Hypertension

Stroke is one of the many debilitating diseases today and a leading cause of death and disability worldwide with a prevalence rate of 1.14 per 1000.

A stroke happens when a major blood vessel (artery) which supplies nourishment and oxygen to the brain ruptures or is suddenly blocked. Disrupting this vital supply line to one-half of the brain results in paralysis on the opposite side of the body. Stroke is often preventable but in low and middle-income countries such as Nigeria, where the primary care services are often limited, the burden of stroke mortality is high.

According to World Stroke Organisation (WSO), 90 per cent of strokes are associated with 10 risk factors that can easily be identified: hypertension, exercise, diet, weight, smoking, alcohol, cholesterol, diabetes, depression and stress, and atrial fibrillation (AF, or AFib).

Stroke prevention
Stroke can be prevented in many ways across all boards, from government and policymakers to healthcare professionals to members of the community. Ways to prevent stroke include:

1- Increasing awareness
Despite being the second biggest killer globally, awareness of stroke risk factors and how to manage them is still relatively low. Coordinated global and national campaigns that raise awareness of how to reduce and manage individual stroke risks have the potential to deliver significant gains in stroke prevention.

2- Discovering risk factors for stroke and managing them appropriately

3-Implementing population-wide preventive strategies
Despite clear evidence of the effectiveness of population-wide strategies, there is still not a single country in the world that has implemented these in full on a population level.

4- Build partnerships and advocacy

To create a lasting impact in stroke prevention, we need to build partnerships between healthcare, government, and provide the evidence to support stronger advocacy from Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
5-Modification of lifestyle and maintenance of healthier lifestyle and blood pressure control can significantly reduce the incidence of stroke in the society. A healthy lifestyle includes not smoking, no binge drinking, being physically active, and a healthy diet characterised by adequate fruit and vegetable intake, reduced dietary trans-fat intake, and reduced sodium intake.

Stroke care international (SCI), a charity-based stroke support organisation working to beat stroke in UK and Africa aims to prevent avoidable strokes, promote, recovery, and support life after stroke.
Mission includes:

– Stroke awareness and campaign actions: This encompasses all approaches that are concerned with screening, raising awareness, health education on risk factors, ways to reduce disease risks, and other health promotion activities.

-Health and lifestyle educational programmes that focus on risk reduction. This helps people to understand the link between high blood pressure and stroke, as well as their other stroke risk factors through organising health outreaches and stroke education to various media stations in Nigeria.

-Stroke support services aimed at supporting stroke survivors, family, and carers on their journey to live the best possible life after stroke by creating a positive environment to meet other stroke survivors and share experiences.

Survivors’ rehabilitation
Stroke survivors live with long-term Consequences such as disabilities and often manage their resulting limitations and health status as a chronic condition.

As the population of stroke survivors increases and the number of survivors with a disability and chronic care needs grow, rehabilitation care and therapy play an increasingly important role in integrating survivors back to society.

Rehabilitation is an important part of recovery after a stroke.
It helps patients relearn skills that were lost and regain independence, and improve the quality of their lives.

Stroke affects each person in different ways and survivors may experience a range of physical limitations such as paralysis of one side of the body, difficulty with language and speech, difficulty swallowing, vision problems, and imbalance.

Stroke rehabilitation may include physical, occupational, speech, and recreation therapies.
Physical therapy: Physiotherapy is an integral component of recovery from a stroke as it will improve function, health, and independence. It uses specialised modalities and exercises to help survivors relearn movement and coordination skills they may have lost because of the Stroke.

Goals of physiotherapy involve: restoring mobility, managing motor deficits, preventing and treating complications, community reintegration, improve independence, maximise function, and coordinate continuity of care.

Occupational therapy: Focuses on restoring the ability to perform daily activities, such as eating, drinking, dressing, bathing, reading, and writing.

Speech therapy or cognitive rehabilitation: Speech therapy helps people who have problems producing or understanding speech.

*Gloria Ekeng is a Stroke Nurse Consultant and executive board member of the World Stroke Organisation (WSO)

1026611720 Image credit: Halfpoint Images/Getty Images

A recent study found lower levels of caffeine in the blood of people with Parkinson’s disease. The study compared people with Parkinson’s who carry a particular genetic mutation known to increase Parkinson’s risk with people who carry the same mutation but do not have the disease.

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive brain disorder characterized by tremors, rigidity in the limbs and torso, and movement and balance problems. People with the condition also have an increased risk of depression and dementia.

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, more than 1 million people in North America and more than 4 million people worldwide have Parkinson’s disease. In the United States, about 60,000 people receive a diagnosis each year.

Around 15% of people with the disease have a family history of Parkinson’s, which suggests they inherited genes that increased their risk of developing the condition. However, most cases result from a complex, poorly understood interaction of genetic and environmental factors.

Several environmental factors, such as head trauma, chemicals, and drugs, have associations with increased risk, whereas exercise has associations with reduced risk.

A 2010 review of previous research found that the more caffeine people regularly consumed, the lower their risk of developing Parkinson’s.

Another study showed that people with Parkinson’s who have no genetic risk factors for the disease have lower caffeine levels in their blood than people without the disease.

A team led by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA, set out to discover whether coffee might also protect people with a mutation in the LRRK2 gene. Having this gene increases the risk of developing the disease but does not guarantee it.

The researchers compared people with and without Parkinson’s disease. Both groups contained people with and without a mutation in the LRRK2 gene.

The researchers found that the differences in the blood caffeine levels between people with Parkinson’s and those without were greater among individuals with this genetic mutation.

Dr. Grace Crotty, who led the research, says:

“These results are promising and encourage future research exploring caffeine and caffeine-related therapies to lessen the chance that people with this gene develop Parkinson’s … It’s also possible that caffeine levels in the blood could be used as a biomarker to help identify which people with this gene will develop the disease, assuming caffeine levels remain relatively stable.”

The authors published the study in the journal Neurology.

Five coffee-related chemicals

The scientists analyzed blood plasma samples from 368 individuals enrolled in the LRRK2 Cohort Consortium, a research project established in 2009 coordinated and funded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

One group contained 188 individuals with Parkinson’s, and the control group included 180 people without the disease. Around the same proportion of each group had a mutation in the LRRK2 gene.

When the researchers compared the chemical profile of plasma from the two groups, they found the levels of five particular chemicals differed the most — all of them caffeine-related.

Concentrations of all five chemicals were significantly lower among individuals with Parkinson’s disease than those without the disease.

Among those with a non-mutated LRRK2 gene, caffeine concentration was, on average, 31% lower in the plasma of those with Parkinson’s than those without the disease.

Caffeine levels were 76% lower among people with Parkinson’s and a mutated LRRK2 gene compared with controls.

To cross-check their findings, the researchers also looked at questionnaires filled out by 212 of the participants detailing how much caffeine they consumed.

This revealed that people with Parkinson’s and a mutated LRRK2 gene consumed 41% less caffeine per day than people who did not have Parkinson’s regardless of whether they carried the mutated gene.

Alternative explanation

The researchers are careful to point out that their study showed an association between caffeine and Parkinson’s disease. It didn’t prove that caffeine consumption protects people against the disease.

For example, there remains the possibility that having a mutation in the LRRK2 gene not only increases a person’s risk of Parkinson’s but also makes them less inclined to consume caffeinated drinks.

“We don’t know yet whether people who are predisposed to Parkinson’s may tend to avoid drinking coffee or if some mutation carriers drink a lot of coffee and benefit from its neuroprotective effects,” says Crotty.

In addition, Crotty notes that the study looked at people at one point in time, so it does not say anything about when any protective effect occurs or how caffeine might affect the disease’s progression.

Want to live a longer, healthier life? One way is to keep your blood pressure at optimal levels as you age — preferably below 120 systolic (the top number) and 80 diastolic (the lower number).

That Is especially important during the pandemic, because having high blood pressure is one of the possible risk factors for developing a more severe case of COVID-19, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

You may be able to control your blood pressure, a new study finds, by improving your score on a metric of seven heart-healthy behaviors — doing just one appears to cut hypertension risk by six per cent as you age.

“High blood pressure is among the most common conditions in the U.S., and it contributes to the greatest burden of disability and largest reduction in healthy life expectancy among any disease,” said Dr. Timothy B. Plante, the lead author of a new study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association, in a statement. Plante is an assistant professor in the department of medicine at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont in Burlington.

Plante and his colleagues followed nearly 3,000 middle-aged Black and White adults without high blood pressure for nine years. The adults were part of a longitudinal study called the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke, also known as REGARDS. At the end of the nine years, the study found that each one-point increase in seven healthy lifestyle steps recommended by the American Heart Association (AHA) was associated with a six per cent lower risk of high blood pressure.

Called Life’s Simple 7, the AHA metric evaluates heart health by looking at four health behaviors:

Keeping your weight as measured by body mass index (BMI) at a healthy level between 18.5 and 24.9

Getting at least 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity or a combo of moderate and vigorous, or 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity.

Eating a heart-healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables and low in salt, fat, and sugar.

Stop (or never start) cigarette smoking
The AHA tool then folds in three additional health factors for a total metric: Current blood pressure levels — hopefully below 120/80, which is normal, or 130/80, which is considered elevated but not hypertensive.

Cholesterol levels today are calculated based on overall risk when combined with such health metrics as blood pressure, smoking status, diabetes status, and other factors. “The only ‘real’ current threshold is an LDL of 190 mg/dL as the upper end of what’s tolerated among folks without prior cardiovascular disease,” Plante wrote via email.

Fasting blood sugar levels at 100 milligrams per deciliter or below, which is considered normal

Each of the seven components gets a score of poor (zero points), intermediate (one point), and ideal (two points), Plante told CNN.

“By adding up the points for each of the seven components of the LS7 metric, we get a LS7 total score, which ranges from 0 to 14. The higher the score, the more ideal the person’s cardiovascular health is,” he said.

Achieving any one of these seven goals was associated with a lower risk of high blood pressure — success on each additional behavior or measurement should lower risk even more.

“Folks with higher LS7 total scores, who had more ideal cardiovascular health, were less likely to develop high blood pressure 10 years later when compared to individuals with lower LS7 total scores,” Plante said. “A change in seven points would be a really great change, indicating a huge improvement in cardiovascular health.”

Another good feature of the program, Plante said, is that people can personalise changes they feel they can tackle, adding on more as their health improves.

“We recommend tailoring step-wise health improvement and lifestyle changes for patients,” Plante said. “For example, patients might not be receptive to quitting smoking today; however, if they are receptive to getting more exercise today, that would be a one-point LS7 score improvement.”

The study could only show an association between heart-healthy behaviors and the lower risk of hypertension, thus the next step is to do a randomized clinical trial to confirm the findings. In the meantime, the AHA hopes Americans will focus on the “Simple 7” at younger ages to reduce their chances of developing high blood pressure later.

“If we can reach more people in younger and middle age with this type of lifestyle assessment, we could be looking at strong improvements in health overall,” said Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones, chair of the department of preventive medicine at Northwestern University, AHA president-elect, and part of the group that developed the Life’s Simple 7 scale and criteria.

The need for prevention is highest among Black Americans because they have the “highest rate of high blood pressure among any group in the world and develop the condition at a younger age and with more severity,” the statement said.

“These findings support the current clinical practice recommendations of lifestyle modifications such as eating better, quitting smoking, and maintaining a healthy weight to all people, including those without high blood pressure,” Plante said.

A new study in mice adds to the evidence suggesting that the immune system not only attacks invading pathogens but can also influence mood.

Over the past few years, scientists have discovered some intriguing links between immunity and the mind.

One of the immune signaling molecules, or cytokines, that mediates these links is called interleukin-17a (IL-17a).

IL-17a plays a role in psoriasis, which is an autoimmune skin condition, but it may also contribute to the depression that many people experience. Indeed, a study involving a mouse model of psoriasis found that IL-17a caused depression-like symptoms.

In humans, researchers have also linked the molecule to treatment resistant depression.

Research in mice has even implicated IL-17a in the development of autism.

“The brain and the body are not as separate as people think,” says Prof. Jonathan Kipnis, a neuroscientist at the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, MO.

While working at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville, Prof. Kipnis and colleagues found that IL-17a causes anxiety-like behavior in mice.

“We are now looking into whether too much or too little of IL-17a could be linked to anxiety in people,” says Prof. Kipnis.

The scientists have published the results of their mouse study in the journal Nature Immunology. Kalil Alves de Lima, a postdoctoral researcher who is also now at the University of Washington, led the research.

Gamma-delta T cells

Immune cells called gamma-delta T cells produce IL-17a. The cells are present in the meninges, which are the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

To determine what effect IL-17a might have on behavior, the scientists studied mice whose gamma-delta T cells did not produce any IL-17a and mice who lacked the cells completely.

They put the mice through standard tests of memory, social behavior, foraging, and anxiety. The mice performed just as well as normal mice on all tests apart from two that measure anxiety levels.

In those tests, the mice who lacked gamma-delta T cells or did not produce any IL-17a were more likely to explore open areas. In the wild, this kind of behavior would put them at greater risk of being eaten by predators.

The researchers interpreted this as a sign of reduced anxiety in animals without IL-17a signaling in their central nervous system.

Next, the scientists investigated how the signal affects neurons in their brains. They found receptors for IL-17a on a type of stimulatory nerve cell called a glutamatergic neuron.

When they genetically manipulated the neurons to prevent them from making these receptors, the mice exhibited less anxiety-like behavior.

The gut-brain axis

Previous animal research has revealed a multitude of possible links between bacteria living in the gut and behavior, including anxiety-like behaviors.

This connection is known as the gut-brain axis, and scientists have proposed the immune system as one possible way that messages pass between them.

To investigate the role of IL-17a in the gut-brain axis, Alves de Lima and colleagues injected the mice with lipopolysaccharide. This is a toxin that bacteria produce. It provokes a strong immune reaction.

In response to the injection, gamma-delta T cells in the meninges surrounding the animals’ brains produced more IL-17a.

In another experiment, when the researchers treated the mice with antibiotics to kill the bacteria in their guts, the animals produced less IL-17a.

Together, the results of these experiments suggest that the immune system has evolved not only to fight infection but also to adjust behavior to keep animals safe while they are in a weakened state.

“Selecting special molecules to protect us immunologically and behaviorally at the same time is a smart way to protect against infection. This is a good example of how cytokines, which basically evolved to fight against pathogens, also are acting on the brain and modulating behavior.” – Kalil Alves de Lima

The team is now investigating how gamma-delta T cells in the meninges surrounding the brain can detect the presence of bacteria elsewhere in the body.

The researchers are also looking into exactly how IL-17a signaling in the brain changes behavior.

In their paper, they conclude:

“Our findings provide new insights into the neuroimmune interactions at the meningeal–brain interface and support further research into new therapies for neuropsychiatric conditions.”

Although the physiology of mice and humans is very similar, scientists need to carry out much more research to explore the possible links between the human immune system and mood.

A study in the United States demonstrates that mortality rates from heart failure are higher in counties where people face more poverty and social deprivation.

Heart failure, sometimes called congestive heart failure, is a chronic condition in which the heart is unable to pump enough blood around the body to meet its needs.

The condition is irreversible, although there are treatments that can help people live longer, more active lives.

About 5.7 million people in the U.S. have heart failure, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

A new study suggests that the risk of dying from the condition is not spread evenly across the country, but that mortality rates are higher in poorer, more socially deprived areas.

Researchers at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, OH, analyzed 1,254,991 deaths from heart failure across 3,048 counties between 1999 and 2018.

They used two standard indices of social deprivation: the Area Deprivation Index (ADI), which takes into account multiple local measures, including employment, poverty, and education, and the Social Deprivation Index (SDI), which is based on income and housing.

After adjusting for age, they found that the average death rate from heart failure per county was 25.5 deaths per 100,000 head of population.

However, counties with higher rates of socioeconomic deprivation had higher death rates from heart failure, and the association held up regardless of race or ethnicity, sex, and degree of urbanization.

The levels of deprivation that the ADI measures accounted for roughly 13% of the variability in heart failure mortality among counties. This scale of risk is similar to that of other recognized risk factors for heart failure, such as obesity and diabetes, say the scientists. Correlation with housing and income — the social factors that the SDI measures — accounted for 5% of this variability.

The study features in the latest issue of the Journal of Cardiac Failure.

Persistent inequality

The research revealed that the imbalance in survival rates between wealthy and deprived areas changed little between 1999 and 2018.

“Analysis of trends in heart failure mortality shows that these disparities have persisted throughout the last two decades,” says first author Dr. Graham Bevan, a resident physician at University Hospitals.

Bevan and his colleagues say that a range of factors may be responsible for the increased risk of dying from heart failure in poorer counties. These include reduced access to healthcare, substandard care, and poor health literacy.

They also note that the successful treatment of heart failure is dependent on patients adhering to a complex and often expensive drug regimen.

The authors write:

“Regardless of the contributing factors, the association between communities with high socioeconomic deprivation and [heart failure] mortality is strong and suggests that targeting social deprivation may be impactful in reducing [heart failure] mortality. Additionally, the yield of intensive [heart failure] preventive strategies may be higher in areas with high social deprivation.”

The American Heart Association (AHA) believe that aggressively tackling the major clinical risk factors for heart failure could significantly reduce the death toll. These clinical factors include hypertension, heart attacks, obesity, diabetes, and disorders of the heart valves.

“Living in a particular county should not mean you’re more likely to die from heart failure,” says co-author Dr. Sadeer G. Al-Kindi, a cardiologist at University Hospitals’ Harrington Heart and Vascular Institute.

“University Hospitals has a history of addressing healthcare disparities in underserved communities and, armed with the information from this study, we can thoughtfully create solutions to better serve these populations.”

One of the limitations of their study, the authors write, was that it relied on the information given on death certificates, which may not be accurate in every instance.

Also, the study was not designed to tease apart the effects of other recognized risk factors for heart failure mortality, some of which — such as lack of physical activity, obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure — may also be associated with poverty. However, a recent study showed that these factors together failed to account for 57% of the geographical variation in deaths from heart failure among counties in the U.S.

This new study suggests that socioeconomic deprivation may help explain part of that variation.

A mixture of snail slime and evaporated milk is an instant cure for stroke, claims a Facebook post shared in Nigeria.

“This works hundred percent,” it reads. “Do this mixture regularly for instant results for patients suffering from stroke.” The post has been shared more than 5,000 times.

A stroke occurs when brain cells are suddenly deprived of oxygen and die. This can happen when blockage or rupture of an artery stops blood flow to the brain.

The risk factors for stroke include hypertension, elevated lipids, diabetes and other lifestyle factors such as smoking, low levels of physical activity, an unhealthy diet and abdominal obesity. Stroke can lead to death and survivors may experience loss of vision, speech, paralysis and dementia.

But can a simple mixture of snail slime and evaporated milk cure the symptoms of stroke?

Claim ‘distracts from real therapy’
The claimed cure has been posted on several websites. But Africa Check has found no evidence in scientific literature that it is effective.

Yakub Nyandaiti, a professor of neurology at the college of medical sciences at Nigeria’s University of Maiduguri, told us there was no basis for the claim.

“There is no scientific evidence to the claim,” he said.

“I have not read about the mixture. I am not even aware that such a mixture exists as a treatment for stroke. I would not advise any stroke patient to try the mixture. My simple advice to stroke patients is to visit a neurologist.”

Njideka Okubadejo, a professor of neurology at the faculty of clinical sciences at the University of Lagos, said the claim may actually harm victims of stroke.

“When a person suffers a stroke we have a clear strategy we put in place as treatment,” she said.

“It includes three things: physical therapy, medication and lifestyle modification. This strategy is the same all over the world. Advising stroke patients to combine snail water and milk distracts them from focusing on the things that can be beneficial to their health.”

If you or someone you know suffers a stroke, consult a doctor. The condition is serious and life-threatening, and will not be cured by a mixture of snail slime and evaporated milk.

If your cholesterol level has crept up over the years, you may wonder whether changing your diet can help. Ideally, your total cholesterol value should be 200 milligrammes per deciliter (mg/dL) or lower. But it is the harmful Low-Density Lipo-protein (LDL) ‘bad’ cholesterol value that experts worry about the most. Excess LDL builds up on artery walls and triggers a release of inflammatory substances that boost heart attack risk.

“To prevent heart disease, your LDL should be 100 mg/dL or lower,” says Dr. Jorge Plutzky, director of preventive cardiology at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital. But many Americans have LDL values that are less than optimal (100 to 129 mg/dL) or borderline high (130 to 159 mg/dL).

If you fall into either of those categories, you may be able to nudge down your LDL to a healthier level by changing what you eat, particularly if your current diet could use some improvement. However, most people with higher LDL values likely will also need to take a cholesterol-lowering drug, such as a statin, says Dr. Plutzky.

Dietary directives
Avoiding foods that are high in cholesterol isn’t the best way to lower your LDL. Your overall diet — especially the types of fats and carbohydrates you eat — has the most impact on your blood cholesterol values. “As the American Heart Association has noted, you’ll get the biggest bang for your buck by lowering saturated fat and replacing it with unsaturated fat,” says registered dietitian Kathy McManus, director of the Department of Nutrition at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

That means avoiding meat, cheese, and other high-fat dairy products such as butter, half-and-half, and ice cream. Equally important is replacing those calories with healthy, unsaturated fats (such as those found in vegetable oils, avocados, and fatty fish) rather than refined carbohydrates such as white bread, pasta, and white rice. Unlike healthy fats, these starchy foods aren’t very filling, and they can trigger overeating and weight gain.

The other big problem with refined carbs: They are woefully low in fibre, which helps flush cholesterol out of the body.

The fibre factor
Your body can’t break down fiber, so it passes through your body undigested. It comes in two varieties: insoluble and soluble. Fiber-containing foods usually feature a mix of the two.

Insoluble fibre does not dissolve in water. While it doesn’t directly lower LDL, this form of fiber fills you up, crowding other cholesterol-raising foods out of your diet and helping to promote weight loss.

Soluble fibre dissolves in water, creating a gel. This gel traps some of the cholesterol in your body, so it’s eliminated as waste instead of entering your arteries.

Soluble fibre also binds to bile acids, which carry fats from your small intestine into the large intestine for excretion. This triggers your liver to create more bile acids — a process that requires cholesterol. If the liver doesn’t have enough cholesterol, it draws more from the bloodstream, which in turn lowers your circulating LDL.

Finally, certain soluble fibres (called oligosaccharides) are fermented into short-chain fatty acids in the gut. These fatty acids may also inhibit cholesterol production.

The “best” foods
The following 11 foods are good sources of fibre or unsaturated fat (or both). But they’re not in any particular order and are simply suggestions. Most whole grains, vegetables, and fruits are good sources of fiber. And most nuts and seeds (and the oils made from them) provide monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats.

1. Oatmeal. This whole grain is one of the best sources of soluble fiber, along with barley (see “Grain of the month,” at right). Start your day with a bowl of steel-cut or old-fashioned rolled oats, topped with fresh or dried fruit for a little extra fiber.

2. White beans. Also called navy beans, this variety ranks highest in fiber content. Try different types of beans as well, such as black beans, garbanzos, or kidney beans, which you can add to salads, soups, or chili. But avoid prepared baked beans, which are canned in sauce that’s loaded with added sugar.

3. Avocado. The creamy, green flesh of an avocado is not only rich in monounsaturated fat; it also contains both soluble and insoluble fiber. Enjoy this fruit sliced in salad, pureed into dip, or mashed and spread on a slice of whole-grain toast.

4. Eggplant. Although not everyone’s favorite, these deep purple vegetables are one of the richest sources of soluble fiber. One idea: oven-roast or grill whole eggplants until soft and use the flesh in a Middle Eastern dip called baba ghanoush.

5. Carrots. Raw baby carrots are a tasty and convenient snack — and they also give you a decent dose of insoluble fiber.

6. Almonds. Among nuts, almonds are highest in fiber, although other popular varieties such as pistachios and pecans are close behind. Walnuts have the added advantage of being a good source of polyunsaturated, plant-based omega-3 fatty acids.

7. Kiwi fruit. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to peel these fuzzy, brown fruits. But to avoid the skin, slice one in half and scoop out the inside with a spoon for an easy, fiber-rich, sweet snack.

8. Berries. Because these fruits are packed with tiny seeds, their fiber content is higher than most other fruits. Raspberries and blackberries provide the most, but strawberries and blueberries are also good sources.

9. Cauliflower. This cruciferous veggie not only provides fiber, but it can also serve as a substitute for white rice. Just shred or whirl in a food processor until it resembles rice, then sauté with a little olive oil until tender.

10. Soy. Eating soybeans and foods made from them, such as soymilk, tofu, and tempeh, was once touted as a powerful way to lower cholesterol. More recent analyses showed the effect is modest, at best. Still, protein-rich, soy-based foods are a far healthier choice than a hamburger or other red meat.

11. Salmon. Likewise, eating cold-water fish such as salmon twice a week can lower LDL by replacing meat and delivering healthy omega-3 fats. Other good fish options include chunk light canned tuna and tinned sardines.

Depending on the type of fats and oils, they can either be implicated in the development of a disease or one that can prevent diseases that may be caused by another kind of fat.

For instance, fats and oils have a very significant role to play concerning the health of the arteries, the heart, and the brain. This is occasioned by their involvement in the formation of arteriosclerosis. As we already are aware, this is the deposition of plaques on the arteries that eventually lead to the blockage of the vessels. The blockage of the vessels results in coronary artery disease, heart attack, and stroke.

The type of fats implicated in the formation of arteriosclerotic plaques is saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, and triglycerides.

As stated earlier, cholesterol is not appreciably water-soluble and to be transported in the bloodstream, which is predominantly water-based, it has to be bound to lipoproteins. Two major kinds of lipoproteins that we are interested in are the Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) and the High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL). When cholesterol is bound to LDL, we have what is known as LDL-Cholesterol. HDL bound to cholesterol is known as HDL-cholesterol. The LDL when bound to cholesterol is referred to as ‘bad’ LDL-cholesterol and if it is bound to HDL, it is known as ‘good’ HDL-cholesterol. Cholesterol is never bad or good but this description has been given because of the direction of transport of cholesterol when it is bound to the lipoproteins. The LDL, which transports cholesterol from the liver to the cells, increases the risk of plaque formation as cholesterol accumulates in the blood vessels. On the other hand, the HDL transports cholesterol from the cells to the liver where it is excreted in the bile. What this means, is that, if there is more HDL-cholesterol in circulation, the risk of arteriosclerosis and heart disease will be significantly reduced. When LDL-cholesterol becomes higher, therefore, the risk of arteriosclerosis and heart attack increases.

In considering what kind of fats and oils one should be eating, the effect of the diet on HDL or LDL must never be overlooked. For example, trans fats increase LDL-cholesterol and decrease HDL-cholesterol. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids represented by omega 3 and 6; increase HDL-cholesterol, while decreasing LDL-cholesterol. Saturated fats increase both the ‘bad’ LDL-cholesterol and the ‘good’ HDL-cholesterol.

We also need to remember that the consistency of the fats and oils differentiate between the animal fats and plant fats. Animal fats, mainly saturated fats are solid at room temperature, while the plant fats, more often referred to, as oils are liquid at room temperature. Trans fats, which are solid at room temperature, are partially hydrogenated fat and have been described as the worst kind of fat a human being can consume. Trans fats increase LDL-cholesterol and decrease HDL-cholesterol. Examples of common trans fats are margarine and shortening. These along with oils that are used for deep-frying of things such as potatoes and chicken should be avoided.

Saturated fats tend to increase the level of cholesterol in the blood and for this reason, nutritionists advise that this kind of fats, if not avoided completely should be eaten less frequently. To be sure, I have reproduced the sources of saturated fats as a guide for us: Fatty portions of red meat, pork, chicken, and turkey eaten with the skin, butter, dairy products such as whole milk, cheese, cream, and fried and baked foods. Some prepared foods, for example, sausage, pizza, and desserts are also high in saturated fats. There are certain oils from plants like palm oil, palm kernel oil, and coconut oil that are saturated fats but do not contain cholesterol.

The best kind of fatty acids are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. They both increase HDL-cholesterol and decrease LDL-cholesterol. They also reduce the risk of arteriosclerosis, coronary artery disease, heart attack, and stroke. Examples of these are omega 3 and 6 and they can be found in such plants as almonds, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pecans, cashew nuts, avocados, and olives.

Polyunsaturated fats are predominantly found in flaxseed, walnuts (roasted), pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seed. They are also found in freshwater fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, herring, sardines, mackerel, and trout.

As I bring this article to a close, the recommendation is: Eat more of the unsaturated fatty acids – omega 3 and 6, less of saturated fats, and none of the trans fats.

Scientists have found that eating a lot of rice increases the risk of dying from heart disease due to the naturally occurring arsenic in the crop.

Rice is the most widely consumed staple food source for a large part of the world’s population. It has now been confirmed that rice can contribute to prolonged low-level arsenic exposure leading to thousands of avoidable premature deaths per year.

Arsenic is well known acute poison, but it can also contribute to health problems, including cancers and cardiovascular diseases, if consumed at even relatively low concentrations over an extended period of time.

Compared to other staple foods, rice tends to concentrate inorganic arsenic. Across the globe, over three billion people consume rice as their major staple and the inorganic arsenic in that some to give rise to over 50,000 avoidable premature deaths per year has estimated rice.

Meanwhile, a study found Britons in the top 25 per cent of rice consumption are at six per cent increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than the bottom quarter.

The chemical gathers naturally in the crop and has repeatedly been linked to illness, dietary-related cancers and liver disease. In serious cases, it can result in death.

A collaborating group of cross-Manchester researchers from The University of Manchester and The University of Salford have published new research exploring the relationship, in England and Wales, between the consumption of rice and cardiovascular diseases caused by arsenic exposure.

Their findings, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, showed that once corrected for the major factors known to contribute to cardiovascular disease (for example obesity, smoking, age, lack of income, lack of education) there is a significant association between elevated cardiovascular mortality, recorded at a local authority level, and the consumption of inorganic arsenic bearing rice.

Prof. David Polya from The University of Manchester said: “The type of study undertaken, an ecological study, has many limitations, but is a relatively inexpensive way of determining if there is plausible link between increased consumption of inorganic arsenic bearing rice and increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

“The modelled increased risk is around six per cent (with a confidence interval for this figure of two per cent to 11 per cent). The increased risk modelled might also reflect in part a combination of the susceptibility, behaviours and treatment of those communities in England and Wales with relatively high rice diets.”

While more robust types of study are required to confirm the result, given many of the beneficial effects otherwise of eating rice due to its high fibre content, the research team suggest that rather than avoid eating rice, people could consume rice varieties, such as basmati, and different types like polished rice (rather whole grain rice) which are known to typically have lower inorganic arsenic contents. Other positive behaviours would be to eat a balanced variety of staples, not just predominately rice.

Arsenic occurs naturally in the soil and is increased in locations that have used arsenic-based herbicides or water laced with the toxin for irrigation purposes.

Rice is grown under flooded conditions and this draws arsenic out of the soil and into the water, ahead of eventual absorption by the plants.

Rice is particularly vulnerable because arsenic mimics other chemicals the plant absorbed via its root system, allowing the toxin to bypass the plant’s defences.

Rising temperatures caused by global warming could cause the amount of arsenic in rice to triple by the end of the century, a new study warns.

Scientists at the University of Washington in the US grew rice and replicated various temperatures to mimic growing conditions under various global warming projections.

Trials were done at the current normal temperature of 77°F (25°C) as well as 82°F (28°C), 87°F (30.5°C), and 91°F (33°C) to mimic potential climates by 2100. Plants grown in warmer conditions were found to have higher levels of arsenic throughout the plant – including the grains.

MEANWHILE, rice is about the commonest, cheapest and easiest staple food prepared not only by Nigerian households but in most parts of the world as well.

Indeed, statistics from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) indicate that half the world’s population eats rice every day, making the staple a major source of nutrition for billions of people.

But recent studies have associated the much-loved staple with rise in chronic and degenerative diseases such as cancer, diabetes, gastrointestinal problems, depression, developmental problems in children, heart disease and nervous system damage.

Most worrisome are lung and bladder cancers.While researchers have found traces of arsenic from old industrial pesticides on rice grains sold globally, a study reported in the journal PLoS ONE, showed rice has 10 times more inorganic arsenic than other foods and the European Food Standards Authority has reported that people who eat a lot of it are exposed to troubling concentrations.

According to the study, the levels of arsenic in rice vary by type, country of production and growing conditions.Generally, brown rice has higher levels because the arsenic is found in the outer coating or bran, which is removed in the milling process to produce white rice.

The study noted that in the short term, the regular consumption of rice could cause gastrointestinal problems, muscle cramping and lesions on the hands and feet.

The researchers observed that the risk of arsenic poisoning is greatest for people who eat rice several times a day, and for infants, whose first solid meals are often rice-based baby food.

In July 2014, the World Health Organisation (WHO) set worldwide guidelines for what it considers to be safe levels of arsenic in rice, suggesting a maximum of 200 microgrammes per kilogramme for white rice and 400 μg kg−1 for brown rice.

Also, scientists have identified rice as one of the staple diets that are genetically modified (GMOs). Others include corn, soy, cotton, papaya (pawpaw), tomatoes, rapeseed, dairy products, potatoes, and peas.

GMOs are accused of causing cancer, destroying the environment and storing up devastating health risks for children. Controversies surround genetically modified organisms on several levels, including ethics, environmental impact, food safety, product labeling, and role in meeting world food requirements, intellectual property and role in industrial agriculture.

An online journal, China Daily, reported potential serious public health and environment problems with genetically modified rice considering its tendency to cause allergic reactions with the concurrent possibility of gene transfers.

Scientists including the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) have warned that GMOs pose a serious threat to health, and it is no accident that there can be a correlation between it and adverse health effects.

In fact, the AAEM has advised doctors to tell their patients to avoid GMOs as the introduction of GMOs into the current food supply has correlated with an alarming rise in chronic diseases and food allergies.

It has been shown that eating a diet of white bread and rice could increase the risk of depression in older women, but whole grain foods, roughage and vegetables could reduce it.

According to a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, refined foods cause blood sugar levels to spike rapidly – prompting the body to pump out the hormone insulin, which helps break down the sugar. But this process can cause symptoms of depression. The findings could pave the way for depression being treated and prevented using nutrition.

In a study that included data from more than 70,000 post-menopausal women, scientists found a link between refined carbohydrate consumption and depression.

Britain’s leading expert on rice and contamination, Andy Meharg, a professor of plant and soil sciences at Queens University in Belfast, prevented his own children from eating some rice products because of the arsenic levels.

Meharg said the current method for cooking rice, essentially boiling it in a pan until it soaks up all the liquid, binds into place any arsenic contained in the rice and the cooking water.

By contrast, cooking it in a coffee percolator allows the steaming hot water to drip through the rice, washing away contaminants. There was a 57per cent reduction in arsenic with a ratio of 12 parts of water to one of rice and in some cases as much as 85per cent.

Meharg said: “Rice both white and brown are of good nutritional value. Brown rice especially contains E and B vitamins and minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc.

“White rice is not that good. More so the processed one that is genetically modified has higher levels of toxins.

“Firstly when you cook rice, rinse properly when it is warm before full boiling, and drain out the fluid. This will get rid of some of the toxins.”

Study author Dr. James Gangwisch, of Columbia University, United States, said: “This suggests that dietary interventions could serve as treatments and preventive measures for depression.

“Further study is needed to examine the potential of this novel option for treatment and prevention, and to see if similar results are found in the broader population.”

White refined foods, known as ‘bad carbs’, have also been said to contribute to obesity, low energy levels and insomnia. Different from their healthier counterparts, white carbs start with flour that has been ground and refined by stripping off the outer layer where fibre is found.

This missing fibre could do wonders for the body, helping reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, lower blood cholesterol and help people feel fuller for longer. Generally, the more refined the grain-based food, the lower the fibre count. By purchasing organic rice, limiting one’s rice intake and eating a balanced diet, however, experts suggest that health issues associated with long-term arsenic consumption can be avoided.

People of African descent have up to three times the risk of dying from strokes as people of European descent, yet there has been little investigation of if and how genetic variants contribute to their elevated stroke risk.

A large international team of scientists has completed the largest analysis of stroke-risk genes ever undertaken in individuals of African descent. The new study examined the genomes of more than 22,000 people of African ancestry, identifying important genetic contributors to stroke risk. These findings will help doctors better understand stroke risk, identify those at high risk and prevent the debilitating condition.

“Given the undue burden that people of African ancestry endure from stroke and other cerebrovascular disease, the lack of investigation of risk factors in this group has been a substantial gap,” said researcher Bradford B. Worrall, MD, a neurologist at University of Virginia (UVA) Health System, United States of America (USA). “Our work is an important step toward filling that gap, albeit with much more work to be done. These findings will provide greater insight into ethnic-specific and global risk factors to reduce the second leading cause of death worldwide.”

Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability in the United States. But strokes strike African-Americans more often and at younger ages than people of European descent. In addition, African-Americans who survive strokes often face greater disability. Family history is a major risk factor for stroke, suggesting our genes play a significant role in our stroke risk. But most genetic stroke studies, until now, have primarily focused on people of European descent. And the results have not always held true in African-Americans.

The new meta-analysis comes from the Consortium of Minority Population genome-wide Association Studies of Stroke (COMPASS). The researchers revisited previous studies to identify genetic risk factors specific to people of African descent. In total, they examined the genomes of 3,734 people who had suffered strokes and more than 18,000 who had not.

The researchers discovered that a common variation near the HNF1A gene was strongly associated with increased stroke risk in those of African ancestry. The gene previously has been associated to both stroke and cardiovascular disease.

While that variant had the strongest link to stroke risk, the researchers identified 29 other variants that also appear likely to influence stroke risk.

The variants occur at 24 different locations on human chromosomes. Sixteen of the “loci,” as the locations are known, appeared also to influence stroke risk in other populations, the researchers report.

“Studies of this nature are critical given the paucity of genetic studies focused on people of African descent and other minority populations and the substantial health disparities related to stroke in these groups,” said Keith Keene, PhD, a former UVA researcher and frequent collaborator of Worrall’s who now leads the Center for Health Disparities at East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine.
“Furthermore, we increasingly recognize the power of looking at genetic risk factors across different race ethnic groups, known as trans-ethnic analyses, for unlocking the underlying biology of diseases like stroke. If we understand the biology, we can develop new treatment and prevention strategies.”

In a paper outlining their findings, the researchers note the importance of such studies in understanding stroke risk among minorities. These studies have “huge potential to provide insight into the mechanisms underlying stroke disparities,” the researchers write. “Our study identified novel associations for stroke that might not otherwise be detected in primarily European cohort studies. Collectively, this highlights the critical nature and importance of genetic studies in a more diverse population with a high stroke burden.”