A research division of the World Health Organization announced on Monday that bacon, sausage and other processed meats cause cancer, and that red meat probably does, too.

The report by the influential group stakes out one of the most aggressive stances against meat yet taken by a major health organization, and it is expected to face stiff criticism in the United States.

The WHO conclusions are based on the work of a 22-member panel of international experts that reviewed decades of research on the link between red meat, processed meats, and cancer. The panel reviewed animal experiments, studies of human diet and health, and cell mechanisms that could lead from red meat to cancer.

But the panel's decision was not unanimous, and by raising lethal concerns about a food that anchors countless American meals, it will be controversial. The $95 billion U.S. beef industry has been preparing for months to mount a response and some scientists, including some unaffiliated with the meat industry, have questioned whether the evidence is substantial enough to draw the kinds of strong conclusions that the WHO panel did.

"We simply don't think the evidence support any causal link between any red meat and any type of cancer," said Shalene McNeill, executive director of human nutrition at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

The research into a possible link between eating red meat and cancer - colorectal cancer is a longstanding area of concern - has been the subject of scientific debate for decades. But by concluding that processed meats cause cancer, and that red meats "probably" cause cancer, the WHO findings go well beyond the tentative associations that other groups have reported.
Cancer expert offers a chary assessment of grilling risks

The American Cancer Society, for example, notes that many studies have found "a link" between eating red meat and heightened risks of colorectal cancer. But it stops short of telling people that the meats cause cancer. Some diets that have lots of vegetables and fruits and lesser amounts of red and processed meats have been associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer, the American Cancer Society tells the public, but "it's not exactly clear" which factors of that diet are important.

Likewise, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the federal government's advice compendium, encourage the consumption of protein foods such as lean meats as part of a healthy diet. Regarding processed meats, however, the Dietary Guidelines do offer a tentative warning: "moderate evidence suggests an association between the increased intake of processed meats (e.g., franks, sausage, and bacon) and increased risk of colorectal cancer and cardiovascular disease," the guidelines say. The Dietary Guidelines stop well short of saying processed meats cause cancer, however.
Spicy foods may be good for us

In recent years, meat consumption has been the target of multi-faceted social criticism, with debates erupting not just over its role on human health, but the impact of feedlots on the environment and on animal welfare. The public debate over the WHO's findings will likely play out in political lobbying, and in marketing messages for consumers.

But at its core, the dispute over meat and cancer revolves around science, and in particular the difficulty that arises whenever scientists try to link any food to a chronic disease.

Experiments to test whether a food causes cancer pose a massive logistical challenge - they require controlling the diets of thousands of test subjects over a course of many years. For example, one group would be assigned to eat lots of meat, and another less, or none. But for a variety of reasons involving cost and finding test subjects, such experiments are rarely done, and scientists instead often use other less direct methods, known as epidemiological or observational studies, to draw their conclusions.

"I understand that people may be skeptical about this report on meat because the experimental data is not terribly strong," said Paolo Boffetta, a professor of Tisch Cancer Institute at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine who has served on similar WHO panels. "But in this case the epidemiological evidence is very strong."

Other scientists, however, have criticized the epidemiological studies for too often reaching "false positives," that is, concluding that something causes cancer when it doesn't.

"Is everything we eat associated with cancer?" a much noted 2012 paper in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition asked.

That paper reviewed the academic studies conducted on common cookbook ingredients. Of the 50 ingredients considered, 40 had been studied for their impact on cancer. Individually, most of those studies found that consumption of the food was correlated with cancer. When the research on any given ingredient was considered collectively, however, those effects typically shrank or disappeared.

"Many single studies highlight implausibly large effects, even though evidence is weak," the authors concluded.

While epidemioloical studies were critical in proving the dangers of cigarettes, the magnitude of the reported risks of meat is much smaller, and it is hard for scientists to rule out statistical confounding as the cause of the apparent danger.

"It might be a good idea not to be an excessive consumer of meat," said Jonathan Schoenfeld, the co-author of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition article and an assistant professor in radiation oncology at Harvard Medical School "But the effects of eating meat may be minimal, if anything."

Moreover, critics of the decision noted that two actual experiments that tested diets with reduced meat consumption, the Polyp Prevention Trial and the Women's Health Initiative, found that subjects who lessened their meat intake did not appear to benefit by a lower cancer risk. It is possible, however, that the reductions in red meat were too small to have an effect.

The leaders of the west African countries worst hit by Ebola called for more aid to eradiate the disease and rebuild their shattered economies at an international conference in Brussels Tuesday. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma and Alpha Conde of Guinea urged the world to help their recovery as the number of new cases slows.

More than 9,700 people have died of the disease since the west African epidemic emerged in southern Guinea in December 2013, with nearly 24,000 people infected, according to the World Health Organization.  “The impact of Ebola on our economies has been profound. The most important long-term response to Ebola therefore rests in plans and strategies for economic recovery,” Sirleaf told the EU-backed conference.

“There is no doubt this will require significant resources, even a Marshall Plan,” she said, referring to the US-led aid plan that rebuilt Europe after World War II. The International Monetary Fund in Washington approved on Monday funding and debt relief worth about $187 million for Sierra Leone for coming years, with $85 million of that to be disbursed immediately.

The charity Oxfam has previously made similar calls for a Marshall Plan-type effort to help stricken west Africa. The countries at the centre of the Ebola epidemic are forecast to lose 12 percent of their combined gross domestic product this year, according to World Bank estimates. In addition, their health sectors have been partially wiped out by the epidemic or forced to divert resources to fighting Ebola at the expense of other diseases like measles, malaria and AIDS.

- ‘No complacency’ -

The conference gathered the three African leaders plus more than 60 delegations including the European Union, China, the United States, Cuba and Australia, plus the United Nations, the World Bank and other international organisations. The African leaders repeated a pledge made last month to eradicate the disease by mid-April. “We must guard against complacency. There will not be total victory until we get to” zero cases, Koroma said. “We must be ever-ready to aggressively combat this oubtreak.”

UN Ebola envoy David Nabarro said on Monday that the number of new cases had declined from around 900 a week to 100, but that cases appeared to be climbing back up in the coastal regions of Sierra Leone and Guinea. “The purpose of this conference is getting to zero” in terms of human cases, an EU official involved in the talks said separately, but added: “The curve is flattening out, but definitely it is not at zero.”

Officials pointed to the fact that Nigeria, Senegal and Mali have all managed to show that Ebola cases can be reduced to zero after they too were hit by the virus. Countries around the world have so far pledged $4.9 billion to fight Ebola, with $2.4 billion disbursed until now, officials said.

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank will host a further conference in April in Washington to see if there are still financial gaps, followed by another called by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in May, Nabarro said. Ebola, one of the deadliest pathogens known to man, is spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person showing symptoms such as fever or vomiting.

As the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and National Primary Healthcare Development Agency  (NPHCDA) commences its reactive vaccination campaign to halt the spread of  Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM), the Wellbeing Foundation Africa has issued the following health advisory:

Inflammation is the body’s attempt at self-protection; to remove harmful stimuli, including damaged cells, irritants, or pathogens. Chronic Inflammation may also play a role in aging and eventual cellular death. It can be caused by trauma, infection by bacteria or viruses, infestations with parasites, tumours and, most insidiously, by immune reactions.

The inflamed area releases irritant chemicals that can trigger pain. In an immune reaction, the body’s defense team, which includes mast cells and immunoglobulins know simply as “E”, swing into action in response to a foreign invasion. Like soldiers, they mount a defensive offensive against things they perceive as harmful to the body.

The battle results in gunfire, explosions, smoke, environmental damage and casualties at cellular and tissue level.

The body heals. The spoils of war are gone. The landscape is repaired and looks untouched. Everything returns to normal. Until the next battle.

And the war is never won. In the case of food allergy, every time you ingest the ” allergen ” (something your body soldiers see as foreign and dangerous), the cellular and tissue terrain is damaged. This could be in the skin, the eyes, nerve endings, the muscles and the joints.

Nature, in its omnipotent dispensation, makes it more interesting. What is an allergen to one person may not be to another. An allergen that causes inflammation in one tissue may cause the same reaction in a different tissue in someone else.

Something a person has previously welcomed into the body may suddenly be seen as foreign and harmful, and therefore attacked. And vice versa. The battles with the “allergen” may remain the same, or increase or decrease with intensity over time……in the same person. What is clear is that the repeated inflammatory process can lead to chronic pain. What are these allergens in food? Top of the list are…..gluten, soy and wheat (GSW).

Others are milk, oats , barley, trans fats, eggs, some artificial sweeteners, some colourings and preservatives GSW is perhaps the most difficult group to avoid.

They are used by manufacturers in almost all processed food.

Let’s perform a quick NATIONAL food allergen survey! If you would place this newspaper down for a moment and go into your fridge or kitchen or store. Pick up any 5 labelled items. How many of those items have gluten, soy or wheat in the ingredients list?

Drinks may contain allergens too! Beers can trigger gout and arthritis by the purines they produce and the barley they contain. As can whiskey!

In some countries manufacturers have to give an ” allergen list ” on their products. This is so in the UK and most of Europe. It is not universal in the USA.

Reactions to food allergy may be mild and unnoticeable by the sufferer, or moderate and severe, leading to doctor visits, speculative treatments and no clear diagnosis.

As a consolation, there are also some foods that can help to alleviate and reduce pain.

These will be discussed in a future article. So , if you suffer almost daily bouts of itchy, tearing eyes, itchy skin, stomach pain, body aches and joint pains – take a closer look at what you eat.

People who drink three to five cups of coffee a day may have a lower risk of clogged arteries that can cause serious heart problems, a study said Tuesday. The South Korean research is the latest on the health effects of the popular brew, previously associated with a reduced risk of developing multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Alzheimers disease. For the latest study, the team analysed data from 25,100 South Korean men and women, average age 41, who had undergone regular health screening.

None of the study group had any cardiovascular problems, but one in seven had detectable levels of coronary artery calcium (CAC) — an early sign of coronary heart disease, or atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis occurs when a waxy compound called plaque lines the artery walls, limiting blood flow and potentially triggering dangerous blood clots. The level of CAC was highest among those who had less than one cup or more than five cups daily, the researchers found. It was lowest among those who drank between three to five cups.

Cup size was not specified in the report. The researchers said the result was the same for all population sub-groups, regardless of age, gender, smoking status, body fat, alcohol consumption or blood pressure levels. “Moderate coffee consumption was associated with a lower prevalence of subclinical atherosclerosis,” said the study published in the journal Heart.

Further work is needed to explain why coffee appears to be protective, and whether the findings would hold true for other population groups. The researchers cautioned that “our results were based on a sample of relatively healthy, young middle-aged, educated Koreans, and might not be generalisable to other populations.” Previous research has thrown up a mixed picture about coffee and its impact on health.

A 2014 analysis of 36 studies found that moderate coffee intake — also defined as three to five cups a day — was linked to a decreased risk of heart disease. Other research had said it lowered the risk of Type 2 diabetes. But coffee consumption has also been linked to higher cholesterol and blood pressure, both of which are bad news for cardiac health.

The President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has assured the Federal Government and the Ministry of Health of the Senate’s commitment to supporting all efforts to put an end to the outbreak of meningitis in the country. The outbreak has claimed the lives of up to 328 people.

The bacteria,named Bacillus F, is amazing because it has remained alive in the permafrost for millions of years.

Scientists have tested it on mice and human blood cells, but this wasn't enough for Mr. Brouchkov, who decided to inject himself with it.

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...

Bauchi-About 200 cattles in Toro local government area of Bauchi State has been infected with Food and Mouth Disease .

The Vetinary Officer of the local government Malam Adamu Abdu Jibrin who stated this yesterday while speaking to newsmen in Toro, described the disease as highly contagious among cattles especially at water point area.

He said,” Food and mouth disease is a highly contagious viral infectious disease of cattle, sheep, goats and pigs. It can also affect wild animals, especially buffalo, which act as a significant hosts and in which the disease is generally much milder than in cattle”

“The virus can be harboured for periods in the nasopharynx of wild fauna(respiratory system of the body).

The importance of the disease in small stock such as sheep and goats is largely as carriers of disease to cattle.”

” The disease is mainly transmitted through inhalation or ingestion of the virus from contaminated feeds and direct contact with infected animals. Human can also transfer infection to other animals through movement of people and vehicles from an infected premises to susceptible areas”

The Vetinary Officer said that the incubation period is on average 3 to 8 days after the animals are infected with virus, adding that Infected animals will the discharge the virus through the saliva, rupture of vesicles and blisters on the tongue and feet.

Malam Adamu who advised the people of the area to be vigilant, said the disease can also affect human beings who may come in close contact with infected animals.

He therefore called on the state government to urgently take the necessary measure to avert the spread of the disease.

On Bird Flu, Malam Abdu Adamu said about fifty birds were so far killed in the area within one month.

He urged farmers to report any case of ill health in poultry and ensure high level of hygiene while handling poultry products.

According to him the outbreak of the disease was confirmed in seventeen states that include Bauchi, Plateau, Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa and Gombe States

The Wellbeing Foundation Africa is pleased to announce our sponsorship of the Climb With Remi. We are sponsoring one brave climber headed to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, in support of women, children, and elderly people in Nigeria’s Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps.

Committed to alleviating the plight of the estimated 3.3 million internally displaced persons (IDP) in Nigeria, the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, led by Mrs. Toyin Saraki, is proud to be a sponsor of the “Climb with Remi” expedition – a daring initiative where six Nigerian women climb to the summit of the highest mountain in Africa, to amplify global attention towards the needs of internally displaced persons in Nigeria, most particularly women, children and the elderly.

Led by Mrs. Remi Abere, the expedition up the Kilimanjaro Mountain will raise fund for IDPs in Nigeria and create awareness around the challenges facing those who have been displaced due to conflict. In addition to Mrs. Remi Abere – a fifty year old mother of five, the six-woman delegation selflessly embarking on the seven-day climb include wife of Ogun State governor, Mrs. Funsho Amosun and three-term House of Representatives member, Hon. Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa.

To empower women in need, the Wellbeing Foundation Africa’s ‘Maternal Monday’ Campaign specifically delivers traction in reproductive, maternal newborn, child and adolescent health goals from pregnancy, immunisation, breastfeeding and nutrition to adolescence and womanhood; focusing on the prevention of child marriage, retention of girls in education, and eradication of gender violence. The Maternal Monday Campaign also focuses on the changing health needs of older women – who are often marginalized within healthcare systems in Africa.

Recent research has shown that older people are vulnerable to malnutrition in humanitarian contexts. Due to their age, they have specific nutritional needs such as easily digestible and palatable food. In famine and displacement, where people are dependent on food distribution, older people often have difficulty accessing the distribution, or difficulty transporting rations home. Despite these unique vulnerabilities, older people are neglected as a group in need of specific nutritional or food assistance.

Commending Mrs. Abere for her bravery and dedication to providing hope and support to the millions of women and children in IDP camps in Nigeria, Mrs. Toyin Saraki has urged women around the world to work together to empower other women, thereby contributing to the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal 3, whose objective is to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all.”

Earlier this year, the Wellbeing Foundation Africa team, led by Mrs. Saraki, and Her Excellency Mrs. Aisha Buhari visited the Damare IDP camp and St Joseph’s Catholic Mission in Adamawa State to donate safe delivery kits “Mama Kits” and other nutritional/medicinal products in order to address the maternal health challenges facing displaced mothers in Nigeria.

By sponsoring a “Climb with Remi” climber and creating awareness of the initiative, the Wellbeing Foundation Africa aims to give internally displaced persons a hope for a brighter, healthier future

French doctors will decide Thursday whether to allow a severely brain-damaged man to die in the latest turn of a bitter legal battle over his fate which ended up at Europe’s top rights court.

The fate of Vincent Lambert, 38, who was left a quadriplegic with severe brain damage after a 2008 road accident, has torn apart his family, done a marathon tour through the courts and ignited the euthanasia debate in France.

The case has pitted Lambert’s parents against his wife and six siblings who insist the former psychiatric nurse would never have wanted to be kept alive artificially.

The Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights in June ruled Lambert should be allowed to die, in a blow to his parents and two other siblings who had launched a desperate attempt to stop doctors from cutting the intravenous food and water keeping him alive.

Doctors have decided to carry out a new consultation process after the rights court’s decision, this time including his parents.

Lambert’s medical team had in January 2014 taken the initial decision to stop keeping him alive in line with a passive euthanasia law in France.

But this decision was taken without consulting his deeply devout Catholic parents, who then won a court application to stop the plan, calling it “akin to torture”.

In an appeal, the French supreme administrative court, known as the State Council, ordered three doctors to draw up a report on Lambert’s condition and in June 2014 ruled that withdrawing care from a person with no hope of recovery was lawful.

Lambert’s parents then took the case to Europe’s rights court which ruled the State Council decision was “the object of a thorough investigation where all points of view were expressed and all aspects weighed long and hard”.

– Little doubt about decision –

Medical experts have said Lambert is in an irreversible vegetative state.

But his mother Viviane believes her son is showing signs of progress, including lifting his leg and swallowing, and just needs better care. His parents want him moved to a new medical facility.

Lambert’s nephew Francois, who is among those in favour of allowing him to die said there was “not really any doubt about the decision to stop treatment and finally let Vincent go.”

However the legal marathon will not end there if doctors do decide to end treatment, as his determined parents plan to take the decision back to court.

A legal source close to the case said they have little hope of victory in the lower court considering the previous rulings of the State Council and European rights court.

In practice, once all legal avenues are exhausted, the palliative care unit where Lambert is being held will stop artificial nutrition and hydration and sedate Lambert to avoid discomfort and suffering.

In such cases it can take between a week and 10 days for the patient to die.

Lambert’s case ignited a fierce debate around euthanasia in France where it remains illegal despite recent efforts to ease legislation dealing with the terminally ill — a campaign promise by President Francois Hollande.

In March, lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favour of a law allowing medics to place terminally ill patients in a deep sleep until they die.

The law also makes “living wills” — drafted by people who do not want to be kept alive artificially if they are too ill to decide — legally binding on doctors.

Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg as well as in the US states of Vermont, Oregon and Washington.

Obesity is defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. It associated with non-communicable diseases (NCDS) like type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. At an individual level, obesity is as a result of the combination of excessive food energy intake and a lack of physical activity. Other causes include inactivity, pregnancy, and lack of sleep, genetics, medical reasons, or psychiatric illness. According to research carried out on Nigeria in the past, over a quarter of Nigeria’s population is obese.

Early studies on obesity in Nigeria defines the prevalence of obesity among a sample of adult Nigerians living in Jos. The results showed that the prevalence of overweight and obesity was 21.4% in males, with 17.2% of them being overweight and 4.2% being obese; and 23.5% in females. The highest incidence of overweight and obesity were found in the 35-44 years age group. The conclusion is that obesity, which was previously thought to be infrequent in Africans, is rising in frequency.

Obesity is far more than the mere result of too much eating and/or little exercise, among other things. For instance, a person who works every day from 9-5, sitting at a desk where he/she eats, drinks, occasionally stretches because of back cramps, and then goes back to sitting will eventually start to develop some extra waistline fat. Other than genetics, bodily inactivity has to be the most prevalent cause of obesity in today’s world. Hence, it is imperative that certain methods are carried out to prevent or treat obesity.

Treatment methods include dietary changes, exercise activities and medication. While lifestyle modifications like exercising and eating well balanced meals are almost always recommended , certain dietary supplements or weight loss plans are also advisable. A notable one being the breakthrough dietary supplement called CALORAD. It is very cost effective, has no known side effects after 30 years of use, and can work alone or with any weight loss plan.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, yesterday impounded fake and substandard fast moving skin lightening cream, bating soaps as well as serum worth millions of Naira in Lagos even as it sealed three shops in connection with the offensive products.

The fake products identified as Q7 Range of products impounded during the Agency’s raid exercise at the Lagos Trade Fair complex includes; Q7 Whiteniser body milk strong treatment, Q7 Carotte Multi- active Whitening Serum, Ndak Q7 Whitening body lotion with manufacturing dates: 07/2015 and expiry dates: 06/2020 and Q7 Gold soap among others.

The impounded products originally registered with NAFDAC by ‘Visible Image Cosmetics Nigeria Limited’, were said to have been brought into the country through yet to be identified illegal source. The bubble however busted when the company petitioned NAFDAC about the presence of the offending products in some shops and warehouse at the Trade Fair market complex.

Addressing journalists shortly after the raid exercise, the Chief Enforcement Officer, Mr. Idowu confirmed that the operation became necessary following reports by Visible Image Cosmetics Nigeria Limited about the presence of the offending products in the markets. Joseph noted that already the Agency has evacuated the alleged injurious products and sealed the shops as well as invited the shop owners for further interrogations.

He further explained that the products, were impounded because they were unregistered and from illegal source.  “We are removing from the market Q7 range of products suspected to be fake. The agency had registered Q7 range of products with NAFDAC numbers on them from what we are seeing from the products evacuated, you can see that NAFDAC number is not on them and they are coming from unauthorised source.

Joseph said “We have given them invitation to report on Monday and have sealed the shops.  We expect them to tell us how and where they get the products from.  As soon as the owners opened up, we will send the products to the laboratory for further analysis to ascertain the genuineness of the products after which the agency will take a decision.

He disclosed that following the petition of the original brand owners of the products, NAFDAC would continue to mop up the products anywhere it was found.

On the health implications of the products, Joseph who regretted that the products could be injurious to health said: “Any product registered and tested by NAFDAC has been certified to be fit for consumers.  These products contain injurious substances that are harmful to the skin; and if allowed into the market people will be buying products that can cause health hazards.

He regretted that despite the enlightenment campaigns, consultative meetings, sensitisation workshops and other methods adopted over the years to discourage importation, distribution, sales and consumption of these products, people continued to engage in such business.

The Enforcement officer, asked for the cooperation of members of the public to assist to expose the major importers and distributors of these outlawed products and their warehouse.

Health experts will on Wednesday, July 1, 2015 discuss the management of cleft patients in Nigeria.

They are also expected to discuss the role of Dental Nurses in the treatment of cleft patients and the myths about cleft, lip and palate in children.

A statement issued in Lagos by the coordinator of the School of Basic Dental Nursing, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Ms. Adeyanju Aina, said the programme would take place at Hall 36, Lagos University Teaching Hospital.

“The aim of the programme is to promote oral health and cleft surgery”, the statement said

“The event expected to begin at 10:00am, will be attended by government officials, students and business executives” the statement added

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and leading telecommunications services provider, Airtel Nigeria, have partnered to support the National Agency for the Control of AIDS in an initiative to ensure that no child is born with HIV in Nigeria.

The UNAIDS and Airtel partnership sealed through a Memorandum of Understanding will allow the Telco’s subscribers to benefit from information on how and where to access prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV services in Nigeria. The information shall be disseminated through innovative and regular text messages.

In July 2011, a global plan towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children and keeping their mothers alive was launched at the United Nations General Assembly meeting on AIDS. On its part, Nigeria unveiled a National Operational Plan in 2014 focused on eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV and accelerating the implementation of similar efforts in the country.