Rising cases of chronic diseases linked to poor nutrition, pollution
More reasons are emerging why in recent times cancer, heart disease, kidney disease and respiratory diseases have become so common even as stakeholders propose a bachelor’s degree in herbal medicine in Nigerian universities.
A professor of Pharmacognosy and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bioresources Development Group (BDG), Prof. Maurice Iwu told The Guardian: “When you look at the statistics, when you look at the metrics, when you analyse these statistics and remove these other causative agents or those possibilities, you will find out that one thing that stands out clearly is the impact of nutrition and environment.
“But one thing that stands out is actually nutrition. Some decades past one noticed that a lot people from developed countries were obese in a clinically significant manner. We thought it was a Whiteman’s disease, disease of the West; that they were the people who suffer such diseases and who also suffer from the metabolic syndrome associated with them. But recently more and more people from our own part of the world are obese, having metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases that were not usually traceable to us.”
Iwu further stated: “More and more people from our own part of the world are now having cancers so you now start looking for association. You now realize that the so-called novo riches, the newly acquired wealth people who want to live it and live like people in the West die young. They are the people who are having all these diseases, they are the ones who are having the metabolic syndrome earlier than people in the West and when you look at behind your house, you will see there are answers that could be used to address such things.”
On the role of herbal medicines, phytomedicines in terms of management of chronic diseases, Iwu said: “Herbal medicines are into various groups. There are herbal medicines that are therapeutic, that are drugs. Those ones like modern medicines will be able look after the people who are sick But as one bucket as a British medical doctor puts it: when you have people falling down the cliff, do you put an ambulance at the foot of the cliff to try and catch them when they fall or do you prevent them from falling from the cliff in the first place? So it is a matter of choice.”
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[A professor of Pharmacognosy and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bioresources Development Group (BDG), Prof. Maurice Iwu told The Guardian: “When you look at the statistics, when you look at the metrics, when you analyse these statistics and remove these other causative agents or those possibilities, you will find out that one thing that stands out clearly is the impact of nutrition and environment.
“But one thing that stands out is actually nutrition. Some decades past one noticed that a lot people from developed countries were obese in a clinically significant manner. We thought it was a Whiteman’s disease, disease of the West; that they were the people who suffer such diseases and who also suffer from the metabolic syndrome associated with them. But recently more and more people from our own part of the world are obese, having metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases that were not usually traceable to us.”]
Yeah nutrition and environment what about hunger and ‘can’t pay won’t pay’ salaries to workers and you keep sharing and bailing out without account’ auditing of the expenditures! And look who is talking – a ‘Pharmacognosy’ indeed; did OBJ not (hired) engage him as a Political Scientist for INEC, to ensure that he puts his party in power for over – God know how long folks – 5/ 6 years until the 6th March 2010 Governorship election in Anambra State and he was all eyes at the results – he couldn’t believe what he saw at the collation venues and his favoured candidate (pencilled) friends couldn’t be persuaded to go for the Tribunals as was the practice after each election results are released, because the results and the people, for the first time after the 12th June debacle, spoke for themselves! His experience in the management of INEC typified that expression – wrong peg in the ‘right’ hole! Did we not have ‘ebola’ and currently the new one afflicting the people – we recall how treatment for ‘ebola’ was based on trail by error until the WHO came down to tackle the problem for the people yet they were all there queuing up for appointments for areas of specialization remotely connected to their said professions – I mean Prof H. Nwosu knew what it is all about and could have done Nigeria much proud than the mumbo-jumbo (make-shift) supervisions we had from this Professor of ‘Pharmacognosy’, folks!
For President Buhari to succeed in Nigeria and give the people the right direction he must engage the right and experienced people to fill the posts otherwise we shall all be too far afield with appointee friends and party stalwarts, all eyes and still without the good sight, folks!
We will review and take appropriate action.