In-house doctors of Vodafone Healthline, Dr. Aba Folson, and Dr. Kwekuma Yalley, have stated that the continuous practice of eating late can increase one’s risk of developing heart diseases.
According to the doctors, eating late does not lead to weight gain unless the person has a habit of sleeping immediately after eating. However, eating high-carb foods at late hours can cause serious health complications.
Dr. Yalley, a general practitioner, explained that even though there is a grain of truth in the notion that eating late causes weight gain, a person who is on night shift or works late into the night, for example, may not gain weight from eating late, since digestion still takes place to release energy for work.
Cardiologist Dr. Folson also explained that people have associated weight gain with late meals because, sometimes, not all the foods we eat are digested or used by our bodies before we sleep. In such cases, the body will store the energy as fat, which is unhealthy.
“When you eat late and sleep early, probably all the food eaten does not get used and then it gets stored as fat. Now, we also know that the distribution of fat directly correlates with cardiovascular diseases because peri-organ fats or anti-abdominal fats are linked with the heart and its associated diseases. So, by influence, eating late puts one at a high risk of heart-related diseases,” she said.
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In conclusion, to be safe, the in-house practitioners advised people to avoid eating heavy meals late and sleeping soon after. They explained that if you have to eat late, try to stay awake a little longer before sleeping to give adequate time for digestion. Again, they also cautioned viewers to walk after meals to speed up digestion.
Vodafone Foundation Homecoming
Through its annual homecoming initiative, Vodafone Ghana Foundation has discharged several financially challenged patients facing insolvency from various health facilities across the country.
These people did not deliberately decide not to pay their medical bills but are stuck at health facilities because of financial constraints. This benevolent initiative by the Vodafone Foundation has been helping patients for the past ten years.
In one instance Vodafone rescued Esinam, a resident of Shai-Hills, after months of being stuck at a hospital. Her boyfriend gave her a concoction to end an unwanted pregnancy and she ended up at the hospital with excessive bleeding. Vodafone paid her bills and gave her some money and other gifts. She expressed her heartfelt thanks to the brand for its generosity.
Several other people had their bills paid and were discharged from hospitals like the Dodowa District Hospital, SDA Hospital and the Agogo Government Hospital.
An obstetrician and gynaecologist at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Padi Aryetey, provided health education on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), a common condition that affects how a woman’s ovaries work. The condition causes irregular periods, severe pain, pimples, weight-gain and other complications.
According to him, when women see these signs, it is likely to be PCOS and therefore they should quickly seek health assistance. He further explained that insulin resistance causes the condition. It is also genetic – transferred from parents to children.
Jewels In the Kitchen
In the ‘Jewels in the kitchen’ segment, Freda Aseidu touched on the health benefits of okra. She pointed out that the green outer coat contains folic acid and calcium as nutrients. It also has anti-inflammatory & anti-oxidant properties. Thus, it heals internal wounds and bleeding and slows ageing.
She added that the slime aspect of it has the secret of protecting the guts and helps the body to rejuvenate its mucous layer.
She advised diabetic patients to take more okra as it helps maintain blood sugar levels.
