10 Terrible Choices You Make For Your Kidneys

Do you remember Muna Obiekwe of blessed memory? He was a well loved Nigerian actor who died in January 2015 of kidney failure. Needless to say, his passing was tragic. A couple of weeks ago, I got to hear about the relative of a friend who also lost his life to kidney failure early this year. What makes it more painful is that these deaths are needless and often caused by the victims themselves due to poor lifestyle choices. 

Our Exciting And Wholesome New Addition To Mealtimes

"I want a new addition to my meals", my dad said to me this morning. "Henceforth, I want lots of fresh tomatoes and onions at least 1 - 2 times a week". I wondered where that was coming from. Being a Nigerian family, a Yoruba one at that, tomatoes and onions are part of our daily diet already! We make stew from a blend of tomatoes, pepper and onions, and we get to eat that every single day in one form or another, so why did dad suddenly want even more? " While I was thinking about this, he continued, " I want plenty of tomatoes and onions to be fried briefly and used to make egg sauce, you can also steam them for other meals". Hmmn, dad wasn't the first man I knew paying special attention to tomatoes and onions (especially tomatoes) in recent times. Has there been some kind of campaign or tomato awareness program targeted at men recently?

Recognizing A Killer In Our Midst

During a BBQ, a woman stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) ...she said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes.

They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Jane went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening.

Help! My Belly Just WON'T Lose Weight!!!

"Help! My Belly Just WON'T Lose Weight!!!"

This is one of the most distressing cries of our time. In these days of body shaming and the media painting impossible pictures of what our bodies should look like, it's no wonder every one is desperate for a flat tummy. I don't know if our ancestors ever had to deal with big belly issues. Maybe they never had big bellies, or maybe they just weren't as infatuated with body image as we are today. Anyway, we are where we are now and there is no denying the fact that many of us struggle with losing love handles and big tummies.

But before we seek solace in body shapers and waist trainers (did you know that men wear waist trainers too?!), let's try to understand this issue of stubborn belly fat better. Why does fat cling so stubbornly to our bellies and waists? More importantly, what is the solution? Find all the answers you seek just after the cut!

Home Remedies To Keep You Safe From The Flu This Season

It's fast approaching that time of the year when the flu seems to be having a holiday of it's own. Everyone sneezing, coughing and blowing their noses, not pretty at all. When the harmattan winds start to blow dust and cold, we all have to be ready to take cover. Don't let cough and catarrh spoil your holiday groove. Try these all natural methods to stay cold free this season.

Do You Also Have The Back Ache Plague?

Just yesterday, my mum and I were having an argument. She said I was too young to be plagued with a back ache and that I agree with. The point I was arguing over was her insistence that back ache is caused solely by too much sugar. I know I don't consume that much sugar but my dear mother seems to think I eat at least a quarter bag of the stuff everyday! See why I was arguing now? Who needs sugar to get a back ache these days with all the sedentary job and bad posture issues?

Oh My Gosh, I'm Overweight!!!

You realized that recently, your clothes just seem to be so tight, it's like they keep choking the life out of you. You wonder why all the clothes seem to be shrinking, could it be the new detergent you've been using, or maybe your clothes have just had one too many machine washes. You keep debating the possible reasons in your mind until a couple of friends, family or colleagues start to say you seem to have added weight. You decide to get on a scale and your worst fears are confirmed. You take a step further and calculate your BMI - Oh my gosh, you're overweight! 

Dear Men: Let's Talk About The 'Blue Ribbon' And You

Almost everyone knows what the pink ribbon stands for. Breast cancer awareness has really gained popularity in the last couple of years which is a very good thing. On the other hand, how many people know what the blue ribbon stands for? Not very many, and it isn't even that prostate cancer is less common or less deadly than breast cancer, in fact, the stats show that prostate cancer is just as common and deadly as breast cancer. It's about time we had this prostate cancer awareness talk. Ladies, don't shy away, you must have at least one man in your life that means a lot to you, you can help him by sharing this information with him.

7 Home Remedies And Tips: Don't Let Pimples Spoil Your Groove

Too many people, myself inclusive have been plagued by pesky adolescent pimples and acne that followed us into adulthood. It's very disturbing when you do all you can to keep your face clean and healthy and yet people keep asking you if you're sick or something because of all the unsightly swellings all over your face. I have tried so many facial rubs, scrubs and creams. Some of them even had side effects that were worse than the pimples (you don't wanna know the gist!) There was also the angle of trying to cover it all up with foundation and layers of powder, that only ended up blocking my pores and irritating my skin further. After all the experimenting, I reached the conclusion that home remedies that are all natural seem to be the best way to keep pimples at bay forever. Here are 7 ways to go about that.

Why Take Cough Syrup When You Can Have Pineapple Juice?

My ideology about medicine is simple: if there is an alternative, I'll have it over drugs. Even sweet tasting medicine like syrups and tonics still taste like drugs. The good thing is that there are quite a lot of natural remedies from common fruits and foods that can replace certain drugs. They are quite effective too, and more pleasant to take most of the time. For example, for those of us who catch colds and coughs easily, pineapple juice is an excellent alternative to cough syrup - it even works faster! You've got to try it to believe it. Of course, it also tastes way better than cough syrup!

7 Home Remedies That Work As Well As Drugs

Sometimes for minor health issues, you just don't want to load your system with the chemicals in drugs - you can save that for when it's really important. At those times, what you need are the natural, home remedies that work just as well as drugs. They may not work quite as fast, but they sure work well. Apart from avoiding popping pills, you'll probably also save money by using these home remedies.

Why I Decided Never To Drink Coke Again

'Black gold' as it has been called is something that will never, ever go down my throat again. I'm sure you can guess why. Just like you, I have also watched videos and read articles that tell of how coke negatively affects human internal organs, but none of that scared me until I saw certain 'uses' of coca cola in household cleaning that actually work. I mean, if coke can clean a toilet (just like Harpic), I don't even want to imagine what it does to my stomach each time I have a bottle!

After reading the following uses of coke, you might want to reconsider consuming this thing on a steady after all. 

This Is Why You Should Stop Using Anti-bacterial Soaps!

It appears regular soap is all we've ever needed after all and not all the expensive anti-bacterial soap we insist on using. If you remember, even during the Ebola scourge, the emphasis was on regular hand washing with soap and running water, nobody mentioned using antiseptic/anti-bacterial soap. I used both liquid antiseptic and medicated soap to bathe for years until a doctor told me those soaps were not called 'medicated' for no reason. Those kinds of soap are to be prescribed by a doctor in cases of skin problems. A recent study has shed more light on this claim. Read more below.

HIV Myth Debunked: Boy Gets HIV After Eating Pineapples Cut By Infected Vendor

 

I'm sure the story of the boy who got infected with HIV after eating cut pineapples from a street vendor reached you. While it isn't usually a good idea to buy such cut fruits on the road because of sanitary reasons, that story was untrue. You can't get HIV that way, if they had said Ebola, totally possible but HIV, no way! Find out why after the cut.

Onions - More Than Just A Veggie

Whenever I buy Suya, I ask for extra onions. I don't find it easy to eat raw onions otherwise, even though I know they are great for the health. I have been big on onions since I can remember but I just found more reasons why I use onions even more. You should too, and maybe you will once you read this!

Did You Know That Your Tongue Can Tell You About The State Of Your Health?!

Would you believe me if I told you that your tongue could give you a pointer as to whether you are healthy or not? It sounds like a long shot, right? Well, maybe so, but have you not noticed that doctors usually ask to see your tongue when they do physical examinations on you? My doctors have always done that with me over the years and every time a doctor asks me to show my tongue and then points one of those little flash lights into my mouth, I wonder what he/she is looking for. I think I now have a good idea of the things they actually look out for, plus what the signs mean!

Lemon Water: More Than What You Think You Know!

A couple of months ago, my sister got serious, I mean very serious about weight loss and fitness. She really tried to infect me with the fitness fever but it didn't quite latch on. She would go on and on about how important it was to watch my weight and I would just shake it all off and insist that I was fit enough and loved how I look. Top on the list of her fitness sermons was the benefits of drinking warm lemon water first thing every morning.

Teeth Problems? Coconut Oil To The Rescue!

Every Nigerian that was born and bred on Nigerian soil probably knows how good coconut oil is. Trust our Yoruba mothers, they discovered the secret to fresh and soft skin in 'adi agbon' years ago. It's great for the hair too but new discoveries show that coconut oil can even save you teeth stress and expensive trips to the dentist too!

The process is simple, it might seem a bit uncomfortable, but wouldn't you rather use coconut oil than sit in a dentists's chair?

This Is The Most Compelling Message To Smokers Ever!

If you know anyone who smokes, you need to show them this. No other 'stop smoking' campaign has ever been this compelling.

“The Message from the Lungs” is loud and clear: Stop. Smoking.

The 10 Top Foods That Kill Intelligence!

I did not even realize that there was a way to reduce your intelligence through eating, at least not until I read an article that said so. By the time I was through with the list of 10 foods, I wondered what we humans are supposed to eat then, because it felt like almost every thing good (that I love) is on the list! I totally agree with 1 and 8 (maybe 6 too), but the others, I'm not so sure! Check out the list for yourself.