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Tag: Solutions

  • Mastercard, GTP boost e-payment with solutions

    Mastercard, GTP boost e-payment with solutions

    Mastercard  Global Technology Partners (GTP)  have signed a partnership agreement that will result in the latest prepaid solutions being made available across Africa to government institutions, financial services and corporate sector and consumers.

    The partnership will enable the development and implementation of a wide range of solutions across various markets on the continent. These solutions are aimed at supporting government payments, driving innovation in the travel and tourism sector and driving transparency and efficiency for the financial services and corporate sector.

    “African economies are in support of driving cash out of the financial system, and the introduction of digital payment solutions is in line with their cashless strategies. Businesses on the continent need smart solutions that will provide efficiency, but also offer convenient ways to track and monitor expenditure,” said Daniel Monehin, Division President, sub-Saharan Africa.

    Providing Mastercard prepaid card solutions will strengthen GTP’s existing offering in Africa, and provide consumers greater access to payment systems, international travel, and online shopping.  Prepaid cards also provide employers with an effective payroll solution, introducing a more efficient and transparent way for businesses to monitor expenditure.

    “Mastercard prepaid programs give cardholders greater access to the global marketplace, while advancing government efforts to increase financial literacy and inclusion. These programmes also give businesses and government agencies a payroll solution that drives cash out of the system and provides essential financial tools to control cash flow. This partnership will also enable GTP to offer new payment solutions such as digital wallets and virtual cards to our customers,” said  Chief Executive  Officer at GTP, Rich Bialek.

    Cardholders are assured that regardless of how they use the prepaid solution, their funds will be secured by the Mastercard multi-layered approach to protecting payments. EMV chip and PIN technology is a global payment standard to ensure that funds are protected even if the card is lost or stolen.

    Once funds are loaded to the prepaid card, cardholders can use the card to pay for goods and services in store, online, by phone or to withdraw cash from automated teller machines (ATMs) – anywhere Mastercard is accepted locally or at millions of locations worldwide. The prepaid card ensures flexibility, convenience and security.

  • Benefits of exercise. Your solutions to manifold diseases (5)

    Pain relief: Apart from the use of exercise in rehabilitation of persons with surgical, mental health and other physical illnesses, exercise can help banish or reduce psychological pain whatever its origin: such as grief, divorce and life failures. This is because exercise produces endorphins in the brain. Endorphin is a powerful pain killer like morphine.

    Sleep: exercise generally speaking, improves sleep for a lot of people. It also alleviates sleep disorders such as insomnic illness. However, the best time to exercise may be four to eight hours before bedtime. Vigorous exercise which is done close to bed time may impair sleep as it may cause alertness.

    Other Circumstances: Fibroid is a common disorder in women more especially so in African women wherever they may be on earth. As mentioned earlier, inactivity and obesity may cause the body to require or produce excessive estrogen hormone. Thus, a lean body mass will require less. Exercise is therefore a non-medical way to prevent development of fibroid.

    Further, women who are pregnant and anticipating delivery are encouraged to exercise from mid-pregnancy. This is so, to prepare the birth canal and the entire body of the woman for labour. A well toned muscles of the pelvis and thoroughly prepared body will be less tiring and will be able to cope with the rigours of labour.

    Warnings/Cautions: As in any form of medical treatment, there may be unwanted side effects. Exercise is not different even though it’s free (or supposed to be) and is not a medication.  I cannot over emphasise the fact that exercise may not necessarily be suitable for everyone.  Anyone with heart disease, physical disability,  hypertension or a person who has not done exercise for a long time should exercise caution especially at the initial stages. I will caution that anyone with the illnesses of hypertension, heart problems, diabetes along with obesity or any illness for that matter should first consult with his or her doctor for a check-up. An ECG may also be ordered to cross-check the heart activities ahead of proposed scheduled exercises.

    Also, as in everything in life, too much exercise can be harmful. Moderation and reasonability are called for. Excessive, unrelenting, prolonged exercise may cause heart diseases because of work overloading of the heart.  Excessive exercise in individuals with distorted overweight perception of themselves may lead to excess weight loss which may cause such person to look emaciated.

    Unguarded exertion of muscle and joints may cause physical injuries and also diseases such as rhadomyolysis (muscle damage). In addition, overtraining may suppress your immunity leading to such illnesses as frequently having respiratory infections. Wrong exercise can do more harm than good, with the definition of wrong varying according to the individual concerned. For many activities, especially running and cycling, there are significant injuries that may occur with poorly regimented exercise schedules. Injuries from accidents also remain a major concern, whereas the effects of increased exposure to air pollution seem only negligible: Not everyone exercises outside or on the streets.  Some do so in their private spaces and some do exercise in commercial centres (gym, as it’s popularly called).

    In the female adult, excessive training may cause amenorrhoea (absence of the menstrual periods).  If this continues and or untreated, amenorrhoea may lead to infertility. However, amenorrhoea of this nature is reversible once a correction is made to the underlying cause.

    However, while exercise should be a lifestyle for the duration of one’s life, exercise should if so desired, be stopped gradually. Sudden stoppage of exercise can lead to downward shift in the mood of the individual.

    Suitable nutrition and hydration (water intake) are important to health as exercise. When exercising, it becomes even more important to have a good diet and rehydration to ensure that the body has the correct ratio of macronutrients that it needs while providing ample micronutrients as well, in order to aid the body with the recovery process following strenuous exercise. We should remember that we should not overload or reload the excess food or fat that has been lost through exercise. You should also have adequate rest in intervals. This will allow the body to recover from previous exertion.

    Finally, while exercise is to be encouraged for individuals (children and adults) as well as the communities, caution should be exercised and note should be taken that one person is not the same as the other. If Mrs Z can tolerate 30minutes, it does not imply that Mr B can do the same. Every person should find their own level according to one’s ability especially within the recommended regime. As I have indicated before, do seek the opinion of your medical doctor and clinical adviser if you are considering engaging in exercise for the first time. All the same, you can banish illnesses by the choice of your lifestyle. Good luck.

     

  • Benefits of exercise. Your solutions to manifold diseases (4)

    Human fertility. It’s well- established that regular exercise can help you shed weight. Obesity is bad for your fertility either as a male or female. For the female, obesity can distort the female reproductive organs and thus delay or even prevent conception from occurring. Further, excessive weight may require or produce excess hormones that regulate female function and appearance. The result is that excess circulating hormone such as estrogen may lead to uterine fibroid, cancer of the breast as well as infertility. A lean body or “figure 8” is a great helper of female fertility.

    For the man, generally what is said above for the female is applicable for the male save that excess testosterone (male hormone) may not be healthy for the prostate gland. High testosterone may also lead to high blood pressure. A recent research advised men to maintain a lean body mass so as to improve their own fertility.

    Regardless of the gender, obesity can impair fertility by creating diseases that affect fertility. Such illnesses include diabetes mellitus, high cholesterol and hypertension. These set of infirmities for the man can lead to erectile dysfunction.  For the woman, polycystic ovarian disease may result.  In both genders, obesity may physically impair enjoyment of sexual intercourse.

    Benefits of exercise on Cardiovascular System: Low levels of physical exercise increase the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases (diseases of the heart and blood vessels).  For children, children who take part in in physical exercise produce greater loss of body fat and improved cardiovascular fitness. Experience has shown that academic stress in the young poses increased risk of cardiovascular disease in subsequent years; nonetheless, these dangers can be significantly lowered with structured physical exercise. Exercise can be used to lower high blood pressure or prevent one from developing.

    On  Metabolism: There is scientific evidence to support the fact that exercise lowers blood pressure, LDL and total cholesterol as well as body weight. Exercise increases HDL cholesterol, insulin sensitivity, and exercise tolerance of the individual thus lowering the risk of diabetes mellitus.

    On Immune System: reasonable exercise has an advantageous consequence on the human immune system. For example: modest exercise has been linked with a 29  per cent lowering of occurrence of upper respiratory tract infections (URTI).

    On Cancer: There is abundant evidence that structured physical exercise can prevent up to 13 different cancers in human beings: In particular, cancer of the breast, cancer of the lung, cancer of the stomach, cancer of the colon, cancer of the womb, cancer of the oesophagus, cancer of the blood such as myloid leukaemia and myeloma.

    Other cancers that exercise can keep at bay are cancer of the bladder, cancer of the head and neck as well as cancer of liver and rectum.

    Rehabilitation: Even in patients that had unfortunately suffered from cancer, exercise has been shown to improve the outcome of cancer treatment. Remember, though, that exercise is a non-medication and has no toxic side effects.  Regardless of the age and gender, the same thing can be said for anyone who is recovering from surgery, accidents, fractures and long term bed immobility.  Exercise helps in rehabilitation and recovery from countless number of diseases.

    On the bones and muscles: In women and men, exercise can help to strengthen the bone and muscles. In no age is this more important and well demonstrated as in middle ages in women who had undergone or undergoing menopause. Later in life, men tend to have their own “menopause.” Exercise helps to prevent osteroporosis and muscle wasting. This is especially so in older women.  Regular and determined exercise is the preferred choice, ironically, to prevent and treat osteoarthritis of any bone or joints.

    Mental Illness: Its well documented and indeed proven that exercise has positive impact on our mental health. Let us examine this fact a little further. A mammoth body of research in human beings has shown that consistent aerobic exercise (for example, 30 minutes of every day) encourage continual enhancement in certain brain and intellectual functions.

    Individuals who regularly carry out aerobic exercise (such as, running, jogging, brisk walking, swimming or cycling) have superior score on brain functions and performance tests such as attention control, inhibitory control, working memory updating and capacity, and information processing speed. Clinical proof also maintains the use of exercise as an additional therapy for certain brain illnesses in particular Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Structured exercise is also associated with a lower risk of developing neurodegenerative disorders. Exercise and in particular, aerobic exercise is also a powerful antidepressant as well as producing euphoria leading to improvements in mood and self-esteem.

    On depression: Exercise is well established form of as an antidepressant in persons with depression.  In fact, clinical evidence supports the use of exercise as both a preventive measure against and also supportive therapy with antidepressant medication for depressive illnesses. Persons suffering from anxiety can also benefit from moderate exercise.

    Exercise can thus banish sadness and improve happiness in individuals.

  • Benefits of Exercise. Your solutions for manifold diseases: (3)

    One way to do your recommended 150 minutes of weekly physical activity is to do 30 minutes on five  days a week. All adults should also break up long periods of sitting with light activity. What counts as moderate aerobic activity? Examples of activities that require moderate effort for most people include: walking , water aerobics, riding a bike on level ground or with few hills, doubles tennis, pushing a lawn mower, hiking, skateboarding, rollerblading, volleyball, basketball.

    Please take note that if you cannot exercise every day, a new research in January 2017 has given support to “Weekend Warriors” who chose to exercise on weekends only.

    Moderate activity will raise your heart rate and make you breathe faster and feel warmer. One way to tell if you’re working at a moderate level is if you can still talk, but you can’t sing the words to a song. What counts as vigorous activity?  There is good evidence that vigorous activity can bring health benefits over and above that of moderate activity. Examples of activities that require vigorous effort for most people include: jogging or running, swimming fast, riding a bike fast or on hills, singles tennis, football, rugby, skipping rope, hockey, aerobics (see above), gymnastics, martial arts

    Vigorous activity makes you breathe hard and fast. If you’re working at this level, you won’t be able to say more than a few words without pausing for breath. In general, 75 minutes of vigorous activity can give similar health benefits to 150 minutes of moderate activity.

    What activities strengthen muscles? Muscle strength is necessary for: all daily movement to build and maintain strong bones, to regulate blood sugar and blood pressure, to help maintain a healthy weight. Muscle-strengthening exercises are counted in repetitions and sets. A repetition is one complete movement of an activity, like a bicep curl or a sit-up. A set is a group of repetitions. For each strength exercise, try to do: at least one set, eight to 12 repetitions in each set. To get health benefits from strength exercises, you should do them to the point where you struggle to complete another repetition. There are many ways you can strengthen your muscles, whether it’s at home or in the gym. Examples of muscle-strengthening activities for most people include: lifting weights, working with resistance bands, doing exercises that use your own body weight, such as push-ups and sit-ups, heavy gardening, such as digging and shovelling.

    You can do activities that strengthen your muscles on the same day or on different days as your aerobic activity – whatever’s best for you. Muscle-strengthening exercises are not an aerobic activity, so you’ll need to do them in addition to your 150 minutes of aerobic activity.

    Some vigorous activities count as both an aerobic activity and a muscle-strengthening activity. Examples include: circuit training, aerobics: running, football, rugby, netball and hockey.

    Exercise for Babies: Before your baby begins to crawl, encourage them to be physically active by reaching and grasping, pulling and pushing, moving their head, body and limbs during daily routines, and during supervised floor play, including tummy time. Once babies can move around, encourage them to be as active as possible in a safe, supervised and nurturing play environment.

    Children who can walk on their own should be physically active every day for at least 180 minutes.(three hours). This should be spread throughout the day, indoors or outside. The 180 minutes can include light activity such as standing up, moving around, rolling and playing, as well as more energetic activity like skipping, hopping, running and jumping.

    Ages 5-18years: To maintain a basic level of health, children and young people aged 5 to 18 needs to do: at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day – this should range from moderate activity, such as cycling and playground activities, to vigorous activity, such as running and tennis on three days a week, these activities should involve exercises for strong muscles, such as push-ups, and exercises for strong bones, such as jumping and running.

    Older adults aged 65 or older, who are generally fit and have no health conditions that limit their mobility, should try to be active daily and should do: at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity such as cycling or walking every week, and strength exercises on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms).

    Benefits/Advantages of Exercise: Physical leisure activities have phenomenon amount of benefits. Exercise has incredible social and medical advantages. Human beings after all, seem to have been made to frequently be in motion. That is to say, sedentary lifestyle poses a danger to a person’s existence. For example, sitting too long or lying down for too long a period may lead to obesity, diabetes, deep vein thrombosis and anxiety.

    Engaging in physical exercise does help in maintaining overall physical well-being, contributing to ensuring healthy weight amongst others. Physical exercise induces happiness, improve the mood, helps overcome pain and prevent mental health breakdown.  Let us now go in more details on the benefits of physical exercise.

  • Benefits of exercise. Your solutions for manifold disease (2)

    Benefits of exercise. Your solutions for manifold disease (2)

    In today’s article, we shall deal with various forms of recommended exercises. There are various forms of exercises that individuals and groups or families can engage in. I will set out below, these types of exercises. Physical exercises are in generally classed into three types, based on the particular effect that the said exercise have on the body. In contract to the random and chaotic nature of some individuals who are claiming to be exercising, these classes of exercises will help guide us to know what activity we are engaged in at a particular time.

    Let us deal with aerobic exercise:  This is a form of physical activity that uses big or large muscle groups. In effect, such activities cause the body to expend more oxygen fuel (hence the name aerobic) than it would while at rest. The aim of aerobic exercise is to increase the heart and blood vessels’ staying power or stamina. Examples of aerobic exercise include cycling, swimming, and brisk walking, jogging, skipping rope which women and children often ask me if rope skipping is a form of acceptable exercise, rowing and playing table or lawn tennis. The list goes on.

    Anaerobic exercise on the other hand is another form of exercise. Anaerobic means going without oxygen. This class of exercise includes strength training for example: weight lifting. Other form of anaerobic exercise includes leg and hands resistance training. Anaerobic exercise does strengthen, and tone muscles. Similarly, anaerobic exercise serves to improve bone strength, balance, and coordination. Examples of strength exercise, according to online Encyclopaedia (Wiki) are push-ups, pull-ups, lunges, and bicep curls using dumbbells. As I mentioned earlier, anaerobic exercise also include weight training, functional training, sprinting, and high-intensity interval training increase short-term muscle strength.

    On the other hand, the third class of exercise is called flexibility exercises. Flexibility exercises involve stretching of joints and lengthening of muscles. Examples will be abdominal exercises, squatting, backward bending, bending and extending the joints and various muscles that are attached. Activities such as stretching help to improve joint flexibility and keep muscles agile. The objective is to improve the range of motion and degree of movements of the joints including their attached muscles which can as a result reduce the chance of damage.

    As can be seen therefore, the claim that frequently loitering in the kitchen, mindless walking along the street with heavy emotional load or jumping into commuter buses cannot be, in the true senses, considered as a form exercise.

    Meanwhile, physical exercise can also include an activity that focuses on acurateness, dexterity, power, and speed. Thus, sometimes the terms ‘dynamic’ and ‘static’ are used instead of above categorisations.  ‘Dynamic’ exercises include such activities as steady running (jogging) which tend to produce a lowering of the diastolic blood pressure during exercise, due to the improved blood flow. On the contrary, static exercise (such as weight-lifting) can cause the systolic pressure to rise significantly again during the exercise.

    The moral of this explanation is that one should get involved in a mixture of different classes exercises (aerobic or dynamic as well as say stretching exercises) to enhance the overall benefits.

    Now, having dealt with the types or classes of exercises as discussed above, you will be right to ask me: what is the amount of exercise that is scientifically recommended to ward off illnesses? In other words, how much physical activity should I do? For this let us turn to some official guidelines. I will refer to the National Health Service (NHS Choices) in the UK for guidance which is copied but slightly edited below:

    For 19-64 years: To stay healthy or to improve health, adults need to do two types of physical activity each week: aerobic and strength exercises which I also mentioned above. I will deal with other ages later.

    How much physical activity you need to do each week depends on your age. To stay healthy, adults aged 19-64 should try to be active daily and should do: at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity such as cycling or fast walking every week, and  strength exercises on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms).  75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity, such as running or a game of singles tennis every week and strength exercises on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms); A mix of moderate and vigorous aerobic activity every week. For example, two 30-minute runs plus 30 minutes of fast walking equates to 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity, and strength exercises on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms). A good rule is that one minute of vigorous activity provides the same health benefits as two minutes of moderate activity.

  • Benefits of exercise. Your solutions for manifold disease: (1)

    I have been labelled as Exercise Evangelist by the many who receive my regular electronic messages on the subject.

    A lot of such people are taking my messages. Nothing can gladden a medical doctor than when he sees his patients and followers following his advice and getting better health. From all indications, it appears human beings are not made to be stationary. We are supposed to be in motion.

    It’s on the basis of such joy that I now write the public health promotion and education series.  The message in the next couple of weeks will focus on exercise, also called physical leisure activity.

    As it’s the custom here, let us start by looking at the definition and scope of exercise.

    What is exercise?  The medical dictionary says: “Exercise is physical activity that is planned, structured, and repetitive for the purpose of conditioning any part of the body.” We may also consider physical exercise as being any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. Whereas, brain exercises are those activities which give the brain new experiences by use of physical senses of hearing, smelling, touching, tasting, visual and emotional activities. I once told someone living in Lagos to exercise as part of clinical consultation, he responded by telling me that running after “danfo” or “BRT” and walking home when there is no bus to join is enough exercise for him. Pointing at his relative slim figure, he reminded me of the “benefits” of such “exercise” as struggling daily to catch a “danfo” bus as a commuter had made him slim.  Yet, this individual’s blood pressure and sugar remained very high in spite of his perceived “exercise”.

    As we can see from the above definition, to have any reasonable and beneficial effect, exercise should be “planned and structured”. Exercise is not a sudden, chaotic and irregular activity embarked upon on an impulse due to imposing transport challenges.

    Another common error is in matter of sexual intercourse. While there is a definitive scientifically published article indicating that sexual activity results in a loss of energy up to 200 kilocalories (about 10 per cent of daily energy requirement for a standard male) in one sexual encounter lasting 30 minutes and intercourse is considered as a form of exercise, it is clearly irrational to use sexual intercourse as a “planned, structured and repetitive” form of exercise. Sex is vulnerable to emotion, subject to mood changes and because sex involves two individuals, intercourse may be unplanned as well as being seriously influenced by the feelings or motives of the other person. Exercise may not be so influenced by the variables which I have mentioned. Any reasonable exercise by adults is a definite and determined course of action.

     

    What exercise is not

    One of my very good clinical and a personal friend once sent me a message asking for my view if arguing with one’s spouse can be considered as a form of exercise.

    Well, mere loss of or expenditure of energy as in the case of arguing with anyone not the least, one’s spouse, should not be considered as a form of exercise. Such argument does not fit the definition of an activity that is “planned and structured.”  While I concede that conjugal argument may result in sweating, expenditure of energy, squabbling may be purposeless. What is the point in engaging in useless expenditure of energy? Argument may lead to mental stress, headache, impaired judgement, poor sleep and body aches -the very opposite features that real exercise is meant to achieve as we shall see later.

    As I explained earlier, sex cannot be said to be structured, reasonable, planned activity meant to improve on certain muscles and organs of the body outside the muscles and organs that are involved in reproduction.

    To our mothers and housewives, going about several times around the kitchen, living room and bed room in pursuit of domestic chores cannot be considered as a form of structured and planned physical exercise. Often, by the end of the day, a mother chasing after youngsters and housewives trying her best to ensure orderliness at home cannot be said to be exercising. Very often, the consequences of the activities that I have described in this paragraph, frequently leads to stress, hypertension and obesity: the very illnesses that physical exercises is meant to prevent as we shall see later on.

    Exercises, such as physical labours,  civil and mechanical construction workers restlessness, subsistence farmers’ tedious efforts, market women and men hassling, bus drivers and conductors wearisomeness,  endless times on the office chair pouring over intractable problems by political and business executives as well as continuous mindless walking on city streets are not beneficial or structured exercises. At best, they are a waste of time and energy, resulting as it often does, in actual illnesses that structured, purposeful exercise is meant to prevent.

    Therefore, the subsequent articles will elaborate on exercise, the scope, the advantages and scientific recommendations on how best to get the highest benefits from exercise.

  • Some natural solutions to sleep disorders (3)

    I hope you now enjoy a good night rest. As earlier sections of this series have suggested, rest full sleep is the outcome of many factors. For example, the nerves must not be tremulous or spasmodic, that is gripping and shivery, otherwise many unpleasant situations may arise.  Nerve spasms may cause irregular contractions of smooth muscles in the blood vessels of the brain, and these, in turn, may decrease blood circulation to the brain or flood it with more blood than it needs. Too little blood means insufficient oxygen, and too much blood may present situations of drowning brain nerves and cells. Pain may arise when oxygen supply is inadequate.

    Poor blood circulation implies wastes accumulation and torment of brain tissue by accumulated wastes or toxins. Tick blood may osmotically dehydrate brain tissue, causing headache. That is why it is advisable to drink one or two glasses of water about thirty minutes before a meal and about two hours after a mill. This helps to prevent tick blood or pressure in the head. When we realise that the Pineal Gland, situated in the brain, is responsible for producing melatonin, the brain chemical which makes us to fall asleep or feel like doing so from about 9pm, and that a wrong brain biochemistry negatively affect this glands, we appreciate better the need to care for the brain through the diet, relaxation and positive thinking. Positive thinking is crucial in this, as in all matters of health, because stress and anger, for example, might decrease not only the amount of melatonin in the system, but, also, the capacity of the Pineal gland to manufacture it.

    Earlier sections of this series suggested as well the need for alkaline forming foods, for acidosis compromises healthy metabolism. Caffeine disturbs sleep. In the brain, it burns Choline and Inositol to produce bursts of energy which produces the caffeine energy burst. But the energy burst is short–time energy. The user soon returns to status quo- ante when the energy is used up, and requires another doses. Frequently doses soon burn out the choline and inositol reserves. Choline and inositol are found in Lecithin, a fat-dissolving chemical substance which has been found to lower blood cholesterol, blood pressure, discourage gall-stone formation, improve cell signaling and improve immunity, among other benefits. In 1975, the Mossachusetts institute of Technology (MIT) carried out a “ground–breaking study which found that a daily supply of lecithin improves brain chemical activity.” In www.diannecraft.org, we learn that lecithin affected brain activities such as learning, memory, motor co-ordination, sensory feedback and sleep patterns.” The website adds that: “we can use these findings by concluding that Lecithin improves memory, speech, and motor problems that affected balance and movement. In his book, TOTAL CONCENTRATION, Dr. Levinson, a neurologist from New York, states that he frequently uses Lecithin to help both attention and learning in his young patients.”

    In www.doctoryourselft.com//sleep.html we observe: “Lecithin makes up nearly a third of your brains dry weight. This natural food substance is found in soy products and egg yolk, and is available as a supplement as well. Two to four teaspoons daily has consistently shortened the time needed for people to go to sleep.”

    If caffeine burns choline and inositol in Lecithin beyond normal proportions, the outcome on the brain is not so far-fetched. The image of caffeine in health matters has become so terribly beleaguered, despite the pharmacological credits ascribed to it, that many people who take caffeine containing foods are abandoning them. To the credit of caffeine is the suggestion that it is a central nervous system stimulant, a broncho-dilator and a mild diuretic. That would make it good for depression, bad breathing conditions, water logging and all that. But the negative impact has led to the “bad-mouthing” or discrediting of coffee, for example. As the coffee market set to dwindled, big boys of the trade came up with de-caffeinated coffee which has now been found to be worse than plain coffee on its damaging effects on health. From decaffeinated coffee, coffee pushers have moved to coffee combos with all sorts of health – promoting herbs. This has led to such proprietary products as Ginseng – Coffee, Red Yeast Coffee, Garnoderma coffee and, lately, Lecithin – coffee. The idea behind it all seems to be that “since you need caffeine to stay smart, and since caffeine has been so terribly condemned, you can have your coffee with a healthful herb which can reduce its side effects. I avoid such treats as much as I can. I would rather take energy-making herbs which gently keep me going, not even those popular energy drinks on the market which contain lot of caffeine. These energy given herbs will include Lecithin, Ginseng, Ganoderma, Ubiquinol variant of CoQ10, cordyceps, B vitamins, coral Calcium, Honey, Moringa, Graviola leaves, bark and stem powder tea, Blackstrap molasses, Black seed oil, chlorella and the likes of them.

    I know of some people who do not sleep easily or well when they take caffeine in caffeine containing pain killers, or even Cola drinks. Some people get off their sleep problems when they get off these drinks. I have seen some women who found their menstrual cycle problems reversed to normal when they stop cola drinks.

    In the last section of this series, VERVAIN tea was proposed as a nerve relaxant and a sleep promoter, among its many other beneficial uses. Today, I would like to propose CHAMOMILE and VALERIAN ROOT.

     

    CHAMOMILE

    We are advised in www.naturalhealth365.com: “Chamomile, scientifically known as Matricaria recutita and also called German Chamomile, is normally employed by natural healers to treat digestive disorders, colds, muscle spasms, skin rashes, inflamed gums and infections. But it is the herbs ability to reduce anxiety, elevate mood and combat insomnia that is presently of particular interest to medical researchers.

    Researchers have discovered that one constituent of Chamomile tea works on the brain in a way similar to that of Bensodia Zepines, a group of anziolytic or anxiety reducing drugs that include Xan ax and Valium. Not only can these drugs cause unpleasant side effects such as headaches, confusion, trembling, dizziness and nightmare – but they can be physically addictive but chamomile on the other hand, helps to smooth jangled nerves and to promote restful sleep without the risks of harmful side effects or physical habitation. Animal research and some limited clinical studies have supported chamomile’s ability to elevate mood, reduce anxiety and promote sleep. In a double–blind, placebo–controlled clinical study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania and published in 2012 in ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES IN HEALTH AND MEDICINE, people diagnosed with mild to moderate anxiety and depression were given 220mg of Chamomile extract daily for eight weeks. Utilising both Black Anxiety inventory system and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating, researchers found that 57 percent of the group using the Chamomile had a significant reduction in their symptoms. Even more encouraging was the fact that the beneficial effect increased over time unlike pharmaceutical drugs, which can cause tolerance situation in which the medication must be taken in ever increasing dosages to have the same effects– chamomile seems to work better the longer it was used on additions, to improving mood and suppressing anxiety, chamomiles may make it easier to fall asleep. In one small clinical study stated in MOLECULAR MEDICINE REPORTS, 10 out of 12 Cardiac patients felt into a deep sleep after consuming chamomile tea. These suggestions are corroborated by www.homeremediesweb.com//chamomile– health which says: “Chamomile is a herb that comes from a flowering plant from the daisy family. For centuries, both the fresh and dried flowers of Chamomile have been used to create teas and also as natural treatment for a number of health problems. The active ingredient in chamomile essential oil that makes it suitable for treating health conditions is known as Bisabolol, which has a number of anti-irritants, anti-inflammatory and anti–microbial properties.

    Chamomile can be used topically or orally to treat a number of every day ailments such as insomnia and other sleep disorders, anxiety and panic attacks, muscles twitches,  wounds, burns and scrape, skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, chicken pox and diaper rash, stomach problems such as menstrual cramps, stomach flu and ulcers. “Chamomile has been found to contain fairly strong anti-spasmodic and anti-inflammatory constituents. Therefore, it has been found to be effective in treating stomach and intestinal cramps.”

     

    VALERIAN ROOT

    This is one of my favourite herbs for headaches and for sleep. For headaches, it works as well, if not better than, such herbs as fever few and skull cap. Valerian root is eulogised in https://draxe.com/valerian-root/ “Valerian root is widely used and respected by the general population and physicians for its sedative effect and anti-anxiety capabilities. You may have even had valerian root before and not even realised it. It is very common for valerian root to be included in sleep promoting tea blends, but it does just offers a solid night sleep. It is also amazing at naturally calming anxiety and can even lower blood pressure, among other tremendous benefits.” The website offers five major health benefits of valerian roots.

    In it words:  “One. Naturally Aids Sleep. Studies show that Valerian reduces the time it takes to fall asleep and improves the quality of sleep, so if you can’t sleep, it may be just what you are looking for. Unlike many prescriptions of sleeping pills, Valerian has fewer side effects and it is a lot less likely to result in morning drowsiness. In one double-blind study conducted by the FOELNINGE HEALTH CENTRE in Sweden, the effects of Valerian on poor sleep were significant. Of the study participants, 44 percent reported perfect sleep while 89 percent reported improved sleep when taking Valerian root. In addition, no side effects were observed for this group. Valerian root is often combined with other sedative herbs, such as hops (C humulus lupulus) and Lemon balm (Melissa officianalis), to treat insomnia. In one study of children with minor sleep problems published in PHYTOMEDICINE, 81 percent of those who took a herb combination of Valerian and Lemon Balm reported sleeping much better than these who took a placebo.

    “Why can valerian root help you sleep so well? Valerian extract can cause sedation by increasing your brains GABA level. GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter, and in large enough quantities it can cause a sedative effect. Result from an invitro study suggests that valerian extracts may cause GABA to be released from brain nerve endings and block GABA from being taken back into nerve cells. In addition, Valerians Valeric acid inhibits and enzymes that destroys GABA, another way that Valerian can improve your GABA levels and promote a great night rest.

    “Two. Calms anxiety: Scientist have found that Valerian root increases the amount of a chemical called GAMMA AMINOBUTYRIC ACID (GABA) in the brain. GABA helps regulates nerve cells and calm anxiety. Drugs such as alprazolam (Xanax) and diazepam (valium) also works by increasing the amount of GABA in the brain. The Valeric acid and Valerenol contained in Valerian root extract act as an anti-anxiety agent. It is presently amazing that a herbal remedy as Valerian root can have the same anti-anxiety effects of prescription drugs without all the serious side effects of Psychotropic drugs.

    “Three. Lowers blood pressure: Now that you know that Valerian root can be so calming to the mind and body, it is probably not surprising to hear it can also help lower blood pressure improving heart health. The same active components that make Valerian root so effective for stress and anxiety management can also help the body regulate it blood pressure. High blood pressure is something you definitely want to avoid since it increases the chance of stroke and heart attack. Valerian root supplements can help naturally reduce blood pressure and keep it at a healthy level which has a direct positive impact on your health.

    “Four. Eases Menstrual Cramps: The relaxing nature of Valerian root can make it a smart choice for natural relief of menstrual cramps. It can reduce the severity and discomfort of menstrual cramps, which is a common problem for women who suffer monthly from PMS. How exactly can Valerian root help? It is a natural sedative and anti-spasmodic which means it suppresses muscle spasms and acts as a natural muscle relaxant. Valerian root can effectively calm the severe uterus muscle contractions that cause the terrible pain women may experience during menstruation, as a double blind, randomised placebo-controlled study from ISLAMIC AZAD UNIVERSITY in Iran showed.

    “Five. Improves Stress Management: By reducing anxiety and improving the length and quality of sleep, Valerian root can significantly help with daily stress management. Chronic stress can make you anxious. But anxiety can make you even more stressed out. By improving GABA level, Valerian makes it easier for both the mind and body to relax. Since relaxation is the antithesis of stress, Valerian root is an excellent natural way to help keep your stress down, and your quality of life up. Furthermore, Valerian root has been shown to suppress both physical and Psychological stress, ascending to research in BMC complementary and Alternative Medicine.”

    As you may have seen in the series so far, Mother Nature has blessed us with everything we need to keep our body health and to have a restful night sleep after a hard day labour. For those who know about it, there are beings which keeps the earth moving, producing the effects of night and day, to bring sleep hours and work hours. Many researchers have educated us about the three rhythms of the day. One rhythm from 12 midnight to 8am helps our bodies to detoxify themselves and eliminate the waste product of their daily activities. That is why you go to wee or to void stool. Another rhythm, from 8am to 4pm enables our bodies to digest the food we put into them. But we must start gradually from light food for breakfast to heavier food at lunch time when the sun is high up and providing a large of quantum of energy for everything alive to do work, and from here dovetail to light food again when the sun is going down and energy to do work, including digestion, is ebbing. You will notice that animals from about 4pm and 5pm or even 6pm begins to go homewards to rest, after a hard day’s labour. Look at the chickens and the goats and the birds. They hardly eat when the sun is down unless manipulated to do so by man. In the evenings, when the sun has gone away, many people overloads their bodies with food, giving it the work of digestion to do, when it should actually be absorbing nutrient from digested food. This confuses the body, and makes it less efficient including preparing itself for sleep. In these matters, I remember the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (May the Peace of Allah be with him wherever he is). The Koran says that, when we eat, we should fill one third of the stomach with food, another third with water and the remaining third with air. That means we should eat light always. Hands up Desola Seriki (Nee Oshilaran) if you do not break this rule. Hands up, too, Chris Daniel and Stanley Utsu if you do not overstock your stomach with heavily compacted Agege Bread.  The third rhythm, from 4pm to 12 midnight is for the assimilation of nutrients from the food we eat to detoxify itself of poisons and waste products of its daily activities.

  • Nigeria Prize for Science: Search for solutions to Malaria continues next year

    As the world continues to search for a lasting solution to the Malaria scourge, the Advisory Board of the Nigeria Prize for Science sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) has announced the extension of the search for solutions to 2017 competition, after the evaluation of 15 entries submitted for this year’s prize.

    With this year’s theme: “Innovation on Malaria Control”, the extension is the first since the competition began  in 2014.

    The Advisory Board for the Science Prize, led by Prof. Akpoveta Susu, announced the decision to carry over the theme to 2017.

    Prof Susu said: “After a thorough evaluation of the fifteen (15) entries received, it was decided that the theme be repeated and the call for entries extended for another year.”

    Reacting to the verdicts, the General Manager, External Relations at NLNG, Kudo Eresia-Eke, said: “The decision to extend the call for entries for the Science Prize is a welcome development as it provides an opportunity for Scientists who might have missed the initial call the opportunity of making submissions while those who had earlier applied can resubmit more robust entries. Hopefully at the end of the exercise next year we would get a result that would be very qualitative and valuable for Africa and the world.”

  • Some natural solutions to sleep disorders (2)

    After the hurly burly of daylight hours, I look forward to nightfall with untold joy. The joy is boundless not simply because, It is almost 7, I would be able to give my bones and muscles some rest in which my nerves, brain, the heart and other vital organs would also be revitalized. It is during sleep that the human body produces the largest amounts of Human Growth Hormone (HGH), which supports the repair of damage in the organs. Imagine a mother car flung up and down every day and not taken to the mechanic for the repair of any fault(s) it is complaining about. Such a car may sooner than later get off the road. So it is with our bodies. In my active work years as a young man, I easily broke the Law of Balance in respect of work and rest, arriving form work at about 3:am, yes 3:am, almost every day and  being at my desk in the office for those nasty but important management meetings which began at 11:am.

    The energy and fire of youth in the adrenal glands bounced off the shocks easily absorbed them, like the brand new shock absorbers of a motor vehicles. Buy, as we say, no one can cheat Mother Nature, and, so, in time, the wages of sin began to fall in place, resulting in those symptoms of aging no one advancing in year’s wishes to experience when the day of reckoning or the season of bumper harvests arrives. In Nature cure, sleep is often called Dr. Sleep. But not all Sleep is Sleep, as this column explained last Thursday stating the differences between the four stages of sleep and suggesting, for example, the use of the herb VERVAIN to achieve STAGE 4 SLEEP or Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep, as it is also called, to overcome insomnia. In Stage 4 Sleep, a great event envelopes the body and the soul. And it is to this great event I joyfully look forward to when nightfall approaches. For, in deep sleep, the energy bond or “cement” which holds body and soul together relaxes its hold, the body falls sleepily apart to rest and to heal itself, while the Soul, released somewhat from the body and its Union with it, becomes free and journeys out of the body in what we call dreams. The deeper the dream, the better it is for both body and soul. I dream a lot, and joyfully look forward to nightfall when I know I would dream again. In respect of my dreams, my wife gave me the nickname Joseph the Dreamer. Remember Joseph in the Bible and in the Quran? The last of 12 children, he was the most beloved of their father, dreamt that the 11 sheaves of wheat of his brothers bowed before his own sheaf of wheat, and that the sun and the moon (representing his parents and 11 stars his brothers) bowed before him. In jealousy and outrage, his brothers sold him into slavery and lied to their father that an animal killed him in the fields.

    Meanwhile, they sold Joseph to Potiphar, a captain of the pharaoh’s Palace guard in Egypt. Potiphar’s wife wanted Joseph to sleep with her. He declined, and she set him up for attempted rape of his mater’s wife. Joseph was cast into prison. There he met the baker and the butler of Pharaoh. Both men had dreams they could not interpret. Joseph told the baker he would be executed, and the butler that he would be freed. The baker was later hung on a tree for bird’s to feed on, and the butler was freed. Joseph pleaded with the Butler not to forget about him whenever he returned to the Palace. In the Palace, the Pharaoh had a dream neither he nor his wise men could interpret: seven lean cows ate up seven fat cows.

    The Butler told the King there was a man in prison who could interpret the dream. Joseph was brought to the Palace and he interpreted the dream to mean that seven years of bountiful harvest would be followed by seven years of grave famine. Joseph was released by Pharaoh to help the kingdom avert the fortold seven years of grave famine. The job placed him next in command to the King. Overcome by famine, his brothers were to travel to Egypt, the land of plentiful food. They came personally in contact with Joseph but did not recognize him, and bowed before him… to fulfill two of Joseph’s dreams which outraged them. Meanwhile Joseph got them to settle in Egypt, and that began the story of the Children of Israel in Egypt. Story has been told to emphasis the importance of sleep for a “sound mind and body” for it is only in sleep that we dream bountifully, and dreams connect us to the world beyond the reach of our physical senses, to forewarn and to guide us. Thus, people who do not sleep well or soundly are not only likely to suffer health mishaps, they are also likely to become like rudderless ships at sea, tossed hitter and titter by the waves, because they have no guidance from the beyond and focus on earth.

    I became interested in dreams when, in the 1970s, I read in a pamphlet produced by some young Nigerians abroad an article titled THE LORD GIVES TO HIS OWN IN THEIR SLEEP. The article explained the roles played by the frontal brain (big brain) and the back brain (small brain) in our lives. The frontal brain is the seat of thought, the intellect and serves day consciousness. The back brain is the spiritually-receptive part of the brain.

    The body and the Soul generate energy or radiations which hold them together in a flexible union. If the radiations of the body weaken either from shock (as in an accident, aging, malnutrition and disease, or lose of the will to live) the Union may collapse or death of the body may occur, as the soul, finding the earthly casing no longer usable for anchorage on earth, floats away. And the body falls apart in death because, in this circumstance, it is no longer animated by the soul. If the Spirit, which resides in the soul, loses the will to live it would pull out of the union with the body, and death of the body would similarly occur. But if the union weakens only to permit sleep, the soul floats away to experience life beyond the terrain of the body. That is why you may find yourself in a dream ponding someone or screaming and your body is doing exactly the same things simultaneously in its sleep on the bed. What is going on is that the experiences of your soul are being relayed to your body, through a broadcast system of radiations.

    In picture form, what the soul is experiencing is relayed to the body in bed through a “cable” which connects the body and the soul. This “cable”   is known as THE SILVER CORD. It is like the unbiblical cord which connects a baby in the womb to the mother. To deliver a woman of a baby, this cord had to be cut or severed. That’s what happens in death. The body and the soul are separated with the severance of the silver cord! As pictorial images of the soul’s experiences outside the body are relayed to the body through the Silver Cord, a point of body/soul connection known as the SOLAR PLEXUS, they journey through nerve fibers and the bloodstream to the back brain, the Spiritually-receptive part of the brain. Here, these radiations are converted to pictures, which we remember vaguely or sharply when we awake from sleep.

    Whether what we remember would be sharp or dull would depend on many factors, including the nutritional status of the back brain. It is interesting to note that Science has linked Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep stage to deep or restful sleep and dreams. For the physical eyes closed in sleep actually move hither and thither as the soul eyes move when the soul is outside the body. If we look up or sideways in our so-called dream, the closed “sleeping” physical eyes in bed move likewise. This shows that something is being broadcast from somewhere to the body which is assumed to be asleep in bed. The body is, in this state, somewhat like a radio receiving set or television set receiving a broadcast from a broadcasting station which had loaded the broadcast message or electromagnetic waves. Think of the SMS message you send and received on your phone every day, and you may begen to understand what happened to you when you dream. Thus, I feel personally bad when I cannot vividly remember a dream because I know I have frustrated someone on the “other side” trying to reach me. Don’t we feel bad when we dial someone’s number and it doesn’t go through or he or she missed the call, or the network frustrates the effort?

     

    REM SLEEP

    According to Wikipedia, “Rapid Eye Movement Sleep is a unique phase of Manahan sleep characterised by random movement of the eyes, low muscles tone throughout the body, and the propensity of the dreamer to dream vividly.” From medicalnews.com, we learn:

    “Rapid Eye Movement sleep is one of the five stages of sleep that most people experience nightly. It is characterised by quick, random movements of the eyes and paralysis of the muscles. The amount of time spent in rapid eye movement varies significantly with age, it normally makes up around 20 to 25 percent of an adult humans total time spent asleep (an average about 90-120 minutes) and about more than half of an infant’s.

    In www.scenedialy.com, we understand:

    “Rapid Eye Movement is the stage of sleep characterized by rapid saccadic movement of the eyes. During this stage, the activity of the brain’s neurons is quite similar to that during waking hours. Most of the vividly recalled dreams occur during Rapid Eye Movement Sleep. It is the lightest form of sleep, and people awakened during Rapid Eye Movement usually feel alert and refreshed.

    My dreams I dream a lot, as I said earlier. Sometimes, the dream breaks, like a film break, when a noise disturbs me or I feel pressed to wee.  I am not surprised, from the explanations of dream aforestated, when I go back to sleep and the dream resumes from where it was broken off. I know someone is at work. I am not a stranger to Out of Body Experience (OBE) during sleep. (This is a matter for another day).

    I know it is possible to a achieve day consciousness during dreams. By this, I mean you are dreaming, and you make yourself realize you, the human spirit, are the one wherever you find yourself in that dream, and that your body is lying asleep, resting somewhere. In that conscious state, you can will yourself to go anywhere, seek solutions to problems which bother you in day-conscious life. But many people, for good reasons, are too frightened to venture it. Maybe I picked courage from the teaching that there is no division between the world of our physical senses and that world we call the “beyond” because it is indeed, beyond the reach of physical senses as both worlds are of different consistencies, or at different energy of vibrational level. We should remember when it comes to energy levels that we were thought by the Lord Jesus 1000 years on years on earth are like one day in the beyond, which means the earth exist on a very low energy level. Therefore, sluggish vibration of the earthly eye cannot see beyond earthly forms that are vibrating on a much high frequency.

    In my view, many people misunderstand the spoon and metal-bending psychics of the 1970s, the most notable among them being Yuri Geller. Geller was branded by his critics as an illusionist and stage magician. What did he do? He claimed to have psychic powers or supra normal or beyond earthly powers. On television, he would ask his viewers to hold spoons, keys or any other metal objects in their hands. And, with the powers of his mind, he would cause those objects to bend in their hands! I believe the Disciple of the Lord Jesus on the Day of Pentecost heard the different languages spoken by the motley crowd who listened to them not with their physical ears and understood them not through rational thought but through non-physical senses which came alive in them. In my dreams, I make a distinction between black and white situations and dreams in colours. The former may be impressions of the frontal or intellectual brain flowing backwards. Colours dreams, on the other hand, are more likely impressions from the soul flowing to the body through a process of radiations via the silver cord at the solar plexus, the nerves and bloodstream, to the back brain from where the pictures impressed on this spiritually sensitive part of the brain are transported to the frontal brain, where they are decoded into thought and words. Watch your dreams. Words are not spoken in many. You just know things you need to know! I would like to share some of my dreams

     

    GEN. OLADIPO DIYA (RTD)

    Before Gen Sanni Abacha arrested Gen. Diya (rtd) his deputy as Nigeria’s military Head of State, on coup plot charges, I saw Gen Diya in a dream. Till this day I have not met him in person. The setting of that dream was Kings Barracks, Iyaganku, Ibadan, where I lived with my policeman father and step mother in the 1960s. There are 27 room and palour units in every block. We lived in Room 8 on the middle floor of a two-story blocked 2 joined to blocks I and 3 on either side by spiral stairways, Gen. Diya, in military uniform, was fleeing from fellow soldiers who wished to capture him. He ran up the stairs from Block 1 to our floor. He ran inside our palour. My heart was racing. I thought guns would soon roar if they found him with us. They may kill us. Somehow, he disappeared through the concrete decking to the upper floor. His would-be assailants, missing him, ran down the stairs to Block 3 in pursuit of him. When I woke up, I told my wife Gen. Diya would soon be in trouble, but he would survive it. Soon, he was arrested. But when Gen. Abacha had him sentenced to death, I thought the dream would not come to pass. Then Abacha died mysteriously and Gen. Diya was freed.

     

    OLOROGUN MICHAEL IBRU

    Two days before his death, I saw him in a dream which I relayed to Mrs. Bukola Azeez, Chief Executive Officer of BUDGET TRAVELS, which is beside my office. Olorogun was to have a birthday party, and I was to take a beautiful cake to the venues. I hadn’t seen him or spoken with him for about a decade, so seeing him was a surprise to me. He looked elegant and betrayed no signs of the ailments which had plauged his health for some time, especially Parkinson’s disease. I walked past him to a room where a woman to receive the cake was waiting for me. The door was locked. I called her on my cell phone. But rather than the phone showing me a key board by merely thinking of this woman, her photograph came up on the screen. She was in a private scene so I quickly turned the phone over. To avoid the scene. When she was done, I gave her the cake and left. Two days later, Mrs. Azeez broke the news of Olorogun’s passing to me!

    Sound Sleep and dreams are important for sound health and a focus health life. As we shall soon see most of the foods we eat today make it impossible for us to sleep soundly.

  • The root causes of infertility and the solutions to female infertility (4)

    Just as we have dealt with the male infertility, it’s only fair that we should do the same with the female sterility. By this, I mean that we need to discuss the causes of barrenness in the female before we should round up with the available solutions. Notwithstanding, in contrast to the causes of male infertility, the factors responsible for female sterility are significantly manifold and considerably plenty, much more than the male though there are similarities in a number of areas. Again, the causes of female infertility should also follow the pattern of indirect causes on the female reproductive system as well as those factors that act directly on the fertility system.

     

    Female Reproductive Tract. Courtesy of Kullab.com

    Let us look at the indirect causes first: being overweight or obesity has a significant impact on the female fertility. Obesity structurally impairs the female system as well as affecting the female hormones that are responsible for the fertility in the first place. On the other hand, being underweight can equally affect fertility Cigarette and marijuana consumption do affect the female hormones. Diseases such as diabetes as well as illnesses affecting the liver, kidney and thrombophilia may all have negative impact on the female fertility.

    It’s a common knowledge and generally well recognised fact all over the world that age and aging significantly limit the female fertility. Under normal circumstances, a female reaches its peak of fertility at about 26 years of age and the most fertile time of her life is between the ages of 22-32years. After the age of 32, the number of eggs available to the woman to use for childbearing starts to decrease at a great rate. By the age of 45, the eggs have reached a low end. By the age of 50, at about when the woman ceases to have her menstrual period, her available eggs are nearly zero. Her fertility has diminished greatly. Getting pregnant gradually becomes difficult as the woman’s age advances.

    Other indirect factors that affect female fertility include if she is exposed to radiation and chemotherapy for treatment of illness elsewhere in her body or for healing of diseases that relates to her reproductive system.

    In some cases, some genetic disorders may cause the female fertility to be negatively affected. Such genetic disorders include Mayer-Rokitansky-Küstner-Hauser Syndrome and Turners. Yet in some individuals, a genetic defect may make the female reproductive system appear as containing both male and female organs. They are called intersex (neither entirely female nor male).

    Direct causes of female reproductive disorder may be related to each organ within the reproductive system (the ovary, fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix, and vagina). On the other hands, the fault may lie at the brain (Hypothalamus-pituitary) that controls the female reproductive hormones. Here is a list of where the fault may be: In some cases, when breasts produces milk when it should not do so as in a condition that is called hyperprolactinaemia, the woman may not be able to ovulate. As such, child-bearing may be impossible to achieve.

    Ovarian factors: When ovary makes attempt to develop eggs and does so by developing too many without even shedding or ovulating at the end, a disease called Polycystic Ovary develops and conception may not happen with ease because there is no ovulation. In some very unfortunate individuals, their ovary may fail before its time to do so at later age. This is called premature ovarian syndrome. If there is cancer of the ovary, it may also be difficult to achieve pregnancy. Needless to mention that regardless of her best efforts, a woman will ultimately reach the end of her fertility period at about the age of 50 on the average.

    The Fallopian tubes is used for transporting of eggs and sperms. The tube is also where the female egg and the male sperm meet to achieve fertilization. If there is a blockade of the tube on one side or both sides, natural conception is clearly impossible. This blockade may be due to sexually transmitted infections (STI) such as Chlamydia and gonorrhoea or may be due to some other bacteria. It does means that, at all times STI must be vigorously pursued and treated if one is to preserve ones fertility. STI may also lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) which in turn leads to tubal occlusion with or without pelvic abscess.

    Notwithstanding, tubal occlusion may not be as a result of infection as a regular backward flow of menstrual period blood (endometriosis) may also lead to fallopian tubal blockade.

    The uterus or the organ popularly called the womb may itself be the cause of infertility.

    From its origin, it may be absent from forming or it may come as double wombs in the same individual. In normal individuals, as an adult, fibroid which we have dealt with in previous articles, may distort the womb. In so doing, the fibroid may prevent implantation of a newlyfertilised egg.

    Yet, in some persons, Asherman’s syndrome which often results from tuberculosis infection or following a badly done “D &C” may deny access to the sperms from reaching the eggs as Asherman’s syndrome causes sticking together of the womb linings.

    Also, the neck of the womb called Cervix may become so damaged during “D&C” or by any other surgery as to cause cervical incompetence or stenosis (narrowing) of the cervix. Yet the natural secretions of mucus may not be pleasant or take kindly to the presence of sperms in some individuals (Anti-Sperm Antibodies).

    Finally, the female vagina may be too narrow to permit entry of the male penis or fear may grip the woman during sexual intercourse so much that natural sex is impossible.

    These are some of the causes of female infertility. If the reader has found this article too complicated to understand, we will be organizing a free public education seminar on infertility on May 29 to shed more light and illustrate this complex topic where members of the public is free to attend.

    Our next and final article on infertility will address the solutions to female sterility.