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A GULF NEWS SPONSORED SUPPLEMENT, ISSUE 148 DECEMBER 23, 2019

Dubai Health Authority (DHA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to

enhance and develop the medical education and training system in Dubai.

His Excellency Humaid Al Qutami, Director General of DHA, and Dr Graham McMahon, President and CEO of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, signed the MoU in the presence of a number of officials from both parties.

Following the MoU, Al Qutami said DHA con-stantly works on achieving its strategic goals of developing the capabilities of its medical cadres and enhancing their skills to ensure the delivery of quality medical services that are up to date and on par with international standards.

He stressed the importance of continuing medical education, as medical cadres are the true drivers of success and development in the medical field in Dubai. He added that for this reason DHA strives to continue building part-nerships with international academic, research and training health organisations.

He added that this particular MoU opens new opportunities for DHA doctors as it will provide quality educational programmes to the existing programmes provided by the authority in part-nership with international organisations.

Dr McMahon said the council is happy with this new partnership with DHA, adding that it will allow the council to contribute to the de-velopmental drive currently being witnessed in Dubai’s health sector. He stressed that the council is capable of meeting the needs of DHA’s medical staff, in terms of training and continu-ing medical education. n

On December 15, Dubai Health Au-thority (DHA) an-nounced a free medi-

cation home delivery service in Dubai for patients that visit DHA hospitals and health facili-ties. Patients who have a valid prescription from a DHA health facility and are Emirati or have a valid ENAYA or SAADA health insurance programme, are eligi-ble for this service. They can log onto dha.gov.ae and request the

home delivery service after pro-viding a preferred date of deliv-ery, last appointment details and customer information.

His Excellency Humaid Al Qu-tami, Director General of DHA, said, “Patient-centric care and patient convenience is an impor-tant priority at DHA. Over the past few years, pharmaceutical services across DHA have seen a shift towards smart technology and smart pharmacy. We aim to continue in that direction. Home delivery of medications is a feature that will provide added

comfort to patients, particularly those who require medicines on a regular basis to treat condi-tions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, the elderly and people of determination.”

Dr Ali Al Sayed, Director of the Pharmaceutical Services, DHA, said, “We now have five smart pharmacies that has helped not only patients but also has made the system more efficient and has helped pharmacists as well.”

He joined the DHA pharmacy team to carry out its first home delivery medication service.

Smart pharmaciesDHA has two smart phar-

macies in Rashid Hospital, one in Dubai Hospital, one in Latifa Hospital and one in Nad Al Hammar primary health centre.

“The smart pharmacies dis-pense and prescribe medication through a unified barcoding system. The smart pharmacies

are operated via a robot that can store up to 35,000 medi-cines, prepare 12 prescriptions in a minute and dispense 8,000 medicines in an hour.”

As per 2017 statistics, 36 mil-lion items were barcoded and integrated within the SALAMA electronic medical record sys-tem, resulting in zero dispens-ing errors in 2017 and 2018. These smart pharmacies re-

duced wait times to an average of 2.6 minutes, increasing the time allocated for explaining medication instruction to an average of 5.65 minutes. The pharmacies helped reduce aver-age processing time from 22.5 minutes (2016) to 7.9 minutes (2018); outpatient satisfaction increased from 69 per cent (2016) to 94 per cent (2018). The initiative saved DHA Dh3.48 million over two years, and pharmacists’ happiness increased from 73.5 per cent (2016) to 85 per cent (2017).

Al Qutami thanked Dr Mo-hamed Kouta, General Manager at City Pharmacy; Dr Atif Amer, CEO of Modern Pharmaceutical Company; Dr Azza El-Sueisssy, Executive Manager at Pharma-trade; and Dr Stephan Stauffer, General Manager at Arabian Ethicals, for their sponsor-ship and support towards the Dawaee initiative. n

Medical training system enhancedDHA signed a MoU with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to develop the sector

STAFF REPORT

Nadeem Rasheed

STAFF REPORT

DHA pharmacies offer free home deliveryThe new service will benefit patients with conditions such as diabetes, where they require medicine on a regular basis

Dubai Health Authority (DHA) recently launched the Doctor for Every Citizen initiative to achieve Article Five of the 50-

Year Charter, in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. This initiative will further em-power DHA’s drive towards the use of lat-est digital technology to better patient care, enhance efficiencies in the health sector and better support medical profes-sionals as well as provide patients with added convenience and comfort.

His Excellency Humaid Al Qutami, Di-rector General of DHA and HE Abdulla Al Basti, Secretary-General of the Execu-tive Council of Dubai, launched the ini-tiative. Several senior officials including HE Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of the Department of Economic Develop-ment, and HE Khalifa bin Drai, Executive Director of the Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services, attended the event.

The 24/7 telehealth consultation pro-gramme is available for UAE nationals. DHA-registered patients’ complete elec-tronic medical record will be available to the doctor during consultation.

TelehealthThe telehealth consultation is presently

available for the family medicine specialty. Its first phase includes consul-tation for common condi-tions such as diabetes, al-lergies, hypertension and dermatological issues, with more specialised services to be added in future. Patients can book a video or voice consultation via DHA’s app or by calling 800 342.

Following initial diagnosis, the patient can be referred to spe-

DHA launches Doctor for Every Citizen

The new 24/7 telemedicine service is initially available for UAE nationals

KAMAKSHI GUPTADHA

● HE Humaid Al Qutami, Director-General of Dubai Health Authority, and HE Abdulla Al Basti, Secretary-General of the Executive Council of Dubai, launched the initiative

Nadeem Rasheed

cialised centres. After consultation, doctors can provide an e-prescription for certain con-ditions. They can request for lab tests, which will be registered online through the electron-ic patient medical record system. Telehealth consultation does not include emergency care.

Al Qutami said the initiative is one of DHA’s strategic goals as directed by Sheikh Mohammed, adding that the authority has mobilised all its efforts and capabilities to achieve an integrated health system and

through telemedicine, it will provide im-mediate consultations around the

clock to the highest standards.

Private sector collaboration

Al Qutami said DHA has recently signed a number of MoUs with key private health sec-tor entities in the UAE that were keen on tak-ing part in this initia-

tive. He explained that the Doctor for Every Citi-

zen initiative marks a major shift in the con-cept of integrated healthcare. “The Doctor for Every Citizen initiative, which is derived from the vision of His Highness Sheikh Moham-med bin Rashid, aims to build a world-class health model and improve quality of life.”

Al Qutami thanked Al Basti and all mem-bers of the council for their support. He also thanked DHA’s strategic partners and the teams working on the project for their efforts and dedication. Dr Marwan Al Mulla, CEO of Health Regulation Sector and Team Leader of the Doctor for Every Citizen initiative, said the initiative further enhances DHA’s goals to strive towards the use of digital technolo-gy in healthcare to empower both health pro-fessionals and patients. He said the initiative also reflects the deep commitment towards collaboration between the public and private health sector in the emirate with a common goal of striving towards excellence in care and enhancing quality of life and happiness.

Strategic partners include Medcare Hospi-tals and Medical Centres, part of Aster DM healthcare; King’s College Hospital in Dubai; and Al Zahra Hospital. n

Nadeem Rasheed

2 Health News Monday, December 23, 2019

DUBAI EYE HEALTH SURVEY ANNOUNCED

Starting this month, the initiative will screen more than 2,000 Emiratis and expats

STAFF REPORT

Noor Dubai Foundation, in part-nership with Dubai Health Au-thority (DHA) and the Dubai Statistics Centre, announced the

launch of the Dubai Eye Health Survey on Monday at DHA headquarters in Dubai.

The survey aims to gather population-based data regarding visual impairment in Dubai to learn about the magnitude and causes of eye impairment in the emirate and plan preventive strategies accordingly.

Fighting visual impairmentsThe survey is targeting 2,190 people who

are 40 years and older, of which 664 are Emiratis and 727 are expatriates.

The survey will be implemented from this month by Noor Dubai Foundation, in partnership with DHA, the Dubai Statistics Centre in addition to Medcare Hospital and Al Zahra Hospital Dubai.

Four MoU’s were signed by Noor Dubai

Foundation and each of the stakeholders, including the Dubai Statistics Centre, Med-care Hospital, Al Zahra Hospital Dubai and Rivoli, which will be providing 500 free glasses and gift vouchers for survey partici-pants.

Commenting on the launch of the survey, His Excellency Humaid Al Qutami, Director General of DHA and Chairman of the Noor Dubai Foundation, said that Noor Dubai Foundation constantly strives to implement preventive and treatment plans and pro-grammes to fight all types of visual impair-ment worldwide.

He added that the foundation has ben-efited 27 million people around the world who are suffering from preventable forms of blindness since its inception in 2008.

Al Qutami also pointed out that the au-thority supports this survey directly, as part of its strategic goals for disease prevention in all health fields including eye diseases.

“This information is crucial for the strate-gic development of eye healthcare in Dubai as it will be used to assess the general con-dition of eye health in the emirate. It will also provide relevant information needed to plan future projects that will affect the local

economy,” said Dr Manal Taryam, CEO of Noor Dubai Foundation and CEO of DHA’s Primary Healthcare Sector.

Dr Taryam stressed the importance of having a population-based survey because the only current data available is hospital-based, which is not representative of the whole population.

Dr Taryam added that Noor Dubai Foun-dation also organised three-day training sessions for the nurses, optometrists and ophthalmologists involved from DHA and Medcare Eye Centre and Al Zahra Hospital Dubai in November to prepare them for col-

lecting the data for the survey. The Centre of Eye Research Australia will provide full data analysis and publish its research pa-pers in international medical journals.

Comprehensive screeningData will be collected from within four

DHA primary healthcare centres that have an ophthalmology clinic: Nad Al Hammar, Al Twar, Al Mizhar, Al Mankhool and two private entities, including Al Zahra Hospital Dubai and Medcare Eye Centre.

“The comprehensive eye screening will also include a blood test, measuring eye pressure and taking pictures of the retina as high eye pressure and diabetes are the leading causes of eye problems in the UAE and we want to know the causes of visual diseases and impairments in Dubai,” said Dr Taryam.

“The data will help us draft a strategy for the prevention of blindness in the emirate of Dubai, it will also help regulators to plan the future expansion of eye care services de-livery and rehabilitation.”

Tariq Al Janahi, Deputy Executive Direc-tor of the Dubai Statistics Centre, said the survey will be implemented jointly under as part of the centre’s framework in sup-porting strategic sectors and government institutions.

The centre’s role in this partnership is performing the technical statistical opera-tions such as designing and drawing the statistical sample, preparing a statistical software and operating the statistical con-tact centre in addition to extracting results and indicators.

Al Janahi praised Noor Dubai Foundation and DHA’s support during the preparatory

stages, stressing that the centre fully appreciates the importance of this survey and its strategic implications for plans and policies related to eye

health, which affects the quality of life of community members. n

● The survey will be carried out by Noor Dubai Foundation in partnership with DHA, the Dubai Statistics Centre, Medcare Hospital and Al Zahra Hospital

Supplied

Dr Manal TaryamCEO, Noor Dubai Foundation and DHA

Primary Healthcare Sector

“This information is crucial for the strategic

development of eye healthcare in Dubai as it will be used to assess the general condition of eye health in the emirate.”.

CULTURAL EVENT HELD FOR ARABIC LANGUAGE DAY

DHA SUPPORTS FAZZA INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR PEOPLE OF

DETERMINATION

GLOBAL SPECIALISTS TO PROVIDE CONSULTATIONS AT DHA IN JANUARY 2020

DHA’s Data Analysis, Research and Studies Department organ-ised a cultural event to celebrate Arabic Language Day.

The United Nation’s Arabic Language Day is an annual inter-national event. More than 290 million people converse in Ara-bic daily across the world, making it one of the most spoken languages. The event is also known as World Arabic Language Day.

DHA’s event included workshops, Arabic calligraphy and a book exhibition. The workshop discussed the current state and the future of the Arabic language.

H.E. Humaid Al Qutami received H.E. Thani Jumaa Berregad, Chair-man of the Dubai Club for People of Determination. Berregad hon-oured DHA for supporting the Fazza International Championships.

The Dubai Club for People of Determination aims to rehabilitate members both physically and mentally and encourages them to play a developmental role in the community in sports, cultural and social fields.

The athletes of the club actively participate in sports competi-tions both locally and internationally

Dubai Health Authority (DHA) is hosting visiting doctors until January 16.

Consultant Neuro Surgeons, Dr Sahni Singh and Dr Mathew Boyce from the USA will be at Rashid Hospital from January 5 to 9, 2020. Consultant Radiology/Cardiac MRI, Prof. Raad Hashem Mohiaddin from the UK will be at Rashid Hospital from January 12 to 16, 2020. Consultant Podiatric Surgeon, Dr Mark Tagoe, from UK will be available at Dubai Hospital from January 12 to 16, 2020. For appointments, contact Dubai Hospital: 04 219 5833/04 219 3122 and Rashid Hospital: 04 219 2900.

Supplied

Shutterstock

3Health NewsMonday, December 23, 2019

Campaign attracts 12,287 blood donors

The My blood, for my country campaign ended successfully on December 16

STAFF REPORT

The seventh edition of the Dami Le Wa-tani (My blood, for my country) blood donation campaign concluded on De-cember 16 with 12,287 donors

Of the 12,287 blood units, 6,391 were collected by the Dubai Blood Donation Centre, 4,760 were col-lected by SEHA — Abu Dhabi Health Services and 1,136 were collected by the Ministry of Health and prevention.

Dubai Health Authority’s (DHA) Blood Donation Centre announced the launch of the campaign un-der the slogan Be the Hero for your country for the year 2019 on November 13 to encourage the com-munity to donate blood and raise awareness about the importance of donating blood — as one blood unit can save up to three lives.

Donor engagementThe campaign aiming to engage and attract new

donors was created in 2012, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council.

The Dubai Blood Donation Centre, which falls under the Pathology & Genetics Department and Clinical Support Services and Nursing Sector, is the only blood donation centre in Dubai and provides around 50 per cent of the total blood collected throughout the country.

The campaign has in previous years noticed a notable increase in the number of blood dona-tions collected during the campaign, as in 2012, 418 blood units were collected, and in 2018 the number

Sometimes the things we take for granted are the very ones that people struggle end-

lessly for. Water, is one such pre-cious resource and far too many people still lack access, particu-larly in rural areas. With the help of 100 wells that were built in Sri Lanka this year, more than 600 families finally got some re-lief from the chore of walking for miles to collect drinking water.

UNICEF said women and girls spend 200 million hours every day collecting water. Three in 10 people worldwide, or 2.1 billion, lack access to safe, readily avail-able water at home, according to the 2017 report by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Salem Bin Lahej is the Di-rector of Health Fund Depart-ment at DHA. and his team collaborated with Dar Al Ber Society and the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities De-partment to build the wells. The Initiative was launched in 2018 in the memory of the Founding Father of the UAE, late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

DHA employees contributed to build 100 wells to provide clean drinking water to families in countries of need.

This year, they have taken this initiative forward and are now collecting funds from DHA em-ployees and those interested in donating to build 50 wells in Ta-jikistan and Nigeria. Last week a charity box was kept at Dubai Festival City and this week there

reached 4,600 units.Since 2016, DHA has been engaging all blood do-

nation centres in the UAE to take part in the event and raise awareness about the importance of blood donation in line with the Year of Tolerance and as part of the community’s national duty.

Dr Hussain Al Samt, Deputy Director of the De-partment of Medical laboratories and Genetics, said that the authority is happy to partner this year with SEHA — Abu Dhabi Health Services and the Ministry of Health in engaging the public and en-courage the public to donate to those in need.

He added that the Dubai Blood Donation Cen-tre is committed to providing a safe and adequate supply of blood to all DHA hospitals and private hospitals in Dubai to save the lives of patients who

Nadeem Rasheed

require blood transfusions by ensuring that the ser-vices provided are up to internationals standards.

Dr Mai Raouf, Director of the Dubai Blood Dona-tion Centre, said that there is a continuous demand for all blood types as blood lasts for only 42 days and so donors are always needed to come forward to replenish these stocks. People can donate blood every eight weeks, with each donation potentially saving up to three lives. Platelets, which can be donated up to 24 times a year, are also important to help cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or those recovering from surgery and suffer from blood loss.

AccreditationThe Dubai Blood Donation Centre has been ac-

Clean drinking water initiative in Sri LankaDHA built 100 wells this year, to provide more than 600 families access to a safe water supply

KAMAKSHI GUPTADHA

will be boxes in DHA hospitals for those who are interested to contribute towards this cause.

Salim Bin Lahej, Director of Dubai Health Fund Depart-ment at DHA, says, “The initia-tive was launched to celebrate our Founding Father’s philan-thropic vision and to celebrate his legacy.

We were pleased to see the direct impact of this initiative. In Sri Lanka, every well we built, serves the needs of six to seven families and after the success of the initiative, we de-cided to expand it across other

countries of need.” Bin Lahej said that the UN’s

Sustainable Development Goal for water and sanitation, Goal 6, calls for universal and equi-table access to safe and afford-able drinking water by 2030.

“Access to clean drinking water is the most basic need to improve quality of life and through this initiative, with the support of our employees and community we hope to reach out to several countries and serve the needs of the com-munities there, particularly for those living in rural areas.”

Getty

Dr Mai RaoufDirector of Dubai Blood Donation Centre, DHA

“People can donate blood every eight weeks, with each

donation potentially saving up to three lives. Platelets can be

donated 24 times a year.”

credited by the American Association of Blood Banks since 2012, which is a testament to the cen-tre’s commitment to the quality of services that en-sure the safety of the donor and the patient who receives the blood donation.

Dubai Blood Donation Centre is open from Sun-day to Thursday: 7.30am to 7pm for blood donation and 7.30am to 1pm for apheresis donation. n

EXPERT ADVICE

Mehfuza Haffiz,Senior Clinical Dietician, DHA

Understanding the acai trend

re acai bowls as healthy as they seem?Acai berries have recently gained

popularity across the world for being beneficial to health and well-being.

The Brazilian super fruit is nutrient dense and somewhat high in fat and low in sugar. A 100g serving of frozen acai fruit pulp has 70 calories, 5g of fat, 1.5g of saturated fat, 4g of carbs, 2g of sugar, 2g of fibre, vitamin A - 15 per cent of the RDI and calcium - 2 per cent of the RDI.

It’s also said to contain some other trace min-erals, including chromium, zinc, iron, copper, manganese, magnesium, potassium and phos-phorus.

Acai berries are loaded with antioxidants, three times the amount found in blueberries. These antioxidants are important because they neutralise the damaging effects of free radicals throughout the body.

Animal studies have suggested that acai could help improve cholesterol levels by decreasing total and LDL cholesterol.

Some studies have even shown the potential of acai as an anti-cancer agent. However, more studies are needed to determine its effect on humans.

The many plant compounds in acai can also protect your brain from damage as you age as they counteract the damaging effects of inflam-mation and oxidation in the brain.

For the most part, acai is a healthy fruit with few drawbacks. But like in any other health food, make sure to watch out for added sugars. If you’re buying it as a preprocessed pulp, check the ingredient label and make sure it doesn’t have added ingredients. There are several ways to eat acai, including as a frozen purée, powder or juice.

BEAT THE FESTIVE

BLOAT WITHMICR BES

Too much red meat and not enough plant-based foods can leave your gut microbiome out of

whack, leading to intestinal disorders

If you enjoy a festive roast, platters of processed meats, biscuits, cookies and plenty of sugary treats on your

dinner table this holiday season, try to restrict the feasting to just the one day. That’s the way nutritionists say you’ll be able to prevent those foods from killing off the gut microbes living in your digestive tract — as well as reduce chronic digestive health issues, such as acidity, bloating and indigestion.

Gut microbiota, as the millions of beneficial microbes living in the intes-tine are called, play an important role in human health. In general, they im-prove the immune system and impact both how food is digested and how you feel, but they’ve also been linked to obesity and inflammatory diseases such as IBD, psoriatic arthritis, diabe-tes, atopic eczema, coeliac disease and

arterial stiffness. Scientists now know that what you eat can heal or hurt these microbes. Turns out that if you’re groaning in pain after every dinner, it really is something you ate.

“These bacteria contribute to meta-bolic functions, protect against patho-gens, educate the immune system, and through these basic functions, they can directly or indirectly affect most of our physiologic functions,” says Ghiwa Haddad, a Nutritionist at The Retreat Palm Dubai. “Therefore disorders of the microbiome are associated with many and diverse disease processes, the microbes in our gut hold the key to our general health and well-being.”

“The health of our microbiome also plays a role in the digestion and ab-sorption of foods we eat, and the nutri-ents these foods provide once they’ve been broken down, so lifestyle and di-etary habits are a huge influencer.”

Researchers from the University Medical Centre Groningen in the Neth-

Cauliflower and tofu red curry

Vegetable curry omelettes

Serves 4

Prep and cook time: 40 minutes

Serves 4

Prep and cook time: 30 minutes

IngredientsIngredients

Method

◆ 1 tbsp vegetable oil ◆ 150g brown onion, thinly

sliced ◆ 400ml canned coconut milk ◆ 100g vegetarian red curry

paste ◆ 2 tsp soy sauce ◆ 1 tbsp lime juice ◆ 1 tbsp light brown sugar ◆ 180ml water ◆ 400g cauliflower florets ◆ 250g green beans, trimmed

and halved lengthways ◆ 150g courgette, thickly sliced ◆ 110g tofu puffs, halved ◆ 25g shaved fresh coconut ◆ A handful of fresh coriander ◆ 1 fresh long red chilli, sliced ◆ 1 medium lime, cut into

wedges

◆ 1 tbsp vegetable oil ◆ 75g massaman curry paste ◆ 400ml canned light

coconut milk ◆ 2 tsp sesame oil ◆ 120g carrot, coarsely

grated ◆ 200g red bell pepper, cut

into matchsticks ◆ 230g baby corn, halved

lengthways ◆ 3 eggs ◆ 1 tbsp water ◆ 40g bean sprouts ◆ 4 tbsp lightly packed fresh

mint leaves ◆ 4 tbsp lightly packed fresh

Thai basil

1. Heat oil in a wok over medium heat; saute onion for 2 mins or until softened.

Method

1. Heat half the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat; cook curry paste for 2 mins or until fragrant.

2. Stir in coconut milk and

Picture Credit

Pictures and recipes: Camera Press

Picture Credit

A

4 5Nutrition Planet Nutrition PlanetMonday, December 23, 2019 Monday, December 23, 2019

sesame oil; bring to a simmer.

3. Add carrot, bell pepper and corn; simmer, uncovered, for 3 mins or until tender. Season to taste.

4. Meanwhile, heat 1 teaspoon of the remaining oil in a small non-stick frying pan over medium heat.

5. Whisk eggs and the water.6. Pour half the egg mixture

into the pan, swirl to coat the base; cook for a minute or until golden underneath.

7. Turn or flip omelette, cook for a further 30 seconds; transfer to a warmed plate.

8. Repeat with remaining oil and egg mixture.

9. Divide vegetable curry mixture and sprouts between omelettes; fold omelette over.

10. Serve topped with herbs.

2. Add a spoonful of the solid coconut milk from the top of the can to the wok.

3. Add curry paste; cook, stirring, for 3 mins or until oil separates and rises to the surface.

4. Stir in soy sauce, juice, sugar, remaining coconut milk and water; bring to the boil.

5. Reduce heat to medium-low, add cauliflower to wok; simmer, covered, for 5 mins.

6. Add beans and courgette; simmer, partially covered, until vegetables are tender.

7. Add tofu; stir until hot.8. Season.9. Serve curry topped

with shaved coconut, coriander, chilli and lime wedges.

10. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

Veggie curries

Fragrant meat-free dishes

erlands found that plant-based diets and certain foods including legumes, bread, fish and nuts are associated with high levels of friendly gut bacte-ria. In the process, they help to synthe-sise essential nutrients and produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), the main source of energy for cells lining the colon. On the other hand, a higher intake of meat, fast foods or refined sugar was associated with a decrease in beneficial bacterial functions and an increase in inflammatory markers.

“The food we eat plays an essential role in maintaining the diversity and proper functioning of our gut micro-biota,” agrees Farheen Dinda, Clinical Dietitian at the Dubai Health Authority. “The balance of our gut can be disrupt-ed by several factors, and this can pro-mote inflammation — a potent risk fac-tor for physical and mental disorders.”

Prebiotics and probioticsPrebiotics and probiotics are two

of the most widely studied elements in the field of gut microbiota, Dinda explains.

Prebiotics, often referred to as fer-mentable fibre, are naturally present in vegetables and fruit such as garlic, onions, leeks, asparagus, artichokes, tomatoes, bananas, plums and apples; in grains and cereals such as bran, and in nuts like almonds. “For this reason, vegetables, fruits and cereals should be part of a balanced and healthy diet,” Dinda says.

“A diet rich in fibre derived from plant-based foods like fruits, vegeta-bles, whole grains and legumes can affect the microbiota directly and in-directly. A lack of fibre builds a mucus-degrading microbiota that attacks or eats up the mucus lining the intestinal

wall, which is our first line of defence against infection. On the other hand, a plant-based diet encourages the growth of beneficial bifidobacteria, which do not eat mucus and therefore help maintain the integrity of the gut wall,” she adds.

Probiotics are slightly more well known. The World Health Organisa-tion defines these as live microorgan-isms, which confer health benefits on the host when administered in ad-equate amounts.

Probiotics are found in tradition-ally fermented foods, such as kimchi and sauerkraut, soy products like tem-peh and miso, and dairy items such as yoghurt, buttermilk and kefir. They can balance out a gut microbiota af-fected by poor diet, infections, antibi-otic treatments or other factors such as stress. The most common probiotics studied belong to two genera, lactoba-cillus and bifidobacterium, but other microorganisms including enterococ-cus and streptococcus, among others, have also been studied.

Intestinal diseases alone represent a significant cost burden to healthcare systems around the world, the WHO says. In Europe alone, some 3 million people in Europe are affected by IBD and it has a direct healthcare cost val-ued at up to €5.6 billion (Dh23 billion). Obesity, on the other hand, exhibits an even bigger public health concern, with over 50 per cent of the European population considered overweight or obese, and allied costs of €81 billion (Dh331 billion) each year.

So what should you be eating to beat the bloat? Bolte, from UMC Gronin-gen, recommends diet characterised by nuts, fruits, greater vegetable and legume intake than animal protein, combined with moderate consump-tion of animal-derived foods such as fish, lean meat, poultry and fermented low-fat dairy. Also a lower intake of red meat, processed meat and sweets, is beneficially associated with the gut ecosystem in our study.

In short, take your cues from the Mediterranean diet this festive season and beyond. ■

Keith J. Fernandez Special to Better Health

Ghiwa Haddad Nutritionist, The Retreat Palm Dubai

“The food we eat plays an essential role

in maintaining the diversity and proper

functioning of our gut microbiota.” 321

Fill up on fibre “Most people eat much

lower amounts of fibre than the recommended daily intake,” says Farheen Dinda, Clinical Dietitian at the Dubai Health Author-ity. She suggests fruit, vegetables, pulses, nuts and wholegrains.

Vary your diet Dinda emphasises

the need to eat a range of assorted foods. “A healthy gut has a diverse community of microbes, each of which prefers differ-ent foods.”

TOP TIPS TO KEEP YOUR GUT BACTERIA IN OPTIMUM CONDITION

3 HACKS FOR MICROHEALTH

Skip red meats and fried foods

You want to avoid red meats, high-fat dairy prod-ucts, and fried foods, says Ghiwa Haddad, Nutritionist at The Retreat Palm Dubai. “Doing so will reduce the growth of healthy bacteria.”

5signs of vitamin deficienciesWarning signs that you may not be getting enough of the vitamins and minerals your body needs

1BRITTLE HAIRBiotin, which is part of the vitamin B family, plays an important role in

the health of your hair, skin and nails. Biotin is found in a num-ber of foods including egg yolk, wholegrains and nuts such as peanuts, walnuts and almonds. Other sources of the vitamin in-clude organ meats such as liver and also mushrooms.

2MOUTH ULCERSMouth ulcers can be in-dicative of an iron de-ficiency. A study by

the Bristol Dental School in the UK found that mouth ulcers are twice as likely to occur in those with low iron levels. Good sources of iron include meat, poultry, fish and dark leafy greens. Wholegrains, nuts and seeds are also rich in iron.

3SCALY PATCHES ON THE SKINseborrhoeic dermatitis is a common skin condition that

mainly affects the scalp although it can also cause scaly patches of red skin on oily areas of the body such as the nose, the face, chest and eyelids. Studies have found that seborrhoeic dermati-tis affects around 50 per cent of adults at some point. One of the causes of this is low blood levels of zinc, vitamin B3 and B2 so adding more of these vitamins and nutrients to your diet can help.

4BLEEDING GUMSOne of the signs of a vita-min C deficiency can be bleeding gums as the

vitamin plays an important role in the body’s immune system and ability to heal wounds. The best way to avoid this is to en-sure that you consume sufficient quantities of fruit and vegetables each day.

5BONE PAINHere in the UAE, where resi-dents spend much of the hot-test summer months in

air-conditioned comfort, vitamin D deficiencies are a common is-sue. If you’re an adult and you’re experiencing similar aches and pains in your joints to when you went through adolescence, it could be indicative of vitamin D deficiency — so you’ll need to add more sun exposure to your schedule or add oily fish such as sardines or salm-on to your diet.

6 Maximum Fitness Monday, December 23, 2019

Exercising when pregnant is a contentious issue, but new research shows it can have profound mental and physical benefits — if women follow set medical guidelines

The idea of pregnant women en-joying regular exercise can cause controversy — just ask tennis superstar Serena Wil-

liams. Back in 2017, the insanely fit winner of 23 tennis grand slams made judgement-heavy headlines worldwide simply for de-claring her plans: “to keep exercising for as long as possible while pregnant”.

The same year, the authors of Exercise During the Childbearing Year, published in the Journal of Perinatal Education wrote that for generations “pregnant women were treated as if they had an illness and were subjected to a state of confinement. They were advised to re-lax, avoid strenuous exertion, and mini-mise stretching and bending for fear of strangling or squashing the baby”.

Expectant mothers will be familiar with being warned off lying on their back, swimming anywhere but a pool, lifting anything heavier than a duster, and putting any sort of pressure on their joints.

But a new understanding of the fe-male body during this precious time is showing that there is little to fear from physical activity. In fact, the real health issue is more likely to come from gain-ing excess weight — aka ‘eating for two’ — and being sedentary for nine months.

According to a report two years ago in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), “these misguided recommendations” have “evolved into a major contributor to the worldwide obe-sity epidemic”.

Weight gainFifty years ago, gynaecological medicine

emphasised the need for women to gain enough weight to provide for healthy foe-tal growth. Now the coin has been flipped.

In the JAMA report, about 45 per cent of mothers-to-be began their pregnancy in an overweight or obese state, versus 24 per cent in 1983. In addition, nearly half of pregnant women gained more weight in nine months than the amounts recom-mended by the Institute of Medicine.

The report looked at four key aspects of exercise during pregnancy: safety, ben-efits, the when and how, and precautions. A meta-analysis of studies with more than 2,500 pregnant women found no risk of preterm birth or low birth weight children among normal weight women who exercised.

Moderate exercise is now recommended even for women who did not exercise be-fore becoming pregnant, with pregnancy considered an excellent time to introduce healthy lifestyle habits because the moth-er is highly motivated.

The list of benefits is lengthy and in-cludes: less macrosomia (birth of children weighing more than 8 pounds, 13 ounces),

less gestational diabetes, less preeclamp-sia, fewer Caesarean-section deliver-ies, less low-back pain, less pelvic girdle pain, and lower frequency of urinary in-continence. Stress relief

There is another benefit too: stress relief. Almost every report on exercise during pregnancy has shown a positive impact on mental well-being, notably birth anxiety.

Some exercises should be avoided though for safety, notably long-distance running, which could raise body tem-perature and cause dehydration. Also exercising at greater than 90 percent of maximum heart rate, lifting heavy weights (or performing isometrics), or getting in a supine position during the last two trimesters.

“Pregnancy is no longer considered a state of confinement,” commented the re-port’s exercise and health experts. “An ac-tive lifestyle during pregnancy is safe and beneficial.”

The British Journal of Sports Medicine, stated that as long as a regimen feels good and doesn’t pose a major risk of fall-

ing or being hit in the belly, in general women can continue any exercise they were doing before pregnancy — in fact, it’s recommended.

Current guidelines say that healthy pregnant women with no pre-existing con-ditions should aim for around 150 minutes of moderate activity per week, incorporat-ing a mix of aerobic activity and resistance training.

“The key is hydration,” explained Jen-nifer Aquino, MD, an ob-gyn at New York academic medical centre NYU Langone Health.

“Water helps form the placenta and am-niotic sac, and it helps to keep you cool during exercise. Since overheating is one of the biggest concerns of exercising while pregnant, you want to hydrate well, wear breathable clothes, and avoid any hot yoga. It’s also a good idea to have a snack after working out to make sure your blood sugar doesn’t get too low.”

An interesting twist on this topic, is that for women trying to get pregnant but struggling, exercise could also be the magic key.

A study in the American Journal of Epi-demiology of 50,678 women found that moderate levels of exercise have positive effects on fertility. Medics advise that women trying to conceive should exer-cise for thirty minutes a day, three times a week, with two, 30-minute strength train-ing sessions.

Some days could include non-hot yoga for an hour. It uses a specific series of stretches that have a positive effect on reproductive health, and women world-wide are reporting great results. Time for a pregnancy paradigm shift.

EMMA PROCTERSPECIAL TO BETTER HEALTH

MOTHER S GE T MOVING

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People have three different ways of striking the ground when they’re running. The majority of runners (between 75 and 80 per cent) are

rear-foot, which means their heels hit the ground first. Around 20 per cent of runners are mid-foot, striking the ground with the middle of their foot first and the others are fore-foot runners.

Fitness trainers often advise runners that changing their strike pattern can reduce the risk of injury and increase performance, yet new research from La Trobe University

in Australia suggests that this might not be the case.

The team, led by injury researcher and phys-iotherapist Dr Christian Barton, says that there is no evidence that running on the front of your feet reduces the risk of injury. The study, which was published in Sports Medicine, re-viewed 53 studies that looked at the impact of fore-foot, rear-foot and flat-foot running patterns and their impact on injuries and per-formance. They found that adapting your run-ning style does change loads on the body but it doesn’t make the stresses disappear.

Dr Barton said, “Our comprehensive review suggests that telling someone to run on the ball of their foot instead of their heel may make them less efficient, at least in the short

term. Additionally, there is no evidence either way on whether running on the balls of your feet reduces injury.

“Running toe-heel might help injuries at the knee, where loads are reduced. However, it

may cause injuries to the feet and ankle, where loads are increased. Running toe-heel might help injuries at the knee, where loads are re-duced. However, it may cause injuries to the feet and ankle, where loads are increased.”

Does changing your strike pattern reduce the risk of running injuries?The latest research suggests that change from heel-toe or toe-heel may not necessarily lessen the danger of picking up an injury

PETER FEELYEDITOR

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7Lifestyle & Disease ManagementMonday, December 23, 2019

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Experienced drummers develop specific skills, where they are able to use all four of their limbs

in different ways, simultaneously. According to a new study, these skills differentiate drummers from the general population as they are able to perform complex and fine motor tasks with both hands equal-ly effectively.

Researchers from Bergmannsheil University Clinic and Ruhr-Uni-versität, in Bochum, Germany, de-cided to investigate the effects these unique skills had on drum-mers’ brains.

For the study, which was pub-lished in the journal, Brain and Behaviour, the team recruited 20

professional drummers, with an average of 17 years of drumming experience and who practised for at least 10.5 hours each week. The researchers also recruited 24 peo-ple who did not play any musical instruments.

For the study, the team focused on the brain’s white matter, which connects the two hemispheres of the brain.

When a right-handed person does a task with their right hand, it is typically regulated by the oppo-site or left side of the brain. When someone performs a task with their left hand, this is typically regulated by both sides of the brain.

The white matter, or corpus cal-losum, is a thick tract that connects

the two regions and plays an essen-tial role in people’s coordination.

During the study, the scientists found differences in the structure of the corpus callosum between drummers and people who didn’t play. The researchers believe that the corpus callosum in drummers contain fewer fibres but that these fibres are thicker than those who don’t play instruments and that these thicker fibres transfer impuls-es more quickly.

Part of the research involved asking the drummers carry out tests of their drumming skills and the musicians who scored highest in the tests also had the highest efficiency levels in the cor-pus callosum.

Drumming linked to improved brain efficiencyYears of practice has been found to lead to modifications in the way the two sides of the brain communicate, according to a recent study

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THE PROS AND CONS OF POWER

NAPPINGPower napping has become part of our wider vernacular but what are the health implications and is it truly beneficial?

As we enter the festive period, many of us are likely to be socialising and in-dulging in your favourite foods. Such activities can lead to feelings of fa-

tigue, but should you fight the urge for a quick power nap or succumb to a short snooze?

In September, a study published in the journal, Heart, found a correlation between people who nap once or twice a week and a lower risk of car-diovascular issues.

For the study, the researchers reviewed data from 3,462 randomly selected residents from Lausanne in Switzerland. The participants were aged between 35 and 75 and 58 per cent of the people said that they hadn’t napped during the previous week. Those who had napped one or two times in the previous week accounted for 19 per cent of the 3,462 and 12 per cent of the people said they had taken between three and five naps in the previous week. People who took between six and seven naps accounted for 11 per cent of the participants.

The researchers found that people who napped frequently tended to be older, male and smokers. They also weighed more than people who didn’t nap and were more likely to sleep during the night.

Yet, for people who napped occasionally, which the researchers categorised as between once and twice a week, napping almost halved their risk of suffering a heart attack, stroke or heart failure in comparison to those who didn’t nap at all.

The results didn’t change after the team fac-tored in other issues such as excessive daytime sleepiness, depression and nightime sleep pat-terns. The only risk factor that changed the re-sults was sleep apnoea for people over the age of 65.

The team also found that the heightened risk of cardiovascular health issues disappeared in people who napped frequently once other health factors were factored.

Dr Yue Leng and Kristine Yaffe, from the Uni-versity of California at San Francisco, USA, said that although it would be premature to see the results as conclusive, the study suggested that the frequency of napping is potentially significant. “While the exact physiological pathways linking daytime napping to [cardiovascular disease] risk

is not clear, [this research] contributes to the on-going debate on the health implications of nap-ping, and suggests that it might not only be the duration, but also the frequency that matters,” they said in a joint editorial.

Optimising your napDr Bassam Mahboub, Consultant and Head of

Pulmonary Medicine, Rashid Hospital, DHA, be-lieves that napping can be beneficial. “Napping is usually a good way to restore energy and to reboot your brain,” he says.

Dr Mahboub underlines that there is an opti-mal length and time people should nap for. “The best nap is for between 20 and 40 minutes, be-tween 1pm and 4pm.”

He also says that age and people’s busyness are factors for their need to nap, with the elderly more susceptible to a daytime snooze.

“In most likelihoods, as you age your sleep ef-ficiency and sleep quality will be reduced, which makes it necessary for the body to have a nap in the afternoon. For people who have long work-ing days and long meetings in the afternoon, it is good to have a time when you can take a break and power nap.”

Misinformed stigmaOne of the issues that Dr Mahboub believes re-

duces people’s willingness to sleep briefly during the day, is an unfair reputation that others as-sociate with napping. “There is a stigma among people that if you nap in the afternoon, you are lazy, which is not true. There are many studies that say that, in modern societies, people don’t sleep for seven hours and that the average person sleeps for between five and five-and-a-half hours, which is not enough.”

Health benefitsDr Mahboub points out that in comparison to

sleep deprivation, any problems associated with napping are significantly outweighed by the health benefits of meeting your sleep require-ments. “There is a correlation between mortal-ity and disease development and how much people sleep. For those that don’t get enough sleep, napping during the day is a great thing to do,” he says.

“For people who come to us with sleep-quality problems such as insomnia or sleep apnoea, we can prescribe napping time for them. Ordinar-ily, we suggest reduced working hours (by two hours) for three months and then we re-evaluate their condition.”

Dr Bassam MahboubDr Bassam Mahboub, Consultant and Head of

Pulmonary Medicine, Rashid Hospital, DHA

“There is a stigma among people that

if you nap in the afternoon, you are lazy,

which is not true.”

PETER FEELYEDITOR

8 Life Alternatives Monday, December 23, 2019

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LAST WORD

Dr Mahmoud Saleh Elhalik, Consultant Neonatologist and Head of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Latifa Hospital

The importance of kangaroo care

t the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Latifa Hospital, we stress the impor-tance of family-centred care, where parents are actively involved in the

management of the baby through kangaroo care.Healthcare professionals at the hospital teach

the mother and father the technique, which is skin-to-skin contact between the baby and their

parents, from day one, as par-ents’ loving touch has prov-

en to have many health benefits.

According to the World Health Or-ganisation (WHO) kangaroo care is one of the most effective ways of meet-ing a premature baby’s needs for

warmth, frequent b r e a s t f e e d i n g ,

protection from in-fection, stimulation,

safety and love. One of the key benefits

of kangaroo care is aiding the lactation process. We emphasise on importance of breastfeeding and the importance of moth-ers’ own milk as the main source of feeding for our newborns in NICU. We managed to achieve around 85 per cent compliance on this concept, which contributed in achieving a very good out-come for newborns admitted to our unit.

Mothers are requested and encouraged to continuously and as much as possible to stay with their babies in the unit. We teach them how to take care of the baby, how to feed them and how to handle them — this makes the pro-cess of healing quicker and allows us to discharge them earlier. ■

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Cells identified that help the brain differentiate between night and dayThe scientists behind the study believe that the light-sensitive cells could have profound implications for healthcare

he body’s circadian rhythms, which are the human response to daily cycles of

night and day, play a signifi-cant role in both physical and mental health. Previous stud-ies have found that when these cycles are disrupted, there are increased incidences of health issues such as obesity, cardio-vascular disease and cancer.

Now, scientists have been able to develop a more in-depth understanding of the body’s reaction to circadian rhythms by identifying three cell types, which detect light and align the brain’s circadian rhythm to ambient light.

The discovery has led to sug-gestions that further research is required into the develop-ment of therapeutic lighting

and new drugs.For the study, the team

developed a new way of keeping retina samples func-tional after donors had passed away. They then placed the samples on an electrode grid to investigate how they reacted to light.

The researchers discovered a small group of three types of cells that became active after a

short, 30-second pulse of light. They also noticed that the cells took several seconds to turn off after the light had finished.

Ludovic Mure, a postdoctor-al researcher in the Panda lab and first author of study said that the study is, “going to open a number of avenues to try new drugs or work on particular diseases that are specific to humans”.

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Is insomnia caused by

refined carbs?A diet that’s high in sugar and refined carbohydrates

has been associated with an increased risk of the sleep disorder

ew research from a team at the Columbia University Va-gelos College of Physicians and Surgeons has concluded

that diet could be a significant factor in causing insomnia.

A 2018 study by the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Medicine said that the sleep disorder affects 25 per cent of Americans.

For the recent study, which was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the researchers gath-ered data from more than 50,000 fe-male participants who had completed food diaries for the Women’s Health Initiative. They then investigated whether women with a higher glycae-mic index were more likely to develop insomnia?

Refined carbohydrates, which are found in foods such as white bread and soda, have a high glycaemic index and

cause people’s blood sugar levels to in-crease rapidly. The team concluded that women who had a higher dietary gylcae-mic index had a greater risk of develop-ing insomnia than those who consumed more whole fruits and vegetables.

James Gangwisch, assistant profes-sor at the university said, “By identify-ing other factors that lead to insomnia, we may find straightforward and low-cost interventions with fewer potential side effects.

“When blood sugar is raised quickly, your body reacts by releasing insulin, and the resulting drop in blood sugar can lead to the release of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, which can in-terfere with sleep.

“This [study] suggests that the dietary culprit triggering the women’s insomnia was the highly processed foods that con-tain larger amounts of refined sugars that aren’t found naturally in food.” ■

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The benefits of hot chilli peppers

A recent study found that people who consumed the spice had a reduced

risk of mortality

esearchers from the Mediterranean Neu-rological Institute in Italy have carried

out two studies that suggest that the consumption of chilli peppers reduces the risk of mor-tality. The studies, which were carried out in China and the United States analysed car-diovascular biomarkers and established that people who consume chilli peppers four times each week had lower risk factors of mortality.

For the study, which was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the team reviewed data from 24,325 people from Molise in Italy. The Italians were over 35 years old and the researchers had data about them for an aver-age of 8.2 years.

They discovered that, over the period, 1,236 of the participants had passed away. The data in-cluded information about peo-ple’s habits, ranging from the medical history and physical activity levels to whether they

smoked and their socio-econom-ic status. The participants had also answered questions about their dietary habits, including information about their con-sumption of chilli peppers.

The study concluded that chilli pepper consumers had a 34 per cent lower risk of cardio-vascular disease than those who rarely consumed them.

The lead author of the study, Dr Marialaura Bonaccio said, “Protection from mortality risk was independent of the type of diet people followed. In other words, someone can follow the healthy Mediterranean diet; someone else can eat less health-ily, but, for all of them, chilli pep-per has a protective effect.

“In a model adjusted only for age, sex, and energy intake, reg-ular consumption [four or more times each week] of chilli pepper was associated with 23 per cent lower risk of all-cause mortality, as opposed to none/rare intake, and results remained substan-tially unchanged in the fully ad-justed model.”

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