A symptom You Shouldn't Ignore

"Your body flashes signals -- symptoms and signs -- that warn you of potential problems," say Neil Shulman, MD, Jack Birge, MD, and Joon Ahn, MD. The three Georgia-based doctors are the authors of the book Your Body's Red Light Warning Signals.

 

Fortunately, many symptoms turn out not to be serious. For example, the majority of headaches stem from stress, eyestrain, lack of sleep, dehydration, caffeine withdrawal, and other mundane causes.
But a sudden, agonizing "thunderclap" headache -- the worst of your life -- could mean bleeding in the brain. Being able to recognize this serious symptom and calling 911 may save your life.
Here is One Highlighted  important flashing signal for this week.











1. Paralysis of the arms or legs, tingling, numbness, confusion, dizziness, double vision, slurred speech, trouble finding words, or weakness, especially on one side of the face or body.
   
These are signs of stroke -- or a "brain attack" -- in which arteries that supply oxygen to the brain become blocked or rupture, causing brain tissue to die.
Symptoms depend on which area of the brain is involved. If a large blood vessel is blocked, a wide area may be affected, so a person may have paralysis on one side of the body and lose other functions, such as speech and understanding. If a smaller vessel is blocked, paralysis may remain limited to an arm or leg, or even the face.
If you have symptoms, call 911 right away and get to an emergency room that offers clot-busting therapy for strokes due to blocked vessels. Such treatment, which dissolves clots in blocked vessels, needs to be given within the first 3 hours after symptoms begin, but newer treatments may work within a longer time frame, says Birge, who is medical director at the Tanner Medical Center in Carrollton, Ga.
Timing is urgent; fast treatment can potentially stop brain tissue death before permanent brain injury happens. "There is a time clock ticking as to when you might totally recover," Birge tells WebMD.

Did You Know That Skimmed Milk Could Reduce Blood Pressure?

Yes! Skimmed Milk

 It truly does a body great! Drinking heart-healthy skim milk or 1 percent milk a day will provide you with calcium and vitamin D — the two nutrients work as a team to help reduce blood pressure by 3 to 10 percent. Although this doesn’t sound like much, it could add up to about a 15 percent reduction in risk for cardiovascular disease.

Why You Must Make Tomatoes Part of Your Everyday Diet

Tomatoes have been confirmed by our state health expert 'Gideon Solomon' to be one of the most tasty and nutritious fruits available for our everyday diets. Extensive research around the world has shown the benefits of eating tomato based foods on a regular basis. Tomatoes are a major and one of the only dietary sources of the anti-oxidant lycopene, an agent that amongst other things has been found to reduce the risk of a number of cancers. This includes (but is not limited to) prostate, lung, stomach, pancreatic, cervical, colorectal, oral and esophageal forms of this disease. Research has also shown that tomatoes may help in reducing circulatory problems of the heart, brain and elsewhere. This research has shown that tomatoes help to prevent blood clots from forming in the bloodstream – similar to the activity of aspirin.

Tomatoes are an excellent source of, vitamin A, vitamin C, beta-carotene, potassium, folic acid and other B vitamins, iron and fiber. Interestingly enough, the lycopene in cooked and processed tomatoes is more readily available and absorbed by our bodies than in raw tomatoes.

The incredible benefits of eating tomatoes can be seen by looking at what is found in a single serving of tomatoes (148g) contains:

Calories 35	Calories from Fat 0
	% of Daily Value*
Total Fat 0.5 g	1%
Saturated Fat 0g	0%
Cholesterol 0g	0%
Sodium 5mg	0%
Total Carbohydrate 7g	2%
Dietary Fiber 1g	4%
Sugars 4g
Protein 1g
Potassium 360mg	10%
Vitamin A	20%
Vitamin C	40%
Calcium	2%
Iron	2%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

So, Why not make tomatoes part of your everyday diet today?

AHF Health Quote for the Week

"The human body has been designed to resist an infinite number of changes and attacks brought about by its environment. The secret of good health lies in successful adjustment to changing stresses on the body."

.........Harry J. Johnson

So next time you feel like someone, an activity/event or anything will get on your toes, worry or stress you..... simply shake it off cos you'll be doing your body system great good.

Cheers and the AHF TEAM AKWA IBOM STATE CHAPTER wishes you a splendid and AHF filled week

AHF Akwa Ibom State GrassRoots Meeting/Seminar In A&M Guest House, Uyo....Photos!

Nigerians Share : How to prepare Groundnut Soup! What Do You Think?

Nigerian Groundnut Soup (Peanut Soup) Groundnut Soup (Peanut Soup) is next best soup after Egusi Soup.

For your knowledge,  It is prepared the same way as Egusi Soup so you can apply the two methods of preparing Egusi Soup to Groundnut Soup with great results.  If you cannot find the ingredients to cook Egusi Soup where you live, Groundnut Soup is a great alternative. I must say that it has some sweetness to it that takes a bit of getting used to if you have not tasted the soup before.

 Ingredients for Groundnut Soup 500g raw peeled groundnuts (peanuts) Assorted meat and fish. I use: Beef Shaki (cow tripe), Dry fish, Stock fish, Palm Oil, A small bunch of Nigerian Pumpkin leaves or 6 cubes Frozen Spinach or Bitterleaf 2 tablespoons, ground crayfish 2 big stock cubes Salt & ground dry cayenne pepper: to taste

Notes about the ingredients : Palm oil mainly adds colour and sometimes taste to Nigerian soups so add enough quantity to colour the soup to your liking. Bitter leaves help tone down the sweetness of this soup so if you do NOT have a sweet tooth, then you should use bitterleaves in preparing this soup. Let's put it this way: if you prefer bitter leaves for your Egusi Soup, then you should use them for Groundnut Soup too. You can also use fresh habanero peppers in place of dry cayenne peppers.

 Tool Grinder for grinding groundnuts: Buy it in USA | in UK Before you cook Groundnut Soup, Soak the stockfish and dry fish for a few hours. The length of time depends on how hard the stock fish is. Some even need to be boiled a bit.
Mine soaks in under 1 hour. When soft, clean the fish, remove the bones and separate them into small pieces. Roast the raw groundnuts in a pan, stirring constantly till they look like this. Set aside to cool down completely then grind into powder with a dry mill.
Wash and cut the Nigerian pumpkin leaves into tiny pieces. If using frozen spinach, cut into small pieces and wring out the excess water when fully defrosted. Prepare other ingredients: grind the pepper and grind the crayfish.

Cooking Directions Start cooking the shaki first as it is the toughest meat in the bunch. Always keep water to the same level as the contents of the pot and top it up as you cook. When the shaki starts to curl, add the dry fish and stockfish. When the shaki is almost done, add beef and stock cubes and cook till all the meat and fish are well done. Add the crayfish, salt and pepper, cover and cook till it boils. Transfer the meat and fish to another pot/container leaving the stock in the pot. Add the ground groundnuts and stir very well till there are no lumps. Reduce the heat to very low and start cooking.
Stir every 5 minutes and top up the water if necessary. This mixture burns easily so watch it closely and stir as often as necessay. Cook till a thin film of clear oil appears on the surface. This should take about 15 minutes. Add palm oil and stir very well. Add the beef and fish, stir and cook on low heat till it boils.

For those who prefer their groundnut soup without vegetables, the soup is ready at this time. If you prefer it with vegetables then go to step 10. Add the vegetables, stir and leave to simmer. Stir again and it is done. Serve Groundnut Soup with any Nigerian Fufu meal. -

Wow! Would You Imagine This?

Can you believe it? Nearly 21,000 children under five died every day in 2010.

That’s about 12,000 fewer a day than in 1990. But with a coordinated effort, we can end preventable child deaths. Please share!

© UNICEF/NYHQ2009-0599/Shehzad Noorani