In the past few years, coconut oil has been called a superfood that can help you blast belly fat and raise your good cholesterol. The sweet and nutty trendsetter has been featured in many cookbooks as a substitute for olive or canola oil — and it can cost a bundle at the store. A recent survey found that 72 percent of Americans say coconut oil is a "healthy food," but many nutrition experts aren't convinced. The problem is that coconut oil contains a lot of saturated fat — the kind that is a big risk factor for heart disease, which kills more than 17 million people a year worldwide. First, let's talk about fat. "In terms of calories, all fats are the same: butter, coconut oil, olive oil. They all have the same number of calories, but they are different in terms of your health," says Mary Donkersloot, a Beverly Hills nutritionist and host of a weekly Web video series called  The Smart Eating Show . Fat is not the enemy of our diets, despite what w

The fatty acid propionate helps defend against the effects of high blood pressure, including atherosclerosis and heart tissue remodeling, a study on mice has found. Gut bacteria produce the substance—which calms the immune cells that drive up blood pressure—from natural dietary fiber. "You are what you eat," as the proverb goes. But to a large extent our well-being also depends on what bacterial guests in our digestive tract consume. That's because gut flora help the human body to utilize food and produce essential micronutrients, including vitamins. Beneficial gut microbes can produce metabolites from dietary fiber, including a fatty acid called propionate. This substance protects against the harmful consequences of high blood pressure. A Berlin research team from the Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), a joint institution of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, shows why this is the case. Th

More than four in five Americans (84%) again rate the honesty and ethical standards of nurses as "very high" or "high," earning them the top spot among a diverse list of professions for the 17 th  consecutive year. At the same time, members of Congress are again held in the lowest esteem, as nearly 58% of Americans say they have "low" or "very low" ethical standards. Telemarketers join members of Congress as having a majority of low/very low ratings. Gallup has measured the public's views of the honesty and ethical standards of a variety of occupations since 1976. While the list changes from year to year, some professions have been included consistently over the past four decades. With the exception of one year, 2001, when firefighters were on the list after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, nurses have far outpaced all other professions since they were added to the list two decades ago. Before 1999, pharmacists and clergy members were f

Pregnancy stresses a woman's body. In some cases, it can  unmask health problems and, in others, it might actually contribute to the development of future disease, experts say. Certain types of pregnancy complications should be viewed as warning signs that a woman is at increased risk of developing chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension in the years after her child is born, a new set of recommendations published Thursday in Obstetrics & Gynecology and the  American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology  suggest. That means that women who  experience certain pregnancy complications  need to be aware of a heightened risk of future health problems. As a result, experts are now recommending yearly visits to both a gynecologist and a primary care physician for women who have experienced these complications so that early signs of chronic diseases can be screened for and detected. “This concept of pregnancy as a window to the future is a sort of general notion tha

Dear Readers / Subscribers  Adams Health Blog wishes all our dear subscribers and readers a prosperous and merry Christmas celebration. This season shall brings good tidings, peace and love into our hearts. Merry Xmas.

You know that exercise is good for you — for toning up or slimming down, or for just generally staying healthy and feeling better. You may not know, however, that getting plenty of exercise also may help preserve your vision. Several studies over the last 10 years have found connections between regular exercise and reducing risks for several common eye ailments such as cataracts, wet age-related macular degenerationand glaucoma. In other cases, a good diet and exercise help avoid health problems that aren’t primarily eye-related but that sometimes damage your eyes (type 2 diabetes, for one). If you don’t control your diabetes, it sometimes damages the retina’s blood vessels and leads to blindness. Vision problems and eye disease also stem from high blood pressure and high cholesterol. A healthy diet and regular exercise are two of the most important steps you can take to lower both. Study points to a growing problem A 2016 study makes the case that each of us should do as

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control earlier this week worked with experts on Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), Occupational Health and Safety, Waste Management and Partners from Lassa Fever treatment centres across Nigeria, to review the National Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers (VHF) IPC Guidelines. The VHF IPC guideline review process will see to the finalisation of the guideline, dissemination and training plans, development of standard operating procedures, as well as a monitoring and evaluation framework to guide implementation. The partners include World Health Organisation, Nigeria, African Field Epidemiology Network and Resolve to Safe Lives. Nigeria CDC thanks the partners for supporting this process, as NCDC continues to raise the bar in the practice of IPC in Nigeria. Nigeria Centre for Disease Control

The next influenza pandemic is not about 'if' but 'when'. WHO is helping countries prepare for an influenza pandemic through strengthening core capacities in areas such as surveillance and outbreak response Pandemic influenza viruses respect no borders. All countries, rich and poor, large and small, must work together to prepare for and respond to an influenza pandemic whenever it may strike. Access to life-saving interventions, notably antiviral medicines and pandemic vaccines, made available in a timely and equitable manner to all countries, is essential for response. WHO works to ensure that all countries, irrespective of their income or development status, have equitable access to the medical and other counter-measures necessary to respond to pandemics. Key areas where the WHO Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework is working to strengthen national health systems: 🔍Surveillance 🔬Laboratory 🗣️Risk communications ✅Pandemic vaccine approval

It's Universal Health Coverage Day! Universal Health Coverage means that ALL individuals & communities receive the health services they need without suffering financial hardship. Universal Health Coverage includes the full spectrum of essential, quality health services: 🏥 Promotion 🏥 Prevention 🏥 Treatment 🏥 Rehabilitation 🏥 Palliative care Universal health coverage is a political choice to strive for equity and justice in health. It means building health systems that put the poorest and most marginalized communities first, leaving no one behind. Investing in strong #PrimaryHealthCare is one of the best ways to: -Help people lead the healthiest lives possible -If they get sick, provide the right care, at the right time, right in their communities. As countries progress toward universal health coverage, more attention must be given to populations in fragile and conflict-affected settings, who are among the most vulnerable. We cannot leave anyone beh

Are you at risk of harm from your medications? Unsafe medication practices and medication errors are a leading cause of injury and avoidable harm in health care systems across the world. If you – or people you love – are over the age of 65, there is an increased risk of drug complications. Prescription, over-the-counter, naturopathic or recreational: read on for 5 tips to reduce your medication risks! Approximately 6-7% of hospital admissions appear to be medication related, with over two-thirds of these considered avoidable. More than one in three Canadian seniors use at least one potentially inappropriate medication, which can lead to health risks, including falls, fractures, hospitalizations and death. In 2016, 1 out of 143 Canadian seniors were hospitalized due to harmful medication interactions. Two out of three Canadian seniors take at least five different prescribed medications; one out of four takes at least ten! Review medications with a doctor, nurse, or pharmacist i

Initiative: Mother’s Delivery Kit Country of impact: Nigeria A business aiming to give women in rural communities the life-saving supplies they need at childbirth. I n 2011 Adepeju lost a close friend who died while giving birth. Her friend had money, was well educated and sought the best healthcare. Yet she died because of a lack of medical skills and knowledge among traditional ‘birth attendants’. In fact, 60% of babies in Nigeria are delivered by people who have no skills, knowledge or education, mainly in rural areas. No more rusty blades and dirty floors At the age of 31, Adepeju founded Mother’s Delivery Kit to help support the 1 in 13 women in Nigeria who are at risk of dying during childbirth. Her company offers expectant mothers a bundle of supplies for the price of US$5 (€4.25). Rather than have to use a rusty blade to cut the umbilical cord, they now have access to a scalpel blade. Midwives get a mucus extractor to prevent birth asphyxia. And no longer will a w

HIGH blood pressure is a common condition among the population in the UK, but left untreated, it can lead to serious health complications. The best way to prevent the condition is by eating a healthy, balanced diet and avoiding certain food and drink - one drink in particular is strongly advised against by experts. High  blood pressure  may be a common condition but many people don’t realise they have it because symptoms can easily go unnoticed. If symptoms do become obvious, a person may experience headaches, shortness of breath and chest pain. To reduce a high blood pressure reading simple lifestyle changes are recommended. One of these should be diet, and alongside eating healthily, a certain drink should be avoided. You should avoid alcohol or reduce your intake. This is what’s advised by Superdrug Online Doctor because alcohol can raise your blood pressure It adds: “Alcohol is also high in calories, which can lead to unwanted weight gain. “The recommended weekly alcohol l

Yahoo LIFESTYLE One woman is sharing her heart attack symptoms on social media in hopes of letting other people know that women experience heart attacks differently from men. The woman, a nurse who goes by the name Gwheezie, wrote extensively about her heart attack symptoms on Twitter. “Last Sunday I had a heart attack,” she wrote. “I had a 95% block in my left anterior descending artery. I’m alive because I called 911. I never had chest pain. It wasn’t what you read in pamphlets. I had it off & on for weeks,” she wrote. almost died because I didn’t call it chest pain.” She even wrote off her symptoms the day before she had the actual attack and drove six hours to help her 90-year-old mother instead of seeing a doctor. “I thought … I’d just tough it out because it wasn’t real bad,” she said. The next day, things got much worse. “I was lucky, I had no idea what hospital to go to,” she wrote. “The female medics who picked me up took me to a hos