The furore caused by the Trojan Riddim brought into sharp focus just how impactful and influential lyrics in music can be.The discourse continues to be about “the songs on the Trojan Riddim”, but really it’s the lyrics that could incite violence and hate that people have a problem with. The music of the riddim tells a very different story. Those stories could be about positive things, but the positivity of the melody and rhythm of the Trojan Riddim are overshadowed by the negative lyrics of the songs. When I tune out the lyrics and listen to the melody and the rhythm, that music creates in me a feeling of anticipation and eventually triumph and quiet victory. (A check with the composer of Trojan Riddim confirmed that the influence of his creation was indeed a circumstance that resulted in triumph).
So this led me to think about how music (in this case lyrics combined with melody) affects humans. Much research has been done, and a lot of writing on the healing (or destructive) powers of music. In this month’s edition, we explore that theme – the power of music and how it helps the mind, body and soul stay in key.
I was also researching with the intention of finding an article on some aspect of mental health for this month’s issue, when the Barbados Association of Psychiatrists submitted one on men’s mental health. How’s that for synergies!
You’ll notice a lot more features in this edition about nutrition – food combinations, choosing supplements, portion sizes, more superfoods you must eat to maintain or achieve better health. This is because there’s no getting around it – what we eat is either poison or medicine, and the best way to maintain good health is to eat the foods that give us our required nutrition. Simple. Illness could be a thing of the past if we simply eat as naturally as possible – no GMOs, every food according to the nutritional need vis-à-vis the bio-chemical requirements.
There are quite a few health issues of which July is the month to bring awareness to, take cord blood for instance. July is Cord Blood Awareness month. Cord blood is the blood that remains in the placenta and umbilical cord after a baby is born. It is rich in blood stem cells, similar to those found in bone marrow, and can be used to treat many different cancers, immune deficiencies and genetic disorders.“Cord blood contains bloodforming stem cells that can be used in the treatment of patients with blood cancers such as leukemias and lymphomas, as well as certain disorders of the blood and immune systems, such as sickle cell disease and Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome” (www.fda.org and www.nhsbt.nhs.uk). Who knew?!
July is also the awareness month for Public Health Nurses Week in the Caribbean; Group B Strep , Healthy Vision, National Cleft & Craniofacial Awareness & Prevention, Sarcoma Awareness and UV Safety Month.
Days to note include World Hepatitis Day on July 28, and Caribbean Public Health Day on July 2.
