations.

    The Holy Quran contains an interesting portion in Chapter 16:69, where it states: “Then eat of all fruits and walk in the ways of your Lord submissively. There comes forth within it a beverage of many colours, in which there is healing for men”.

    Holy Prophet Muhammed lived about 1600 years ago and with this portion of the Quran prophesied what in modern times is known as Antioxidants. They are produced from plants with colours. Examples are Acai berry, tart cherry, blue berry, etc.

    All health authorities, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) confirm that it is only food and nutrition that could prevent you from chronic diseases, such as cancer, heart  diseases, diabetes, arthritis etc. No drug has yet been discovered to play this role.

    First, about half of all American adults—117 million individuals—have one or more preventable, chronic diseases, and about two-thirds of U.S. adults—nearly 155 million individuals—are overweight or obese. These conditions have been highly prevalent for more than two decades. Poor dietary patterns, overconsumption of calories, and physical inactivity directly contribute to these disorders. Second, individual nutrition and physical activity behaviours and other health-related lifestyle behaviours are strongly influenced by personal, social, organisational, and environmental contexts and systems. Positive changes in individual diet and physical activity behaviours, and in the environmental contexts and systems that affect them, could substantially improve health outcomes.

    Humans require a wide range of essential micronutrients and macronutrients for normal growth and development and to support healthy aging throughout the life cycle. Essential nutrients, including most vitamins, minerals, amino acids and fatty acids, water and fiber, must be obtained through foods and beverages because they cannot for the most part be endogenously synthesised, or are not endogenously synthesised in adequate amounts to need recommended intakes.

    Nutrition is coming to the fore as a major modifiable determinant of chronic disease, with scientific evidence increasingly supporting the view that alterations in diet have strong effects, both positive and negative, on health throughout life. Most importantly, dietary adjustments may not only influence present health, but may determine whether or not an individual will develop such diseases as cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes much later in life. However, these concepts have not led to a change in policies or in practice. In many developing countries, food policies remain focused only on under nutrition and are not addressing the prevention of chronic disease – WHO.

    Unfortunately, no single food item has been identified to prevent these chronic diseases  to fulfill the famous Hippocrates quote that: “Let food be thy medicine and let thy medicine be food.The pharmaceutical companies in an attempt to fill the gap have formulated dietary and  food supplements to supply the nutritional items in the ordinary man’s food intake.The companies have assembled synthetic equivalent of the essential nutrients as  supplement. In most cases, they are not bio-available.‘’

    Researchers from various parts of the world have published documents pointing in the direction of Sorghum as the a grain that would fulfill Hippocrates quote because it combines both food and medicine. There are different varieties of the Sorghum plant. These are mainly the edible and the medicinal Sorghum. The latter contains food and almost all the essential ingredients but it is poisonous. At the time the Americans saw the potential of this plant and decided to propagate it in the United States, they were only interested in the edible variety which they have improved over the centuries using the plant genetic engineering.

    A recent publication by Nancy D. Turner Associate Professor of Nutrition, Food Science and Genetics Texas A&M University, College Station  advocated that the  national goal is to “avoid preventable diseases from occurring in the first place “ and suggested that Sorghum is the grain that Americans should be consuming for this purpose. She concluded that Sorghum grain and their bioactive phytochemicals appear to contribute toward the suppression of several chronic diseases , that the national goal is to “avoid preventable diseases from occurring in the first place”and that to achieve the  Target to double whole grain consumption ,  Sorghum should be included in our food supply to derive these health benefits.

    In another recent publication by Anita Stefoska-Needham School of Medicine, Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Australia , it was stated: Sorghum is an important cereal grain food, grown globally, that is rich in nutrients, dietary fiber, and bioactive components yet is considered of low value to humans and often used as an animal feed. This review provides an overview of key sorghum grain components, including starches, dietary fiber, protein, lipids, and phytochemicals, with functional properties that have potential to impact on health. Though acknowledging the impact of the whole food will reflect the synergy between the components, studies of these components implicate effects on energy balance, glycemic control, lipids, gut microbiota, and cell-mediated immune responses, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. For these to be confirmed as contributory effects from sorghum consumption, evidence from quality randomised controlled trials is required. If proven effective, there may be a role for sorghum grain–based diets to assist in the prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. Future research addressing effects of sorghum consumption may help drive a paradigm shift from sorghum as a low value food to a potentially health-promoting, highly valued human grain food.

    From Nigerian folk medicine, the medicinal sorghum, which had been in the custody of the people of the Southwest, had been developed to a product (Jobelyn) that had been researched to contain food and medicine.  Recent laboratory research from GMP Laboratories in the USA confirmed that it contained Vitamins, Selenium, Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Iron, Zinc, Phosphorus, Sodium, Copper, Omega3, 6 & 9 and other  fatty acids.

    For millennia, the indigenous people of western Africa have relied on this botanical to support whole health and a balanced inflammation cycle.

    A simple bunchgrass, Sorghum bicolour’s superior antioxidant capacity is revealed only through a traditional folk preparation of its leaf sheath.

    Modern science has been working hard in the past 15 years to isolate the plant’s antioxidant components in an effort to create a synthetic version. The results? It doesn’t work. The impressive ORAC rating, higher than grapeseed extract and well-known antioxidant berries and fruits, is seen only within the traditionally prepared African remedy using the sorghum leaf in its complete natural state.

    We call our Sorghum ingredient “Jobelyn” after the Jubi River where it originally grew wild. Now a domesticated plant, it is grown on our own organic plantation.

    3-Deoxyanthocyanidins are rare flavonoids found in only a few plant species. These unique flavonoids are the major pigments in the flowers of Sinningia cardinalis, and they are found in silk tissues of certain types of corn. Sorghum is the only dietary source of 3-deoxyanthocyanidins.

    Many plants use secondary metabolites, such as flavonoids, to protect themselves against pathogen attack. In sorghum, this defense is an active response resulting in the accumulation of high levels of 3-deoxyanthocyanidin phytoalexins in infected tissue. This defensive mechanism is the power that Jobelyn uses to strengthen the body and promote whole health.

    • For further enquires send email: Okubena@health-forever.com
  • Women in medicine rehabilitate school in Ebonyi

    Women in medicine rehabilitate school in Ebonyi

    The Medical Women Association of Nigeria (MWAN), Ebonyi State, has renovated a block of classrooms at Ndiebo Community Primary School, Abakaliki, the state capital.

    It also sank a borehole in the school and built an assembly ground podium in addition to a toilet.

    The association equally planted trees and flowers to beautify the school.

    At the flag-off of the facilities, president of the association Dr Thecla said the focus of her administration is improving the health of schoolchildren through services, education and information, and promoting a healthy environment.

    •The team testing the water project
    •The team testing the water project

    “The association has visited several schools in Abakaliki, both public and private schools, delivering health talks and demonstrations on topical issues such as hand washing to prevent diseases (accompanied with donation of customised tap buckets) oral hygiene to prevent dental caries (with distribution of toothbrushes and tooth pastes to children) sickle cell anaemia, debilitating but largely preventable disease; malaria and its prevention, to mention but a few”.

    “In the bid to promote a healthy environment, the association planted over fifty ornamental trees at Nkaliki Nnuhu Primary School, Abakaliki to beautify the school compound. We wanted to do much more in the school but met some community challenges”.

    “This led to our further search for a school where we could showcase our idea of a health promoting school”.

    “Search criteria included a public school, located in a rural or suburban area without water and toilet facilities, and with a significant population of children (of the poor)”.

    “Our unbiased search led to Ndiebo Ishieke Community Primary School and here we are today. We came and saw that this school has no source of water, no toilet facility and the central classroom was extremely dilapidated with holes in the weak walls, and torn roof”.

    “The school environment looked bare and harsh, not child-friendly. I must really recognise the effort of the government through SUBEB, in fencing the school compound, which was of immeasurable importance, and putting up a classroom block”.

    •The renovated classroom block
    •The renovated classroom block

    Dr Ezeonu said when MWAN came to Ndiebo Ishieke Community Primary School, “we saw and conquered. Today, this school has a newly built functional standard water borehole, a six-room toilet facility, a renovated classroom block, a podium for morning assemblies, and a compound decorated with ornamental and fruit trees.”

    All these have been put up by the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria, Ebonyi State chapter, by the help and grace of God, and with the help of our supporters and advisers”.

    She said part of the challenges faced by the association was when it was duped by fraudsters.

    She said: “we give God all the glory because it was no easy task. I must make it known to all that in the course of the project we got into the hands of fraudsters, by the name Water and Horticulture Development said to be managed by Community Borehole Development assistance Program and Nigerian Houses and Environment Sanitisation and Protection programme led by one Dominic Essien”.

    “They flounted fake papers and dossiers, and claimed to be affiliated to the ministry of works. They took our money and  abandoned

    the project. However, we are more than conquerors, through christ. We picked up broken bones and set to work again and we were able to put in place what you see today, within our limited resources”.

    Commissioning the project, National President of the Association, Dr Mrs Akwa Owoh commended MWAN for embarking on the project.

    She said MWAN Ebonyi state chapter is one of the most vibrant chapters of the association.

    Principal of the school, Mrs Gladys Akaeme appreciation of the students and PTA for the projects.

    “What you have done will not only promotee a favourable teaching and learning environment but will go a long way to prevent the spread of communicable diseases on my teachers and pupils as result of poor management and disposal of human waste and will also save the lives of our pupils who cross the dangerous road near the school compound in search of clean water to drink”.

    The elated pupils of the schools danced and. sang the praises of the association.

    The Parents Teachers Association (PTA) also presented gifts to the association in appreciation for the gesture.

     

  • Ekiti lawmakers visit College of Medicine

    Members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly Committee on Health led by the Chairman, Dr. Samuel Omotosho, have paid a working visit to the Ekiti State University College of Medicine.

    The committee, who toured the facilities in the college okayed the job done at the Biochemistry, Pharmacology departments, Medical Library complex and Animal House.

    Omotoso expressed satisfaction with the accreditation of the College by the National Universities Commission (NUC). He added that the committee wants information on the admission of students into the college and other requirements for its growth.

    The Provost, College of Medicine, Prof. Kehinde Oluwadiya, assured them that the  College would leave no stone unturned to ensure quality and standard.

  • Holistic medicine key to sustainable health

    Holistic medicine key to sustainable health

    A natural health practitioner, Dr Gilbert Ezengige, has advocated holistic medicine for the treatment of diseases. Holistic medicine identifies (diagnoses) and treats diseases from the roots (causes).

    According to Dr Ezengige, this form of medicine allows practitioners to diagnose the major causes of patients’ illnesses because, “that is the best way for treating the problem and preventing future occurrences of diseases. Palliative measures would not take anybody anywhere”.

    Besides, this principle impresses on heathcare service providers the responsibility to ensure that all diagnostic and therapeutic procedures carried out on a patient are safe.

    “The procedures should not worsen a patient’s health status. If this advice is taken seriously by health care givers, over 80 per cent of iatrogenic (doctor- induced) disorders would not occur.

    “The father of modern medicine, Hippocrates says, “If a doctor can’t help, he should be prevented from doing harm”.

    Ezengige said holistic medicine embraces the healing power of nature.

    Moreover, the duty of health practitioners is to facilitate and augment a well-ordered, intelligent and natural healing process.

    “Care givers should facilitate the healing process as they are known to enhance it with their timely intervention. They do not start the healing process because it is inbuilt. The cells in the body follow the inbuilt healing programme as instituted by God and executed by the natural forces.

    “Holistic health care providers at best imitate nature’s ways and cooperate with her to dispense healing to the sick,” he said.

    Holistic medicine practitioners, he said, make out time to teach their patients healthy lifestyles.

    “Some time is devoted to teaching the patient or educating him about his diseases and most especially the role he or she is expected to play towards recovery and indeed good health. The healing approach allows treatment to be directed to the person’s mind, body and soul,” he said.

    Other benefits of Holistics healing,according to Dr Ezengige are, “Adequate attention paid by practitioners to his patient’s words, non-verbal heart transmissions (often sensed by conscientious practitioners), gesticulation, demeanor, carriage, voice and tone. Having identified the area of his clients’ life requiring urgent attention, the practitioner consequently incorporates or modifies his treatment plan to cater specifically for those needs.”

    He said holistic medicine places emphasis  on prevention rather than cure. “This is because prevention of diseases is cheaper and more noble (very befitting of humanity) than seeking for cure. Methods of disease prevention are among the top priorities for holistic medicine practitioners. If all the sophistication, technological ingenuity and efforts are geared towards the development of modern medicine therapeutics and research pursuits channeled in the direction of preventive medicine, the world would become a better place for all,” Ezengige said.

  • ‘Herbal medicine now evidence-based’

    ‘Herbal medicine now evidence-based’

    There is cheering news for lovers of African medicine.

    African medicine is moving towards evidence-based medicine, says a key player and Director of Pax Herbal Clinic and Research Laboratories (PAXHERBALS), Fr. Anselm Adodo.

    This progress, according to Father Adodo, who spoke at the Seventh National Congress of Pax health care providers, which is an association of all distributors, agents and scientists, would make African medicine evidence-based.

    He said the era of describing African Traditional medicine as fetish and pagan has long gone.

    Fr Adodo lamented: “Nigeria is still busy discussing whether herbal medicine is a good source of healthcare or not while countries, such as China and India have already invaded the world herbal market like a colossus”.

    He continued: “While the yearly world market for herbal medicine is estimated at over $100 billion, Nigerian professionals are busy attending seminars to convince people of the efficacy of herbal medicine, while others are standing by the ringside complaining about charlatans”.

    The monk called on the scientific community to join hands to develop African herbal medicine.

    Director-General, Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA), Mr Sam Etatuvie praised PAXHERBALS for its determination to open new frontiers in herbal medicine research.

    He said his agency will collaborate with Paxherbals in working out a model of clinical trials of herbal products and other Nigerian herbal products in line with international regulations.

    The Chief Medical Director of Irrua specialist Teaching Hospital, Dr. Sylvanus Okogbenin, represented by Dr Peter Akhinor, said Paxherbals is not just an herbal medicine manufacturer but a full-blown research institute that is ready to move towards clinical research and scientific verification of the claims of its herbal products.

    Okogbenin, who chaired the committee set up the teaching hospital to discuss clinical collaboration with Paxherbals, said he was initially skeptical about the prospects of such a proposed partnership, but his doubts got dispelled after learning about the serious research initiatives of PAXHERBALS.

    He said that he was satisfied with PAXHERBALS reputation as it currently trains over 38 science students from five Nigerian universities.

    The Commissioner for Health, Edo State, Dr Aihanuwa Eregie, represented by the state’s Director of Pharmaceutical Services, Dr. Godwin Okonofua, thanked PAXHERBALS for their achievement in changing the face of herbal medicine in Nigeria and Africa, and thus encouraged them to remain steadfast in their mission.

    Other speakers at the congress were the Catholic Bishop of Uromi Diocese, Rt. Rev. Dr. Gabriel G. Dunia, Vice Chancellor, Samuel Adegboyega University, Ogwa, Prof. Bernard Aigbokhan, Deputy-Vice Chancellor (academics), Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Prof. Jack Aigbodion, Head, Microbiology Department, AAU, Ekpoma, Prof. Mrs. E. Ohenen and Prof. MacDonald Idu of the Department of Phytomedicine, University of Benin (UNIBEN), among others.

  • Provost for College of Medicine

    The new Provost of the College of Medicine, Ekiti State University (EKSU), Prof Kehinde Oluwadiya, and other members, of staff of the college, have been told to work harder than before to sustain the good reputation of the college.

    Vice-Chancellor EKSU Prof Patrick Oladipo Aina, gave the charge during the Academic Staff Assembly (ASA) of the college of Medicine where Oluwadiya was elected as the new Provost on Thursday, August 6.

    “The stage you are is critical, with the recent accreditation of the college, you have to work harder than before,” the Vice-Chancellor admonished.

    Aina congratulated Oluwadiya, who emerged with 53 votes unopposed,urging him to carry his colleagues  along, and build on the achievements of his predecessors.

    Oluwadiya promised to explore the possibilities of leveraging the professional expertise of staff in all spheres. He also vowed to improve the finances of the college.

    The Registrar of EKSU, Mr Emmanuel Ogunyemi, moderated the election, which was attended by all principal officers of the institution.