chatwithketch

Q: Please ma’am, what makes the heart beat faster without being hypertensive? What can I use to reduce cholesterol?

A: Palpitations (feeling that your heart is beating too fast or too hard) occur when you get the sense that you can feel your heart beat. Ordinarily, your heart goes about its business of keeping you alive and well by beating inside your chest without you being aware, right? Some conditions, however, may make your heart beats obvious and you probably have experienced some: anxiety, panic attacks, stress, after some exercise, when you have a fever, after taking some coffee or any caffeine-containing food/fluid and also after taking in nicotine as in cigarette smoke, cigar or even chewing tobacco. Conditions like pregnancy and taking drugs eg cough medicines that contain stimulants may also cause palpitations.

Usually these palpitations would disappear after a brief appearance, but if they appear frequently and are accompanied by other symptoms like chest pain, being short of breath etc, please be sure to see your doctor to confirm that this is not a sign of a bigger problem with significant complications.

Treatment is focused on the cause. Where stress or anxiety is the trigger, management is really all about coping with stress and making sure that you have more ‘good’ stress than bad stress (remember that good stress has a life cycle…it starts and ends within defined periods while bad stress is from situations that are not handled properly and remain a source of ‘worry’ continually).

If it’s due to caffeine and nicotine…simple: stop 😀 or significantly reduce. For coffee, 2 cups (teensy weensy lady-like cups :D)a day should be the very maximum 😀 For nicotine though, you just have to let it go.

Finally, if you indulge in other drugs of ‘recreation’ eg cocaine etc, please leave well alone!

As for cholesterol, the first lesson we all need to learn is that cholesterol is not completely a demon 😀 There is the good cholesterol and the bad cholesterol. So, when we talk about high cholesterol, we usually refer to the bad one, Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) Cholesterol, which can lead to blockage of the vessels and inevitably, a heart attack…not good news! But we do need the good one, High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. It mops up excess cholesterol and prevents LDL from being changed into the form that causes heart disease. Indeed, we are encouraged to take foods that increase this and this in turn improves heart health.

So, what foods can help reduce bad cholesterol in the body and increase the level of good cholesterol? Here are some examples:

Oats and other whole grains which form soluble fiber that reduce the absorption of cholesterol and in addition, give you a feeling of satiety for long. This prevents you feeling hungry more often and reaching for ‘unhealthy’ snacks 😀 Other foods in this group include okro, beans, apples, citrus fruits and garden egg (egg plants).

Soya beans, heart healthy oils like Olive oil and Canola oil, nuts (which should only be served in handfuls) and fatty fish like mackerel also reduce LDL.

Generally eating healthy with lots of fruits and vegetables, cutting out the white carbs (pastries etc), exercising (at least 150 minutes weekly), ensuring you are not overweight and quitting smoking.

Have a good evening, fabulous people 😀

Q: Dr. I’m glad because of this your page. You ‘re so wonderful by the testimonies of the page. May Almighty who for His mercy loved you to this kind gesture, bless you abundantly. Please, do me a favour, because I’m confused. Can a woman have menstruation and Ovulation at the same time? If possible, is it normal?

A: Amen to your many prayers and I love you right back! :d
Can one menstruate and ovulate at the same time? Yes…this may not be very common but it is very possible. Is this normal? It’s not abnormal :d It all depends on a woman’s cycle. To understand this some more, I reproduce the details of a post I made a while ago on a related question.

Q: Please Dr, is it absolutely free to have sex during menstruation? Secondly, if it is free, can a woman get pregnant during that period?

A: I had to hide a quick smile when I read this 😀 I’m not sure what you mean by free. Free from stress or free from sexually transmitted infection? Or perhaps you want to know if it’s safe?
Well, having sexual intercourse during a lady’s menstrual period does not make a man impotent, neither does it kill vital organs in his body…contrary to all the stories you have probably heard 😀

However, it is obviously messy and it is also easy to contract Sexually Transmitted Infections at this time.

Can one get pregnant at this time? Unlikely but not impossible. It depends on the length of a woman’s cycle. If she has a short cycle, she could be seeing her period a few days away from her ovulation. Thus, if she has sexual intercourse, perhaps towards the end of her period, the sperm, which can stay ‘alive’ for days after sexual intercourse, are still available to fertilize the eggs released during ovulation. So, having sexual intercourse during menstruation is NOT a means of contraception, people 😀

For more on this topic, please click on this link https://chatwithdrketch.com/2015/04/10/daily-health-tips-irregular-periods/

Have a good night everyone 🙂

Here’s to a healthier you!

Q: Ma’am, what is garlic useful for?

A: Well, garlic has been found to have useful functions in the body. For details read the post below:

Q: What functions do ginger and garlic serve in our bodies?

A: These are two great food seasonings. For people who use a lot of salt ordinarily, using these spices help to put the zing back in your food…they add a little something extra, such that you don’t miss the salt that much.

But, they are also healthy and good for you 😉

Garlic: Yes, I know it gives you stinky breath but it is amazingly super Healthy!

Funny…but it could very well be the sulfur compounds causing that odor that also stop cancer-causing substances from forming in your body, speed DNA repair, and kill cancer cells.

Garlic also battles bacteria, including H. pylori (the one connected to some ulcers and stomach cancer), and it reduces the risk of colon cancer.

To get the most benefit, peel and chop the cloves and let them sit 15 to 20 minutes before cooking. That activates enzymes and releases the sulfur-containing compounds that have the most protective effect

And…by the way, stick with the fresh cloves. Dried garlic is devoid of its important healthy components!

Ginger: When you chew ginger, gingerols come out and are helpful in preventing nausea and high blood pressure.

So, spice away, people and have a great day 😀

Here’s to a healthier you!

Q: Hello my great doc! I know that beans is good for the body but I’m scared eating of beans because anytime I eat beans my belly troubles me for 3 days. I do go to toilet just to gas air & I cannot eat anything to my fill. What is d cause & what can I do or take? Thanks a lot

A: Hi dear, thanks for writing in. Feeling gassy or bloated after eating beans is a problem that some people have to deal with. Bloating essentially is due to specific foods eaten and how they were taken.

I reproduce below, a post I had made on this subject:

Have you ever been embarrassed by a growling stomach, a burp that came from nowhere or just that feeling of ‘gasiness’ (I’m not even sure this is a real word!). Well, you’re not alone. Millions, the world over have also experienced this.

‘Excess gas’ is produced in the body when we swallow it or when our body produces it as a result of what we have eaten. We are more likely to swallow air when we eat very fast, when we chew gum, drink through a straw or suck on hard candies.

Certain foods also cause our bodies to also produce more gas eg beans, whole wheat grains, carbonated drinks, fruits like apples. Now these are mainly healthy foods (minus the carbonated drinks) and so we are not about to ask you to stop eating them 😀 What you can do since you have this problem is to reduce the amounts of these foods that you eat.

You could keep a food diary to identify the specific foods that cause this problem for you and then, reduce those.

For more on this subject, please click on this link: https://chatwithdrketch.com/2013/11/23/daily-health-tip-bloating/

Have a fab night, peeps 😀

Q: Is this diet of fruits, vegetables and whole grains applicable to children? I feel that, because they are growing, they need sugar and the likes.

A: You are certainly right. They need sugar to fuel all that activity that makes parents continually yell, ’what’s going on there?’ 😀 But, it’s probably not the sugar that you meant…that is, refined sugar from baked goods, soft drinks etc.

So what should they eat? Pretty much the same diet requirements as you but with varying calorie needs at different ages.
Serve a variety of fruits and vegetables, especially those in season. They are cheap and readily available. Serve a variety of different coloured fruits and veggies. And remember that fruit juices are not as good as fresh fruits themselves (they are loaded with sugar and even if you don’t see sugar on the label, the ‘concentrate’ you do see is loaded with it!). An exception to this would be 100% fruit juice.

Whole grains found in brown/local rice, oats, whole wheat bread and popcorn too (yep! popcorn :D. But be sure not to douse them with sugar or salt) etc provide complex carbs and fibre for that feeling of fullness and of course great bowel movement with no constipation 😀

Want to know what else is healthy to eat? Get details from the book, Just For The Health Of It. You can get a copy via the shop now link on our facebook page. Or you can get it through:

1) Jumia.com. Just click on this link http://www.jumia.com.ng/jumia-books-just-for-the-health-of-it-with-dr-ketch-179486.html and get a copy. You have the option of paying when the book is delivered to you or paying online. This service is available all over Nigeria.

2) Another option for those in Lagos is Laterna Bookshop on 13, Oko-Awo Close, Off Adetokunbo Ademola Street,. Victoria Island.

3) If you’re outside the country, please visit Amazon through this link http://www.amazon.com/Just-Health-Ketch-Pregnancy-Parenting/dp/9789398026/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426246647&sr=1-1&keywords=just+for+the+health+of+it+with+dr+ketch+olalere+nkechi

Is your home a haven? Is it somewhere you race to from work because it enhances and improves your wellness? Or is it somewhere you run away from because it is dirty? Or because your family members or even members of staff are ….well, to put it less than delicately, smelly? Perhaps because they don’t bath or even wash their clothes? Or because, toilets and kitchens smell nasty?

Here are five top tips to create the perfect home environment where wellness can thrive.

• Sweep and clean your house every day. For people who have bare floors, this is all too important. Ensure that the floors are scrubbed and cleaned every day; or if there is little traffic in your house during the week days, then at least once a week. Ensure that laundry is done frequently and dried properly. We don’t want to smell sweaty clothes, sheets or even settees when you walk into the home. The settees can be brushed down and cleaned depending on whether they are fabric or leather.

• Ensure that toilets are cleaned daily. At the very least, they should be wiped down after use, toilets should be flushed and toilet cleaning agents should be used. Air freshening agents should also be used liberally. Your toilet should smell like a sanctuary…and not a sewer!

• Brush your teeth daily and encourage your family members to do so too, especially in the mornings. A lot of people move around with morning breath, stinking up the house. A quick brush after every meal is also not a bad idea or at least after a meal of food with distinctive strong smells like garlic, fish etc. A quick fix may be to use mouth wash or unsweetened chewing gum.

• Be sure to take a bath twice a day, or failing that, at least once a day. When on your period, be sure to take a bath even more frequently so that you stay smelling fresh and clean.

• If you have a baby, please change their diapers as soon as they mess it up with poop or urine. Your babies feel uncomfortable and fret and the smell from their ‘business’ pollutes your haven!

Now you’ve got more reasons to race home from the office.

Have a fabulous weekend, people 😀

Q: Good day Dr. Thanks for creating this forum. My baby of a yr old has ringworm at his back. A doctor prescribed Fluconazole and Mycoten cream. He has exhausted the drug yet the ringworm persists. Please, what else should I do?

A: Hi dear, ringworm is a fungal infection. The rule of the game when treating fungal infections is patience because treatment can go on for months!  Apart from treatment, you have to be sure to keep your baby’s private things private. He should have a towel to himself…not shared with anyone. Same goes for his undergarments etc.

For details of how to prevent and treat ringworm, please click on these links: https://chatwithdrketch.com/2014/02/19/daily-health-tips-is-this-a-fungal-infection/ and https://chatwithdrketch.com/2014/12/23/daily-health-tips-what-can-i-use-for-ringworm/

Have a good night, people 😀

Here’s to a healthier you!

Q: Hi Doc! Is it good to eat more than 3 square meal a day? What type of sugar intake is good for the body?
A: Thanks for writing in. To answer your first question, I will lift a portion straight out of my book, Just For The Health Of It With Dr Ketch, which answers that question. Here goes…
Q: How many meals should I eat in a day?
A: The jury is really still out on this one. One school of thought insists that small mini-meals every two to three hours is great and improves metabolism. The other school of thought claims that there is no significant finding that confirms that this is any better than the regular 3 square meals we’ve been used to.

Well, worldwide, we’re all agreed on the fact that more proteins, fruits, veggies and complex carbs are the way to go. If you add portion control to the mix ensuring that you have the right amount of food with fruits /veggies making up half of the plate, complex carbs taking up, a quarter of the plate and proteins in the last part of the plate, then you should be good. At this point, it won’t really matter whether you’re doing 6 mini-meals or 3 main meals all day…you’ll still be able to keep the weight off (with some exercise in the mix too :D) and really just be healthy.

As for what type of sugars to take? Less refined sugar is absolutely the best for you. Foods with low glycaemic index are very useful here.

For more on glycaemic index, please click on the link: https://chatwithdrketch.com/2015/04/12/weight-loss/

Have a good evening, y’all grin emoticon

Q: Hello Dr. Good day. Dr I need your help. I have this problem. Any time I have sex, I quickly discharge. And after that I wouldn’t be able to continue. Even if I force myself to go again I will feel like something was taken out of me after the second round.
Secondly, I normally have this headache and fever and after treating them, like one month after, the symptoms will be back. My hands will be shaking. My friends said that I should quit beer which I did but it still shakes. What is my problem Dr?

A: Premature ejaculation is the most common type of sexual dysfunction in men younger than 40years. Premature ejaculation is uncontrolled ejaculation either before or shortly after sexual penetration, with minimal sexual stimulation and before the person wishes. In most cases the cause may not be identified. It may be due to anxiety, guilt, depression, or if it has been a long time since last ejaculation. It may occur with a new partner, or only in certain sexual situations. In some cases, medical conditions, hormonal problems, injury or certain medications can cause it.

In most cases, it resolves on its own over time without medical treatment. Cutting down on alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs may improve this. Counseling or behavioral therapy may help reduce anxiety related to premature ejaculation. Antidepressant drugs have also been found to delay ejaculation. There are also creams, gels and sprays which can be applied before intercourse. I would advise you visit a doctor who would be able to evaluate you and give you further advice.

The recurrent fever and headache could be poorly treated malaria, and infection, a problem with the immune system, or some more sinister problems. Have these checked with a doctor and do continue to cut down on your alcohol intake. It sure will help in the long run. Cheers!

****This post was contributed by a guest doctor blogger.

For a related post, please click on this link https://chatwithdrketch.com/2014/04/13/daily-health-tips-premature-ejaculation/

Have a great night, beautiful people 😀