Ask the Doctor: Can someone with diabetes eat bananas?

Because I am diabetic, I was advised not to eat sweet bananas. Is this true? Lutakome 

Dear Lutakome,

A person with diabetes can eat bananas as part of a balanced diet but should do so in moderation to keep their blood sugar from rising too much.

Bananas are a rich source of carbohydrates, which occur mainly as starch in unripe bananas but as the banana gets more mature towards ripening, the carbohydrates progressively turn into sugars. These can spike blood sugar much faster once the more mature bananas are eaten.

The younger bananas have less sugar making them more suitable as a food for diabetics, the reason they are preferred by diabetics than more mature bananas.

Is alcohol effective as a pain killer?

Doctor, I went to deliver in one hospital and I was given waragi emandule (neat waragi) to prevent pain during birth and it worked. When I was younger, I would be given a tot of waragi for painful periods and it would work. Why do doctors not recommend waragi for labour or painful periods? Bibiana Katama

Dear Bibiana,

A painful period is one reason young girls miss school and these are usually without found cause. However, the pain is thought to be due to the contraction of the womb caused by excessive production of locally produced substances referred to as prostaglandins, which are meant to help shed the inner womb membrane and lead to menstruation. Labour pain is also partly caused by contractions of the muscles of the uterus.

Alcohol may interfere with contraction of the womb, hence reducing the pain of both periods and labour apart from making a woman courageous enough to withstand the said pains. How much waragi a woman may take to stop period and labour pain and for how long, are all unknown. Therefore, if waragi is prescribed for the pain, it is likely to lead to intoxication and alcoholism, medical issues a doctor would not want to cause. This is the reason why a doctor may not prescribe alcohol to stop pain.

Painful periods require proper investigation and treatment and where possible, if the cause is found, treatment should target the cause. Labour is a necessary evil because it aids reproduction and if one requires to reduce labour pains, conventional drugs instead of alcohol may be applied.

Alcohol for labour and painful periods is actually much more expensive in terms of both long-term health effects and finances requiring them to be avoided. There is no known safe amount of alcohol use during pregnancy or while trying to get pregnant, making alcohol unsafe to take during pregnancy. 

Taking alcohol during one’s periods or during labour is likely to cause addiction, which may cause someone to continue taking alcohol during pregnancy, which may cause birth defects and other health problems to the unborn child. Therefore, using alcohol to treat period and labour pains should be avoided.