So the harmattan wind has begun blowing and its essential we care for our skin especially our hands. Due to the dryness that harmattan brings, the hands become dry and hard like 'sandpaper' and it is so easy to get the hands injured during this period. This applies to males and females alike.
We all too often neglect our hands, leaving them defenceless to the environment and in poor condition. Develop the habit of moisturising the hands after washing them so that they would not dry out
The hands being one of the first places to show any signs of ageing, can easily give the game away if you neglect them. Using a moisturising hand cream is the best way to repair and restore damaged hands, ensuring that they not only look younger but feel softer too.
Along with everyday tasks; exposure to water, chemicals and severe temperatures are the main cause of damage to the hands. Hands can become dry, cracked and painful, irrespective of sex.
Develop the habit of using hand gloves where necessary: in the kitchen,at work,etc
Whether you want to fade age spots, tighten loose skin or soothe excessive dryness, there is a hand cream for you. Make sure you look out for ingredients like Vitamin E, Shea Butter, essential oils and Glycerin which will add much needed moisture to your skin.
Simply adding hand moisturising to your daily routine can completely change the condition of your hands, so the sooner you start using a hand cream, the sooner you will see results.
Dr Dileem says our hands are very important! Care for them specially especially this harmattan season!!!
Cashew nuts are one of the healthiest foods in the world. Unfortunately, not many of you know the numerous benefits they offer, and only a very small percentage of the natural medicines comprehensive database is dedicated to them.
Countries like my great Nigeria, Tanzania, Mozambique and Brazil are the biggest producers of cashew nuts, mostly due to the fact that they need hot and humid climate in order to grow.
Health benefits of cashew nuts:
Cashew nuts are rich in vitamins, soluble dietary fibre, minerals and many phytochemicals that prevent diseases, including cancers. Cashews are also rich in calories, about 50f of cashew contains 275 calories. Cashew nuts provide numerous essential vitamins, including pantothenic acid or vitamin B5, pyridoxine or vitamin B6, thiamine or vitamin B11 and riboflavin.These vitamins are crucial for metabolism of fat, protein and carbohydrates at a cellular level. On the other hand, niacin improves the protection against pellagra or dermatitis.
Furthermore, B6 is extremely beneficial for our health for it significantly lowers the chances of developing sideroblastic anaemia and homocystinuria. 100g of cashew nuts provide about 30% of daily recommended levels of B6 (that’s about 0.147 mg).
Moreover, cashews are also rich in essential minerals. Some of the most useful minerals found in cashew nuts are potassium, manganese, copper, selenium, magnesium, zinc and iron. Only a handful of these nuts on a daily basis can provide the necessary amount of these extremely needed minerals and protect you from deficiency related diseases.
For instance, copper acts as a co-factor for many important enzymes, like superoxide dismutase and cytochrome c- oxidase. Zinc, on the other hand, plays the same role together with enzymes that are responsible for the regulation of the growth and progress of digestion, gonadal function and DNA synthesis. Selenium is a very important micro nutrient and it works as a co-factor for antioxidant enzymes like Glutathione peroxide known as one of the strongest antioxidants in human body.
Monounsaturated fatty acids which are in high quantities in cashew nuts are extremely good for the heart's health, as palmitoleic and oleic acids. They belong to the group of essential fatty acids that can increase the level of good HDL cholesterol and decrease the level of harmful LDL cholesterol in our blood. In addition, as shown by many scientific studies, the so-called Mediterranean diet which is mostly based on monounsaturated fatty acids supports the blood lipid profile, and protect our system from strokes and coronary artery diseases. Furthermore, cashews also contain a small quantity of one very important pigment of flavonoid antioxidants, called zeaxanthin, which is selectively absorbed inside the retinal macula in our eyes. This pigment provides protective and antioxidant UV ray filtering features, and it also protects from ARMD or age-related macular degeneration in old people
Apart from all the benefits that these nuts offer, Cashew Nuts are considered to be beneficial in those who are on treatment for depression.
Cashew nuts are an excellent source of tryptophan, which is a vital amino acid that we need to take through our food. This miraculous item regulates our mood, improves sleep, helps children grow and develop, balances our behaviour and significantly lowers the level of stress, anxiety and depression.
NB. Avoid if you have but allergies.
If you are like me who has migraine headaches(cashews and groundnuts can worsen them) then consume in small amounts.
Dr Dileem says plenty good lies in our Cashew nuts!!! Indulge yourself!!
If you think you are coming down with any kind of cold/flu – I recommend dosing yourself with this remedy 3xday for 3-4 days especially now that harmattan is around the corner in Kano.
2 tbsp pure honey
2 tbsp chopped fresh nchanwu/efirin leaves
1/4 tspn ground turmeric
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon/lime
1 tspn of fresh ginger (ground)
250ml boiling hot water
Add all ingredients to the hot water.
Allow to steep for few minutes and there you are.
Sieve and sip away!!
Dr Dileem says it works absolutely and saves you a lot of money!!?
NIGERIAN EGUSI/MELONSEEDS CAN HELP KILL CANCER CELLS,FIGHT DIABETES AND IMPROVE EYESIGHT
These seeds are one of nature’s perfect foods.
Benefits:
Egusi Seedsare loaded with Magnesium. Being one of the most vital minerals, it is responsible for over 300 different biochemical reactions which are essential for your body to function properly. 1/2 cup of egusi seeds contains 92% of your daily value of magnesium. Egusi seees naturally boost testosterone. Egusi seeds do wonders for male sexual health. The nutrients contained in egusi seeds such as vitamins B, C, D, E, and K play a very important role in libido. Additionally, egusi seeds are loaded with zinc which is the power behind high testosterone levels. Egusi seeds Improve Mood and Diminish Hot Flashes. Egusi seeds can also help improve your mood as they contain tryptophan which is needed to produce serotonin in the brain. Egusi seeds can also help with hot flashes due to the magnesium, which helps to balance your body temperature.Egusi Seeds Can Fight Cancer. Pumpkin seeds contain compounds known as cucurbitacins. A new study found that these compounds are known to fight cancer and kill different types of cancer cells.Egusi Seeds can help you with Insomnia. Tryptophan, contained in egusi seeds, is an amino acid that aids in the production of melatonin and serotonin, which is responsible for our sleep/wake cycle. Thus, eating egusi seeds will help you fall asleep easier.
Dr Dileem says our Egusi is much more beneficial that we ever thought!
Are you familiar with these machines being paraded all over naija?? Its the new trend o!
I had written about this earlier of facebook. You can read my article here about these machines being paraded all over Nigeria that can diagnose everything. I had to undergo the procedure myself, though it was free and my diagnosis was testicular cancer..that was funny since i am female and have no testes!!!!!
Please listen, quacks are everywhere even in hospitals.
My brother was siphoned of 25,000 naira after he consulted some 'doctor' who used a computer to diagnose him of multiple conditions. He so believed in this quack that after he spent this amount of money was when he consulted me.
My uncle went to a general hospital and there was no doctor on duty. He was referred to a quack by a nurse who told him the quack diagnosed people with a machine. He had paid 60,000 after he was diagnosed of prostate cancer at age 40. Of course that was when i heard. If they had only dashed me the money!!!Phew!
These people are everywhere lurking around to unsuspecting people.
Never fall for such quackery!!!
dr dileem says dear Nigerians,it is full blown quackery!!! I wish i could say report the to the nearest....lol
So for many of us out there who suffer from constipation, indigestion, heartburn, various gastric disorders, etc I would like you to know that water can serve as therapy for you.
When you wake up in the morning, before you do anything else, Sip two glasses of water or one Nigerian satchet of water. This is about 500mls. You can take the water at once or you can sip it over 15-30mins.
It will help cleanse and open up your bowels.It will help you fill lighter all day.It will help reduce uncomfortable bloating,etc.
So many of us developed the habit of taking soft drinks at home as treats, when visitors came to the house, when we visited others or when we went for parties. Another set developed the habit after leaving home for higher institution . When the food sold at eateries tasted poorly, we used soft drinks to push the meals down.
It is no saying that soft drinks are highly unhealthy. From being a risk factor for chronic heaalth diseases to emptying our purses. Then they came with cream soda. Then they came with Diet drinks. Arrgghh!!!
Ok we know.What then is the way forward?? You dont like to drink water because you never cultivated the habit or you tried to cultivate the habit of drinking water but failed at it or you are ' Aje paki ma mumi'.
Well, i propose you try infused water. It entails the soaking fruits/herbs,etc in water over a few hours to get their taste into the water. This flavours the water naturally and is actually very appealing.
I like prekese infused water because it is sweet. I love herb infused water because it is spicy- Nchanwu leaf/Curry leaf/mint leaf infused water. I also love citrus and cucumber infused water. They are all quite refreshing especially when chilled.
For my infused water bottle, I improvise with empty mayonnaise bottles which you can buy anywhere around.
dr dileem says infused water beats soft drinks anyday!!
Liquid makeup, including mascara, can harbor a lot of germs, says Thomas Steinemann, MD, an American Academy of Ophthalmology spokesperson who practices in Ohio. That's why he recommends throwing tubes away two to three months after opening. “Each time you use mascara, you are brushing it and any germs onto your lashes," he says. "You're also contaminating the brush with even more bacteria present on your skin or eyelashes, then plunging it into a moist room-temperature environment, which encourages bacterial growth." One of the primary functions of eyelashes is to keep debris and germs from entering your eye, so it's important to keep the makeup you put on them as germ-free as possible, he adds.
Dr dileem says toss out your old mascara every three months.
At work today, I had this elderly woman who was I had just diagnosed as hypertensive. I asked for permission to counsel her and she agreed. We decided to start with diet. We decided to start with salt.
I started to counsel on her salt intake and I let her know the relationship between high salt and hypertension.
The guide was:
1.Cook with less salt. The taste buds with soon adapt to the new change.
2.Do not add extra salt after cooking and after food is served.Lovers of table salt shakers should desist.It is not healthy. More salt has no benefit.
3.Reduce or stop the use of seasoning cubes.They also contain salt.
4.Reduce or stop the use of the monosodium glutamate. They contain salt.
She understood what I said.
She went on to tell me that she did not use any of the above. She said she only uses MANGUL! Huh! What in the world was that? I asked around and nobody seemed to know what that was.
I had to quickly get to some elderly woman in her 70s to ask what mangul was. She said it was some concentrated salt used in the olden days before the advent of the regular table salt we use.
On further investigation, Mangul is the salt of Mangari in Borno. It is said to have lower concentration of sodium than the popular European salt. It is said to have been used before the introduction of European salt.
I was so grateful to have learnt something new from this mama.
Dr Dileem says food without salt will be spewed! Try to learn as much as you can from the older generation. As the proverb goes :What we see standing, they see sitting!!
So, someone walked into the clinic to see me and had these odd looking nails. They were very dark and spoon shaped.
The medical term for this is koilonychia.
It is due to iron deficiency.
Iron deficiency presents in many ways. Of importance is that it can be avoided by eating balanced diets.
I will like to share leaves available of the Nigerian market that can help our iron stores:
Ugu leaves aka fluted pumpkin
Zogale aka Moringa
Nigerian spinach aka efo/aleyeho, green amaranth
Yakwa aka sorrel
Nigerian Waterleaf aka gbure,watercress
Onugbu leaf aka bitterleaf
Do hit me back on other Nigerian leaves i may not know of that are great sources of iron.
