chatwithketch

‘For years, fat was a dirty word in the dietary world. After World War II, large studies established links between saturated fat and heart disease. Most dietary experts advised people to reduce their fat intake, not only because of the heart connection, but also because fat has more calories per gram than protein or carbohydrate and was assumed to contribute more to weight gain.’

Read more here: http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/are-fats-so-bad

Happy Easter in advance! 😀

Happy Good Friday everyone! That almost sounds wrong using happy and good right after each other in one sentence J Anyways, trust y’all had a reflective day focusing on the significance of this day. Years ago, the ultimate price was paid today for you and for me. That sure brings a smile to my face!

Now to our question for the day….

Q: Good evening ma’am, I really want to slim down and a doctor recommended a choice of two slimming pills to me. Please ma’am are they good drugs? Thanks. And Also I have registered in a gym.

A: I get a lot of questions about slimming pills, green tea and those wonder drugs that make you shed weight in ‘seconds’ and instruct you never to eat of specific classes of foods. Let’s use green tea as an example. Green tea is great and studies have shown that it speeds up metabolism and so helps you break down all the food you’ve taken in, faster. However, weight gain is a function what you’ve taken in and what you’ve taken out. If you take in 3000 calories and you’re able to burn only 500 calories, then clearly, there is some excess that will get converted to fat et al. Remember that some of our ‘snack’ like some burgers pack as much as 500 to 600 calories in one serving….and that’s just one meal (or maybe even snack) with 3 more meals and perhaps another snack to account for. And so, if you are loading your system with more food than you need, then even the purest of green teas is going to have a hard time keeping up with your metabolism…there’s just too much work to do what with all that food! Remember that generally, women are entitled to 2000 calories intake in a day and men are entitled to 2500.

To practical solutions, there’s no magic wand tablet that makes it all go away. Hmmm, that’s not really true, so I’ll re – phrase. There are a number of take-a-tablet-daily-for-10-days-and-you’ll-lose-all-that-weight-in-the-same-period tablets and fad diets, but what these tablets and diets do is that they make you lose a lot a lot of water weight, which makes you feel like you’re losing weight and then once you go off the tabs or fad diet, you pile it all on again. So, the only solution I proffer is plain hard work J focused on eating right and exercising. Truth is, a lot more work needs to still be done on weight loss supplements to confirm their safety profile.

Some ask, can I lose weight without exercise? You can…if you watch your portions. However, exercise is useful for more than just weight loss. Exercise makes your heart strong and reduces your risk of other ailments.

And then some ask, I eat only once a day, how can I possibly add weight with that? If you eat once a day, chances are you snack on other things during the day that you do not consider as food…it could very well be cookies etc. But even if you don’t snack on anything, chances are that when you eat once, you binge and essentially make up for all the meals that you didn’t eat during the day….and so we’re back to square 1 J Remember that you’re actually allowed up to five small meals in a day. 3 main meals and 2 snacks.

I’m not and never have been a huge fan of fad diets. I think they place a lot of restrictions on you, which make them impracticable and thus easily abandoned. So, for all of you who have written in asking for how to lose all that belly fat and perhaps if there’s a magic pill, here’s my answer. It is hard work…plain and simple.

First, focus on portion control. Start by reducing the size of your plate. If you eat with a bowl, go for a plate. If you eat with a flat plate with a circumference that could hold the globe go for a smaller one etc. Then make sure that you focus on eating healthier foods. Half the plate should be filled with veggies, a quarter with protein and a quarter with carbs. Focus on complex carbs like brown rice, potatoes, yams, oats etc. Your palm is actually a good measure of how much you should eat and before you pelt me with rotten tomatoes for saying this, I’ve actually got very small palms so I’m suffering through this too

Then, exercise. This could be in the gym or through your regular activities. If you are a stay-at-home mum, dancing while doing your house chores, may not be what you have in mind when you look at a full house of chores, but it could start you on your fitness journey. And if you have a house help, don’t send her to do everything, get up and do some stuff yourself. Taking a walk in the evening when everyone is back is also helpful. Going to the gym is a great way to start your day. In the office, move around some more…to the printer, to the bank, to the restaurant for lunch. Don’t call for everything.

And then, try and reduce your stress level…I can almost hear your ‘yeah, right! How do I do that?’ Well, stress is a normal part of life and in fact is needed to give you the regular push to get and go every morning. Find out your sources of stress and figure out solutions to them. For those you can’t find solutions for, let them go. No problem has ever been solved by stressing out over them. During stressful times, we are more likely to make wrong food choices. You may feel too lethargic to go anywhere and want to grab a quick food fix on your desk…where you’ve been sitting all day!

A couple more quick tips to help you limit your food intake, limit the episodes of hunger pangs and ensure you do eat right:

Take your time and chew every morsel. Beyond being in tune with etiquette J it helps give your brain the time needed for it to receive the signal that the stomach is full. If you eat too fast, you would have stuffed yourself before you feel full. Remember that vegetables form soluble fiber, which absorb water and thus give you a feeling of being full for a longer period of time.

You can have 5 meals per day: three major meals and then two snacks. While snacking, eat a handful of nuts, eat some fruit slices dipped in yoghurt or peanut butter, drink a glass of smoothie etc. Please click on the link below for more tips on snacking https://chatwithdrketch.com/2013/04/07/healthy-snacking/

Try to mentally confirm that you’re really hungry whenever you feel the urge to munch on something. Sometimes, it is thirst, boredom or some emotional stress that we are trying to deal with by eating.

Surround yourself with healthy snack and food options so that you are encouraged to do the right thing J

Remember that the path to healthy eating/living is long and winding but there’s always a pot of gold at the end of it. The short cuts always bring you back to where you started because they are not sustainable.

Start off today…the first couple of days are often the hardest but if you stick with it, you will feel so much better and be, indeed, healthier

I hope this helps.

Have a great night, people J

Q: Please ma’am, my younger sister has being married for 3 years now and still could not conceive, please what could be the cause medically?

A: Hello dear, thanks for writing in. I have answered this question in different shades and colors before J I reproduce one of such posts below.

Not being able to have a child at the time that we expect it can be a harrowing experience…especially in Africa where a couple of months into your marriage, family members and even outsiders are beginning to look at you in suggestive ways. Some actually ask outright, ‘when are you guys planning to start having babies?’
However, in the medical world, we can only agree that perhaps there might be an issue after one full year of trying to have babies with no luck. This, however, implies that there is frequent and unprotected sexual intercourse. Frequency in this respect means that sexual intercourse should be at least 3 times in a week. Unprotected means that there should be no barrier protection like a condom. Don’t laugh…this has been known to happen. People use a condom and then expect to get pregnant J The ejaculate (semen) should also be of significant volume.

So, if this has been established to be happening for three years, the next thing is to run tests. The less ‘invasive’ tests are usually done first. This usually involves the husband who provides his semen for analysis. Other tests will now be run on the wife, which presumably has already happened in the case above.
Some causes of infertility in men include problems with the production of sperm, problems with the delivery of sperm, being exposed to environmental toxins (like sitting in hot tubs) and cancer.
Some causes of infertility in women include problems with ovulation, problems with the uterus and cervix, blockage or damage of the fallopian tube, thyroid problems, cancer etc.
Other risk factors for both sexes include use of alcohol and tobacco, being overweight or even underweight and age (the older people get, the more difficult it is to get pregnant).
Where a problem is identified, this is taken care of through various options like the use of drugs or surgery.
Oftentimes, no reason can be found for the infertility. In these instances, the couple may want to consider assisted reproduction. Your doctor will discuss the different options available in your area and if you can afford it, he will suggest other centers where better facilities exist.
Prevention of infertility is targeted at the risk factors. Quit smoking, reduce alcohol consumption, exercise moderately and keep your weight within normal limits.
Infertility is really nerve wracking, because nobody has an idea how long it’s going to last or what treatments are going to work best. Joining support groups and/or counseling sessions may be helpful during this period of waiting, patiently and prayerfully J

Have a good night y’all 😀

Q: I had a miscarriage eleven months ago and since then have not been able to take in. What do I do?

A: Condolences on the loss of your baby! I can’t imagine what it must have felt like going through this experience!

But….don’t give up! You can still have a baby.

Unfortunately, often times, the cause of a miscarriage is not identified. You need to understand this so that you don’t blame yourself unduly. Having said that though, first trimester miscarriages are mainly due to problems with the baby/fetus. These problems could be due to problems with the placenta. This is how the baby receives its nutrients in the womb and so, if this organ cannot deliver, a miscarriage might occur. There may also be a problem with the baby’s chromosomes, such that a baby may receive too many or too few genetic materials or there may be a damaged egg/sperm. Other associated risk factors include smoking and drinking alcohol, being overweight, malnutrition, increased maternal age, trauma and drug abuse. By the way, trimester is 3 months of pregnancy. So, first trimester refers to the 1st three months, 2nd trimester, the 2nd three months and 3rd trimester, the last three months

To try for a pregnancy again, remember to ensure there is unprotected sexual intercourse at least three times a week with ejaculation of sufficient amounts of semen. You should start with folate supplements as soon as you can to prepare yourself and baby for the journey ahead.

To prevent a recurrence, focus on ensuring that you stay healthy and do not indulge in harmful habits like smoking and excessive alcohol drinking. Other helpful tips include eating healthy, keeping weight within normal parameters, avoiding trauma and not abusing drugs.

In addition, as soon as you get pregnant again, register for antenatal as soon as possible and keep to your appointments religiously. You should also contact your obstetrician, even if you’re not due for an appointment, if at anytime you suspect something may be wrong with your baby.

For more on this topic, please click on the link below:
https://chatwithdrketch.com/2014/06/02/daily-health-tips-what-should-i-do-to-conceive-again-after-a-miscarriage/

Have a great night, people J

Low back pain, the scourge of mankind: it is the second leading cause of disability here in the United States, and the fourth worldwide. It’s also one of the top five medical problems for which people see doctors.

Are you dealing with this or know someone who is, then you should read this!

http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/low-back-pain-try-steps-first-2017040311411?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork

Have a great night, y’all 😀

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSq3m6lFtNN/?taken-by=ddrketch

Hello everyone. I trust y’all had a great week. As I promised earlier in the week, I will be writing on meningitis today. Everyone has heard, I believe, about the outbreak in Nigeria and the fact that deaths have been recorded. What appears even more scary is the fact that it is moving from the north to the south. So, this information pertains to everyone and should be taken seriously.

Cerebrospinal meningitis is an infection of the covering of the brain and spinal cord known as meninges. The infection could be bacterial, viral or fungal. The infection making the rounds in Nigeria is linked to the organism, Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus). This causes an upper respiratory tract infection, which can also cause meningitis when it enters the blood stream. It is a droplet infection and very contagious, spread through coughing, sneezing, kissing, sharing utensils, toothbrushes and cutlery. Thus, conditions of overcrowding may encourage its spread with school dormitories/hostels, boarding houses etc being at risk.

The early symptoms include high temperature, headache, nausea, vomiting, stiff neck and sensitivity to light (photophobia). Other symptoms include difficulty concentrating, seizures, sleepiness, loss of appetite etc. In children, the symptoms include fever, neck and body stiffness, bulging anterior fontanel, sleepiness, poor feeding, irritability etc.

There is a vaccine for the prevention of meningitis and treatment would usually involve antibiotics (in bacterial meningitis as in this outbreak) to prevent further spread of infection.

Prevention is however key given the means of spread of this infection.

• Personal hygiene is key. Wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your face.
  This is a no-brainer, right? If you sneeze into your hands and then touch your face or nose, you are constantly re-infecting yourself and so you may remain a major source of infection for a while. If you leave your face, well alone, then you are more likely to kick the bugs faster.
• Keep your drinking glasses and towels separate from other people.
  Again, this appears to be common sense. Don’t drink from the same glasses as other people and please keep your towels separate from other people. Be sure to remember that these ‘other people’ include our significant others. Kissing is also on the list of activities that can promote spread of this infection. So, if someone has meningitis, you may want to give up kissing that person until infection is treated. Mhmmm! So find other ways of showing love at this time 😀
• If possible, avoid being close to other people
  As much as possible, avoid invading other people’s private spaces and stop people from invading yours. That way you don’t expel your droplet infections right into their faces and bodies. In fact, if you have a baby, you may have to use a face mask. Be sure to cover your cough!
• Do not shake people if you have just coughed or sneezed into your hands.
  Just in case, in spite of your best efforts, you still find that you have just sneezed or coughed into your hands, be sure not to shake anyone and wash your immediately.
• Stop spitting indiscriminately. People can ‘catch’ droplet infections like meningitis from this.

If you or anyone you know experience any of the symptoms noted above, please go to the hospital immediately. Do not attempt self-medication at all.

That’s it. Stay safe y’all 😀

Today is World Health Day and this year the theme is Depression: Let’s Talk

WHO estimates that over 300 million people worldwide are living with depression. With the news of suicides and attempted suicides in Nigeria, it is not difficult to believe these figures.

A couple of days ago, I had posted on depression, symptoms, triggers and treatment options available. Today, we will explore another type of depression: postpartum depression.

In our African environment, mothers with post-partum depression feel ashamed to admit the fact that they are finding it difficult to bond with their babies, feel inadequate and just feel withdrawn from everyone. You’re not alone J
Post-partum depression (depression after having a baby, sometimes called baby blues) can occur within 6 weeks of having a baby but often times becomes obvious only around 6 months. It usually announces its presence with persistent tearfulness, moodiness and irritability. It could be due to the physical, psychological, mental, emotional, financial and other stress involved with having and looking after a baby. It could also be linked to the hormonal changes that happen after having a baby. People at risk of this are those who have experienced it before, people who have a history of depression before or during pregnancy.

Treatment is focused on the cause. Counseling may be used to discover the root cause of your depression and proffer better ways of coping/dealing with the issues raised. Hormone replacement therapy may be used to deal with depression related to decrease in estrogen (a hormone) level after having a baby. And then, anti-depressants are also an option.

Having a strong supportive group in church or a supportive group of friends or family can also be helpful at a time like this.

For subsequent pregnancies, this can be prevented by eating well, exercising, creating me time and ensuring that you praise yourself for achievements, while setting goals that are realistic. And try not to bottle up your issues…air them out with the caring people in your trusted circle.

As you would see in this post too, focus is always on talking`: the person in question seeking out people to talk with and/or people around sensing something is wrong and initiating a discussion.

Whatever we do, we must keep the conversation lines open, seek to help and not judge.

For more on this topic, please click on the links below:

https://chatwithdrketch.com/2017/03/21/daily-health-tips-dont-judge-the-depressed/

Have a good night y’all…and let’s keep talking J