The ISAW journal
Practical reads for everyday wellbeing, home monitoring and life in Malaysia.
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Health & wellbeingCholesterol is the parcel, while LDL and HDL are different carrier particles that move it through the blood. LDL can contribute to fatty plaque in arteries when levels are high,...
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Health & wellbeingUric acid is a normal waste product when the body breaks down purines from its tissues and many foods. It travels briefly in the blood to the kidneys, which remove...
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Health & wellbeingWind is gas in the digestive tract, and some is normal. It can come from air swallowed during a meal or from bacteria breaking down carbohydrates that were not fully...
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Health & wellbeingBile is a digestive liquid made by the liver. It helps your body digest fats and some vitamins. The gallbladder stores bile between meals and sends it to the small...
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Health & wellbeingPurines are natural substances found in body tissues and many foods. When purines are broken down, the body makes uric acid. The kidneys usually filter uric acid from the blood...
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Health & wellbeingTriglycerides are a type of fat your body stores for energy. They can come from food and extra calories not needed straight away. Blood tests may measure triglycerides with cholesterol,...
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Health & wellbeingCarbohydrates include sugars, starches and fibre. Sugars may occur naturally in fruit and milk or be added to foods and drinks. Most fibre from plant foods is not broken down...
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Health & wellbeingThe right side of the heart receives blood returning from the body and sends it to the lungs. The left side receives oxygen-rich blood from the lungs and pumps it...
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Health & wellbeingHaemoglobin is the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells. HbA1c is haemoglobin with blood sugar attached, and its percentage shows an average blood sugar picture over about the past three...
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Health & wellbeingWhich statement is correct about glucose after your body breaks down carbohydrates? A. It must all be used immediately. B. Some may be stored in the liver and muscles for...
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Health & wellbeingBlood sugar is the main sugar in the blood and a main source of energy. When blood sugar rises after food, the pancreas releases insulin. Insulin helps blood sugar move...
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Health & wellbeingWhen you breathe in, air travels to tiny air sacs in your lungs. There, oxygen moves into the blood while carbon dioxide moves from the blood into the air to...
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Health & wellbeingHaemoglobin is an iron-rich protein inside red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to body cells. It is like a delivery system, but oxygen delivery also needs the...
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Health & wellbeingCholesterol is found in every cell and helps the body make hormones, vitamin D and substances that help digest food. Too much cholesterol in the blood can form plaque that...
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Health & wellbeingUric acid is a normal waste product made when the body breaks down purines from old cells and some foods and drinks. It travels in the blood and usually leaves...
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Health & wellbeingThe pancreas sends digestive juice to the small intestine to help break down food. It also makes insulin and glucagon, hormones with opposite effects on blood sugar.
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Health & wellbeingFibre is a natural part of plant foods such as beans, vegetables and whole grains. Most fibre is not fully broken down, so it adds bulk and can help you...
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Health & wellbeingKidneys filter blood and remove wastes and extra water, which become urine. They return most of the water and useful substances the body still needs. They also make hormones that...
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Health & wellbeingFood starts its journey in the mouth, where chewing begins to break it down. The stomach mixes food with digestive juices, but the small intestine absorbs most nutrients and water.
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Health & wellbeingA haemoglobin result can flag useful information, but it cannot by itself confirm whether someone carries thalassaemia trait.
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