Health
Using Tomatoes To Heal
The tomato is truly an amazing vegetable, even though many consider it as fruit. Vegetables are different from fruits since many of them are cooked before eaten.
Naturally tomatoes is packed with lycopene due to its red colour. This phytonutrient have many health benefits such as reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, lower high blood pressure and reduce cancer.
Tomato has high nutritional content. Tomato has a good source of calcium and iron. It also contains some minerals such as phosphorus, sulphur and potassium needed in our body.
As many would know, tomato is rich in Vitamin C. However, many would not know that the Vitamin C increases as the fruit ripens.
Tomato also has some amounts of Vitamins A and B.
Besides its health benefits and nutritional value, tomatoes are used as home remedies for minor ailments as stated below:
1) Diarrhea
If you’re having diarrhea, try drinking the juice made by stirring the tomato paste from a dozen dried slices of tomato into a cup of water.
2) Bloodshot eyes
To relieve bloodshot eyes, eat 1 or 2 fresh tomatoes first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.
3) Face Peels
Tomato is excellent for purifying and rejuvenating your skin. Rub off the top layer of dead skin cells with the gentle help of tomatoes
. Rub tomato slices directly onto your clean skin, focusing on areas with lots of blackheads.
Tomatoes contain Vitamin C which has healing powers, and an acid which eliminates dead skin and unclogs pores, making skin soft and radiant.
4) Acne Scars
Slice up a tomato and place it on your face. Tomatoes are rich in Vitamin A that prevents overproduction of sebum that causes acne.
Vitamin A also has antioxidant chracteristics that refreshes and renews scarred and damaged skin.
5) Dark circles under the eyes
Make a paste using 1 tsp tomato juice, 1/2 tsp lemon juice, a pinch of tumeric powder and a pinch of gram flour.
Keep the paste under your eyes for 10 minutes. Dark circles will disappear after several treatments.
6) Sunburn
Soak peeled tomato slices in buttermilk before applying them directly on your sunburnt skin.
The acidity closes up the pores and soothing agents present in tomatoes will relieve the pain.
7) Eczema
If you have a skin problem such as eczema and skin sensitivity to sunlight, try drinking tomato juice everyday.
You will begin to see the difference after a few weeks.
8) Wounds and sores
Tribal medicine men often prescribed potions made from the leaves of wild tomatoes to heal wounds and sores.
Take a slice of fresh tomato and place it on the wound. The infection will normally clear within 2-3 days.
9) Mouth ulcers
If you have mouth ulcers, gargle tomato juice 3-4 times a day.
10) Anemia
If you’re anemic, drink a mixture of apple and tomato juice. The rich iron content in the tomato will help relieve your anemia.
11) Morning sickness
If you’re suffering from morning sickness during your pregnancy, drink a glassful of fresh tomato juice, mixed with a pinch of salt and pepper early in the morning.
It is considered to be an effective remedy for morning sickness.
12) Lose weight
Want to lose weight? Do you know that 100g of tomatoes contain only 20 calories?
These calories are easily absorbed by the body
. The low calorie content makes it a favorite of obese people and is often recommended in weight loss program as it provides you with some of the essential vitamins and minerals, fills your stomach and doesn’t add calories to your body.
Tomato is also known to be able to treat other ailments such as urinary tract infection, night blindness, jaundice, liver disorders, indigestion, constipation, intestinal disorders and diabetes
It is a natural antioxidant, helping the body cleanse itself of toxic coumpounds. So, start using tomatoes as your natural home remedy for these ailments.
By: Kevin Nengia
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.