Tag Archives: Liberia

Fermented Milk Boosts Skin Health

December 7, 2014

Fermented Milk Boosts Skin Health

fermented milk The human skin is the largest organ and an essential excretory pathway too. All that biology aside, the skin is the most immediate point of contact with the outside world and a woman for instance would do or give anything just to have a beautiful lustrous skin. Well that is not a strange thing, beauty is such a worthy aspect of humanity.

Funny thing, different folks have had their unique ways of approaching the skin health. Some traditional and others contemporary. While the market is flooded with all the lotions and gels with some such as Nivea using the term ‘moisturizing’ as a key selling point, other people, more traditional in their ways, have for a long time depended on milk in various ways to realize some really beautiful glowing skin. There is definitely something in milk, isn’t there?

But the question is, what is this ‘thing’ in milk that these women targeted for the beauty of their skin? Today there is growing evidence indicating that if you consume milk products refined with probiotic bacteria, you can end up with not only a healthy gut, but also a nice healthy skin.

This is not entirely a new idea in the scientific marketplace. Scientists have for a long time suspected that the health of the human skin and gut health are rather interrelated. Simply looked at, the lining of the mammalian gastrointestinal tract is somewhat an extension of the actual skin. In this manner, the bacteria on the skin surface find their way with ease to the surface of the gut.

In terms of immunity and the general health, one mechanism that has been identified by medical practitioners of maintaining the intestinal health involves boosting the probiotics (good bacteria). Good because these bacteria help to keep bad microbes in check as they naturally inhabit the gut.  Bifidobacteria and lactobacilli are examples of these good bacteria and are used for instance in the food industry. Their purpose here is typically to make refined milk products like yogurt.

Unveiling the Gut Phenol Guard

A number of recent studies by a Japanese probiotic milk pioneer has reported evidence indicating the beneficial effects of fermented milk on the general skin health. This was from some test samples containing Bifidobacterium, a bacterium found in fermented milk.

The researchers compared the effects of the fermented milk against those of a non-fermented placebo milk in a clinical test. Two clusters of healthy Japanese women were given the milk and various parameters later measured in those women’s urine, blood and the level of hydration of their skin.

Four weeks later, the women who had been subjected to drinking the placebo milk were having significantly drier skin as compared to their colleagues who drank the fermented milk.

Based on the results of this study, the Japanese scientists deduced that the women who drank the fermented milk had lower levels of phenols in their blood and urine. Phenols are a group of noxious by-products emitted by some gut bacteria during proteins digestion.

Phenols are often absorbed from the gut to some extent, taken through blood circulation and eventually excreted from the body via the urine. In this process though, the phenols may often build in the skin as they are carried along with the blood. Prior studies have shown this happen to the skin of mice. And for the human skin, lab tests have shown that these toxins disturb the skin cells’ production of keratin 10, a major skin protein responsible for strengthening the skin’s barrier function.

People with a troubled gut environment have typically been reported to have high levels of these toxic substances known as phenols. The Japanese scientists associate problems such as skin dryness to high levels of these phenols produced by particular gut bacteria.

Consequently the researchers recommend daily intake of fermented milk rich in probiotics as an antidote to the problem of dry skin. This according to them could help maintain healthy skin by encouraging a conducive gut environment which will suppress the production of the toxins. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), these probiotics (found in fermented milk) are live microorganisms which have the capacity to confer a health benefit to the host when administered in adequate amounts.

fermented milk

Further Skin Health Benefits

Aside from the fight against phenols, fermented milk has been found to have a host of other benefits to the skin. Other studies have indicated that the milk may help assuage dermatitis (inflammation of the skin) while reducing water loss from the skin of the individual.

The fermented milk contains a number of biologically active peptides. Peptides are compounds consisting of two or more amino acids that are linked in a chain. These fermented milk peptides are produced in the process of fermentation. Here a bacterium known as lactobacilli chew down certain milk proteins converting them into the peptides.

Sebum, oily secretion of the sebaceous glands in the skin, has been reported to get stabilized by intake of fermented milk. Taking fermented milk increases the hydration levels of the skin of young women due to increased levels of sebum in the skin.

The studies indicate that the age and hormone levels influence the working of the fermented milk in influencing sebum production. Even better, the milk helps check the effects of sebum that could result in acne if in high amounts. This applies to both men and women. The acne alleviation effect on skin is attributed to a milk protein called lactoferrin.

Given its anti-inflammatory effects on the skin, fermented milk helps in improving g the skin luster making it glossy and radiant. The effect results from combined properties of increased sebum and an acidic skin pH.

At AwareMed, we care about the health of your skin and continue to provide you with these and more health insights for your wellness.

Fermented Milk Boosts Skin Health

 

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Ebola Virus In America: Should We Be Worried?

October 19, 2014

Ebola Virus In The U.S.A.

How It All Started

The story of the Ebola outbreak started from West Africa. Reports about its occurrence and huge number of causalities who were succumbing to it started surfacing soon after and reached the international media. Things reached their crescendo when reports of the havoc that the disease was wrecking primarily in West Africa and the speed with which it was spreading captured global attention.

Currently, Ebola outbreak is a global phenomenon, with fears that the spread of the disease is akin to that of HIV during its early days back in the 80s.

Primarily, the disease has affected three West African countries, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. However, reports that the disease is actually spreading across the world have sparked concerted international efforts to battle its possible spread and direct effects. The manner in which the disease spreads has put air travel operations across the world in the limelight as different governments seek to protect their citizens against possible exposure to the disease.

Ebola

Warning Ebola

 

How the USA is Prepared

The government of the United States is completely prepared to tackle any incidence of the disease in the country. This is according to the statements made by public health officials in response to growing fears that the government may not be doing enough to protect the country against a possible occurrence of the disease.

There are several ways in which the government is prepared for a possible outbreak of Ebola, although this is an event whose occurrence is highly unlikely. For instance, the government has the capacity to detect a single case of Ebola in the country. Since the basic principle of preventing a possible outbreak of the disease in the country is having in place the right mechanism for early detection, isolation and treatment, the government can be said to be ready because it has the right mechanisms in place. The same can be said of many governments in the western part of the world.

Secondly, the ability to fully tackle a possible Ebola outbreak lies in the availability of effective treatments for the disease. Currently, the World Health Organization has authorized the use of an experimental form of a drug to treat Ebola patients. So far, the drug has proven to be an effective therapy against the disease, helping a number of patients on whom it has been used to fully recover from the grip of the disease. Furthermore, an experimental form of a vaccine against the disease is in the process of being tried out. If it is found effective, the vaccine will be an invaluable weapon in the fight against Ebola.

Preventive Measures Already Instituted

There are several preventive measures that have already been taken by the government in response to the Ebola scare. One of them is about screening passengers who are using air travel. Generally, the spread of Ebola occurs via air transport. This is what usually happens. An individual gets exposed to the disease-causing virus by accident. After exposure, the virus takes between 2 and 3 weeks before the first symptoms of fever appear, followed by massive hemorrhage through the openings of the body. During the incubation period, it is likely that the infected individual may travel out of the country in which the disease is present to a different one. If this happens, the person is likely to spread the disease to others.

This is why governments across the world are taking extraordinary measures to ensure that such a scenario does not occur. One way in which this is done is by screening passengers who are using air transport. Currently the government of the United States has instructed a number of airports to commence massive screening procedures for travelers who are coming in from Ebola-hit countries.

The Impact Of The Ebola So Far

So far, Ebola has killed well over 4,000 people in the world. According to the authorities, reported cases of infection of the disease are at about 8,000. This implies that the mortality rate of the disease is something to make individuals and governments across the world quite worried.

Another reason to worry about is that the mortality rate is set to rise with increasing deaths of individuals who had been affected before. This, therefore, calls for a concerted and well coordinated global response mechanism as a viable way of combating spread of the disease. Yet so far, the need for funding to combat the disease has not been fully met. This means that many of the initiatives that would have been put in place at the global scale have to wait. The impact of such delays in funding is greatly felt in countries that are heavily hit by the disease in West Africa.

Ebola

Ebola Symptoms

 

Already the disease has had significant impact on the social and economic factors of the said countries. With the death toll from the disease increasing, the social fabric that holds the society in the countries is greatly affected.

The situation in Europe and the United States is completely different. Regardless of the fears by members of the public, it is highly unlikely that countries in this part of the world can suffer from the direct impacts of the disease in such a manner. Already identified cases of the disease have been effectively tackled. However, news of the disease spreading so fast to different areas like Latin America is a strong enough reason for the government to step up its contingency plans and preventive measures.

Our goal at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center is to help you remain healthy at all times. We believe that health and wellness are primary needs of individuals that should be well taken care of. And for one to be healthy and well, information; timely information for that matter; is extremely important. That is why we take a keen interest in research studies on Ebola that are being carried out.

Ebola Virus In The US

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