chatwithketch

Q: Hello Dr. I have been to a high blood pressure routine check for 3 weeks and yesterday I was diagnosed for it. I know I take in lot of salt and fatty food. I’m not ready for the treatment because they said once I use it I won’t have to stop it. Dr. is it possible to avoid treatment and regain normal pressure if I reduce fats and salt in my diet? My last blood pressure was 180/90 and they said I might have a stroke. How can I avoid this doctor?

A: High blood pressure used to be defined as blood pressure reading of 140/90mmHg or more. Not anymore!
The new guidelines by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association state that only blood pressure readings below 120/80mmHg can now be considered normal blood pressure.
A systolic blood pressure reading between 120 and 129mmHg is…

Did you miss our show on osteoporosis? Do want to know what foods are full of calcium and how much of them you should be getting everyday? Get the full half hour episode here with Ms Taiwo Ajai-Lycett who tells us her ‘personal; secrets for being fit and agile at 73 years.
Watch the show here

Q: Thank you Dr Ketch for the wellness information you share.  It’s really helpful. Please what’s the right portion of milk to take per day?

A: Thanks for writing in. Milk is full of protein, calcium and other nutrients needed for proper development. It’s needed, not just by our children as a lot of people tend to think, but also by adults who need to build up a good stock of calcium to ensure they don’t end up with brittle bones (osteoporosis).

Here’s how much milk everyone needs from birth till old age:

Breast milk is the best milk and should be the only food for your baby until he is 6 months old, given at 2-3 hours’ interval.

From 6 months to 1 year, continue breastfeeding and then add other meals like cereals etc.

Continue breast milk till 2 years. However, if this is not feasible, cow milk can…

Q: Doc, I had a copper IUD inserted 5 months ago and after checking up on it we found out that it wasn’t in place. Does it give me a higher chance of being preggy given the position of the IUD? Please notice my concern. Thank you!

A: Hi dear, thanks for writing in.

If indeed, the IUD has shifted and it’s not the string that you feel, you need to see visit your family planning clinic as soon as possible to get that checked out. Remember that if, indeed, the IUD is not properly inserted or has been expelled, you stand the risk of a pregnancy and so you should get this checked out shortly and use some other form of contraception in the meantime.

Generally, there are warning signs to look out for when you have the IUD on. If you experience any of these under-listed symptoms, please…

Q: Hi Dr Ketch, I love your tips. Please give me a recipe for a nice milk shake for a 4 year old girl

Q: Hi Dr Ketch, can you repeat your recipe for yoghurt. I didn’t catch it all on TV

Q: When I made my yoghurt, it had water on top.

A: In response to the 5-minute shows airing on DSTV, I have received a couple of questions on some of the recipes. So, I will reproduce some of the recipes here.

You can use milk to make some super delicious milk shakes. Everybody loves a milk shake 😀 An easy one to make is a combination of milk, some fruits (eg mango) and crushed ice. Put all into a blender and whizz away. Watch while blending because if you blend for too long, it becomes runny. You want it nice and sorta thick….and utterly delicious!

Another delicious…

Q: Hello doc, I just watched your programme about how healthy milk is for children. I have a concern because when my son was about a year plus, I started noticing some irritations on his skin which made him itch. We went to his paediatrician who said it is some kind of allergic reaction that we should watch whatever aggravates the irritation especially proteins. I then noticed he becomes more irritated when he takes milk and by the way he loves milk. we were told to switch to soy milk which he tolerates well. Recently, he started having sore eyes with sticky discharge in the morning, We took him to the eye clinic and was told it is allergic conjunctivitis and he is on treatment. My concern now is how exactly do we manage it and does it mean he won’t be able to take full cream milk?

A: Interesting…

Q: Hello Dr Ketch, please I want to know how to get rid of washer man’s finger. It’s really spoilt 6 out of my 10 finger nails. Thanks so much.

A: So sorry you are experiencing this. I can just imagine what you may be going through. From the description of your symptoms, it’s rather difficult to say exactly what is going on with your finger nails/ hand. The term washerman’s finger, which you used may have beclouded what you really wanted us to address. Then mentioning your fingernails being spoilt, gives it the picture of a fungal nail infection. There are quite a number of conditions that can affect the hands, fingers and the nails, some of which can be a bit challenging to diagnose and even treat. I would advise you see a doctor, who would be able to have a look at your hands, fingers and nails…

As we approach the festive season and the time when people cook a lot to celebrate, I reproduce a post I had made before. I have received a lot of questions on cancer since the post I made on it and I have also been asked this question on re-using oil, frequently. So, here goes!

Q: Should we re-use oils that have been used for frying?

A: This is a very important question. How do we tell the woman who has used a whole lot of oil to fry akara (bean cakes) to pour all that oil away afterwards? In these economic times? The truth is, even if she wanted to do that for her health, the economic imperatives make it impossible! Do you know how much that oil cost? 
Okay, so what can we do? Re-using oil can be done safely. First, the focus is on oils that have…

Olive oil has always been the poster boy for all things good – anointing (in the christian circles) and healthy (in the culinary and healthy eating circles). And then, from nowhere, in comes coconut oil! All of a sudden, the media is awash with all the great health benefits of coconut oil for the skin, hair and general health, pushing former super star, Olive oil, to the background 😀

This post reviews both oils and proclaims a winner. And the winner is…..

You have to read this to know!

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/olive-oil-or-coconut-oil-which-is-worthy-of-kitchen-staple-status-2020061820077

Q: Good morning, Doctor. Please as the subject states its rather an emergency. For the first time in 23 years of my life I had unprotected sex. I lost my virginity in the process due to my inexperience with things like this. I did not know what next to do. When I felt a bit strange, I decided to go for series of tests: Pregnancy test, HIV and ulcer. Only the ulcer came out positive; the rest were negative. After 2 months, I had sex again and it was painful. I spotted blood. Also, I quickly took a contraceptive and after three days I started having serious abdominal cramps and I saw blood like I was on my menstrual period and I had already seen it this month, that is, making it 2 times in a month. These cramps hurt like hell and I am scared. Please, what is the…