Cameroon Red Cross Society Fights Polio Epidemic in Six Regions

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“A case of polio was discovered in west Cameroon in September 2013,” says Dr Simeon Koutang from the Cameroon Red Cross Society.

“The seven year old child who was hit by paralysis of the lower limbs had never received any vaccine. He did not have a vaccination card and was not registered in the files of the Expanded Programme on Immunization centre.”

Further investigation revealed ten cases of people with acute paralysis, the first time polio had surfaced in Cameroon since 2009. “We were faced with an epidemic of wild polio virus,” explains Dr Koutang.

The Cameroonian government together with its partners, including the Cameroon Red Cross Society, responded, focusing on a common action consisting of organizing vaccination campaigns in the most affected areas, as well as those at risk.

Using funds provided through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ (IFRC) Disaster Response Emergency Fund, 670 volunteers were mobilized and deployed in health districts to support field actions.

“Our teams have conducted mass awareness campaigns to prepare populations for vaccination. They ensured the immunization coverage survey that takes place during the deployment of vaccinators was done. They also helped to detect cases of unvaccinated children,” says Dr Koutang.

Volunteers also went door to door and talked to religious and traditional leaders who then encouraged reluctant communities to take part in the vaccination campaigns.

Through its effort as part of the government’s response, the Red Cross reached an estimated 700,000 children under the age of 10 during the two campaigns.

The campaigns also included monitoring by ten Red Cross supervisors who were deployed to identify and vaccinate children who had been missed during the first round of vaccinations, and to identify areas at risk for future campaigns.

Over the years, the Cameroon Red Cross Society has established itself as a key partner of the government in the fight against polio.

In November 2012, the National Society took part in a vaccination campaign against polio organized in the three northern regions of the country by mobilizing more than 1,200 volunteers.

“The Cameroon Minister of Health has recognized the added value of having the Cameroon Red Cross Society as a key partner in the fight against polio,” says Dr Viviane Nzeusseu, IFRC regional health coordinator. “Their volunteers and efficiency of work solidifies their commitment battling this preventable disease.”

Source: All africa

Rwanda: Blood Donor Day – Doctors Tipped On Safe Transfusion

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Doctors have been advised to always consult the Centre for Blood Transfusion (NCBT) or blood experts before administering blood transfusion to patients in critical condition.

The head of division National Centre for Blood Transfusion (NCBT), Dr Swaibu Gatare, made the call ahead of Saturday’s World Blood Donor Day.

The appeal followed reports of loss of lives in different hospitals across the country arising from poor prescription of the relevant blood type for parents during emergencies.

“The problem is that doctors in hospitals do not consult blood experts during emergencies. For example if someone is O negative and is in critical condition, we can recommend them to be given O positive blood. However, for the cases of mothers we give them an additional drug to avoid the side effects it may have. But often you find doctors are not aware of such treatment,” Gatare said during a news briefing in Kigali on Wednesday.

“We have received several complaints regarding inappropriate use of blood, an example is a case of a mother who died at one of the hospitals in the country because the hospital prescribed a wrong blood group for her. If the doctors had consulted us early enough she could still be alive,” Gatare added.

Gatare said that to enhance communication between doctors and the transfusion centre, they had embarked on a hospital based training project where they train doctors in blood transfusion.

The move is aimed at minimising cases of inappropriate blood use as well as bridge the communication gap between hospitals and the transfusion centre.

Gatare’s call is in line with this year’s theme for the World Blood Donor Day which is “Safe blood for saving mothers”.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) every day, about 800 women die from pregnancy or child birth-related complications in developing countries.

Severe bleeding during delivery and after child birth was cited as a major cause of mortality, morbidity and long term disability.

Last year, Rwanda collected over 43,074 units of blood from volunteers which Gatare said helped save lives of patients.

He explained that most of the blood collection in the country goes to the obstetrics and gynecology departments.

The national celebrations will be held in Kansi sector, Gisagara District in the Southern Province and will seek to raise awareness on the need for safe blood transfusion as well as recognise the voluntary donors for their life saving gift of blood.

To offer effective and efficient service delivery, NCBT has got over 450 collection sites and five regional blood centres in Kigali, Rwamagana, Butare, Ruhengeri and Karongi districts.

For one to be eligible to donate blood, they have to be between 18 -65 years of age and must at least have 50 kilos and above with no health complications.

Source: all africa

China’s Diabetes Rates Highest In The World

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Nearly 12 percent of Chinese adults (about 113.9 million people) are suffering from diabetes, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on Tuesday.

Based on nearly 99,000 samples taken in 2010, the study estimates that 11.6 percent of Chinese adults are diabetic, making China’s rate of prevalence of the disease the highest in the world.

“The prevalence of diabetes has increased significantly in recent decades and is now reaching epidemic proportions in China,” the researchers write.

JAMA notes that diabetes rates in China have risen dramatically over the past decades. While less than one percent of the Chinese population was diabetic in 1980, that number rose to 5.5 percent in 2001, 9.7 percent in 2007 and 11.6 percent today.

The JAMA study also indicates that the prevalence of the disease has increased as economic development has given way to overweight and obesity. “Diabetes is a societal and a health care challenge due to complex interplays among genetic, perinatal, lifestyle, and environmental factors, to name but a few. Rapid modernization has resulted in an obesogenic environment characterized by food abundance, physical inactivity, and psychosocial stress,” Dr. Juliana Chan of the Chinese University of Hong Kong writes in an editorial accompanying the report.

Only one in three patients was aware of his or her condition, and a mere one in four received treatment. “Even when the individual becomes aware of his or her risk conditions, the health care systems in many developing areas are not designed to manage and support a person’s multiple health needs for 30 to 40 years or more,” Chan added.

According to the International Diabetes Federation, more than 371 million suffer from diabetes worldwide, and 4.8 million people died of the disease in 2012. The new JAMA data suggest that China has a higher diabetes prevalence rate than even the U.S., where 11.3 percent of adults suffer from the disease.

“Diabetes in China has become a catastrophe,” Paul Zimmet, honorary president of the International Diabetes Federation, told Bloomberg. “The booming economy in China has brought with it a medical problem which could bankrupt the health system. The big question is the capacity in China to deal with a health problem of such magnitude.”

Source: huffington post

Bangladesh sounds alert over deadly chemical-laced fruits

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Bangladeshi police are to set up check posts at the main entry points to the capital Dhaka to prevent the import of fruits which have been sprayed with alarming levels of a deadly chemical, officers said on Monday.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) unveiled the move after it found high levels of formalin, an illegal chemical which is sometimes used as a preservative and disinfectant, in almost all the fruits it checked in Dhaka’s markets, DMP spokesman Masudur Rahman said.

“The check posts will be set up from June 11 at eight entry points of the city. Armed with formalin detection kits, our officers and magistrates will check every lorry carrying fruits to the capital,” he said.

Anyone found to have carried formalin-laced fruits could be jailed for up to two years or fined up to $2,531 (200,000 taka), he said.

A huge public outcry over formalin-mixed fruits prompted the “unprecedented” police move, as repeated tests by laboratories and food inspectors have found fruits sold in Bangladesh contain an “alarming level of formalin” in an effort to extend their shelf life.

On Sunday, Dhaka’s police chief Benazir Ahmed equated the situation to an attempt at slow poison mass killing and pleaded with residents “not to get involved with buying, selling or consuming formalin contaminated fruits”.

His comments echoed those of civic and doctors’ groups who said Bangladesh was on the verge of a massive health crisis as reflected in a rising number of kidney and cancer patients, with toxic chemical-mixed food items playing a key role.

Rahman said fruits could naturally contain 0.03-0.15 ppm (part per million) level of formalin, but during inspection in Dhaka’s markets police found the level between 3.5 ppm to 46 ppm. “It’s a extremely dangerous situation. This level of formalin mixed in fruits can kill a lot of people,” said Rahman.

Police concern was also sparked by a two-year-long test by a government laboratory which found an unprecedented level of adulteration of other food items. The Institute of Public Health has conducted the test on 10,289 samples of 50 items and found that 47 items were adulterated, according to mass-circulated The Daily Star. The items include edible oil, spices, sweets, milk products, lentils, pulses, juices, pickles, biscuits, jellies, dried fish, flours and tea leaves.

Source: world news report

14 Reasons why You’re Always Tired

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Lack of sleep isn’t the only thing sapping your energy. Little things you do (and don’t do) can exhaust you both mentally and physically, which can make getting through your day a chore. Here, experts reveal common bad habits that can make you feel tired, plus simple lifestyle tweaks that will put the pep back in your step.

You skip exercise when you’re tired
Skipping your workout to save energy actually works against you. In a University of Georgia study, sedentary but otherwise healthy adults who began exercising lightly three days a week for as little as 20 minutes at a time reported feeling less fatigued and more energized after six weeks. Regular exercise boosts strength and endurance, helps make your cardiovascular system run more efficiently, and delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. So next time you’re tempted to crash on the couch, at least go for a brisk walk—you won’t regret it

You don’t drink enough water
Being even slightly dehydrated—as little as 2% of normal fluid loss—takes a toll on energy levels, says Amy Goodson, RD, a dietitian for Texas Health Ben Hogan Sports Medicine. Dehydration causes a reduction in blood volume, explains Goodson, which makes the blood thicker. This requires your heart to pump less efficiently, reducing the speed at which oxygen and nutrients reach your muscles and organs. To calculate your normal fluid needs, take your weight in pounds, divide in half and drink that number of ounces of fluid a day, Goodson recommends.

You’re not consuming enough iron
An iron deficiency can leave you feeling sluggish, irritable, weak, and unable to focus. “It makes you tired because less oxygen travels to the muscles and cells,” says Goodson. Boost your iron intake to reduce your risk of anemia: load up on lean beef, kidney beans, tofu, eggs (including the yolk), dark green leafy vegetables, nuts, and peanut butter, and pair them with foods high in vitamin C (vitamin C improves iron absorption when eaten together), suggests Goodson. Note: an iron deficiency may be due to an underlying health problem, so if you’re experiencing these symptoms of iron deficiency, you should visit your doc.

You’re a perfectionist
Striving to be perfect—which, let’s face it, is impossible—makes you work much harder and longer than necessary, says Irene S. Levine, PhD, professor of psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine. “You set goals that are so unrealistic that they are difficult or impossible to achieve, and in the end, there is no sense of self-satisfaction.” Levine recommends setting a time limit for yourself on your projects, and taking care to obey it. In time, you’ll realize that the extra time you were taking wasn’t actually improving your work.

You make mountains out of molehills
If you assume that you’re about to get fired when your boss calls you into an unexpected meeting, or you’re too afraid to ride your bike because you worry you’ll get into an accident, then you’re guilty of “catastrophizing,” or expecting that the worst-case scenario will always occur. This anxiety can paralyze you and make you mentally exhausted, says Levine. When you catch yourself having these thoughts, take a deep breath and ask yourself how likely it is that the worst really will happen. Getting outdoors, meditating, exercising, or sharing your concerns with a friend may help you better cope and become more realistic.

You skip breakfast
The food you eat fuels your body, and when you sleep, your body continues using what you consumed at dinner the night before to keep your blood pumping and oxygen flowing. So, when you wake up in the morning, you need to refuel with breakfast. Skip it, and you’ll feel sluggish. “Eating breakfast is like starting a fire in your body by kickstarting your metabolism,” Goodson says. Goodson recommends a breakfast that includes whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fat. Good examples include oatmeal with protein powder and a dab of peanut butter; a smoothie made with fruit, protein powder, low-fat milk, and almond butter; or eggs with two slices of whole-wheat toast and low-fat Greek yogurt.

You live on junk food
Foods loaded with sugar and simple carbs (like the ones you’ll find in a box or at the drive-thru window) rank high on the glycemic index (GI), an indicator of how rapidly carbohydrates increase blood sugar. Constant blood sugar spikes followed by sharp drops cause fatigue over the course of the day, says Goodson. Keep blood sugar steady by having a lean protein along with a whole grain at every meal, says Goodson. Good choices include chicken (baked, not fried) and brown rice, salmon and sweet potato, or salad with chicken and fruit.

You have trouble saying ‘no’
People-pleasing often comes at the expense of your own energy and happiness. To make matters worse, it can make you resentful and angry over time. So whether it’s your kid’s coach asking you to bake cookies for her soccer team or your boss seeing if you can work on a Saturday, you don’t have to say yes. Train yourself to say ‘no’ out loud, suggests Susan Albers, a licensed clinical psychologist with Cleveland Clinic and author of Eat.Q.: Unlock the Weight-Loss Power of Emotional Intelligence. “Try it alone in your car,” she says. “Hearing yourself say the word aloud makes it easier to say it when the next opportunity calls for it.”

You have a messy office
A cluttered desk mentally exhausts you by restricting your ability to focus and limits your brain’s ability to process information, according to a Princeton University study. “At the end of each day, make sure your work and personal items are organized and put away,” suggests Lombardo. “It will help you have a positive start to your day the next morning.” If your office needs major reorganizing, avoid becoming totally overwhelmed by taking it one step at a time: start by tidying what you can see, then move through your desk and cabinets drawer by drawer.

You work through vacation
Checking your email when you should be relaxing by the pool puts you at risk of burnout, says Lombardo. Unplugging and allowing yourself to truly unwind allows your mind and body to rejuvenate and return to the office stronger. “When you truly take breaks, you will be more creative, productive, and effective when you return,” says Lombardo.

You have a glass of wine (or two) before bed
A nightcap sounds like a good way to unwind before falling asleep, but it can easily backfire. Alcohol initially depresses the central nervous system, producing a sedative effect, says Allen Towfigh, MD, medical director of New York Neurology & Sleep Medicine, P.C., in New York City. “But it ultimately sabotages sleep maintenance.” Alcohol creates a rebound effect as it’s metabolized, which creates an abrupt surge in the adrenaline system, he says. This is why you’re more likely to wake up in the middle of the night after you’ve been drinking. Dr. Towfigh recommends stopping all alcohol three to four hours before bedtime.

You check e-mails at bedtime
The glaring light of a tablet, smartphone, or your computer’s backlit screen can throw off your body’s natural circadian rhythm by suppressing melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate sleep and wake cycles, says Dr. Towfigh. Sensitivity to the digital glow of tech toys can vary from person to person, but in general it’s a good idea to avoid all technology for one to two hours before bedtime, he says. Can’t avoid checking your device before your head hits the pillow? Then hold it at least 14 inches away from your face to reduce the risk of sleep interference.

You rely on caffeine to get through the day
Starting your morning with a java jolt is no big deal—in fact, studies show that up to three daily cups of coffee is good for you—but using caffeine improperly can seriously disrupt your sleep-wake cycle, says Dr. Towfigh. Caffeine blocks adenosine, the byproduct of active cells that drives you to sleep as it accumulates, he explains. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine revealed that consuming caffeine even six hours prior to bedtime affects sleep, so cut yourself off by mid-afternoon

You stay up late on weekends
Burning the midnight oil on Saturday night and then sleeping in Sunday morning leads to difficulty falling asleep Sunday night—and a sleep-deprived Monday morning, says Dr. Towfigh. Since staying in can cramp your social life, try to wake up close to your normal time the following morning, and then take a power nap in the afternoon. “Napping for 20 minutes or so allows the body to recharge without entering the deeper stages of sleep, which can cause you to wake up more tired,” he says.

Source: health

 

 

Mini Strawberry Shortcakes

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INGREDIENTS
STRAWBERRY FILLING
4 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
1 to 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

SHORTCAKES
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup fat-free (skim) milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil

TOPPING
1 cup vanilla yogurt
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
Fresh mint leaves

PREPARATION:

STRAWBERRY FILLING

Combine strawberries and granulated sugar in medium bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

SHORTCAKES

  • Preheat oven to 425°F.
  • Combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Combine milk and oil in small bowl; add to flour mixture. Stir with fork until mixture forms dough.
  • Turn dough out onto floured work surface. Quickly shape into 1/2-inch-thick disk. Cut 8 dough circles with floured 2-1/2-inch cookie cutter. Piece together dough scraps, as necessary, to complete circles.
  • Place biscuits on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove pan from oven; cool completely on wire rack.

TOPPING

  • Combine yogurt and brown sugar in medium bowl. Stir until smooth.
  • Split biscuit in half horizontally. Place about 1/4 cup strawberry filling on bottom layer of each biscuit. Cover with biscuit top.
  • Drizzle topping over shortcakes. Garnish with any remaining strawberries and mint leaves.

Source: how stuff works

Truth about high sodium intake and health

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Sodium has gotten a great deal of bad press over the past few decades. There is, of course, good reason for the warnings that are frequently posted by health experts, both online and in numerous medical journals, that are designed to make people think twice before using their salt shaker liberally. After all, the American Heart Association (AHA) cautions that excessive sodium intake can cause the following health risks:

  • enlarged heart muscle
  • strokes
  • headaches
  • high blood pressure
  • stomach cancer
  • kidney stones
  • heart disease
  • kidney disease

Culprits of too much sodium in the diet

The majority of the sodium in the average diet — about 65% — comes from foods that are obtained from convenience stores or supermarkets. This comes in the form of processed foods, since manufacturers often use added sodium in order to help preserve their food for a longer shelf life. The remaining 35% of the sodium comes from restaurants and other sources — 25% and 10% respectively. It can be assumed that the other sources include the sodium that people add to their foods when they cook at home.

Sodium has other hazards too

In addition to the health risks that are posed by eating a diet that is high in sodium, health experts caution that excess sodium can take a toll on the way a person looks. Too much sodium can lead to bloating, puffiness and weight gain. Health organizations have different amounts of sodium that they deem safe, with most, such as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the American Diabetic Association (ADA) and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), putting the highest safe amount at 2,300 mg. An interesting note is that the optimal level of sodium that the AHA deems is safe is 1,500 mg. This is the same amount the other agencies place on the lower level of being acceptable.

Sodium has surprises for people

There is a growing body of evidence that points to the fact that a salt-restricted diet might not be the best for long-term health. The Journal of the American Medical Association recently noted a correlation between a low-sodium diet and a higher mortality rate from cardiovascular causes. This data pointed to an increase in hospitalization for cardiovascular issues for those people who had low salt intake compared to those who had a moderate amount of salt in their diets.

In addition, a recent study cited in the American Journal of Hypertension found that diets low in salt resulted in higher levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the plasma. The researchers concluded that these higher levels of hormones and lipids in the blood negate the effects of the slightly lower blood pressure seen in patients who restrict their salt intake greatly.

As with many health recommendations, it is perhaps best to exercise moderation when it comes to the amount of salt in the diet.

Source; Natural news

Kids need outdoor play, not just sports, say experts

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As children gear up to participate in sports leagues and camps this summer, experts say it’s important to ensure time is also devoted for youngsters to enjoy less structured outdoor, active play.

Mark Tremblay, chief scientific officer of Active Healthy Kids Canada, has previously described active play as the “overlooked sibling” of the physical activity equation.

“We need to let (children) go play in the sandpit and run through the stream and get their shoes dirty and get grass stains on their knees,” he said in an interview at the recent Global Summit on the Physical Activity of Children in Toronto.

“The beauty of that sort of freedom is there’s limitless opportunity. It’s only at the limits of the mind to create … what can you do with yourself, what can you do chasing a frog. And every day, it can be a new adventure. It doesn’t cost anything.”

William Pickett, head of the department of community health and epidemiology at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., said there are obvious fitness benefits to active play and physical activity. But Pickett said it can offer a boost in other ways, such as “subtle benefits” to emotional health, like feeling a connection to nature.

“I think (the concept of) allowing our kids room to move needs to be expanded,” said Tremblay, director of Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute.

“When we look across at other countries, those that are excelling have done that. It’s either inherent in the way they live, or they’ve been able to allow… the interaction with nature and the outdoors to just occur organically — whereas it’s anything but organic in our society.

“I think we need that better balance of active transportation, active play, organized sport, incidental movement — all of those pieces regularly, inherent, pervasive throughout the day,” he added.

Yet, while many of Canada’s kids have access to parks and playgrounds and take part in organized sports, the physical activity levels of the country’s youngsters lagged near the back of the pack among 15 countries, according to a recent report.

The Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth saw Canada assigned a D minus for overall physical activity levels with only seven per cent of five- to 11-year-olds and four per cent of 12- to 17-year-olds meeting recommended guidelines of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity daily. What’s more, Canadian kids earned a failing grade due to hours spent being idle, expending little movement or energy.

No grade was available on the report card in the category of active play due to limited research in the area and the lack of an evidence-based benchmark. However, parents of kids aged five to 11 reported that the youngsters only get 4.1 hours of physical activity a week while taking part in unorganized physical activities outside of school — whether alone or with a friend.

Deb Lowther, who writes about fitness and nutrition on her website Raising Healthy Kids, works diligently to model an active lifestyle for her three daughters: 12-year-old Julia, 10-year-old Brooke and eight-year-old Amy.

The Burlington, Ont., resident is an avid runner, and both she and her husband, Stuart, participated in a half Ironman triathlon last year. Whether they’re hiking, skiing or taking a dip in the backyard pool, being active is a pivotal part of family life for both parents and kids.

Still, the girls are also afforded the chance to take part in less structured play. Lowther said they keep the garage stocked with hula hoops, skipping ropes, basketballs, bikes and other equipment to help keep the kids moving.

“There’s a whole bin of stuff there to take out and have fun,” Lowther said.

“If you’re a parent that’s not that active, it’s still super easy to get your kids active doing stuff. … One of the issues is giving kids the time.”

Source; ctv news

Parents: a good sleep routine can keep the whole family healthy

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A new study conducted at the University of Illinois says that children who are raised by families that prioritize shut-eye are less likely to be obese.

The study, published in Frontiers in Psychology, examined the sleep routines of 337 US preschool children and their families, taking into account socioeconomic characteristics and observing the influence of TV time and meal routines.

Researchers considered four routines protective against childhood obesity including limited TV time, not having a bedroom TV, quality family meal time and adequate sleep.

Yet sleep was the only factor that made a difference in the results.

Children who slept 10 hours per day or more were less likely to suffer obesity than those who did not, regardless of the other protective routines.

Given the importance of sleep, the most likely factor in a child’s risk for obesity was the parental sleep routine.

In a chain reaction, parents who slept inadequately had children who did the same and were therefore more likely to be overweight.

“Parents should make being well rested a family value and a priority,” said Barbara H. Fiese, director of the U of I’s Family Resiliency Center and Pampered Chef Endowed Chair. “We viewed how long parents slept and how long children slept as part of a household routine and found that they really did go together.”

Sufficient sleep has long been linked to healthy weight management and children are hardly new study subjects.

A recent study by the University College London found that 16-month-old toddlers who slept less than 10 hours per day increased their calorie consumption by 10 percent over those who slept 13 hours per day.

A 2009 study by the European Centre of Taste Science in Dijon in central France found participants were likely to consume up to 22 percent more calories than normal after a bad night’s sleep.

Source; yahoo news

World Healthiest Food-Spinach

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Everything you wanted to know about Spinach.

You could say Popeye did the most to promote spinach, not the scientists or food industry. Just if Popeye’s spinach was fresh, and not canned, the message would be more accurate.

Phytonutrients for optimal health.

Scientists have discovered 15 different flavonic compounds in spinach which are potent antioxidants. Lots of them are useful for cancer prevention. Various studies have shown that these compounds inhibit the growth of malignant cells of the stomach, skin and breast.

Spinach is important for a healthy prostate.

Carotenoid pigment which is found in spinach successfuly fights against prostate cancer, in two ways. One carotenoid form under the name neoxanthin on one side affects the prostate cancer cells in a way that stimulates their self-destruction.

And the other hand, neoxanthin with metabolic processes in the intestine is further converted into neo chromes, which inhibits the growth of cancer cells in the prostate.

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Spinach is important for healthy and strong bones.

In one cup of spinach there are nearly two times more vitamin C than the recommended daily dose of that vitamin. If spinach is cooked, one cup of spinach contains 6 times larger amounts of vitamin K daily than recommended dose of this vitamin.

Vitamin K is important for the activation of a particular protein in bone, which “catches” calcium and thus incorporates it into the bone structure.

Besides vitamin C, other elements that are important for bone health and are in spinach is calcium and magnesium.

Important for a healthy cardiovascular system.

Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin A (as beta-carotene), and a good source of vitamin C. These two vitamins are most “deserving” for the healing properties of spinach, and especially important for the health of the cardiovascular system. Vitamins A and C primarily act as antioxidants, meaning they neutralize the degradation processes that occur under the action of free radicals.Spinach3

With the same mechanism, they prevent the oxidation of cholesterol, which in that form has the ability to accumulate on the wall of blood vessels, causing atherosclerosis, then high blood pressure. This increases the risk of myocardial infarction.

The following useful ingredient of spinach is folic acid. It helps in the conversion of potentially dangerous chemical called homocysteine ??in other joints. Increased levels of homocysteine ??in the blood is associated with increased possibility of occurrence of myocardial infarction.

In one cup of spinach is about 40% of daily needs for magnesium. It is a mineral that helps for lowering blood pressure. So spinach also helps in the prevention of diseases of the heart and blood vessels.

Protects the digestive tract.

Vitamins A and C, and folic acid, found in spinach have strong antioxidactive effects, also prevents mutation of cells in the intestines. It has been proven that people who consume these vitamins in sufficient quantities have significantly lower risk of developing bowel cancer.

Anti-inflammatory substances.

Allergic reactions are more common occurrence these days. Besides classical allergies, there are many autoimmune diseases that also include the mechanism of allergic reaction.
Asthma and rheumatoid arthritis are just some of them. Spinach ingredients that help to soothe the inflammation are beta carotene and vitamin C.spinach4

Impeccable eyesight.

One of carotenoids, lutein, is a protective chemical that “cares” about the health of the eyes. Particularly successful in the fight against cataract and macular degeneration caused by aging.

Iron – trademark.

Although spinach is not the richest food for iron, yet it contains iron in significant amounts. Spinach as ingridient is significantly better source of iron than others, because it doesn’t contains saturated fat, cholesterol, and is low on calorie.
One cup of cooked spinach provides about 30% of the daily recommended amount of iron.

But also bear in mind that:

  • – Spinach, like almost all foods, is a potential allergen.
  • – Spinach is one of the vegetables with the highest amounts of pesticides backlog. Therefore, when you buy spinach, ask about its origins.
  • – Spinach contains significant amounts of oxalates, so it is not recommended for people with severe damages on kidney and gallbladder.
  • – Spinach also contains a certain amount of substances that can affect the secretion of thyroid hormone. Therefore, it is not recommended for people with diseases of the thyroid gland.
  • – Purines, which is found in spinach, may lead to excessive accumulation of uric acid. People who suffer from gout or kidney disease should avoid excessive consumption of spinach.

Source: secretly healthy