The ISAW journal
Practical reads for everyday wellbeing, home monitoring and life in Malaysia.
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Health & wellbeingA tiny blood drop has touched the test strip. Is that enough for a blood sugar reading? Not always: too little blood can make the result inaccurate, even if the...
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Health & wellbeingAfter using the toilet, you may wonder why stool is usually formed rather than liquid. The large intestine absorbs water from digestive waste, helping the remaining waste become stool.
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Health & wellbeingJust eaten and reaching for a blood sugar meter? Use your fingertip: the FDA says palm or forearm results may be less accurate when blood sugar is changing quickly after...
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Health & wellbeingA morning appointment slip sits beside water and coffee. For a fasting blood test, plain water is allowed, but coffee and other drinks are not. Follow the instructions for your...
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Health & wellbeingThe packet says six crackers. Is that your limit? No: serving size is the amount the nutrition numbers describe, not an instruction for how much you should eat. Your portion...
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Health & wellbeingIn a dim cinema, why do your pupils look bigger? Quiz: Which part controls how much light enters your eye? A. The iris B. The retina C. The optic nerve....
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Health & wellbeingA blood sugar number in a notebook can be hard to understand later without the time. Blood sugar may follow different patterns across the day, so noting when it was...
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Health & wellbeingAfter cutting fruit for breakfast, food or juice left on your fingers can affect a home blood sugar reading. Wash and dry your hands, use the correct strip, and record...
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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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