BEWARE OF THAT FISH

It’s no secret that fish is delicious. For one, it’s easy to eat  compared to meat  as it readily ‘disappears’ in the mouth effortlessly, unlike beef that requires more chewing.

Better still, nutritionists, scientists and everyone that should know tell us that eating fish is the surest avenue to getting omega-3 fatty acids, those unsaturated fats that are very heart-friendly.

Again, fish contains vitamin D and selenium, it is high in protein and low in saturated fat, and therefore good for the young and old, and everyone who has no dietary restriction. In fact, so good is fish consumption that the American Heart Association urges people to eat fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids at least twice a week.

Nutritionists say when substituted for saturated fatty acids such as those in meat, eating fish may lower your cholesterol level. They say the omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation throughout the body. Physicians note that inflammation in the body can damage blood vessels and lead to heart disease.

Again, a nutritionist says omega-3 fatty acids may decrease triglycerides (a type of fat found in blood, too much of which may raise the risk of coronary artery disease, especially in women), lower blood pressure, reduce blood clotting, boost immunity and improve arthritis symptoms. In children, she says, omega-3 may improve learning ability.

Other experts recommend the consumption of fatty fish such as salmon (Titus), herring (Shawa) and, to a lesser extent, tuna (Kote), alongside other sea foods that also contain small amounts of omega-3 fatty acids.

BACK PAIN AND PREVENTION TIPS

Back pain is quite common, and 80-90 per cent of a population will have significant back pain at some point in their life. The lifestyle choices we make, however, will, to a large extent, help determine the frequency and severity of the back pain.

Prevention of back pain can be done by keeping to simple back-friendly habits, making wise lifestyle choices, and exercising.

Mikel, others opt out of Eagles Friendly

Nigeria and Chelsea midfielder, Mikel Obi, is likely to stay away from Nigeria’s friendly game against Mexico on May 31.

An official of the Nigeria Football Federation told Supersport.com that Mikel had asked to be excused from the tune-up match in order to rest and take care of personal issues.

The official said on Tuesday, “Mikel has said he will prefer to be left out of the friendly game against Mexico later this month. He says he will want to just take a rest after a long season with Chelsea and also take care of personal matters at the same time.”

Even though he is staying out of the game against Mexico, the 26-year-old midfielder is said not to have made mention of being excluded from the FIFA 2014 World Cup qualifiers against Kenya and Namibia in June.

“Nothing has been said about the World Cup qualifiers. He has only asked to be left out of the friendly against Mexico,” the official stated.

Already, the trio of Victor Moses, Kalu Uche and Gabriel Reuben have opted out of the Nigeria squad ahead of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers and Confederations Cup citing injury concerns.

NIGERIA'S DEPENDENCE ON OIL, A DISASTER - MINISTER SAYS

Minister of Agriculture Akinwunmi Adesina, has said Nigeria’s dependence on oil is a disaster to the country’s economic growth.

He said due to the development, successive administrations in the country abandoned non-oil products such as cocoa, cassava, palm oil, among others that made Nigeria great in the First Republic.

Adesina said this during the 6th Annual Lecture of Wilson Badejo Foundation in Lagos on Tuesday.

The minister, represented by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs. Ibukun Odushote, said Nigeria had lost its leadership position in agriculture because of oil.

He said the country spends N1bn yearly on rice importation, stressing that Nigeria had the potential to produce rice to feed the continent.

BENEFITS OF WATER MELON SEEDS

When you think of the health benefits of water melon, the seeds don’t probably come to mind. You possibly think about the sweet, juicy pulp, with the seeds as an afterthought. Yet, water melon seeds make a great snack when they have been dried and roasted. Again their nutritional value is unlimited.

PROTEIN

Water melon seeds are very high in protein, which consists of several amino acids, one of which is arginine.  Some of the health benefits of arginine include regulating blood pressure and treating coronary heart disease. There are several other amino acids that make up the protein in water melon seeds, including tryptophan, glutamic acid and lysine.

B- VITAMINS

Water melon seeds are also loaded with several of the B-vitamins. These vitamins are necessary for converting food into energy and other important bodily functions as reported by the American Cancer Society. The most prevalent B-vitamin in water melon seed is niacin, which is important for maintaining the nervous and digestive systems, and skin health. Other B-vitamins in water melon seeds include folate, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B₆ and panthothenic acid.

UNITED KINGDOM, UNITED STATES TO ASSIST NIGERIA ON CRUDE THEFT

The United Kingdom (UK), United States (US), have indicated their interest to assist Nigeria curb the menace of crude oil theft, which President Good luck Jonathan has described as “Blood Oil”.

The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, made the announcement at a lecture titled “The Future of African Energy in a changing World”, delivered on Sunday at St. Anthony’s College in Oxford University, England.

I must say that both the British and the US governments have been in discussions with us and are keen to join hands with us to fight this menace. “The global community is on track and already geared up and we are working to put in place, a strategic platform that will involve us all and enable us track and finger print stolen crude,” Alison-Madueke said.

She said that crude oil theft and vandalism were being executed on a professional scale beyond petty stealing. “It is therefore, clear that this crude is being taken to refineries outside the shores of West Africa”.

GIS: The Exploration and Exploitation Tool

In recent years, the significant increase in performance and decrease of prices of the personal computer  platform has accelerated the growth of geographic information system (GIS) usage. GIS is a very dynamic technology enabling the user to display a map of any location in the world and rescale that map instantaneously. The key to the success of any exploration or exploitation team is the integration of the