…As Expert says Consumption of fruits, vegetables can prevent cancer***

Dr Uthman Mubashir, a public health physician, on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to provide adequate vaccines for the prevention of meningitis in the country.

Mubashir, a Consultant at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), gave the advice in an interview in Ilorin.

He said that the country was presently contending with extreme heat wave and an outbreak of the disease in parts of the country.

According to the consultant, meningitis tends to set in at the peak of the dry season due to the hot weather.

He described meningitis as an inflammation of the membranes (meninges) surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

Mubashir added that the swelling of the membranes always triggered symptoms such as headache, fever, and a stiff neck.

“People should avoid overcrowded areas and people having excessive cough, ” he said.

He blamed the extreme heat wave on the activities of man, saying that the destruction of the eco-system as well as tree felling were some of the cause of the hot weather.

“This heat is man-made. Let us save the environment for man and save man from himself,” he said.

In the meantime, the Enugu State Primary Healthcare Development Agency has advised Nigerians to eat fruits and vegetables always in order to prevent cancer and to promote healthy living.

Its Nutrition Officer, Mrs Henrietta Ugwu, gave the advice in an interview in Enugu on Wednesday.

Ugwu explained that most fruits and vegetables contained antioxidants, substances that work interactively inside and outside of the body’s cells, protecting cell membranes from the damaging effects of highly reactive molecules called free radicals.

It is antioxidants that protect the body by literally “breaking the chain” of potential chemical destruction within the body.

According to the nutrition officer, antioxidants are substances that can prevent cancer and slow damage to cells.

“Antioxidants are said to help neutralise waste substances in the human body and help to boost the overall health,” she said.

Ugwu said that vegetables such as tomatoes contain an antioxidant called lycopene, which helps to prevent cancer incursion and as well slow and prevent cell damage.

“Lycopene is a carotenoid, a natural pigment that gives tomatoes the red color they have and it is an antioxidant, a substance that protects against cell damage,” she said.

The nutrition officer said that fruits such as the African Star Apple, called ‘agbaluma’ in Yoruba and ‘Udala’ in Igbo languages, contained natural  antioxidant substance known as lecithin.

According to her, Lecithin helps prevent cancer and slows cell damage in the human body.