AMAZING HEALTH BENEFITS OF MUSHROOMS

Although most people think of mushrooms as vegetables, they’re in fact a type of beneficial fungus. The term “mushroom” refers to any macrofungus with a distinctive fruiting body large enough to be seen with the naked eye and picked by hand. As of now, mushrooms constitute at least 14,000 different plant species — and perhaps way more. The number of mushroom species on the earth is estimated to be 140,000, which suggests that scientists only know about 10 percent of the possible species at this time.
Although various types of mushrooms differ in terms of their exact calorie and nutrient count, in general they’re very low in carbohydrates, calories, fat, sodium and sugar. Meanwhile, provide a high level of nutrients — especially antioxidants, energizing B vitamins, copper and selenium.
With so many species in existence, plus numerous compounds within each species that offer their own unique qualities, it’s hard to sum up the health benefits of mushroom nutrition and the perks one gets when one eats them regularly. But, here are some benefits common to most types of mushroom varieties:
Fight cancer
Known to be a natural cancer remedy and one of the best foods for increasing “natural killer cells” — the type of immune cells that seek out and destroy dangerous cancerous cells — mushrooms are praised as powerful anti-cancer foods. According to the medical journal 3 Biotech, mushrooms anti-cancer compounds play a crucial role as a reactive oxygen species inducer, mitotic kinase inhibitor, anti-mitotic, angiogenesis inhibitor and lead to apoptosis, and eventually checking cancer proliferation.
This means mushrooms can inhibit tumor formation, protect DNA from damage and stop cell mutation, all while protecting healthy cells and increasing the body’s ability to detoxify itself of dangerous substances.
Improve immunity and lower inflammation
According to a 2005 report published in the Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, mushrooms contain “compounds and complex substances with antimicrobial, antiviral, antitumor, antiallergic, immunomodulating, anti-inflammatory, antiatherogenic, hypoglycemic, and hepatoprotective activities.”
That may sound like a mouthful, but what it means is mushrooms can enhance almost every system in the body and protect a person from numerous diseases since they’re associated with lowered inflammation (which is really the root of most diseases). Mushrooms also help alkalize the body, which is associated with improved immunity. A balanced pH level is crucial to health because, as some experts say, “disease cannot grow in an alkaline environment.”
Mushrooms also have the natural ability to fight dangerous bacteria and viruses. In fact, mushrooms need to have strong antibacterial and antifungal compounds just to survive in their own natural environment, which is why it’s not surprising that these beneficial compounds can be isolated from many mushrooms and used to protect human cells.
Mushrooms are even shown to have special fighting abilities against deadly multi-resistant bacterial strains and microorganisms responsible for gut and skin problems. In fact, some substances present in common antibiotics given to people when they’re sick — including penicillin, streptomycin and tetracycline — are derived from mushroom fungal extracts.
Protect heart health
Eating more mushrooms is one way to lower cholesterol levels naturally. Many types of mushrooms help lower “bad” cholesterol and keep arteries from hardening, which are risk factors for heart disease.
Mushrooms have sterol compounds that interfere with the production of cholesterol in the liver, yet at the same time they can raise “good” cholesterol. They also contain potent phytonutrients that help keep cells from sticking to blood vessel walls and forming plague buildup, which maintains healthy blood pressure and improves circulation.
Support energy and improve brain function
Mushrooms are a great source of B vitamins, which help support adrenal function and turn nutrients from food into useable energy. B vitamin benefits include the ability to help with neurotransmitter function, which makes them stress-defying nutrients that help break through “brain fog,” prevent thyroid disorders and support a healthy metabolism.
Is chronic stress killing your quality of life? Certain types of mushrooms, especially reishi, are also considered adaptogens that lower cortisol, which means they can help your body to deal with stress and keep your mood more upbeat. Mushrooms can also lower inflammation that can trigger a decline in cognitive function, mood problems, low energy and age-related neurodegenerative diseases.
Help with weight management
Studies find that regularly substituting mushrooms for meat might help you to lose weight, since mushrooms are a low-calorie, nutrient-dense food. Eating mushrooms several times per week is linked with a healthy body weight, reduced waist circumference and better overall health.
And while you’re working to improve your weight, mushroom nutrition benefits include the ability to protect your heart and vital organs from suffering the consequences of inflammation and imbalanced hormones.
Provide vitamin D
While we know that vitamin D is best obtained from sun exposure, certain kinds of mushrooms can also provide a decent source of this important vitamin. Vitamin D deficiency is a serious problem for many people and linked to everything from heart disease to depression.

MAIZE LEAVES, HOME REMEDY FOR FEVER, DIABETES

To many people, all there is to corn is food. But, corn does much more than feed people and livestock. Aside tea from corn silk that helps soothe urinary tract infection and prevent drug-induced kidney damage, experts found tea made from its leaf is a good home-remedy for malaria.
In a new study, experts found that its tea significantly relieve the pain and symptoms of diseases that are caused by inflammation such as arthritis under laboratory conditions in a dose –dependent manner, and thus a suitable remedy.
For the study, the scientists assessed the effects of different doses of the ethanol extract of corn leaf on experimental rats which were made to have pain and symptoms of arthritis.
The relieve in pain and inflammation achieved in the test animals was significant relative to control and the effect of the highest dose at 30 minutes was more than that of the standard drug used for the treatment of the problem.
Although the effectiveness of corn leaf extract was not comparable to that of the standard drugs used for the problem, the researchers said the study’s finding however confirmed its use in Ibibio ethno medicine.
The 2016 study published in the Journal of Herbal Drug involved Jude E Okokon; Koofreh Davies and Bassey S Antia, all from the University of Uyo.
The researchers, however, stated that further work was required on the extract of corn leaf to fully understand its components as well as its mechanism of action in alleviating pain and inflammation.
Leaf of corn plant is used traditionally in Ibibio ethno medicine in Southern Nigeria for the treatment of various illnesses such as malarial fever, pains and inflammatory conditions.
Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, fatigue, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases it can cause yellow skin, seizures, coma, or death.
Besides its nutritive values, maize stalk and inflorescence are also used in ethno-medicine for the treatment of several ailments. The ash of the cob is used for the treatment of cough as well as inflammatory diseases.
The husks are also used in the treatment of pains and arthritis. It is also taken as warm tea for the treatment of malaria in Ibibio traditional medicine.
Folklore uses of a tea made from its cob include treatment of nose-bleeds and menorrhagia (an abnormally heavy and prolonged menstrual period at regular intervals).
In traditional medicine, corn is used for relieving diarrhoea, dysentery, urinary tract disorders, prostatitis, hypertension and tumour.
Researchers have found that the tea made from leaves and roots of corn could be used in the treatment of strangury (slow and painful discharge of the urine, due to spasm of the urethra and bladder), dysuria (painful or difficult urination) and gravel.
Previously, experts had reported the blood sugar regulatory effect of a tea made from corn leaf in West Algeria. According to the 2008 study published in the Asian Journal of Chemistry, individuals only need to take a cup of the tea a day to lower blood sugar level in a diabetic.
Diabetes mellitus (DM), commonly referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases in which there are high blood sugar levels over a prolonged period. Symptoms of high blood sugar include frequent urination, increased thirst, and increased hunger. If left untreated, diabetes can cause many complications, including heart disease, stroke, chronic kidney failure, foot ulcers, and damage to the eyes.
Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough insulin or the cells of the body not responding properly to the insulin produced.
In addition, experts in the 2010 edition of the Journal of Medicinal Food investigated the effect of corn husk extract in rats and indicated that it also relieved pain in a dose-dependent fashion.
The researchers Owoyele BV from the Department of Physiology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Ilorin in collaboration with others like Negedu MN; Olaniran SO; Onasanwo SA and Oguntoye SO.
These results provide scientific validation for the use of corn husk decoction for the treatment of pain and inflammatory conditions in Nigerian folk medicine.
They suggested that its pain reliving and anti-inflammatory effects that may be due to its tannins and polyphenolic constituents.

Policeman, Yahoo boy killed in Agege

THERE was palpable confusion in Agege area of Lagos State on Sunday afternoon when a police corporal attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Lagos State Police Command was shot death.
The death of the police officer was said to be reprisal by some hoodlums, who were protesting the shooting of two people, simply identified as Sulaimon and Segun by the deceased policeman.
The police in the state confirmed the death of the policeman but denied that he was killed in retaliation for killing two people.
The image maker in charge of the state police command, Joe Offor, insisted that the policeman did not commit suicide but shot in the head.
It was gathered that the deceased policeman had gone to the area to rescue an internet fraudster, popularly known as ‘yahoo boy,’ when he was shot.
The deceased officer, Sergeant James, was escaping with the ‘Yahoo boy’ when some hoodlums reportedly killed him and the internet fraudster.
A source at Amoo Street, where the incident happened, told the Nigerian Tribune that the internet fraudster was driving around the stadium when he was stopped by some street urchins.
The ‘Yahoo boy’, simply identified as Obey, had reportedly called the policeman to come and rescue him when he could not satisfy the request of the angry hoodlums.
The deceased policeman was said to have shot into the crowd, hitting two of them in the process, before escaping with Obey in a car.
Some hoodlums were said to have chased the policeman and Obey on a motorbike and killed both of them.
Offor, while speaking with the Nigerian Tribune confirmed the death of the policeman but denied that he had earlier shot two people.
He also said that the police in the state had begun investigations into the incident.

25-year-old to die by hanging for stealing phones, wristwatches

A convicted armed robber, Rasak Ogedengbe, 25, has been sentenced to death by hanging.
Ogedengbe’s journey to the gallows began when he attacked the family of one Mr Chukwujekwu who just returned from church at Ejigbo and carted away some of their valuables, which included money, wrist watches and phones.
The victim had gone to report at Ejigbo police station when he saw Ogedenge in the police van after the suspect had already been arrested by the police.
The police searched the polythene bag with him and found some of the valuables stolen from the victim.
Ogedengbe did not produce any witness and also pleaded not guilty to the offence but the prosecution had called two witnesses to testify and all their evidence were taken by the court.
While delivering her judgment, the presiding judge, Hon.Justice Olabisi Akinlade said that Ogedengbe was accused of criminal conspiracy and armed robbery under Section 403 and 402 of the criminal code, law of Lagos State 2003.
She said that the prosecution has been able to prove the elements of armed robbery and conspiracy and therefore found Ogedengbe guilty of both offences.
He was therefore sentenced to death by hanging.

Antibiotics: This Commonly Used Drug Found to Promote Obesity

You may be aware, and possibly have

experienced firsthand, that antibiotics can

cause diarrhea.

This is because antibiotics, by design,

disrupt the balance of good and bad

bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract, often

killing off both beneficial and harmful

microorganisms without distinction.

It is through this same mechanism that

antibiotics may also be causing you to pack

on extra pounds.

In fact, Dr. Martin Blaser, a professor of

microbiology at New York University

Langone Medical Center, suggests that

antibiotics may permanently alter your gut

bacteria and interfere with important

hunger hormones secreted by your

stomach, leading to increased appetite and

body mass index (BMI).

Antibiotics Lead to Increases in

Body Fat and Hunger Hormones

Research by Dr. Blaser has shown that 18

months after antibiotics are used to

eradicate H. pylori bacteria, there is a:

6-fold increase in the release of

ghrelin (the "hunger hormone") after

a meal

20 percent increase in leptin levels

(leptin is a hormone produced by fat

tissue)

5 percent increase in BMI

Levels of ghrelin should ordinarily fall after

a meal to signal your brain that you're full

and ready to stop eating; an increase would

therefore essentially tell your brain to

continue eating, leading to weight gain.

Further, the increase in leptin levels is

concerning because overexposure to high

levels of the hormone can lead to leptin

resistance, which means your body is

unable to properly hear leptin's signals.

The way your body stores fat is a highly

regulated process that is controlled,

primarily, by leptin. If you gain excess

weight, the additional fat produces extra

leptin that should alert your brain that your

body is storing too much fat and needs to

burn off the excess.

To do this, signals are sent to your brain to

stop being hungry and to stop eating. When

you become leptin-resistant, your body can

no longer hear these messages -- so it

remains hungry and stores more fat.

Interestingly, you can easily become leptin

resistant by eating the typical American diet

full of sugar ( particularly fructose), refined

grains and processed foods … which, like

antibiotics, will upset the balance of

bacteria in your gut.

Farmers Use Antibiotics to Fatten

Up Livestock Quickly

About 70 percent of all the antibiotics

produced are used in agriculture -- not

necessarily to fight disease, but rather to

promote weight gain.

As stated by the Ontario Ministry of

Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs:

"Continuous, low-dose administration of an

antibiotic can increase the rate and

efficiency of weight gain in healthy

livestock. The presence of antibiotics likely

changes the composition of the gut flora to

favor growth. Debate is ongoing as to how

gut flora are changed; change may simply

be a reduction in numbers, a change in

species composition or a combination of the

two.

… Some antibiotics may also enhance feed

consumption and growth by stimulating

metabolic processes within the animal."

Unfortunately, this practice is also

contributing to the alarming spread of

antibiotic-resistant disease. As it pertains to

your weight, there's ample reason to

believe that this same phenomenon occurs

in humans as well, figuratively turning

Americans into fatted calves.

Your Gut Bacteria and Your

Waistline Go Hand-in-Hand

Research by Dr. Blaser, for instance, found

that mice fed antibiotics (in dosages similar

to those given to children for throat or ear

infections) had significant increases in body

fat despite their diets remaining

unchanged.

Multiple studies have actually shown that

obese people have different intestinal

bacteria than slim people, and that altering

the microbial balance in your gut can

influence your weight. Here are six such

studies:

1. When rats were given lactic acid

bacteria while in utero through

adulthood, they put on significantly

less weight than other rats eating the

same high-calorie diet. They also had

lower levels of minor inflammation,

which has been associated with

obesity.

2. Babies with high numbers of

Bifidobacteria and low numbers of

Staphylococcus aureus -- which may

cause low-grade inflammation in your

body, contributing to obesity --

appeared to be protected from excess

weight gain. This may be one reason

why breast-fed babies have a lower

risk of obesity, as Bifidobacteria

flourish in the guts of breast-fed

babies.

3. Two studies found that obese

individuals had about 20 percent

more of a family of bacteria known as

Firmicutes, and almost 90 percent

less of a bacteria called Bacteroidetes

than lean people. Firmicutes help

your body to extract calories from

complex sugars and deposit those

calories in fat. When these microbes

were transplanted into normal-weight

mice, those mice started to gain twice

as much fat.

4. Obese people were able to reduce

their abdominal fat by nearly 5

percent , and their subcutaneous fat

by over 3 percent, just be drinking a

probiotic-rich fermented milk

beverage for 12 weeks.

5. Probiotics (good bacteria) have been

found to benefit metabolic syndrome,

which often goes hand-in-hand with

obesity.

6. Probiotics may also be beneficial in

helping women lose weight after

childbirth when taken from the first

trimester through breastfeeding.

Healthy Gut Bacteria Cannot

Coexist With Antibiotics

Antibiotics can save your life if you develop

a serious bacterial infection, but it's

important that you resist the urge to ask

your physician for a prescription for every

ear, nose, or throat infection you come

down with. Likewise for a cold or the flu.

Antibiotics are useless against viral

infections like these, and when used for this

purpose will only harm your health by

wiping out the good bacteria in your gut.

Antibiotic use has become so routine in the

United States that one round of the drugs

may seem like no big deal, but remember

that using them drastically alters the

makeup of bacteria in your gut, which will

need to be rebuilt in order for you to stay

in good health. Whenever you use an

antibiotic, you're also increasing your

susceptibility to developing infections with

resistance to that antibiotic -- and you can

become the carrier of this resistant bug and

even spread it to others.

Ultimately the problem of antibiotic-

overuse needs to be stemmed through

public policy on a nationwide level,

especially in the agricultural community,

but I urge you to also take personal

responsibility and evaluate your own use of

antibiotics, and avoid taking them -- or

giving them to your children -- unless

absolutely necessary.

Remember that the foods you eat are also a

major source of exposure to antibiotics, so

to protect your gut bacteria you should buy

primarily antibiotic-free, organically raised

meat and produce. Keep in mind that

conventionally farmed food is often grown

in fertilizer derived from factory-farmed

animal waste and human sewage, which

may be a source of contamination with

antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

The Recipe for Healthy Gut Bacteria

Your gut bacteria are vulnerable to your

lifestyle. If you eat a lot of processed foods,

for instance, your gut bacteria are going to

be compromised because processed foods

in general will destroy healthy microflora

and feed bad bacteria and yeast.

In addition to antibiotics, your gut bacteria

are also very sensitive to:

Chlorinated water

Antibacterial soap

Agricultural chemicals

Pollution

Because virtually all of us are exposed to

these at least occasionally, ensuring your

gut bacteria remain balanced should be

considered an ongoing process, and

consuming fermented foods is one of the

best ways to do this.

One of the reasons why fermented foods

are so beneficial is because they contain

lactic acid bacteria -- a type of beneficial gut

bacteria that research shows can help you

stay slim.

I have long stated that it's generally a wise

choice to "reseed" your body with good

bacteria from time to time by taking a high-

quality probiotic supplement or eating non-

pasteurized, traditionally fermented foods

such as:

Lassi (an Indian yoghurt drink,

traditionally enjoyed before dinner)

Fermented organic grass-fed raw

milk, such as kefir

Various pickled fermentations of

cabbage, turnips, eggplant,

cucumbers, onions, squash and

carrots

Natto (fermented soy)

If you do not eat fermented foods on a

regular basis, a high-quality probiotic

supplement can be incredibly useful to help

maintain healthy gut bacteria when you

stray from your healthy diet and consume

excess grains or sugar, or if you have to

take antibiotics.

Also please remember that it is vital to

eliminate ALL sugars. They will sabotage any

beneficial effects of the fermented foods,

as they will act as nutrients for the

pathogenic yeast, fungi and bacteria that are

in your gut. 

Nigerians are multi talented! True/False?

let's begin our day with this

RCCG OPEN HEAVEN DAILY DEVOTIONAL BY PASTOR E A ADEBOYE

 

TOPIC: CHILD OF DESTINY

 

DATE: Saturday May 16, 2015

 

Memorise Jeremiah 1:5

 

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

 

Read Exodus 1:15 – 17

 

15: And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:

16: And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.

17: But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.

 

Bible in One Year

 

1 Samuel 26 – 28; Mark 9: 30 – 50

 

Message

 

A child who must fulfill destiny can never be destroyed by the enemy. The fact that you are alive today is a pointer to the fact that you have a destiny to fulfill, and this destiny is a good one (Jeremiah 29:11). By Pharaoh’s calculation, Moses was born to die. He orchestrated a diabolical arrangement with the midwives so that even before Moses was born, death was already waiting for him. However, the plan of God for Moses was quite different from Pharaoh’s plan. The good news is that God’s plan for you supersedes that of any human entity (Lamentations 3:37). Always be conscious of the fact that you are created for a divine purpose.

 

Although the children of God are a specially selected group of people (Ephesians 1:4 – 5), there are serious questions they must ask themselves and provide answers to in order to fulfill their destiny. Such questions include: will the plan of God for my life be fulfilled? The answer to this question is yes; that is if you are in good standing with God, because the counsel of God shall forever stand (Psalm 33:10 – 110. However, every child of God must remember that they can ignorantly upturn the plan of God for their lives as seen from the life=story of Eli the priest (1 Samuel 2:30)

 

Another question a child of God must ask if he or she would fulfill destiny is can the plan of God for my life be completely fulfilled? The answer to this question may be positive for some and negative for some others. For example, God’s plan for Joshua was unfortunately not fulfilled completely, In Joshua 1:3 – 4. God declared that He would help Joshua to fully capture the whole of the Promised Land. God even spelt out its boundaries to him. But alas, at the twilight of Joshua’s life, God said this to him in Joshua 13:1 ‘Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.’ .What a disappointment. For you to fully realise God’s purpose for your life, you must make up your mind to be completely obedient to Him in everything He commands. When you consider the devastating effects of partial obedience on King Saul (1 Samuel 15:17 – 23), and the failure of King Joash of Israel who was asked to strike his arrow on the ground severally but stopped after the third strike (2 kings 13:16 – 19), you will learn how to obey God completely.

 

Prayer Point

 

Father, help me to completely obey You in all areas, so that I may fulfill Your divine purpose for my life.