TT 186

Must reads:

DISCIPLESHIP IN THE CHURCH

My Devotional: How Bright Do You Shine?

Pg 6

Entrepreneur: This question gives answers for dreamers

Pg 8

CONTENTS

My Pulpit Message notes | Discipleship in the Church | 3-4

My Devotional: How Bright Do You Shine? | 6

King’s Inspiration: | Don’t Take Things for Granted |7

My Entrepreneur: This question gives answers for dreamers | 8

My Health: Heart failure: Could a low sodium diet sometimes do more harm than good? | 9-10

My Kitchen: Baked Lemon Chicken | 11

My Sports: ‘We’re the fourth fastest team now’ – Hamilton offers honest Mercedes assessment as he admits the team are ‘going backwards’

My Pulpit Message Notes

DISCIPLESHIP IN THE CHURCH

My Background

I come from a very Ghanaian Roman Catholic home. My father’s big brother was the paramount chief of our cluster of villages for 60 years. By big brother’s son has been the chief for over 20 years now. My big brother has been a Roman Catholic priest for over 40 years and my big sister was a Roman Catholic nun of over 37 and half years. Sometimes we go to church six times on one Sunday. I have never seen a day when my daddy didn’t wake us up by 4.00am to pray or march us to pray before sleeping. Tat’s how I grew up.

So by age ten I was what the Catholics call a mass boy / server and by age 18 my feet were washed as one of the apostles of Jesus Christ in the Catholic church.

My Challenges

But I had some very serious moral challenges. One was girls. Whenever I saw a beautiful girl, my heart grew. So by age ten I slept with my own half sister. By age 12 three of us brothers, same father slept with the same girl the same day and I was the third. I knew my two brothers had gone ahead, but I went on all the same.

Te second problem I had was stealing. My father was a shopkeeper. He had shops and my mother divorced my father before I was four years old and I grew up to see my father with six wives. So whenever any of the stepmothers was tired of me I was posted to another one and I tell people I have a postgraduate degree in living with stepmothers. Since there was nobody in the house to speak for me I chose to steal. I stole anything from the shop; money, provision etc.

I said I wasn’t even stealing, I was just taking because it was my father’s property anyway until one day, one of my big brothers stole from the shop and showed me where he kept his stolen items and I went and stole what he stole and of course he caught me and gave me a nickname.

Te third problem I had was masturbation. I picked it up in our high school when I was ten years and a friend took me out to study and he did it before me. I had never seen anybody living like that and when I complained, he said, you are a small boy. You are in a boys boarding school, if you don’t know about masturbation you don’t know anything. So when I went back to the dormitory, I practiced it, it worked and it became a ‘new bicycle’. I masturbated every single day, secondary school form three, four and fve, until was doing it in the classroom. In Ghana that time we had Form six.

The Turnaround

My father never allowed any of us to go to a non Roman Catholic school, but for the sixth form, he said we could go anywhere we wanted. And for the frst time I found myself in one of the oldest schools in Ghana and it was non Catholic. And the pastor invited the whole school and we were addressed by a pastor who was a former druggist because he had heard some of the students were on drugs, Indian hemp etc.

As this pastor spoke, for the frst time in my life, I felt somebody was telling me, ‘you have to change’. You must understand that I have never smoked, I have never drunk alcohol. I tasted it, but I didn’t like. And here was this man showing us the marks on his arm where he used hypodermic syringe and I was just feeling convicted.

So when he made the altar call for those who wanted to give their lives to Jesus Christ, I refused. I refused because I was a Roman Catholic. I refused because I was a house prefect and a sixth former and how could I go forward to accept Jesus Christ? I refused because my big brother was then in the seminary in the

same city, but God being so good to me, my roommate called Sammy, he started changing. He stopped coming for my lectures on how to chase girls, he started reading his Bible in the dormitory, he went out to pray in the washroom because there was no place to hide. And as he prayed the Holy Spirit fell on him, he started speaking in tongues. Form fve boys and sixth formers we rushed to see him, when we saw it was God we all ran away.

Te next day I asked him, “Sammy, what’s happening to you? He said, “Like what? I said, you are changing. He said the preacher said those who wanted to give their lives to Jesus should come forward. I went, I raised my hands and said, “Lord Jesus, I am a sinner and you came to die for my sins. Today, I accept You as my Lord and personal Saviour. Come into my heart, forgive me my sins.” And when he prayed, the preacher started praying for them and he fell down and started weeping.

“You fell, you wept,” I asked. I knew Sammy. I was doing maths, physics, chemistry and general paper with him. I was in every lecture with him and was in the same dormitory with him. He was not a rogue. If something like that happened to him, there was something in Christianity I have never experienced. I have been to church all my life. So I told him, I also want to change and he said sure. He asked me to raise my hands and say afer me, Lord Jesus…. He prayed for me. I didn’t fall down, I didn’t weep. At frst I thought my sins were too many for God to forgive me and he said, “Let us go to the Scripture Union and I followed him.

At the Scripture Union meeting I met young men, who were leading prayers, quoting Bible verses. I didn’t know where John 3:16 was. Tey were calling on prayer topics, I could never lead anything like that and this were my juniors and some of them speaking in tongues. I couldn’t even cough.

I told myself, “ Tis Bible, I must read it”. Tat was the beginning of my journey. I started reading the Bible in the dining hall, the dormitory, the lecture halls, at the sports feld, everywhere. Within two weeks, God visited me. Te Spirit of God came upon me and the frst thing that lef me was masturbation. And I stand here to say that Jesus permanently changes lives. Tis year is my 50th year, I have never gone back to masturbation.

Te second thing that lef was the stealing. I took the rest of the money back to my daddy and confessed and I went in the shop and never stole again. My father has been dead for over 38 years, God is my witness, I never stole again from the shop.

Te third and the most difcult was the girls. I had some very new girlfriends when I gave my life to Christ. It took me about one year of wrestling because at school, I could be a saint, but at home, I just could not resist the girls and I would pray to Jesus, but I would fall. But afer just about a year, we had a Scripture Union camp and the last day of that Camp, we had a preacher who spoke as if he knew me, like someone had told him about me. Tat day I took a decision to be water baptised and that was it.

God is my witness. I stayed eight years before marrying. No girls. I was engaged to my wife for four and half years, through university, no kissing, no lolly gagging, lip sucking etc. We never even embraced except the day when I was ordained as a pastor and this is my 44th year as an ordained pastor. Tere is no smell of my having any involvement with any lady. I stand here and challenge anybody in the world, if it is not Jesus, who changed me?

I can testify that the confession experience is real and permanent. I am a witness, that Jesus changes lives permanently.

My Pulpit Message Notes are transcribed from the sermon preached at the Nairobi Baptist Church (NBC) Ngong Road on Sunday 5th March, 2023. Preacher - Reverend J.F.K. Mensah. Topic: Discipleship in the Church.

My Pulpit Message Notes

My Christian Journey

Many people have asked me, 50 years being a born again Christian, what are the most important things to you?

1. Christlikeness

Personally I have come to see that Christlikeness is God’s priority. In Romans 8:29 (NIV), Scripture says, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the frstborn among many brothers and sisters.” In eternity past, heaven decided that all human beings should be like Jesus Christ. In 1 John 3:1-3 (NIV) “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! Te reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,[a] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.”

2 Corinthians 3:18 “NKJV “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Galatians 4:19 “19 My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,” Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJV) “ Terefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and fnisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

1 John 2:6 “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” 1 Peter 2:21-22 “To this you were called, because Christ sufered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” 1 Corinthians 11:1 (NKJV) “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” Colossians 1:27-28 “To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: [i]which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”

Ephesians 4:11-15 “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning crafiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ”.

Many church members think it is only the pastor and his wife who need to be like Jesus. It is wrong. You are to be like Jesus. God in eternity past, wants you and me to be like Jesus. He chose you and predestined and gave all the resources for you to be like Christ. Ephesians 1:3 says “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,”

Ephesians 5:25-27 “ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing,”

Many church members think that it is only the pastor and the elders who need to be like Jesus. What a mistake! And the more I read the Bible, the more I tell myself, we need to get this message to the whole church. Every church member has to wake up. God’s standard cannot be lowered for Nairobi Baptist Church. On that day when we meet Jesus, you are not meeting Him as NBC. When we see Jesus, we shall be like Him.

When we sleep angry, you don’t wake up patient. When you sleep a thief, you don’t wake up with integrity. Terefore, anyway you are not at the time of your death, you cannot be at the time of your resurrection. I challenge any theologian who has a contrary view. If you are not changed now, resurrection cannot change you.

2. Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ

In Matthew 24:6,7,14 Jesus says in the last days there will be wars, rumours of wars, kingdom will rise up against kingdom, nation against nation, famine, pestilences, earthquakes. Russia against Ukraine and Turkey earthquake, famines in Uganda and Kenya, but the end is not yet. In verse 14 He says, this gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world and witness to all the nations, then shall the end come. Matthew 24:14 (NIV) “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

Te end of this world is hinged on the preaching of the gospel. In Mark 13:10 Jesus said, this gospel must frst be preached among all nations. Mark 16:15-16 “15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

In Matthew 28:18-20 “ Ten Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Terefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Acts 1:8, He said, “8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be [c]witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts the earth.”

Acts 4:12 “2 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Acts 17:30-31 “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world…”

2 Peter 3:9 “9 Te Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

1 Timothy 2:4-6 he says, God wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people.”

1 John 5:11-12 “11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

Current State of World Evangelism

It’s 2,000 years since Jesus and His apostles told us these things. But as of now, 28 per cent of the world has not heard about Jesus. 40 per cent have heard, but not taken a decision. Only 32 per cent has decided for Christ, but out to the 32 per cent, 12 per cent are genuine Christ followers, but the rest, 20 per cent are what we call nominal Christians and it includes Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons etc.

87 out of 100 Buddhists Muslims and Hindus have never seen a practicing Christ follower their whole life; no church, no missionary, no pastor, no Bible. Mauritania is 99 per cent Muslim. Libya is 99.6 per cent Muslim, West Sahara is 100 per cent Muslim, Morocco is 98 per cent Muslim, Tunisia is 98 per cent Muslim, Algeria is 97 per cent Muslim, Niger is 97 per cent Muslim, Mali is 92 per cent Muslim, Gambia is 95 per cent Muslim, Senegal is 92 per cent Muslim, Sierra Leone is 60 per cent Muslim. It is true Nigeria has more Christians than Kenya, but they are 50 per cent Muslim with 218 million still counting.

From the top of Ghana, upwards, North Africa has over 200 million muslims. Most of them have never come across a practising Christian. I was there with my wife for four years. You ask why am i worried? Because Kenya as at now 38,000 Sub Sahara are coming to Jesus everyday and it has been happening for the past 20 years. Te locus of evangelical Christianity has moved to Africa. It was with Europe for 1100 years and they sent missionaries.

If you come to Ghana, we can show you their graves. Over 128 missionaries died before the frst protestant church was planted. Average age - 26. Tey come four of them, three are dead from malaria, the fourth one writes home saying, I am the last one in the team, I’ve also gotten malaria, please send more. And this young Europeans get up, some with their cofn saying, we will go to Africa and they came and died to bring us the gospel. Now Nairobi is the County with one of the highest evangelical pentecostal Christians in the whole world. Can Kenyans sit down at such a time as this when we need you more than ever? How can I keep quiet? I have told God, I want to die to see this work fnished. If this work is not fnished, why should I die? It is true the Bible says Revelation 14:13 “13 Ten I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”

What am I resting for? I am not afraid to die. It is a useless death if multitudes have not heard the gospel. I know so much. I have so much grace. Jesus blood has bought me from so much. What am I doing? I can’t sit down. Others can, but not me. Heaven will never forgive me If I just bask in the glory of the fact that I am a born again Christian and saved? What is that?

Today I want to appeal to you as Kenyans, heaven has given Africa an opportunity which no continent has ever had. Te whole history of the generation of human beings on earth, no continent has become majority Christian in one century. It has never happened before. But despite our weaknesses, our being a dark continent, the slavery and mismanagement, illiteracy, witchdoctors etc, heaven has turned to Africa. Can we sleep at such a time like this?

My Life

How to get saved and spend eternity with God

His Love

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:16 (NASB)

My response

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Romans 10:9-10 (NASB)

My prayer

Lord God Almighty, thank You for Your love for me. Tank You that You sent Your Son Jesus Christ to die for my sins. Please forgive me for all the sins I have committed against You. I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and that He died on the cross and You raised Him from the dead on the third day. Please write my name in the Lamb’s book of life. Help me to live a life that is holy and pleasing unto You. In Jesus’ Name I pray and believe. Amen

HOW BRIGHT TO DO YOU SHINE?

https://sportsspectrum.com/

By Mickey Weston, Chicago White Sox chaplain

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” — Matthew 5:16

I know I’m getting older because when I go to a restaurant at night and the lights are dim, I need the light of my phone to read the menu. Te light from my phone displaces the darkness and I can see the print.

A light’s brightness is measured in lumens. An iPhone X has approximately 50 lumens at its highest setting. Lights for an outdoor basketball court add up to more than 80,000 lumens. Lights on a football stadium require more than 6 million lumens. Te more lumens, the more brightness.

Spiritual lumens that burn brightly are produced by the way we live our lives. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

We don’t do “good works” to earn God’s favor; we already have His favor when we place our trust in Jesus for salvation. We do good works because we love Him, and want His name to be “glorifed” or lifed up. We shine brightly when we

love and serve others selfessly. Te Father is glorifed when we bear a brother’s burden, minister to an orphan’s or widow’s need, and give fnancially to spread the Gospel. We are beacons when we boldly tell others how they can know our gracious Savior, Jesus.

How can you add to the spiritual lumens of your life?

King’s Inspiration

NEVER TAKE THINGS FOR GRANTED

By

Have you ever heard the lyrics to the song title “Don’t Know What You Got Till It’s Gone”? It is unfortunate that sometimes we have to lose something or almost lose something before we recognize the value in it and appreciate it. It is easy to start taking for granted things that cannot be replaced.

We live in a great country with houses that have running water, electricity and every convenience. We have places to work, worship and stores of all kinds. Whatever we need is basically at our fngertips. Most importantly, we have parents, a mother and father, siblings and friends. Ten we start to forget the precious gifs they really are.

We face challenges at our jobs and in our homes, things go wrong and we start to complain. We forget to be grateful and lose the language of appreciation. In Deuteronomy 10-12, God was taking the children of Israel into the Promised Land and describing all the gifs He freely gave them.

“I am giving you houses flled with great treasure, vineyards you did not plant and felds you did not plow.” Ten He warned them, “Do not forget who gave it to you. Honour Me in it.” We all should be remembering the gifs and abundance in our life through appreciation. Don’t start complaining about present hardships.

Yes, we are facing challenges. Tings are not easy. When we look for lessons in what we are experiencing, when we begin to look for what can build our character, see the treasure in people we love, that is when we are going to fnd the value and the purpose. When we appreciate God, we honour Him.

Appreciation is a language we need to learn and gratitude honours God. Tat is why wherever you are today, no matter how difcult it is, ask God to show you, “Where is the value in this, God? Tis is something You have brought to me, how can I appreciate it?” Happy people are the ones who are appreciative of what they have right now on the way to where they are going.

Entrepreneur

THIS QUESTION GIVES ANSWERS FOR DREAMERS

If you’re like me, you get a lot of ideas and even a few dreams. But how do you if any of your ideas and dreams are actually from God?

Earlier on in my faith journey, I used to wait for “signs” from God and “confrmations” from God. It sounded very spiritual—do nothing unless God has told you to do it. But there are two truths around this:

Few of us actually apply this practice consistently in life. When we are hungry, we pop food in the microwave. When we feel like heading into town, we rarely pray about it. We just go. Why are some decisions “spiritual” and some not? It’s highly subjective. It’s feeling based. How do I know I’ve heard from God and am not just in a good mood? What if God “says” nothing? Does that mean it’s a bad idea? What if what I “heard” is indigestion and not the voice of God at all? So over the last decade, I’ve reoriented my decision making around a more objective test: Scripture. More specifcally, I base it around a question that sounds something like this:

Is what I am about to do (or dream about) the best application I know of God’s Word applied to the present circumstances?

I have grown to love that question. It covers all those times we wouldn’t naturally pray about something but probably should (hey—is my diet at all a refection of Scripture’s teaching that my body is God’s temple? Does my trip into town

involve a faithful use of the resources God has entrusted me with?)

Second, the standard the question embraces is far more objective. Te truth is, God’s Word is clear on so many things, whether I am in a good mood or bad mood, whether I “sense” God’s presence or not—His Word just kind of lays it on the line.

Knowing how to apply God’s Word to the present circumstances is something to pray about and even seek wise counsel about, but it’s so much more objective and reliable than waiting for a “feeling” or interpreting the fact that the wind knocked over the umbrella in the back yard as a sign that God wants you to quit your job and move to Tibet.

In fact, it’s that question that helped guide me and other leaders through our decision to become a multi-site church and all the change that it involved.

Wondering what question guides you and how you might fnd the question helpful or not helpful.

www.biblicalleadership.com | By Carey Nieuwhof | Image courtesy: Forbes

My Health

HEART FAILURE: COULD A LOW SODIUM DIETSOMETIMES DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD?

Current practice guidelines suggest a low sodium diet for the management of heart failure, yet researchers are debating the usefulness of restricting salt in one’s diet.

In a new meta-analysis, researchers looked at data from nine randomized controlled trials comparing a low sodium diet to usual care in heart failure patients. Tey concluded that restricting salt too much increases harm rather than being benefcial.

However, the choice of studies included in the meta-analysis has been criticized by experts.

Salt is composed of about 40% sodium and 60% chloride. A small quantity of sodium is needed by the body to conduct nerve impulses, contract and relax muscles, and maintain the proper balance of water and minerals.

However, eating too much sodium is linked with an increased risk of developing high blood pressure, which is a leading cause of stroke and heart disease.

Te Dietary Guidelines for Americansrecommend that adults consume less than 2,300 mg of sodium per day, which is equal to about 1 teaspoon of table salt.

Many people unknowingly consume high quantities of salt through processed foods, particularly bread, meats and sauces.

Historically, people with heart failurehave been told to pay special attention to their sodium intake to manage their condition. In 2010, the Heart Failure Society of America recommended a daily sodium intake lower than 2,000 mg for patients with moderate to severe heart failure symptoms.

Yet there is an ongoing debate on the usefulness of dietary sodium restriction in

heart failure.

A clinical trial published in 2013 found that a low-sodium diet may protect against disease progression in those diagnosed with heart failure. However, a more recent clinical trial in heart failure patients (the Sodium-HF trial), found that reducing sodium intake did not reduce clinical events.

Now, Anirudh Palicherla, MBBS, and his coworkers at Creighton University School of Medicine, carried out a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials comparing low dietary sodium to usual care in heart failure patients.

Te meta-analysis was presented at the American College of Cardiology Congress.

Is too little salt a thing?

Dr. Palicherla’s team searched multiple databases for randomized clinical trials comparing low dietary sodium to usual care in heart failure patients.

Te meta-analysis included a total of nine studies with 3,499 patients. Compared to usual care, the sodium restriction group showed a signifcant increase in in-hospital mortality (risk ratio [RR] 1.84; 95% confdence interval [CI] 1.462.31; P<0.001), while there was no signifcant diference in hospitalization between the two groups (RR 1.45,95%CI; 0.99-2.11; P=0.05).

Based on the results of the meta-analysis, the researchers concluded that sodium restriction in patients with heart failure resulted in increased mortality.

“In absence of beneft of salt restriction and increased harm, there should be a reconsideration of such recommendations,” they note.

My Health

Verifying previous research

Several experts expressed their criticism of the review to Medical News Today because it included studies that had been withdrawn for lack of verifcation.

Dr. Lawrence J. Appel, the C. David Molina professor of medicine and director of the Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research at Johns Hopkins University, told MNT:

“ Tere is a huge problem with this meta-analysis [because] it relies on four trials done by a single group in Italy (the Paterna and Parrinello studies) [t]here has been substantial concern about [their] research integrity, with numerous irregularities as well as manuscript retractions.”

“Note that another meta-analysis of these studies was retracted [because] the raw data from the investigators could not be produced. By no means should the results of this [meta-analysis] guide policy,” he said.

Dr. Frank M. Sacks, professor of cardiovascular disease prevention at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, expressed the same concerns:

“Problem is that a meta-analysis is only as good as its component studies. Tere are serious problems with some of the individual studies, such as [the] Paterna [study]. What’s more, Paterna had the large majority of events, so the results of the meta-analysis are largely produced by Paterna.”

Some patients may beneft more

Graham MacGregor, CBE, professor of cardiovascular medicine at the Wolfson Institute, Queen Mary University of London, was also critical of the inclusion of retracted studies in the meta-analysis.

“Heart failure patients are on diuretics that deplete patients of sodium, so you need to be very careful,” he noted.

Last year, Justin A. Ezekowitz, MBBCH, cardiology professor and director of cardiovascular research at the University of Alberta, published a similar meta-analysis together with his coworkers.

Tey concluded that sodium restriction was not associated with fewer deaths or hospitalizations in patients with heart failure, but may be associated with improvements in symptoms and quality of life.

When asked to comment about the new meta-analysis by Dr. Palicherla, Dr. Ezekowitz told MNT that “it is a very complex area” and he would need to look closer at the methods of the meta-analysis in order to establish the validity of their fndings.

“Nevertheless, the area is in need of further [randomized clinical trials] to outline which patients may beneft more (or less) from a strategy of dietary sodium restriction. Either way, the U.S. and international guidelines will need to take our meta-analysis and the SODIUM-HF trial into account when updating the guidelines,” Dr. Ezekowitz added.

Tips for a heart-healthy diet

Experts recommend the following suggestions to monitor salt intake in people with heart disease:

Keep an eye on sodium on nutritional labels. Consider using potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride: Substituting common salt with potassium chloride ofers favor and reduces sodium intake. According to FDA guidance“this may help to reduce the intake of sodium, while increasing potassium, which is under-consumed.”

Follow the DASH diet: Te DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet is an eating plan that focuses on the consumption of a variety of nutrient-rich foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products, and limits the intake of salt, sugar and high-fat products. Te DASH diet was designed to help treat or prevent high blood pressure (hypertension) but has also shown other benefts.

What is the DASH diet?

Te main aim of the DASH diet is not to lose weight but to reduce blood pressure. However, it can also help those who want to lose weight, lower cholesterol, and manage or prevent diabetes.

Important aspects include; portion size, consuming a wide variety of healthful foods, obtaining the proper balance of nutrients

DASH encourages a person to: eat less sodium (the key ingredient in salt), increase their intake of magnesium, calcium, and potassium. Tese strategies help lower blood pressure.

DASH is not a vegetarian diet, but it adds more fruits and vegetables, low or nonfat dairy foods, beans, nuts, and other nutritious items.

It provides suggestions about healthful alternatives to “junk food” and encourages people to avoid processed foods.

As people reduce their salt intake, they should also eat more foods that contain potassium. Potassium helps the blood vessels relax, and this can lower blood pressure. People should aim to consume 4,700 mgTrusted Source of potassium each day.

Foods that contain potassium include:

dried fruit, such as apricots, prunes, and raisins, lentils and kidney beans, squash potato, orange juice, banana. A half-cup of dried apricots will provide around 30% of a person’s daily need for potassium. A cup of cooked lentils provides 21%.

Te Mediterranean diet may also beneft the heart and overall health. Find out more.

What you can eat

Te DASH diet emphasizes:, fresh fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products whole grains, some legumes, poultry, and fsh, small amounts of red meat, fats, and sweets. It is low in saturated fat, total fat, and cholesterol.

My Kitchen BAKED LEMON CHICKEN

https://www.foodnetwork.com/

Ingredients

One 3 1/2- to 4-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces, patted dry

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Flour for dredging

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

Peel of half a lemon, white pith removed, cut into very thin strips

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup chicken broth, homemade or canned low-sodium

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge in the four and pat of the excess.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the chicken skin-side down and saute until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side.

Remove the chicken from the skillet and reserve. Discard the oil and wipe the pan out with a paper towel. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and heat over medium-low heat.

Add the onion and cook until golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add the lemon zest, garlic, and rosemary, and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the honey, lemon juice, and broth, increase the heat and bring to a simmer.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the onions to a 9- by 13-inch ovenproof casserole, and spread them out. Arrange the chicken, skin-side up in a single layer on the onions.

Pour the cooking liquid over the chicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bake in the oven, basting every 15 minutes, until cooked through, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

www.formula1.com/

My Sports

Lewis Hamilton was lef in no doubt that Mercedes have fallen further away from the front of the F1 feld in 2023 afer a lonely run to ffh position in the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

Following a rollercoaster 2022 campaign, Mercedes stuck to their guns and continued with a unique ‘zero sidepod’ design, but found themselves behind Red Bull, Ferrari and Aston Martin over the course of the Sakhir weekend.

Indeed, the Mercedes machines were more than half a second of the pace in qualifying-trim, while the lead W14 of Hamilton on race day crossed the line some 50 seconds away from race winner and reigning world champion Max Verstappen.

While his race featured “fun” battles with Fernando Alonso – at the start and a later multi-lap wheel-to-wheel scrap – Hamilton stated that Mercedes’ pace simply wasn’t “fast enough” to compete for more.

Refecting on his race, which beneftted from Charles Leclerc’s late retirement, Hamilton said: “I genuinely loved the racing. I had a great start, got Fernando in Turn 4 and I was like, ‘Oh jeez, this is a great start to the race’. It felt like one of my better opening laps.

“ Ten I just was sliding around. I had so much understeer at the beginning, I

took so much wing out, I couldn’t get around some of the corners, and I just couldn’t keep up with the guys ahead.

“My middle stint was good and then at the end I was so close to catching Carlos [Sainz for fourth position], but [it was] not good enough.”

Asked if catching Sainz late on gives him hope that Mercedes can mix it with the likes of Ferrari going forward, Hamilton responded: “We defnitely can’t fght them at the moment – they were much quicker than us, as were the Astons.

“We’re the fourth fastest team now, as opposed to the third last year. We’re going backwards, [so] we really have a lot of work to do to close that gap.”

‘We’re the fourth fastest team now’ – Hamilton offers honest Mercedes assessment as he admits the team are ‘going backwards’