Category: living

Clock is ticking, you are almost late for work. What is breakfast when you could get a query? “Skip”, your mind tells you.

Should you listen? Should you not? Well, you should not.

There are tons of reasons why you should never skip breakfast even though many people are guilty of missing it. It is easy for you to get too busy in the mornings and tell yourself that you can always just wait till lunch. Ever heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? You probably have, but do you know why experts think it is that important? Eating breakfast makes you function a lot better during the day and is beneficial to your health as well.

Here are five reasons why it is important for you to never skip breakfast:

 

1. Breakfast gives you energy

When you are not eating, your liver breaks down glycogen and releases it into your bloodstream to keep your sugar levels within the normal range. If you sleep for a while, say seven hours, it means you have gone at least seven hours or more without food. That is, of course, assuming you do not eat in your sleep. Your glycogen stores get depleted and when it has all been used up, your body begins to use fatty acids for energy. But these fatty acids do not get completely oxidized because there is no carbohydrate, and this can cause a depletion in your energy levels.

Eating breakfast provides the carbohydrate for complete oxidation and a boost in your energy levels.

 

2. Breakfast improves your mental ability

Being hungry in the mornings can make you feel slow and unable to concentrate because your brain lacks the glucose it needs to get to work. Having breakfast helps maintain your blood sugar levels and this can help improve your attention span and ability to focus. It might even help you get more creative and productive at work.

 

3. It can help to maintain your weight

You might think skipping breakfast will help you control your weight, but in reality, it can do the exact opposite. Not eating for a long time can affect your body’s insulin response and cause it to store more fat. Skipping breakfast can also increase the possibility that you will be desperate for a quick bite. Extreme hunger can make you do unhealthy things even when you want to be conscious of your diet

 

4. Healthy breakfasts reduce the risk of chronic diseases

Maintaining good dieting habits and eating healthy food can reduce the risk of chronic diseases like diabetes. Your diet largely determines the state of your health. So, if you eat healthy, you will be more likely to remain healthy.

 

5.Eating breakfast is heart-friendly

You want to keep your heart healthy, right? Skipping breakfast can increase your cholesterol levels, which can lead to heart disease. It can also cause your blood pressure to rise. Breakfast can help reduce your blood pressure and make your heart function better.

 

Now you see why breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Even when you are tempted to ignore it because you are not hungry, try to get something healthy into your body to keep your brain going. If you want to be productive at work and have a good day, having breakfast is a good step in that direction. Do not be in so much of a hurry that you forget what your body needs. Your health is your wealth and should always be your priority. Stay healthy, stay active and eat your breakfast today and every other day!

Healthy and active children can be a handful but not many parents will have it any other way. Deciding to have children biologically is a big deal. It is your responsibility as a parent to ensure to the best of your ability, that you have a healthy child. This is why you and your partner should determine your biological compatibility before having a child to ensure you give that child the best chance at a healthy life.

When a child is born, they normally inherit two copies of the gene that produces a protein called beta-globin. This protein is needed to produce the normal haemoglobin, which gives the genotype AA. Haemoglobin functions as an oxygen transporter to all parts of the body.

 

Sickle Cell Trait

Having a sickle cell trait implies that a person inherits one copy of the genotype for sickle cell (S) from one of their parents and the normal gene A from the other parent.

People who are born with a sickle cell trait do not usually experience any problems because the amount of sickle haemoglobin is not sufficient to cause sickle shaped cells. However, they can pass this gene onto their children.

 

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD)

Having sickle cell disease means that the person inherits an abnormal haemoglobin gene from both birth parents. When a person is born with sickle cell disease, it means that the haemoglobin is sickle shaped. Normal haemoglobin should be round and smooth but sickle cell disease makes it curved like a sickle and sticky. This makes it difficult for the cells to move through blood vessels and they may clog up the vessels. As a result of this, oxygen is not transported to the tissues and this causes severe pain and in some cases damage to the oxygen deprived areas.

 

Sickle cell disease is characterized by symptoms like:

• Anemia: This is due to the premature death of red blood cells usually leading to a shortage in the amount of red blood cells in the blood
• Swollen limbs due to the obstruction of blood flow to the hands and feet
• Frequent infections in cases where the spleen becomes damaged, leaving the individual vulnerable to infections
• Delayed growth caused by the inability of red blood cells to effectively transport nutrients and oxygen

 

Types of Sickle Cell Disease

The common types of sickle cell disease are:

• HbSS (SS genotype):

  This kind of SDC is usually called Sickle cell anemia and it occurs when an individual inherits a sickle cell gene (S) from each parent. It is the most severe form of SCD

• HbSC (SC genotype)

  : This is caused by inheritance of the genotype for sickle cell “S” from one parent and another abnormal gene called ‘‘C’’ from the other.

• HbS beta thalassemia

  : This is caused when a person inherits the S sickle cell gene from one of their parents, and from the other, gets a beta thalassemia gene. Beta thalassemia is a kind of anemia.

There are other rare kinds of SCD such as HbSD, HbSE and HbSO. People born with any of these types of SCD inherit the “S” sickle cell gene and another abnormal gene like “D”, “E” or “O”.

The only effective cure for SCD is a bone marrow or stem cell transplant.

People who intend to have children biologically are advised to talk to a doctor on Doctall and know their genotype and that of their partner to completely avoid the risk of having a child with sickle cell disease.