Health
Using Water To Heal (Pt 1)
Let me begin by reminding you about some familiar things you know about water: Your body is about 70 per cent water. Your muscle is about 75 per cent water. Your brain cells are 85 per cent water. Your blood is approximately 82 per cent water. Even your bones are approximately 25 per cent water.
You can live five to seven weeks without food, but the average adult can last no more than five days without water.
So now you know that water is essentially part of your make-up. Water is the single most important nutrient for our bodies. It is involved in every function of our bodies.
Once your body begins to lack water, or dehydrated; it begins to ration water to some organs and that finally leads to serious system disorder or ailment.
The unfortunate part of this scenario is that many people do not drink enough water. Even me that is writing this, I hardly drink enough water. But the fortunate thing is that I try as much as I can to drink two sachets of our Nigerian,” pure water”.
First, once I wake up in the morning I make sure I drink a sachet and the second one can come during or in between meals. I know that is not enough for my body. And that is why I have decided to write about it.
I see many people jettison water after eating and end up using soft drinks or what we call” mineral” in Nigerian parlance to down their food. The habit is common among market women from my observation. I have equally seen sedentary office workers in the same habit of drinking soft drinks more than water.
So the question is what are the effects? A popular physician, F. Batmangheldj, in his book, “ Water for Health, for Healing, for Life”, pointed out that water is the main lubricant in the joints spaces and helps prevents arthritis and back pain.
Water increases the efficiency of the immune system. Water prevent clogging of arteries in the heart and brain, and thus helps reduce risk of heart attack and stroke. Water is directly connected to brain function – it is needed for the efficient manufacture of neurotransmitters, including serotonin.
Water affects our appearance , making our skin smoother and giving it sparkling luster; it also reduces the effect of aging.
As stated earlier, many people prefer soft drinks and juice to water and end up damaging their system the more. Every sugary juice drain water in the body and makes you more dehydrated. That is why a bottle of your usual “coke” or any soft drink can not quench your thirst. As you drink more, you ask for more.
When once the juice and “ mineral” dominate the body, they begin to unleash many kinds of ailment since they lack the nutrient water provides to the body.
The result is that bodily sickness begin to emerge with more soft drinks. The body begins to ache from your knees, head, back, your blood pressure goes up and arthritis, constipation show up easily.
Water is key to addressing these ailments as we shall see in the next article. Why not begin today by drinking more water, at least four glasses a day.
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.