Bipolar Disorder

March 27, 2020

I am born in a culture where some disorders or say diseases are foreign, that is the African culture. A culture that teaches you to be tough regardless of your gender. You cannot begin to cry or whine about some things lest you become a weakling. So conditions like depression, baby blues are branded ‘white man’s’ diseases.

The first time I got to know about the Bipolar disorder, mark you! this is when I was already at university when we were studying about drug interactions in pharmacology. My entire existence was amazed or for lack of a better word shocked.

Bipolar disorder also known as manic depression, is a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings that include emotional highs (mania) and lows (depression). When one becomes depressed, they feel sad or hopeless and lose interest or pleasure in most activities. When the mood shifts to mania (emotional highs), they feel euphoric, full of energy or unusually irritable. These mood swings can affect sleep, energy, activity, judgment, behavior and the ability to think clearly.

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Episodes of mood swings may occur rarely or multiple times a year. While most people will experience some emotional symptoms between episodes, some may not experience any.

Although bipolar disorder is a lifelong condition, one can manage their mood swings and other symptoms by following a treatment plan as prescribed by their doctor. In most cases, bipolar disorder is treated with medications and psychological counseling (psychotherapy).

Symptoms

Manic episodes may include symptoms like high energy, reduced need for sleep and loss of touch with reality. Depressive episodes may include symptoms like low energy, low motivation and loss of interest in the daily activities. Mood episodes can last days to months at a time and may also be associated with suicidal thoughts.

In terms of experience, this is what we tend to see among such people;

Mood: mood swings, elevated mood, sadness, anger, anxiety, general discontent, apathy, apprehension, euphoria, guilt, hopelessness, loss of interest, or loss of interest or pleasure in activities.

Behavioral: irritability, risk-taking behaviors, disorganised behavior, aggression, agitation, crying, excess desire for sex, hyperactivity, impulsivity, restlessness, or self-harm.

Psychological: depression, manic episode, agitated depression, or paranoia

Cognitive: unwanted thoughts, delusion, lack of concentration, racing thoughts, slowness in activity, or false belief of superiority

Weight: weight gain or weight loss

Sleep: difficulty falling asleep or excess sleepiness

Also common: fatigue or pressure of speech

Treatment

Bipolar disorder is treated with three main classes of medication: mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and antidepressants. In summary, treatment entails a combination of at least one mood-stabilizing drug and/or atypical antipsychotic, plus psychotherapy.

Bipolar diet

In addition to the medications given, it is important to manage mood episodes with healthy lifestyle habits. Did you also know that certain foods and dietary supplements can play a role in helping or hindering people with bipolar disorder?

Please note that there is no specific bipolar diet, nevertheless, it is important to make wise dietary choices that will help maintain good nutrition and facilitate a healthy living. Here are some of the foods you may want to avoid.

1. Caffeine

“Stimulants can trigger mania and should be avoided. Caffeine is an underappreciated trigger and can also impair sleep and sleep deprivation is a notorious trigger for mood swings and mania.

2. Alcohol

Alcohol and bipolar disorder make such a bad combination. Alcohol can negatively affect bipolar mood swings and may also interact negatively with medication such as lithium which is a common medication given to persons with the bipolar disorder.

3. Sugar

Eating a diet that is high sugar can make it harder to control weight and obesity and make some medications that are given less effective.

Some healthier options one can adopt

Instead of potato chips or fries, munch on fresh vegetables in a savory dip.
Swap that sweet pastry for a slice of whole-grain bread.
Instead of a fourth or fifth cup of coffee, make yourself a cup of herbal tea.
Craving for a fast-food burger and fries? Try a fresh salad instead.
Swap a fried main course for steamed entrée.

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Pass this information to someone who may need it and be a promoter of healthier living through informed choice of living.

Nutrition

How to boost your Immunity

March 23, 2020

As we all strive to stay strong and fight this fast spreading pandemic of COVID19, the question on everyone’s mind is, Can you boost your immune system to fight COVID-19?

WHO defines the word pandemic loosely – “the worldwide spread of a new disease”. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a pandemic is a disease that has spread in multiple countries around the world, usually affecting a large number of people.

Aside the top preventative measures against COVID19 which are to wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub, covering your nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or flexed elbow or handkerchief when you cough or sneeze, avoiding close contact (1 meter or 3 feet) with people who are unwell, and staying home and self-isolating from others in the household if you feel unwell; there is one other thing that experts are recommending which is to boost your immunity. Positive immune response can be essential to staying healthy. While the following suggestions are not ways to prevent you from contracting the virus, they are easy ways to keep yourself as healthy as possible. Please note there is no magic pill or a specific food guaranteed to bolster your immune system and protect you from the new coronavirus.

Here are some of the simple things you can do to boost your immunity to give your body a better fighting chance.

Eat a balanced diet, exercise and skip unproven supplements.

A healthful diet and doing exercising are very important to maintain a strong immune system. However, no single food or natural remedy has been proven to bolster a person’s immune system or ward off disease. But that hasn’t stopped people from making specious claims. A recipe circulating on social media claims boiled garlic water helps. Other common foods touted for their immune-boosting properties are ginger, citrus fruits, vegetables. There are small studies that suggest a benefit to some of these foods, but strong evidence is lacking. Zinc supplements are also a popular remedy for fighting off colds and respiratory illness. If you enjoy foods touted as immune boosters, there is no harm in eating them as part of a balanced diet. Just be sure that you don’t neglect proven health advice like washing your hands and not touching your face when it comes to protecting yourself from viral illness.

Lower your stress.

Worries about the COVID19, the closure of schools, suspension of contracts and the general disruption of life have added stress levels, but we know that stress also can make you more susceptible to respiratory illness. Your body does a better job fighting off illness and healing wounds when it’s not under stress. Learning techniques for managing stress, like meditation, controlled breathing or talking to a therapist are all ways to help your immune system stay strong.

Improve your sleep habits.

A healthy immune system can fight off infection. A sleep-deprived immune system doesn’t work as well. Focusing on better sleep habits is a good way to strengthen your immune system. The sweet spot for sleep is six to seven hours a night. Stick to a regular bedtime and wake-up schedule. Avoid screens, night-eating and exercise right before bedtime.

Avoid excessive alcohol consumption

So many studies over time have found a link between excessive alcohol consumption and immune function. Research tends to indicate that people who drink in excess are more susceptible to respiratory illness and pneumonia and recover from infection and wounds more slowly. Alcohol alters the number of microbes in the gut microbiome, a community of microorganisms that affect the immune system. Excessive alcohol can damage the lungs, and impair the mucosal immune system, which is essential in helping the body recognize pathogens and fight infection. And it’s not just chronic drinking that does damage. Binge drinking can also impair the immune system. A cocktail or glass of wine while you are sheltering in place during coronavirus is fine. But drinking to excess will put you in a tricky place.

Vitamin D

While more study is needed on the link between vitamin D and immune health, some promising research suggests that checking your vitamin D level and/ taking a vitamin D supplement could help your body fight off respiratory illness. Vitamin D can be found in fatty fish, milk or foods fortified with vitamin D. In general, our vitamin D levels tend to be influenced by sun exposure.

Remember these above all;

HANDS – Wash them often
ELBOW – Cough into it
FACE – Don’t touch it
SPACE – Keep safe distance
FEEL sick? – Stay home

Lifestyle

Are you a fresh graduate? This is for you!

March 19, 2020

You are through with school, and just diving into the job field. Contrary from what you thought, this work life requires you to have some experience before the employer drops some pennies into your purse. Then you think to yourself; what in the world must I do to give my C.V a face lift! I have good news for you! Volunteering is going to do the magic. It may not have an immediate monetary turn over but its effects are far reaching.

Towards the end of my university, we had someone who came to talk us about the benefits of volunteering and how important it is, if we were to compete fairly in the work environment in which we were headed in just a couple of months. Now believe you me, it felt far fetched for many of us because we were at point where we had even imagined our first paycheck, what we would do with that money and all. We had everything ‘figured’ out to the last detail. Long story short, many of us did not even bother to show up for that workshop. I tell you, it was scotching rough out here when we set foot in the working life. My friends and I always got asked for volunteering experience wherever we applied until we decided to succumb to the pressure of volunteering. Luckily enough we got places where we were able to volunteer and many of us got our first job placements at the very places we volunteered. Do not wait to have it rough, find out how volunteering will boost your CV today. Here are my top 7 benefits.

Earns you experience

For starters let us face it, going through school gives you little time to put the theory given into practice. Volunteering gives you the opportunity to translate the theory into the required practice. Imagine the wealth of experience you gather as you are out there volunteering. This makes you get a hold of managing time and tasks given which is essentially what the employer is looking for when he or she asks for your experience. Unknown to you, employers always look out for people who have volunteered before for reasons such as these.

Widens your network

A famous quote from Tim Sanders reads, “Your network is your net worth” As you volunteer; you get the opportunity to meet an array of different people including staff, board members, clients who are more than likely to be the ladder on which you climb to your first job. The pressure of networking events tends to be more relaxed while in a volunteering position. As different assignments handed to you, you get to meet and work with different people who have different personalities and circles. This becomes a ripple effect that you get to know their people too, there by getting you more exposed and essentially growing your network.

Gives clarity on making a career decision

Volunteering at a particular organization, gives you real feel of the work environment and what this does in turn is that, it gives you the opportunity to decide whether this is the career path you want to take. Have you seen people who do things or are at jobs they do not enjoy? You can avoid locking yourself in this ‘unhappy’ world by getting the test before completely making up your mind to settle in that particular career path. As a volunteer you are not bound like you would be if you were signed on contract. What this means is that you can easily out at any given moment in time thus giving you the opportunity to choose a career path that you enjoy. A job you love to wake up to.

Confidence booster

Nothing excites an employer like someone who is confident both in speech and in the execution of their work. Volunteering is going to boost your confidence as you get well versed with what you are doing. There is always a natural sense of accomplishment on top of giving you a sense of pride and identity whenever you make good. You will be amazed at how much more confident you have become at the end of your volunteering experience which one is not likely to get when they do not get the opportunity to volunteer. Your interpersonal skills are stretched and grown to whole other level and even your self-esteem out in there will be evident.

Self-awareness

Did you know that there is no better way to know yourself better than when you are volunteering? As you volunteer you get to understand your skills, values, interests and accomplishments which are a very big pillar in your career success. You will time and again get feedback from your supervisor and this helps you discover yourself in a whole new level. As you progress into your career and you are now applying for your job, you will be in a better place to know where to focus your energies to get better. For those areas where you are aware that you are exceptionally good, you will be able to capitalize on them, thereby giving you a competitive edge over other candidates.

Skill development

Volunteering gives you a chance to develop further those skills you have already and even get better at them; but also gives you an opportunity to acquire new skills you did not have. You can even get the opportunity to learn a second language after all you have more time on your hands at this moment. Look at volunteering as a bridge connecting all types of actors. Everyone brings their skill to table and together as a whole, you get a share of the many skills brought forth. By doing so, skills and connections are formed into something beneficial to both the volunteers and the organization.

Deepen your knowledge

When volunteering, you get to work with professionals who have a deep wealth of knowledge coupled with so much experience. What better way can one get to deepen their knowledge other than learning from the best themselves? This will open up your mind in all kinds of unimaginable ways and also give you a different perspective of certain things after sharing into the minds of the experts. You will need to have an attitude and desire to learn if you are to get the best out of this. Ask as many questions as you can; after all you are the biggest beneficiary here.

If you thought volunteering was a waste of time, you may need to reconsider and try to explore some avenues for volunteering today.

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Nutrition

At which traffic light are you?

March 16, 2020

Traffic lights have 3 distinct colors. Unless times have changed, this is one of the first lessons a growing child gets. I still see the big words on the black board; RED is for STOP, YELLOW is for GET SET, GREEN is for GO. My young self always got excited when we got to traffic lights and I saw these colors. My teachers at that moment in time felt like magicians and the fact that I could interpret the colors added to the glow. But we are not talking about road signs today. We will use the traffic light colors to help us put our food habits in order. Call it the Food traffic lights

GREEN (Best choices)

With these choices of food, you are SAFE. These are foods that will do your body so much justice. They are usually good sources of important nutrients, low in saturated fat (bad fat), added sugar and/or salt, lower in energy, higher in fibre. They follow the recommended food groups religiously.

grain (cereal) foods, mostly wholegrain and/or high cereal fibre varieties
vegetables and legumes/beans
fruits
milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or their alternatives, mostly reduced-fat
lean meat and poultry, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds and legumes/beans

YELLOW (Choose carefully)

With these foods you want to be so careful at the portions you serve or consume. Foods in this category have moderate amounts of saturated fat, added sugar and/or salt. They contribute excess amounts of energy if taken frequently. Limit the portions if you must eat them more often.

Refined cereals
sweet and savoury muffins, fruit breads, sweet pastries and slices that are a small to medium serve size or have been modified (e.g. reduced levels of fat and/or sugar and include fibre).
Full cream diary products like milk and yoghurt
Artificially sweetened soft drinks.

Yellow foods and drinks should not dominate the choices available. Offering mostly ‘yellow food’ items will eventually provide excess energy at the expense of nutrient-rich ‘Green food’ options that are needed for optimal health and vitality.

RED (Limit these)

These are foods I love to call reward foods. You do not reward yourself every second, hour or week. Keep it simple. Once in a while keeps the game exciting. So should be with these foods too. These foods more than often are the ingredients to being overweight and obese as well as other chronic diseases if consumed frequently.

All deep fried foods.
Plain and flavoured cakes, cream-filled cakes, sweet pastries, sweet pies and slices.
High fat processed meats
Pastries for example pies, pasties, sausage rolls, samosas.
Cream filled biscuits, chocolate biscuits and any sweet biscuit.
sugar-sweetened fruit drinks
Alcoholic, carbonated and caffeinated drinks

On this highway street called life, take a pause and check which traffic sign you have got to respect, lest you crash.

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Nutrition

Liver and Pregnancy

March 9, 2020

My friend (let us name her Grace) walks into her salon, gasping for breath like she just finished an olympic marathon and throws her weight in the red fluffy chairs she finds in the lobby. Grace cannot believe that just two flights of stairs could get her this weary, but when you are pregnant and in the final lap, even a stroll in the backyard will leave you feeling like a hike to the top of the hill.

As soon as she is settles her now enormous weight that she carries around like a drum, the hunger pangs begin to dig in. They bite so hard that she muffles a silent groan as she asks her stylist to get her the waiter from the built-in restaurant. At this moment in time her taste buds are craving for liver, so she orders for french fries and liver.

As if not sure whether to say it or not, the waiter leans in and whispers to Grace, “I would not advise you to take liver in your state’ and briskly walks away like his job is on the line for this one statement he has made. Grace eventually changes her order but she is greatly disturbed because no one has ever warned her against eating liver especially when she is pregnant. Grace quickly sends me a text telling me the whole ordeal and asks me to clarify.

LIVER and PREGNANCY

From time memorial Liver is generally considered a healthy food that is rich in minerals, vitamins and protein, but it contains high amounts of preformed vitamin A. (A more scientific name is called retinol). Preformed vitamin A is found in animal products like eggs, milk, and liver. Too much of this type of vitamin A in your pregnancy diet can cause birth defects in your developing baby, especially during the first months of pregnancy. The other type of vitamin A is called provitamin A (carotenoids), which are found in fruits and vegetables. There’s no limit to the amount of carotenoids an expectant mother can safely consume, so you don’t have to worry about getting too much vitamin A from fruits and vegetables.

Benefits of eating Liver during pregnancy

Liver contains some vital elements that are considered essential for a mother and her baby during pregnancy, which makes consumption of liver quite a beneficial choice. (This is done with caution like we have discussed above)

Liver is a good source of proteins which are the core source of energy every pregnant woman must have in good amounts through out pregnancy, and she can get enough of them from the liver.
A child’s neurological development is one of the first things that happen as soon as conception takes place. Liver contains folic acid which plays a key role in the protection of the child within the womb as well as boosting the child’s neurological development.
Vitamin A directly impacts the development of eyesight and immunity of a developing child and there is no doubt that liver has plenty of this.
The mere fact that liver has an overwhelming presence of iron, is one of the major reasons why pregnant women need to consume liver since it reduces risks of anemia and keeps the blood healthy.

How much liver is safe for consumption?

If I told you, this is how much of the liver you can eat in a day, I would be telling a lie. There is no benchmark at how much proportion of liver is considered safe in which form for a pregnant woman. The proportions of vitamin A in it are quite substantial so it is quite easy to overdo them if one has regular consumption of liver. Therefore, it is generally advisable to keep its consumption restricted to once a week or twice a month.

The ball is now in your court, take that bite in your liver with caution the next time you are pregnant