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| Can western medicine and Chinese herbs complement each other or they should be taken separately? What is the complication if both are taken continuously? How much is enough? |
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Not all western medicine and Chinese herbs can complement each other. Some western drug have interaction with herbs. Western medicine and Chinese herbs must use with care. |
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Example : |
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Herbs |
Common uses |
Potential Adverse Interaction |
| Garlic |
| - hyperlipidemia, |
| - hypertension, |
| - bacterial, |
| - fungal, |
| - viral infection |
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- Prolonged bleeding when use with other anticoagulant (warfarin) antiplatelet aggregation drug and supplements which have blood thinning effect (gingko biloba) |
| Ginseng |
| - antifatigue, |
| - antistress, |
| - mental performance improvement, |
| - immune system enhancement, |
| - cardiovascular effect |
| - supportive therapy for diabetes |
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| - potentially enhance or reduce the effectiveness of some medication and dietary supplements |
| - increase antidepressant effect |
| - mania |
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| Ginkgo |
| - vasodilation, |
| - imhibit platelet aggregation, |
| - improve peripheral circulation, |
| - antioxidant treat age-related decline in mental function
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| - Prolonged bleeding when use with other anticoagulant (warfarin) antiplatelet aggregation drug (aspirin) and supplements which have blood thinning effect (omega-3 fatty acid, ginger, garlic, etc) |
| - May interfere with diabetes management. |
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Besides, Dong quai may have interaction with warfarin because it may increase anticoagulant effect of warfarin. Ma Huang may interact with drug which is sympathomimetics because ephedrine in Ma Huang is additive with other sympathomimetics, hypertension, stroke. |
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| There are so many vitamin and food supplement advertisements, how do we know which brand is suitable and reliable? |
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Depends on your nutrients requirement. Types and dosage of supplements should be considered. |
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Not all the supplements has solid scientific basis, better to consult before buy any supplements. |
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All the supplements should be recognized by MOH. |
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Avoid being conned, better get the supplements from recognizable healthcare outlets to guarantee the authenticity of products. |
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Before taking supplements, better get consultation from doctor or pharmacist. They will review your health status (eg. blood investigation) & decide the most suitable for you. |
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| If one is on doctor’s medication (ex angioplasty patient), is it still advisable to take supplements? |
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Yes, the patient is still advisable to take certain supplements under recommendation by the physician. Normally, if one is on doctor's medication, the patient will get improvement. Yet, some supplement eg. multivitamin which is safe, can help to improve immune system, metabolic rate and general well being. |
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| Can we trust the labels that state that a product contains no sugar/starch/milk/derivatives/yeast/gluten/ salt/ artificial colourings/preservatives? |
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Firstly, we have to know the procedure to apply for an ingredients /nutritional claims. Food samples will be sent for composition analysis by a SAMM accredidated laboratory. From there, a list of that particular food composition & its content will be obtained. Hence, food labels shall be done according to the list. |
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But there is a major issue that, in Malaysia, only drugs will need to be registered (MAL no.) but supplements or foods are not compulsary to do so. Therefore, not all labels are 100% trustable esp. for those which are not registered or their manufacturers that are not not regconizable or not ISO / HACCP certified. |
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Answer for customers : |
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Be confident to tell customers that those products sold by us are manufactured by certified manufacturer (show them the MAL no. if there's any). Samples were sent for analysis before they can have those ingredients / nutritional claims.Therefore, the labels are trustable. |
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| Organic supplements are not common and are expensive – do they make any difference in our diet? |
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Organic supplement is supplement extracted from the organic food. |
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Organic food is food produced according to organic standards, which means crops grown: |
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Without the use of conventional pesticides, |
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As well as artificial fertilizers or sewage sludge, |
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Animals reared without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones |
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Food processed without ionizing radiation, |
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It is produced on all levels without the use of genetically modified organisms. |
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Organic supplement do make difference while we add in our diet. |
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A) |
To fulfill their specific nutritionally needs. |
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• the pregnant women and women of childbearing age, |
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• dieter, |
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• vegan, |
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• older adults, |
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• individuals suffering from chronic diseases, |
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• smoker and heavy drinkers. |
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B) |
More safety in use. |
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• The organic farming practices reduce the pesticides and herbicide residues in the foods, the more safety and environment friendly while we consumed the organic supplements. |
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C) |
To enhance to what people in foods, especially towards those always eating out people |
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| Do we need to take food supplements continuously or is it better to stop after we have recovered from our ailments? |
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You can always continue to take your food supplement, but provided it is recommended by your healthcare professional that according to your needs. Food supplement is different from medicine; once you have recoverd from ailments, better stop taking medicine to avoid long term used side effect, whereas, food supplement can continously provide nutrient to keep you stay in optimal health. |
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| There are too many brands to choose from and, most of the time, we buy them when there are promotions. How does one choose a good supplement, especially when certain brands dominate the market |
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base on its health benefits, contents and ingredients. |
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does it have any side effects after we take it? |
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the effectiveness of the supplement |
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recognized by MOH |
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do more promotions (advertisement, free gift) to let ppl know abt your brand |
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| I have a 4 years old son who has a very poor appetite. He prefers processed foods like nuggets, etc. Can he just rely on food supplement to get the nutrients that his body needs? |
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Proper nutrition implies an adequate & balanaced consumption of foods , with the aid of food supplements & utilization of all essential nutrients an individual needs. Food supplements act as complementary to natural foods. They might provide additional nutrients or boost up the nutrient level which is insufficient from our daily intake. But it is not advisible to be the only source of nutrient. |
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Moreover, processed food & junk food contain harmful substances eg. trans fatty acid etc. Hence, it is not encouraged to consume processed food frequently or in large amount. |
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| I am very interested in weight management, particularly in weight loss. Is there a special programme on natural food supplements that I can follow? |
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Everyone is unique. A weight management programme should be tailored made according to a person’s health, dietary and physical level. Therefore, kindly seek for your nearest healthcare professional to get the advice. |
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| My husband (33years old) works about 10 hours a day. He’s a project manager who attends lots of meetings, discussions and is involved in a lot of brainwork. Does he need food supplements? What would you recommend? |
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Her husband is considered overworked and stressed and there are several ways to fight against fatigue. |
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Try to get enough sleep |
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Avoid alcohol and caffeine’s drink |
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Exercise |
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Drink enough water |
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Proper diet (enough carbohydrate, protein, vitamin and minerals) |
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