Health
Foods Beneficial For Acid Reflux Sufferers
High fibre foods It seems that foods high in fibre can also be helpful to protect against acid reflux, as found in a study published in the journal Gut [2]. As such, factor in plenty of high fibre vegetables and fruits to your menu. Include more raw vegetables in your meals if you can. These high-fiber foods, along with whole grains (e.g. rice, oats and cornmeal)as well as nuts and seeds, will also help to keep your intestinal flora balanced and your bowels moving smoothly.
Beverages
By consuming more fluids (especially water) on a daily basis, you can actually help to dilute your stomach acids and reduce acid reflux symptoms brought about by excessive stomach acid. Nonetheless, since you do need your stomach acids for proper digestion, your extra intake of fluids should not be immediately before or after or during meals. Instead, a better time to consume your fluids (with the exception of the raw apple cider vinegar described below) would be in between meals.
A tablespoon of raw apple cider vinegar mixed with a glass a water, consumed during a meal, can be one of the wonderful foods for acid reflux relief. If you are unconvinced that this acidic remedy can provide relief for an already acidic stomach, then you must read more about the effects of apple cider vinegar on acid reflux.
Also, try raw potato juice (do NOT remove the peel from the potato during juicing). Mix the juice with equal portions of water, and consume the juice immediately after juicing, 3 times a day. [3].
You can also try fresh cabbage or celery juices as foods for acid reflux relief [3].
Chamomile tea is also found to be soothing on the stomach and can help to relieve esophageal irritation. However, if you are allergic to ragweed, or are pregnant or nursing, you should not take chamomile. If you are also concurrently taking warfarin or cyclosporine, you will also need to avoid chamomile. [3].
Fruits
Eating fresh papaya can help with your acid reflux. This is because acid reflux could be a result of poor digestion, and fresh papaya actually aids in digestion [3].
A food that can help combat excessive stomach acid and therefore work as a natural acid reflux relief is the fig. Figs are particularly alkaline and can help rebalance the pH in the stomach and body [4]. Nonetheless, figs contain more calories than other fresh fruits (they are afterall often used as a good source of energy), so if you are trying to lose weight, you will have to keep a check on how much figs you consume on a daily basis.
Another fruit you can consider is the apple. Apples (especially the peel) are not only rich in antioxidants, they also have natural anti-inflammatory properties and promote digestive regularity [4]. By eating an apple after each meal, many have found relief – a simple acid reflux natural remedy indeed.
Yogurt
Yogurts are not only useful for keeping your bones in top shape, they also contain healthy bacteria that help to keep your gut healthy and prevent the formation of excessive stomach acid. In your search for natural acid reflux cures, you may thus wish to try yogurt.
When purchasing your yogurt, try to get those that are as natural as possible, and preferably those that are lower in fats and sugars. High fat dairy products may actually trigger acid reflux symptoms, so by choosing a lower fat variety, you’re making the best move.
Food-herbs
You can also consider taking aloe vera, as it helps soothe and heal your intestinal tract. You can take the fruit in its original form by cutting up the fruit (peeling off its thick skin) and dropping it in some raw honey water (for taste), or mixing the fruit with water in a blender. Or you could juice the aloe vera fruit. Alternatively, you could take supplementation of aloe vera, in the form of capsule (suggested 600mg), liquid (suggested 2 tablespoons) or powder (suggested 2 teaspoons) before each meal three times a day.
Two United States scientists who unraveled the human micro RNA have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2024.
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun won the coveted prize for their work on microRNA as their discoveries help explain how complex life emerged on earth and how the human body is made up of a wide variety of different tissues.
MicroRNAs influence how genes – the instructions for life – are controlled inside organisms, including humans.
Every cell in the human body contains the same raw genetic information, locked in our DNA.
However, despite starting with the identical genetic information, the cells of the human body are wildly different in form and function.
The electrical impulses of nerve cells are distinct from the rhythmic beating of heart cells. The metabolic powerhouse that is a liver cell is distinct to a kidney cell, which filters urea out of the blood.
The light-sensing abilities of cells in the retina are different in skillset to white blood cells that produce antibodies to fight infection.
So much variety can arise from the same starting material because of gene expression.
The US scientists were the first to discover microRNAs and how they exerted control on how genes are expressed differently in different tissues.
The medicine and physiology prize winners are selected by the Nobel Assembly of Sweden’s Karolinska Institute.
They said: “Their groundbreaking discovery revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans.
“It is now known that the human genome codes for over 1,000 microRNAs.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has begun acting to curb effects of antibiotic pollution.
The new guidance on wastewater and solid waste management for antibiotic manufacturing sheds light on this important but neglected challenge ahead of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) taking place on 26 September 2024.
The emergence and spread of AMR caused by antibiotic pollution could undermine the effectiveness of antibiotics globally, including the medicines produced at the manufacturing sites responsible for the pollution.
Despite high antibiotic pollution levels being widely documented, the issue is largely unregulated and quality assurance criteria typically do not address environmental emissions. In addition, once distributed, there is a lack of information provided to consumers on how to dispose of antibiotics when they are not used, for example, when they expire or when a course is finished but there is still antibiotic left over.
“Pharmaceutical waste from antibiotic manufacturing can facilitate the emergence of new drug-resistant bacteria, which can spread globally and threaten our health. Controlling pollution from antibiotic production contributes to keeping these life-saving medicines effective for everyone,” said Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO Assistant Director-General for AMR ad interim.
Globally, there is a lack of accessible information on the environmental damage caused by manufacturing of medicines.
“The guidance provides an independent and impartial scientific basis for regulators, procurers, inspectors, and industry themselves to include robust antibiotic pollution control in their standards,” said Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, WHO. “Critically, the strong focus on transparency will equip buyers, investors and the general public to make decisions that account for manufacturers’ efforts to control antibiotic pollution.”
In a concerted effort to curb brain drain, the Kebbi State Government has harmonised medical doctors’ salaries to be at par with their colleagues in the federal government’s tertiary health facilities.
Kebbi State Commissioner for Health, Musa Inusa-Isma’il, disclosed this at the handing over of ambulances to the state-owned health facilities at the Ministry of Health in Birnin Kebbi yesterday.
Inusa Isma’il, according to a statement by Ahmed Idris, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, said the essence of the harmonisation was to retain the existing medical doctors and attract more to the services of the state.
According to him, the doctors across the state had already started enjoying the new salaries from August 2024.
He said the release of the vehicles was in fulfilment of Governor Nasir Idris’ promise to uplift health care services in the state.
“His Excellency said I should inform you, the beneficiaries of this gesture, that the vehicle should be strictly used for the intended purpose. It should not be used for anything else.
“If there is no referral case, each of the vehicles must be parked at the hospital by 6 pm. The governor said you should warn your drivers against reckless driving as well as violating the instructions.
“We should also do everything possible to reciprocate the gesture by working according to the terms and conditions attached,” he advised.
The benefiting health facilities included Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital, Birnin Kebbi; State Teaching Hospital, Kalgo; General Hospital, Argungu; General Hospital, Yauri; General Hospital, Zuru; and General Hospital, Bunza.
In his speech, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Dr Shehu Koko, recalled that the ambulances were handed over to the ministry last Friday by the governor for the onward handover to the benefiting hospitals.
He observed that the ambulances would go a long way in improving the referral system in the state, adding that delays in reaching the secondary and tertiary facilities would be eliminated.
The permanent secretary attributed the high rate of maternal mortality in the country to delays in getting to the health facilities for proper medical care.
“We believe with the provision of these ambulances, part of the gaps we have in our referral system will be addressed, whereby patients who require secondary healthcare could be easily transported to secondary and tertiary health centres, where they can get such help,” he said.
In a goodwill message, Commissioner for Information and Culture Alhaji Yakubu Ahmed expressed gratitude to the governor for the support he has given to the ministry to excel.
While advising the beneficiaries to use the vehicles judiciously, the commissioner advised that services and maintenance of the vehicles must be prompt to derive the maximum benefits from the vehicles.
The commissioner also highlighted some achievements recorded by the government in the last year, including beautification of the state capital, completion of a multimillion-naira ultramodern state secretariat, road construction, construction and renovation of classrooms and upgrading of some health facilities, among others.
