Eat a variety of foods from the six Caribbean foods groups in the appropriate amounts.n Do not eat more protein than the body needs. The normal healthy adult needs 0.8 to one gram of protein per kilogram of body weight. Eating more protein than...
Did you know that your kidneys:nMake urine. Remove waste and extra fluid from your blood. Control your body's chemical balance. Help control your blood pressure. Help keep your bones healthy. Help you make red blood cells.Chronic kidney...
Using honey regularly on your face can be one of the most amazing things you can do for gorgeous, beautiful skin, improving its quality within days. A honey face mask will restore moisture to the skin and remove...
According to researchers at the University of Illinois, United States, by drinking more water each day, you can cut more than 1,400 calories from your weekly intake, and put you on a path to greater health.The study, which was published in the...
All of your favourite foods wouldn't be anywhere near as good without the most humble of seasonings, salt. Salt not only adds flavour to the food, but in limited quantities is needed by the body. Salt is a source of sodium and chloride, both...
A new breakthrough in cancer research has discovered that even though cancer cells mutate wildly within a person's body, the cancer cells within each patient also have common mutations – ones that could be isolated and fought off by...
The Lymphatic system acts as a compensatory system when the venous system is failing to return all the blood that it should to the heart. The resulting accumulation of fluid (oedema) in the tissues is drained by lymph vessels. The system has a major...
Trinity Mall Medical Centre and US-based HopSync Technologies have signed an exclusive deal to allow the use of the Xpress-Health mobile app in Jamaica for the purposes of improving access, delivery and coordination of health-care services to...
As fear of the Zika virus spreads nearly as quickly as the pathogen itself, two new laboratory studies offer the first solid evidence for how it could cause brain defects in babies: The virus appears to preferentially kill developing brain cells....
Published:Monday | February 29, 2016 | 12:00 AMDr Alfred Dawes
The Government, via a public-health system, and the private medical sector, provides health care to the population. A country's overall health-care expenditure is a sum of the contribution of both private and Government expenditure. In some...
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published a report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluding that there is sufficient evidence that eating processed meat causes colorectal cancer.The link between red-meat...
'Look Out for Hidden Salt' is the theme for this year's World Salt Awareness Week, which is being observed February 29 - March 5.Eating a high-sodium diet raises blood pressure and increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. The recommended...
High blood pressure is a very common disease in Jamaica. Approximately half a million people between the ages of 15 and 74 years have it and, by the age of 50, it is present in just about one in every two persons. So, every day, without exception, I...
Health Minister Horace Dalley has ordered the activation of the national influenza plan on the heels of Jamaica recording one death linked to the current outbreak of the H1N1 virus or Swine Flu. H1N1 is very contagious and potentially fatal. So far...
Consuming coffee (or any form of caffeine) an hour before exercising can help burn about 15 per cent more calories, post-sweat session, than you would otherwise, according to a recent research published in the International Journal of Sport...
Have you ever wondered why after an amazing lovemaking session - or even a not-so-hot one - men are out cold, snoring within minutes after climaxing, while the women are energised and just lie there ready to have an after-sex chat or something?Well...
WASHINGTON, US – In order to support countries in Latin America and the Caribbean affected by the zika virus outbreak, the World Bank Group announced today that it has made US$150 million immediately available. This amount is based on...
Published:Wednesday | February 17, 2016 | 11:58 AM
GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) said today that $56 million were needed to combat the Zika virus until June, including for the fast-tracking of vaccines, diagnostics and research studies into how it spreads. The funds,...
Community participation is vital to prevent and control the spread of diseases transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, chief among them the Zika virus, chikungunya, dengue and yellow fever. Community participation has been defined "as a process...
Kingston, St Andrew, St Catherine, Clarendon and St Elizabeth are recording the highest concen-tration of mosquito-breeding sites. However, there are also several areas in other parishes that are of concern for the breeding of the main carrier...
l The zika virus (ZIKV) is spread by the bite of the aedes aegypti mosquito.l Aedes aegypti is easily recognised by the contrasting black and white rings on its legs, and the lyre-shaped pattern of silver markings on the upper surface of the thorax....
There has been an increase in the use of insect repellents due to the threat of viral infections transmitted by mosquitoes. Here are some guidelines derived from www.emedecinehealth.com regarding the different types of insect repellents.1. DEET is...
Published:Monday | February 15, 2016 | 12:00 AMJason Cross
Microcephaly is not new to Jamaica, noted Dr Winston De La Haye, acting chief medical officer in the Ministry of Health."In every country you have occurrences of microcephaly as one of the potential outcomes of defects of birth in children. And...
The eyes you were born with are the ones you keep. It is often said that the eyes are the windows to your soul, but how much do you know about them?Every so often, people head to the doctor's office to have a routine physical exam, but seldom, if...
Published:Monday | February 8, 2016 | 12:00 AMMartin Henry
Last week, the country experienced the tragedy of a mother and her two children in St Mary dying from carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide poisoning rarely happens by accident in a warm country like Jamaica, where homes and other buildings are...
