The HEALTH Plus | OCTOBER, 2019
08
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A hearty message
for the young
Recent treatment shows that heart attacks are also prevalent
in younger generations
M
OST of us are exposed to
heart attack by genetics.
Consultant Physician &
Cardiologist from PPUKM,
Dr Hamat Hamdi Che
Hassan mentions that it
has been aff ecting the younger generations
of late.
“It’s very scary, we as a tertiary centre
providing medical services, we see a lot of
younger generation suff ering from
sudden cardiac arrest,” he says. “Other than
genetic infl uence, there are other external
factors to rationalise the occurrence,” he
continues.
“As it is, our nation is plagued by the risk
of hypertension and majority of the general
public have high cholesterol – leading to an
obese population due to the exposure of high
cholesterol intake,” he explains. According to
the doctor, the youngest heart attack victim
that was brought under his care was at 19
years old.
Heart attack happens when the blood
fl ow to the heart is obstructed. It is often
caused by fat blockage, narrowing the arteries
that transport blood to the heart, called the
coronary arteries. A heart attack can cause
the heart to lose some of its function and can
be fatal in some cases.
Trans fat is one of the main culprit when
it comes to fat consumption. It raises the bad
cholesterol level in our blood, causing the
good cholesterol level to drop in our stream.
A diet consisting of trans fat can increase the
risk of heart attack and stroke.
“In some cases; there are people who are
not obese but because of genetics, they might
have a higher level of cholesterol in their blood.
Some people are not aware as the symptoms
Dr Verna explains the similar if not better
health benefi ts of palm oil compared to other
oils commonly used in cooking.
CHECKUP ON
HEALTH: Dr Hamat
urges the younger
generations to get
their blood cholesterol
checked as a step of
precaution.
might not show,” he explains.
The doctor advises younger
generations, especially the fresh
graduates to get their cholesterol
levels checked. “Especially those
who have a genetic exposure or
familial hyper-cholesterol in their
blood stream,” he says. “While it may
come from their genetic background,
we can prevent it by controlling our
calorie intake in our everyday meal,”
he concludes.
— The Health Plus
“While it may come
from their genetic
background, we can
prevent it by controlling
our calorie intake in our everyday
meal.” – Dr Hamat Hamdi Che
Palm tocotrienols in skin care
TOCOTRIENOLS and tocopherols
are chemicals that are part of the
Vitamin E family. They are naturally
found in palm oil. We speak to
general practitioner, Dr Rosmawati
Mohamed who is also the manager
and wellness consultant for
her I-Clear Wellness Centre. Dr
Rosmawati’s wellness centre
incorporates a variety of treatments
such as clinical cupping, sauna,
hydrotherapy, hormone therapy,
detoxifi cation - all depending on
h er patient’s needs. “I have been
a general practitioner for the past
22 years. I also have my own clinic,
the I-Clear Wellness Centre. For the
past fi ve years, I have developed a
passion towards wellness medicine.
I place high importance towards a
healthy lifestyle and good nutrition -
that’s essential for preventive care.”
The wellness centre off ers a
range of products with palm oil in
them. According to Dr Rosmawati,
tocotrienol is a potent anti-oxidant
which preferentially accumulates
in the skin that provides protection
The uses of palm oil in health products is benefi cial because of its immense
vitamin E content, according to Dr Rosmawati.
from harmful UV rays, improves
skin hydration, eliminates free
radicals much faster and for
healthier, youthful and glowing
skin. “We need to support our local
products. Most of the products
off ered in my wellness centre has
the tocotrienol ingredient in them,
even my cosmetic range. Palm oil
is actually very good, it contains a
healthy balance of oils - saturated
fats, monounsaturated fats and a
little bit of polyunsaturated fats. I
believe the public does not have
the proper awareness towards the
health benefi ts that palm oil off ers,
they use palm oil because of the
aff ordable pricing. This is why we
need to go all out and educate them.”
— The Health Plus
Palm
oil not
linked to
increase in
cholesterol
Researchers have reviewed
the eff ects of the major
fatty acids in palm oil and
found that they had no high
cholesterol eff ects
A
CLASSIC misconception found with
patients with cardiovascular disease,
is to eat little cholesterol and little fat.
Palm oil, which has a good balance between
saturated and unsaturated fats, is also a victim
of these prejudices. We met up with Dr Verna
Lee Kar Mun, Consultant Family Physician at
IMU Medical Clinic to fi nd out the truth about
palm oil.
“This study was conducted with our PhD
student, Dr Voon Phooi Tee as the main
researcher. Focusing on cardiovascular health,
we compared palm oil alongside other oils.
The objective was to observe their cholesterol
levels; LDL cholesterol the unhealthy
cholesterol and HDL, the good cholesterol,
and triglyceride level. My task in the study was
to ensure the patients we were feeding the oil
to be healthy and to take their blood,” explains
Dr Ve rna.
“What we found was there was not much
of a diff erence in elevation in LDL cholesterol
when consuming palm oil or other oils. We
also did a meta-analysis (a statistical analysis
that combines the results of multiple scientifi c
studies) to fi nd out whether a saturated fatty
acid–rich palm olein diet has any signifi cant
adverse eff ect on established surrogate lipid
markers of cardiovascular disease (CVD)
risk. We compared it with other oils such
as coconut oil, lard, canola oil, high-oleic
sunfl ower oil, olive oil, peanut oil, and soybean
oil.”
Published in the Advances in Nutrition in
May 2019, the conclusion of the meta-analysis
study was that there are no signifi cant
diff erences in the eff ects of palm olein
intake on the cholesterol markers compared
with other dietary oils. This shows that oils
such as olive oil are not superior to palm oil.
— The Health Plus