To Reduce the risk of Food Poisoning, There's a Mobile App for That

USDA product helps consumers track expiration dates

There are apps for maps, restaurants and calorie-counting. Now, there's even one from the U.S. government for reducing your risk of food-borne illness.

The FoodKeeper -- free from the U.S. Department of Agriculture -- is available for Apple and Android devices. It enables users to set up automatic notifications when foods and beverages are nearing the end of their recommended storage dates.

Showing how foods and beverages should be stored in the refrigerator, freezer and pantry, the app helps people select storage methods that extend the life of more than 400 items. These include baby food, dairy products, eggs, meat, poultry, seafood and produce, according to the USDA.

#LASSA UPDATE: Stop Consuming Soaked Garri; Medical Workers Union Warns Nigerians. . .

The Medical and Health Workers Union, Lagos State council, on Saturday, said that it would embark on public enlightenment to discourage drinking of garri for now to prevent Lassa fever.

According to Mr Razak Adeofalade, Chairman of the union, the house rats that caused Lassa fever are mostly in contact with Nigerian most staple food, garri, a cassava product.

“We are going to encourage members of the public to stop drinking garri at this moment, it is better that the cassava flour is utilised for ‘eba’ because of the use of hot water.

We are waging total war and that is: ‘War against Rats,’ and that is what we are going to do to ensure we do not have another victim of Lassa fever in the state.

We will also be telling them to ensure that their fruits and raw vegetables are properly washed if they must be consumed raw and cook to the appropriate temperature.

Study provides more evidence that coffee may reduce mortality

This latest study offers more evidence that coffee may lower risk of death from a number of causes.

With more than half of Americans drinking coffee on a daily basis, it is no wonder researchers are interested in how the beverage impacts health. Now, a new study adds to growing evidence that coffee is good for us, finding that consuming four to five cups daily may reduce the risk of early death - even for those who drink decaf.

Published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, the study is the latest in a number of coffee-related studies conducted by Dr. Erikka Loftfield, of the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute.

Medical News Today reported on one such study in January, in which Dr. Loftfield and colleagues revealed how drinking four cups ofcoffee daily may lower the risk of melanoma by 20%.

Could too much green tea be harmful to health?

 

Researchers suggest drinking too much green tea may be harmful to reproductive function and development.

For centuries, green tea has been hailed for its numerous health benefits. But according to a new study, the beverage could do more harm than good if consumed in large amounts.

In a new study published in the Journal of Functional Foods, researchers reveal how exposure to excessive amounts of green tea impaired the reproductive function of fruit flies, as well as the development of their offspring.

While it is unclear whether the beverage has the same impact on humans, the team says their findings warrant caution against consuming large amounts of green tea and other nutraceuticals.
 
Green tea is made from fresh leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. Because green tea is one of the least processed forms of tea, it retains the majority of its antioxidants and polyphenols, which are known to be largely beneficial for health.

‎HEALTHIQUETTE‬ - EATING JUNK FOOD

Quit eating junk food and high-fat fast food. Your heart, brain, and overall health are harmed by foods high in saturated fats, salt, and cholesterol.

In your health's best interest, you have to replace them with healthy foods: lots of fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts, olive oil, etc.

Eat like an Italian, a Spaniard, a Greek! Enjoy!

‪#‎StayHealthy

SUGAR CAUSES BACK PAIN; MYTH OR FACT?

This is another widely debated topic as regarding health.

For the fact that we would not like beat about the bush on this, we'd like to go straight to business. Here we have provided a comprehensive review from the medical view point.

In order to clear doubts, it is important to know what back pain really is. Back pain is pain felt in the back that usually originates from the muscles, nerves, bones, joints or other structures in the spine.

Back pain can be caused by so many things e.g accidents, injuries, obesity, poor posture, etc, but most back pain syndromes are due to inflammation.

Fortunately or unfortunately to let you know, the answer is positive. It is a FACT that sugar causes back pain, not a myth.

REFEEDING SYNDROME

It's a very common advice, that after embarking on a fast (especially a long one), water (most especially), or any drink at that (but not alcoholic) should be the first thing to take after breaking, then afterwards, light foods.

Some people have attached spirituality to it, while others have taken it as matter of generality, while not even knowing if it's right or not. Like the saying, "a lie spoken frequently often becomes the truth".

Now, let's forget about the spirituality or the generality, and go straight to the medical side and implication of this. Why should you take water or something light after a period of fasting?

This is not a matter of religion or spirituality, but it is very important that you take something light after a period of fasting in order to avoid what is known medically as REFEEDING SYNDROME.

Refeeding syndrome occurs when a person recovering from a period of starvation (fasting) is fed too rapidly i.e too fast, and this could be dangerous and sometimes fatal.

GARRI CAUSES POOR EYESIGHT; MYTH OR FACT?

I was at a friend's place when this argument occurred 'again'; "garri causes eyesight problems, true or not?". I used the word 'again' as this is not a new topic of argument.

This topic has been successful at gaining itself much popularity as it's been widely debated for decades; by our great grannies - who (may) know little or nothing about medicine - among scholars, and even among medical experts.

But with critical examination, we're going to take a look into this topic together.

                      A QUICK LOOK INTO THE SUBJECT MATTER

This is for the benefit of non-Nigerians who might be reading this, for better understanding.