Stephanie Linus Daily

Category: Health & Fitness

  • Ladies, Let’s Practice These Tips To Prevent Cervical Cancer

    Twenty-six Nigerian women lose their lives due to cervical cancer every day and a further 14,000 women are diagnosed each year with this disease. 

    Hi SL Fabz,

    The month of January is the Cervical Health Awareness Month, a chance to raise awareness about how women can protect themselves from HPV (Human Papillomavirus) and cervical cancer. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease. It’s also a major cause of cervical cancer.

    Sadly, Cervical Cancer kills thousands of women in Nigeria every month. It is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide. However, half of cervical cancers occur among women rarely or never screened for cancer, and another 10%–20% of cancers occur among women who were screened but did not receive adequate follow-up care. When cervical cancer is found early, it is highly treatable and associated with long survival and good quality of life.

    Today, I’d like to share some tips with you about how we can prevent this deadly disease.

    1. Get a regular Pap smear. Getting a regular Pap smear is a highly effective way to reduce your risk of cervical cancer. The Pap smear is a simple test that can detect abnormal cervical changes long before they become cancerous. The key to the effectiveness of the Pap smear is having it done regularly. Always consult with your doctor about how often you should be having Pap smears.

    2. Limit the amount of sexual partners you have. Practicing safe sex is more than just wearing a condom. It also means limiting the amount of sexual partners you have in your lifetime. Having multiple sexual partners increases your risk of being infected with HPV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

    3. Quit smoking or avoid secondhand smoke. Smoking cigarettes has an effect on cervical cancer as well. Once you’re infected with HPV [human papillomavirus], smoking more than doubles your risk of not beating the disease on your own. Smoking won’t give you HPV, but suck down more than 10 cigarettes a day and you can double your risk for advanced precancerous cells once you have the disease. Plus, it can speed up the cancerous growth.

    4. If you are sexually active, use a condom. Having unprotected sex puts you at risk for HIV and other STD’s which can increase your risk factor for developing cervical cancer.

    5. Follow up on abnormal Pap smears. If you have had an abnormal Pap smear, it is important to follow up with regular Pap smears or colposcopies, whatever your doctor has decided for you. If you have been treated for cervical dysplasia, you still need to follow up with Pap smears or colposcopies. Dysplasia can return and when undetected, can turn into cervical cancer.

    6. Get the HPV vaccine. If you are under 26, you may be eligible to receive the HPV vaccine, which prevents high risk strains of HPV in women. The shot is recommended for girls as young as 9 or 10, because it works best before you’ve had any sort of sexual contact. The vaccine doesn’t protect against HPV strains you’ve already contracted, so most doctors won’t administer it to women over 26 because they assume most are already sexually active.

    So dearies, let’s practice these measures to protect ourselves. If you are sexually active, get a pap smear done. And guys, please share this info with any lady you know.

    Stay healthy!

    SL.

  • 5 Easy Ways To Reduce Your Sugar Intake

    Although a little bit of sugar is OK for most people, eating too much sugar can undermine your health in a lot of ways. Sugar can add excess calories to your diet, crowd out more nutritious foods, and otherwise contribute to aging, weight gain, and disease.

    Here are 5 tips I’m sure would help in reducing your overall sugar intake:

    Read Food Labels
    You’ll quickly realize just how often sugar is added to foods when you look for it on ingredients lists. Even things that you don’t think are sweet, like tomato sauce, crackers, and salad dressings can be packed with sugar. Read the list of ingredients on the packaging before you make a decision on whether to eat/drink it or not.

    Choose Healthy Snacks
    In between meals, you might have the need to chew on a snack. In such situations, opt for a healthy snack. Healthier snack options are those without added sugar such as fruit (fresh, dried, tinned or frozen), unsalted nuts, unsalted rice cakes, oatcakes or homemade plain popcorn

    Avoid Sweetened Drinks & Beverages
    Nearly a quarter of our added sugar in our diets comes from sugary drinks such as fizzy drinks, sweetened juices, and squashes. A 500ml bottle of cola contains the equivalent of 17 cubes of sugar. Try sugar-free varieties or better yet, water, lower-fat milk, or soda water with a splash of fruit juice.

    Trade sweetened foods for naturally sweet fruit
    Replace foods laden with added sugar for fruit, which is naturally sweet and just as satisfying. Fruit – whether it’s fresh, baked, grilled, or pureed — makes a great replacement for sugar in lots of dishes, from cookies to coleslaw.

    Buy unsweetened food
    Once you know where sugar hides, you can start making changes. One strategy: buy foods labeled “no added sugar” or “unsweetened.” You’ll find unsweetened versions of these common foods in most grocery stores. For instance, go for unsweetened milk instead of the regular one. Also, when buying canned fruit, they should be packed in
    juice—not syrup.

    SL Fabz, do you have any more tips to add?

  • Common Habits That Give You Wrinkles Faster

    Of course we know we should expect wrinkles as we grow older. That we can’t change. However, there are some habits that affect your skin’s aging process and make them come faster.

    Check out these everyday habits, address your bad habits to achieve healthier, happier skin:

    Smoking
    Smoking is one of the most common causes of wrinkles. Smoking makes you look older faster because it restricts blood flow to your skin, making it tough for skin cells to get the oxygen and nutrients they need to stay healthy and regenerate. Plus, the chemicals in cigarette smoke break down the skin’s fiber and elastin, and constantly pursing your lips creates fine lines around the mouth.

    Chewing Gum
    Chewing gum too often leads to wrinkles, because it forces your mouth to continually form different shapes. For frequent chewers, those formations end up resulting in a downward turn in the corners of the mouth, as well as a pronounced muscle at the bottom of the jawline. It’s better to use more of mints, breath strips and mouth wash.

    Tummy and side sleeping
    Although this is a common habit, sleeping on your belly or side may cause wrinkles. Also, smashing one side of your face against a pillow for a third of your life can cause sleep lines to form. You can try falling asleep on your back, and also, find a satin pillowcase to minimize the appearance of sleep lines.

    Drinking Excessive Alcohol
    All alcohol dehydrates the skin. This means your skin will appear less plump and fresh the morning after you drink alcohol. Over time, your skin will lose elasticity and form wrinkles due to a lack of hydration. Additionally, alcohol can have a huge negative impact on your vitamin A level, which is a very important antioxidant for your skin and body, and it is vital in the regeneration of new cells. Vitamin A is also extremely important in the production of collagen. When you have lower amounts of collagen, you lose elasticity in your skin. Collagen and elasticity keep your skin supple, taut, and looking young.

    Your Diet
    If you want to keep your skin healthy and young, the old saying that you are what you eat has never been more true. Aside from giving you extra weight, eating too much sugar and high-glycemic foods may also be aging you. Refined sugar and other simple carbohydrates also trigger inflammation throughout the body by causing insulin levels to skyrocket. Inflammation produces enzymes that break down collagen and elastin, which leads to sagging and wrinkles.

    Not Removing Makeup
    When you sleep in your makeup, you are basically inviting wrinkles to your skin. The makeup and environmental pollutants you accumulate during the day seep into your pores, breaking down collagen and elastin. This can speed up the aging process, leaving you with fine lines and wrinkles. Cleanse and moisturize your skin every night before bed.

    I’d love to hear from you. Are you surprised that everyday habits like chewing gum and sleeping on your tummy can cause wrinkles to come faster? What do you think about this list? Do you have any more habits to add?

    Let’s share!

  • #DidYouKnow: The Difference Between Best Before & Expiry Date

    Whenever you buy a packaged food item, it’s always advisable to note the date which the manufacturer/producer recommends it suitable for consumption.

    On some food items, you might see an “Expiry Date” and on some others, you might see a “Best Before Date“. These dates are very important to note. But what we are discussing today is the difference. Do you really know the difference between these two dates?

    I did some online search and came up with these definitions:

    Best before date: Length of time which an item is suitable for sale. It is the recommended time which a product will remain good. This date is more of a guideline and it gives the recommended date by which the product is best consumed by. This is the date up to and including which the food can be expected to remain at peak quality if properly stored. Food may be edible after this date; however its quality may suffer, e.g. potato crisps might become soft.

    Expiry date: Indicates that the product is no longer safe to consume after the specified date.

    What’s the difference?

    If food must not be consumed after a certain date for health and safety reasons, the ‘Expiration date’ mark must be used. Foods labeled ‘Expiration date’ cannot be sold after the date has expired. A ‘Best Before’ date would be used for shelf stable foods, dry goods such as biscuits and confectionery, frozen foods, most raw foods that will be cooked before being eaten (eg. meat, chicken, fish) or foods that will noticeably spoil before becoming a safety issue.

    In some countries, food marked with a ‘Best Before’ date can still be sold after that date provided it is safe and suitable for consumption. Any storage conditions that are necessary to ensure that a food will retain its specific qualities for the period indicated by the date mark, must be declared on the label.

    I hope this clarifies.

    If you were to make a choice, would you prefer the use of ‘Expiry Date’ over ‘Best Before’ date to avoid any mistakes?

  • Diet Vs. Exercise: What Is Better For Losing Weight?

    It’s a new year and you’ve set for yourself a health goal – to lose weight. The question now is – what’s the best way to achieve this?

    While diet and exercise are both important for long term weight goals, its important to know which one is best for you.

    Yes, you can lose weight with diet alone, but exercise is also important. Without it, only a portion of your weight loss is from fat – you’re also stripping away muscle and bone density. Losing weight through exercise means you’re burning mostly fat. On the other hand, its much easier to cut 500 calories than to spend an hour in the gym burning 500 calories every day.

    Due to our very busy schedules, most people find it very difficult to find time to jog or go to the gym regularly. Also, avoiding those foods with high calories can be very difficult.

    However, both diet and exercise are essential for good health and for keeping that weight off.

    So tell me, which option would you choose for weight loss. Dieting or exercising, and why?

  • Cancer Can Be Detected Early… Get Screened Today

    The month of October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and today, I’d just like to remind us of the importance of early detection and regular screening for cancer.

    In many cases, the sooner cancer is diagnosed and treated, the better a person’s chance for a full recovery. If you develop cancer, you can improve the chance that it will be detected early if you have regular medical checkups and do certain self-exams.

    The American Cancer Society recommends these screening guidelines for most adults:

    Breast Cancer
    1. Yearly mammograms are recommended starting at age 40 and continuing for as long as a woman is in good health
    2. Clinical breast exam (CBE) about every 3 years for women in their 20s and 30s and every year for women 40 and over
    3. Women should know how their breasts normally look and feel and report any breast change promptly to their health care provider. Breast self-exam (BSE) is an option for women starting in their 20s.

    As ladies, we should endeavor to carry out a breast self exam regularly and, like stated above, report any breast change to a doctor. By doing BSE, women learn what looks and feels normal for their breasts, and they are more likely to find a change.

    Most breast lumps are not cancer, but only a doctor can make a diagnosis.

    Let us spread this word and also practice it. We shouldn’t loose more women to cancer in situations that can really be avoided.

    Have a great day!

    SL

  • September is Sickle Cell Awareness Month!

    Yes! September is dedicated to Sickle Cell Anaemia; and I’ll love all SL Fabz to support anyone around you suffering from sickle cell,  by first learning more about the ailment***

    About Sickle Cell Disease

    Among those with SCD, their red blood cells become hard and sticky and look like a C-shaped farm tool called a “sickle”. The sickle-shaped cells die early, which causes a constant shortage of red blood cells. When a person doesn’t have enough red blood cells, they have a condition called anemia. Also, when these misshaped blood cells travel through small blood vessels, they can get stuck and clog the blood flow. Whenever this happens, it results in severe pain and organ damage and can cause serious infections.

    People with SCD can live productive lives and enjoy most of the activities that people without SCD do. These are some things that people with SCD can do to stay as healthy as possible:

    •Get regular checkups. Regular health checkups with a primary care doctor can help prevent some serious problems.

    •Prevent infections. Common illnesses, like influenza quickly can become dangerous for a child with SCD. The best defense is to take simple steps to help prevent infections. See tips to help avoid getting an infection.

    •Learn healthy habits. People with SCD should drink 8 to 10 glasses of water every day and eat healthy food. They also should try not to get too hot, too cold, or too tired.

    •Look for clinical studies. New clinical research studies are happening all the time to find better treatments and, hopefully, a cure for SCD. People who take part in these studies might have access to new medicines and treatments.

    •Get support. People with SCD should find a patient support group or other organization in the community that can provide information, assistance, and support.

  • Salt and Ebola?

    Will salt cure Ebola?

    NO! Salt cannot cure Ebola!

    Please stay enlightened!

    You can get more facts and info from the Lagos State Ministry of Health page dedicated to Ebola…

    Let’s keep our community safe

    Click here: http://www.lagosebolaresponse.org/index.php