Common medicines that affect sleep
Lau Hui LingMPharm, PhD, RPh Many patients have concerns about whether the medications they take can cause side effects. One common worry is whether certain medicines can affect their sleep. It is well-known that usage of illicit recreational drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy can lead to hyper-excitability and impaired sleep, while usage of heroin […]
Vitamin C preparations: Are they all the same?
Lau Hui Ling PhD, MPharm, RPh While there is no difference in terms of the absorption and bioavailability between natural and synthetic vitamin C, the type of formulation or dosage form in which the vitamin C is delivered to the body may affect its absorption from your gastrointestinal tract into your blood stream. Vitamin C is available as […]
Rabies: What it is and why it matters to me?
John Tiong Jeh LungMPharm, PhD, RPh Lau Hui LingMPharm, PhD, RPh In recent days, a number of rabies cases have been reported in Malaysia. The last canine rabies outbreak in the country was in 2015, which ended after mass vaccination and controversial culling of potentially infected animals. Despite multiple dog bite cases during that period, […]
Vitamin supplements: Do we need them?
Mai Chun WaiBPharm (Hons), PhD, RPh Vitamins are a group of compounds that are needed in small quantities for normal daily functions. In general, with the exception to vitamin D, human body cannot produce vitamins. We therefore have to rely on our diet and/or supplements as sources for our vitamins. Vitamin deficiency is uncommon in […]
Leptospirosis! Not again!
Dr Yeap Li LingBPharm, PhD, RPh Leptospirosis, better known among the locals as “rat urine disease” is in the public eye once again. This is following the release of forensic investigations that uncovered leptospirosis infection as the actual cause of death of a young student from Johor, whose assault case made headlines in recent weeks. In […]
Folic acid and pregnancy planning
Lee E LynBPharm (Hons), MSc, RPh Folic acid, also known as vitamin B9, is a vitamin that is important for our body to make new cells. The terms folic acidand folate are usually used interchangeably and generally refer to the same thing. The only difference is that folic acid is man-made while folate is naturally occurring and is […]
No sweat no gain: truth or fiction?
Lee E LynBPharm (Hons), MSc, RPh I’m drenched in sweat. That would mean I’ve exercised enough, right? In my attempts to try and be fit, I’ve asked my personal trainer once: “I’m not sweating enough. What am I not doing right?”, to which he replied, “Sweating is not a good gauge of how much calories you’ve burned”. […]
Alkaline water a cure for cancer: Fact or fiction?
John Tiong Jeh LungMPharm, PhD, RPh The anticancer effect of alkaline water (pH above 7) is at present a controversial topic of hot discussion. It is believed that acidogenic diets can cause the blood which has a normal physiological pH of approximately 7.4 (slightly alkaline) to become too acidic (pH less than 7), hence increasing the […]