Afya Pap Blog

Portion Size and Diabetes “If you are newly diagnosed with diabetes, you may think that having diabetes means going without your normal family foods. The good news is that you can still eat your family foods, but you might need to eat smaller portions.” Kepha Nyanumba- Afya Pap Nutritionist We all possess the power of choice. It's a fundamental human right and a major factor that has made us a super-sized society. The last 20 years have seen "normal” food portions almost double, and more often than not, at each meal we are eating more than we need.   Unfortunately, it is not just the quantity of food we are eating that is the problem; it is also the balance of nutrients such as fat, carbohydrates and protein. This is damaging for everyone, but especially bad news if you are suffering from diabetes. If you are newly diagnosed with diabetes, you may think that having diabetes means going without your normal family foods. The good news is that you can s...

5 Weight Loss Questions “The optimal way to lose weight is to follow a healthy eating pattern and to incorporate daily physical activity into your lifestyle. These habits must become a way of life. ” Kepha Nyanumba- Afya Pap Nutritionist 1: What is obesity? Obesity is a complex disorder involving excessive storage of body fat. Obesity isn't just a cosmetic concern. It increases your risk of diseases and health problems such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Those who have a body mass index (BMI) of over 30 are said to be obese, but when it comes to disease risk, it’s also important to look at fat distribution: those who carry their fat around their stomachs are at the highest risk. 2: What is the best way to lose weight? To lose weight (and importantly, to keep it off), healthy eating and daily physical activity must become a way of life. Successful weight loss starts with taking an honest look at your eating patterns and daily ...

Diabetes and Kidney disease Diabetes is a serious, long-term disease caused by a disorder in the hormone insulin. Insulin acts like a key that opens the doors into your muscles and other cells: when the key fits the lock, the doors open, and the sugars you eat are allowed to flow in. In diabetes, this system breaks down and not enough insulin is produced to allow the sugars to enter your cells. So instead, it builds up in the blood stream, leading to blood sugar that is too high. It is possible to live a long and healthy life with diabetes, but this requires dedicated daily self-care. Without it, complications including nerve damage, blindness and kidney disease can set in.   The kidneys are your body’s main filter. They are full of thousands of tiny blood vessels in which toxic substances are removed, and important chemicals are allowed to remain. When blood sugar is too high, these vessels can become damaged, and the kidneys is said to be diseased. In...

Hypertension...The Silent Killer! “Hypertension is a risk factor for coronary heart disease and the single most important risk factor for stroke. It causes about 50% of ischaemic strokes and increases the risk of hemorrhagic stroke.” Kepha Nyanumba- Afya Pap nutritionist Are you on an eternal quest for health? For the most part, we live in better conditions, with more money than previous generations and yet, so many of us are just not healthy. When we suffer from ill health, it is natural that one of the first questions we ask is, “why has this happened to me?” The answer is quite simple– it’s our lifestyle that is exposing us to conditions such as hypertension (high blood pressure), cardiovascular disease (heart disease) and type 2 diabetes. Together, these conditions are known as lifestyle diseases, and cause more deaths than all other diseases combined . Blood pressure refers to the force of blood pushing against blood vessels as it flows through t...