Why sweet basil prevents obesity, hypertension

By Sade Oguntola

Nigerian Tribune. Sunday, April 2, 2017

Obesity is one of the biggest problems that is fast becoming a part of everyone's life. The rising number of obese people around the world goes to show modern lifestyle dictates can unhealthy state of being.

Of course, various diets along with a regular, suitable exercise regimen can help to shed the excess weight, but a new study has found regular intake of African basil as a way to entirely curb the risk of obesity.

According to the study, African basil could be used as functional foods for the management of obesity and obesity-related hypertension.

Researchers that looked at the effect of chemical constituents of African basil on key enzymes involved in obesity and hypertension said its regular intake can help to prevent or ameliorate obesity and hypertension, without noticeable side effects

In the study, researchers found that it inhibited the most important enzyme in the digestion of dietary fat, and as such may retard the uptake of fat, and consequently, reduce weight and obesity.

Also, it retards the biological pathways in the body that contributes to development of high blood pressure, thus exhibiting preventive or therapeutic activity against obesity induced high blood pressure.

According to the researchers, the free radical scavenge effects of African basil also complement its preventive or therapeutic activity against obesity and hypertension.

The 2016 study in the Journal of Intercultural Ethnopharmacology involved Emmanuel Anyachukwu Irondi; Samson Olalekan Agboola; Ganiyu Oboh; and Aline Augusti Boligon.

Obesity, especially belly fat, is the most important risk factor for the development of hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases like stroke. Population-based risk estimates studies have indicated that no less than two-thirds of all cases of hypertension can be directly attributed to obesity.

Obesity and obesity-related hypertension have become a global public health burden; their incidence being comparable with those of diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney diseases.

Ocimum gratissimum, commonly called Tea bush, Daidoya ta gida (Hausa), Nehonwu (Igbo), Tanmotswangi-wawagi (Nupe) and Efinrin (Yoruba) have important culinary and medicinal uses. Its leaves are used as fragrance and flavouring agent in a variety of products including food, beverages, condiments and toothpastes.

Reasons why Nigerians eat meat last

~Vanguard Nigeria. Friday, March 24, 2017.

You must have observed at the restaurant that many Nigerians eat their meat last. It raises the question, why do they eat the meat at the end of their meal?

The type of meat you will most likely to get in a restaurant include round about,ponmo,shaki, chicken, and cow/goat meat. Interestingly, this practice knows no gender as both boys and girls do it.Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency shares some hilarious reasons why some Nigerians eat meat last.

You save the best for last

You order 3 wraps of Eba and sizzling vegetable and meat. The meat is like a trophy you are rewarded with after you have successfully dealt with the wraps ofeba,Congratulations, this is your meat trophy, you can now eat it. You clasp your fingers, pick your meat in a slow motion, drop in your mouth, close your eyes to savour the taste and chew. Wow!

It is embarrassing when eating and there is no meat

Yes now. You are eating a plate of rice and you eat your meat at the middle or beginning of your meal, you yourself will be embarrassed. If unfortunately at that very moment you ate your meat before finishing your meal a pretty lady sits beside or in front of you, you will regret ever eating your meat. In fact, shame will not allow you finish the meal.

It motivates you to complete the meal

Quite a number of people cannot eat a meal if there is no meat let alone complete it. So, the meat inspires and motivates you to empty your food in your stomach. You will even salivate as you look forward to devouring the meat.


It is the way 'I' was brought up

For some Nigerians, the reason why they eat meat last is the way they were brought. The watchful eyes of mummy will not allow them to eat the meat until they finish the food. Hence, you dare not try to eat your meat immediately you start eating if you don't want to receive ahot slap. So, it is already part of them.

You don't have enough money to buy meat

If you buy like 5 types of meat buy your plate of write, there will be enough meat to run the full length of the meal. This will enable to eat meat at the beginning, middle, and end. But, you can't try this if you bought only one meat. You have to reserve it until the end.

It is bad habit

Some people consider eating your meat immediately as bad habit.

Wanna kill yourself? A Suicide Awareness!

Sent by Nwachukwu Nwabufo
~ Nigeria. March 23, 2017

# SuicideAwareness 

Imagine this. You come home from school one day. You’ve had yet another horrible day. You’re just ready to give up. So you go to your room, close the door, and take out that suicide note you’ve written and rewritten over and over and over You take out those razor blades, and cut for the very last time. You grab that bottle of pills and take them all. Laying down, holding the
letter to your chest, you close your eyes for the very last time. A few hours later, your little brother knocks on your door to come tell you dinners ready.

You don’t answer, so he walks in. All he sees is you laying on your bed, so he thinks you’re asleep. He tells your mom this. Your mom goes to your room to wake you up. She notices something is odd. She grabs the paper in your hand and reads it. Sobbing, she tries to wake you up. She’s screaming your name. Your brother, so confused, runs to go tell Dad that “Mommy is crying and sissy won’t wake up.” 
Your dad runs to your room. He looks at your mom, crying, holding the letter to her chest, sitting next to your lifeless body. It hits him, what’s going on, and he screams. He screams and throws something at the wall. And then, falling to his knees, he starts to cry. Your mom crawls over to him, and they sit there, holding each other, crying. The next day at school, there’s an announcement. The principal tells everyone about your suicide. It takes a few seconds for it to sink in, and once it does, everyone goes silent. Everyone blames themselves. Your teachers think they were too hard on you. Those mean popular girls, they think of all the things they’ve said to you. That boy that used to tease you and call you names, he can’t help but hate himself for never telling you how beautiful you really are. 


Your ex boyfriend, the one that you told everything to, that broke up with you.. He can’t handle it. He breaks down and starts crying, and runs out of the school. Your friends? They’re sobbing too, wondering how they could never see that anything was wrong, wishing they could have helped you before it was too late. And your best friend? She’s in shock. She can’t believe it. She knew what you were going through, but she never thought it would get that bad… Bad enough for you to end it. She can’t cry, she can’t feel anything.

INTERNET: .africa joins the internet

~TheGuardian Nigeria. Friday, March 10, 2017.



Africans who want to register a website will be able to apply for a .africa domain name in the coming months, which outgoing AU commission chair Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said would allow the continent’s people and businesses to better reach the world.

“With .africa, I would say Africa has finally got its digital identity,” said Dlamini-Zuma, who will next week hand power to Chadian Foreign Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat after four years at the helm of the continental body

Sub-Saharan Africa has one of the lowest rates of internet penetration in the world, according to the World Bank, with only around 22 percent of people online compared to the global average of 44 percent.

The AU has vowed to increase broadband internet penetration by 10 percent by next year as part of its ‘Agenda 2063’ development proposal.

As the continent’s largest economy, South Africa dominates African presence online, holding 1.1 million of the two million website registrations on the continent, said Lucky Masilela, CEO of ZA Central Registry, the South Africa-based company that will administer .africa.

High fees are an obstacle to many people who want to register a website, Masilela said.

In some African countries, it can cost as much as $250 (235 euro) but Masilela said .africa addresses will be available at a cut-price rate of just $18 to anyone on the continent.

“.africa is going to be a market disruptor and will assist in lowering the cost of domain names,” Masilela said.

The AU is hoping proceeds from the domain registrations will help cover some of its administrative costs and fund the AU commission.

The domain is due to be available to the public in July but it remains unclear how strong demand will be.

How onions improve sleep, relieve stress

~The Guardian Nigeria. Tuesday, March 14, 2017.

Onions…scientists have discovered that the popular vegetables
could help humans to relax – allowing them a better night's sleep.
They are known to be high in prebiotics, dietary fibers
that act as food for good stomach bacteria. 

Low-carb, high-fat diet may provide cure for epilepsy, seizures

Eat onions, leeks and artichokes if you are stressed and struggling to sleep.

For scientists have discovered that the popular vegetables could help humans to relax – allowing them a better night's sleep.

They are known to be high in prebiotics, dietary fibers that act as food for good stomach bacteria.

And a groundbreaking new study has found these help to boost gut health by aiding the growth of beneficial bugs.

They also release metabolic byproducts, which influence the brain into overcoming worry and fear, research shows.

Experts believe the findings strengthen the ever-growing link between gut bacteria and overall health.

A lot is already known about probiotics – live bacteria designed to improve gut health – but research on prebiotics is relatively scarce.

To test their effects, a team of United States (U.S.) scientists fed three-week-old male rats a diet of either standard chow or chow that included prebiotics.

The rodents are often used in scientific research due to their close genetic and behavioural resemblance to humans.

They then monitored the rodents' body temperature, levels of stomach bacteria and sleeping cycles using a brain activity testing.

Those on the prebiotic diet spent more time in non-rapid-eye-movement sleep (NREM), the researchers from University of Colorado Boulder found.

Once he survives the night, he is a MAN

By Utchay Lugar - Ghana
12th March, 2017

*Horrific Story*

A father takes his son into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is a MAN. He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own. The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him .

Perhaps even some human might do him harm. The wind blew the grass and trees and shook his stump, but he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could become a man! Finally, after a horrific night the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold. It was then that he discovered his father sitting on the stump next to him. He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm. We, too, are never alone. Even when we don't know it, God is watching over us, sitting on the stump beside us. When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him.

Moral of the story:
Just because you can't see God, doesn't mean He is not there."For we walk by faith, not just by sight".

Have a great walk with God today and always. Smiling face with smiling eyes.

Caffeine protects brain against dementia

©2017 Reported by UPI
A Caffeine in coffee has 24 compounds good against dementia

affeine contains 24 compounds that can boost an enzyme in the brain that can in turn protect man against dementia, scientists at Indiana University said.

The enzyme, called NMNAT2, was discovered by a team of researchers at IU Bloomington in 2016.

NMNAT2 serves a protective function in the brain by protecting neurons from stress and a “chaperone function” to combat misfolded proteins known as tau. Lu Tau accumulates in the brain as plaques and has been linked to neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases along with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS.

“This work could help advance efforts to develop drugs that increase levels of this enzyme in the brain, creating a chemical ‘blockade’ against the debilitating effects of neurodegenerative disorders,” Hui-Chen Lu, a professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at IU Bloomington’s College of Arts and Sciences, said in a press release.

Researchers screened more than 1,280 compounds to find ones with the potential to impact the production of NMNAT2, identifying 24 compounds with the potential to increase the production.

The research revealed caffeine was one of the substances that increases production of NMNAT2. Caffeine also appears to improve memory function in mice genetically modified to produce high levels of misfolded tau proteins, which contribute to the development of dementia.

Researchers also found that mice modified to produce misfolded tau made lower levels of NMNAT2.

Other proteins that boosted NMNAT2 production include rolipram, ziprasidone, cantharidin, wortmannin and retinoic acid.

“Increasing our knowledge about the pathways in the brain that appear to naturally cause the decline of this necessary protein is equally as important as identifying compounds that could play a role in future treatment of these debilitating mental disorders,” Lu said.

The study was published in Scientific Reports.