Latest news with #healthinfluencer
BBC News
3 days ago
- Science
- BBC News
Debunking misleading claim about GMO food debate for Nigeria
Debate ontop use of genetically modified foods for Nigeria don come back for group chats and social media feeds afta one health influencer do video wey go viral. Di 14 minutes video wey Dr Chinonso Egemba do, explain some science wey dey behind Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and arguments wey follow am, gada millions of views across platforms and thousands of comments. Di response to di video show how di issues im raise for di video still dey cause confusion and dey show misleading claims of health risks wey dey with GM foods as e dey circulate for social media. For im reaction, Dr Egemba tell BBC say im believe say di way pipo react to di video fit be sake of long time conspiracy theories wey dem bin don believe. Some critics accuse am say dem pay am to promote genetically modified foods or im dey work secretly for foreign pipo including Bill Gates, im reject dose claims. "Pipo don already dey tink say I dey work for Bill Gates secretly", na so e tok. "Well for di record, I no dey work for any GMO corporation. My platform dey built on education, and I go continue to do di hard work wey be to educate Nigerians." Wetin be GM crops? For 2016, Nigeria start to sell im first genetically modified crop, BT cotton. Dis lead to approval of oda genetically modified crops, PBR Cowpae and TELA Maize for oda years to use address food insecurity. Across di world, GMO products don dey available since di 1990s. Di process of genetically modifying crops or plants dey defined as to change di genetic materials of organisms in ways wey no dey hapun naturally, dis dey hapun through introduction of gene from oda species of di plant. Dem dey use di technique to help growers to develop crops wey dey more resistant to tins like disease and drought. Scientists dey identify di organism wey get di trait dem dey look for, dem go copy di gene and den put am inside di DNA of di new plant. Why Nigeria dey grow GMO foods. Nigeria approve di sale and consumption of GM crops, like variants of maize and cowpeas, for pest control and to fight food crises wey dey come from harsh weather conditions wey dey fight harvesting, na so Dr Yemisi Asagbra, Director General of di National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) tell BBC. "Dem dey take di genes from organism for di soil and put am inside dis seeds for dem to dey able to withstand insect infestation and ready to fight drought", na so she tok. Nigeria Biosafety Regulations dey mandate make producers dey label modified products, so pipo fit choose. Health organizations like World Health Organization (WHO) say di evidence wey dey ground now, show say GMO foods no dey likely to cause risk and "e no ever show any effects on human health… sake of di consumption of such foods by di general population for di Monte wia dem bin don approve am". However, some uncertainty and scepticism dey about di technology wey dey behind di use of GMOs, na dis, pipo wey dey spread misinformation dey use. For Nigeria, social media influencers dey push misleading claim about GMO foods, including di one wey dem tok say GMO foods dey cause cancer. According to Cancer Research UK, no evidence dey wey show say if pesin eat GMO foods, e fit cause cancer. Dia website tok say, "we don dey change genes of living tins for hundreds of years by choosing specific plants and animals to get certain outcomes. Dis na wetin we dey call artificial selection. Modern genetic modification dey like na quicker version of artificial selection. Scientists agree say GM foods dey as safe as non GM foods". Meanwhile, one old video wey pipo dey share evritime for X and WhatsApp groups for Nigeria contain claim say Russia President Vladimir Putin ban GM foods and dey label any pesin wey grow am as "terrorist". Tight laws and restrictions dey against GMO-related technology and produce for Russia, but dem no completely ban am. For example, di kontri dey allow di cultivation and breeding of genetically engineered plants for scientific research. Opposition to GMO for Russia no plenti again. For April, President Putin give instructions to cabinet ministers make dem consider to develop fast growing GM-trees to increase Russia wood export, according to official report. Di video also tok say genetically modified foods fit damage pesin DNA. Deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA na molecule wey dey carry genetic instructions for development functioning, growth and reproduction of all known living organisms. "From all di research, I don consult, evidence no dey to show say GMOs dey change consumer DNA", na so Dr Olumide Adebesin tell BBC. Im dey teach cell biology and genetics for di Nigerian University of Lagos. Prof Cathie Martin, wey be group leader for independent research institute for plants, genetics and microbial science, John Innes Centre UK tok say, claims say GMOs dey cause cancer and dey change DNA dey unfounded and no get scientific evidence to support am. "Pesin no fit get chlorophyll sake of plant wey im eat", na so she tok. "We no be green." Prof Martin counter anoda viral claim wey tok say GMO seeds stop local seeds from growing: "I neva see such, as a farmer, I don grow plenti GM plants and plenti of non GM plants for same soil." Bill Gates agenda? Di online debate also tok about impact on farming and claims say dem dey force GMO products on farmers, e come be like na issue of corporate control. Ajisefinni Ayodeji, wey be smallholder farmer and president of farmers cooperative for Kwara state, western Nigeria, say farmers dey worried say GMOs fit comot power of Nigeria foods and marginalize local farmers. E dey see push for GMOs as something wey foreigners dey push for and ask weda agricultural workers get training to handle genetically engineered crops wella. Some critics dey tok say to add GMO products into Nigeria food system na part of agenda by international companies or specifically Bill Gates, di American businessman, to take control of Nigeria farming. Di Bill and Melinda Gates foundation don back agricultural research for Nigeria, including di production of genetically modified TELA maize wey dem develop and produce locally from di Institute for Agricultural Research for Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and involve di US Agency for International Development and di African Agricultural Technology Foundation. Kabir Ibrahim wey dey lead All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) one of di largest groups of her kind for di kontri, support di use of GM crops and say much of di alarm na result of targeted misinformation. E say no farmer dey forced to plant modified crops. "Na your choice, you get choice to use GMO crops or not. And you get choice to even eat dem or no eat dem.," na so e tell BBC. Mr Ibrahim wey dey cultivate GM cowpea and maize say many Nigerian farmers want to get access to GM seeds, no be small number. Despite di kasala wey di video burst, Dr Egemba say e dey happy di way di mata raise toks, say e help plenti pipo to dey equipped to make dia own decisions. "Wetin I bin want na make pipo know about di topic" na so e explain. Wen lack of education or information dey about particular topic, human beings dey act in fear."
Irish Times
30-05-2025
- General
- Irish Times
Contraceptive pill pushback: ‘I think the demonising has gone too far'
While writing her latest book, Not Just a Period, Dr Hazel Wallace, a former NHS doctor and health influencer, says she 'stumbled across a dark corner of social media' where 'widely exaggerated' claims were being made about the combined oral contraceptive pill, more commonly known as 'the pill'. In this dark corner, Wallace noticed creators talking about how the pill was damaging women's bodies, causing infertility and other 'often incorrect claims'. It's an online movement that, she says, has led to the pill 'currently going through a bit of a rough patch in terms of its public image'. This move away from the pill isn't all too surprising for Wallace, given the 'huge gap' in research around female health. This knowledge gap, she says, causes women to turn to 'social media for answers because they're not getting the answers from their own doctors or health professionals'. What she's noticed instead is a 'big drive to go back to natural', because of something called 'hormonal phobia', which she explains is an 'irrational fear of artificial hormones ... We see that with lots of other kinds of medications and medical interventions, that people feel like big pharma is out to get them,' she says. READ MORE [ 'Menstrual health affects everything - our work, our relationships, our mental health. Yet it's still whispered about' Opens in new window ] As a medical professional, she falls somewhere in the middle of the debate. 'I'm not saying the pill is amazing, but I'm not saying it's terrible either. I think women need to have all the information. You don't really get all that information in 10 minutes with your doctor.' 'You get the top-line risks, but you don't get all of the risks. For some women, certain forms of contraception can cause less-spoken-about effects like maybe a change in libido or change in mental health ... but some pills are really transformative for women. They allow them to work when they've got really painful periods, they help with their acne. So I think the demonising has maybe gone too far.' In this wide-ranging discussion, Wallace also talks about why periods are still so poorly understood, the benefits of tracking each phase of your cycle and when to seek advice from your doctor. She also discusses her own experience with polycystic ovary syndrome, her decision to freeze her eggs, and why she left the NHS to focus on nutrition and female health. You can listen back in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Trump's surgeon general pick is angering both the left and the right
President Trump's pick for U.S. Surgeon General, Casey Means, is a health influencer with no government experience whose comments about modern medicine have drawn backlash from the left. But she's also exposing a rift in MAGA-world. Molly Jong-Fast and Cameron Kasky join 'The Weekend: Primetime' to discuss.
