Friday, July 27, 2007

RoboMop

Just got my RoboMop by redemption through Maybank.

Lazy to sweep your floor? Getting allergic symptoms every time you sweep the floor? Or worse, having to pull out every strand of hair stuck to your broom?

Introducing RoboMop!!

At first when i saw it, the Malaysia free type looked exactly the same as the real RoboMop. Have a closer look. Can u spot any difference?

Free version..


The real RoboMop!!

My wife can't wait to try it! Check out our first youtube own made RoboMop advertisement!


The end result! Quite satisfying I would said.
Interested to get one, especially those who got allergic rhinitis?

Recommended by PharmaLogik
My wife rated RoboMop 4.5/5!

Saturday, July 14, 2007

14 July The Star- Vitamin Check

Extract from the Star

Vitamin check:

Ensuring health supplements are what they are claim to be

KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry will conduct an exercise to verify the vitamin and mineral content in health supplements as claimed by manufacturers.

Its minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek told The Star that the assessment would take three months and would be carried out by its food quality and safety, and pharmaceutical services divisions.

“There are plenty of vitamins and minerals as claimed, but nobody knows whether this is true or not. It is a long-term continuous exercise,” he said.

He said that another reason for the study was because vitamins or minerals when consumed excessively can sometimes do “more harm than good.”

“A study indicates that 20% of Malaysians, mostly in urban areas, are fond of taking food supplements,” he said, adding that the ministry was increasingly concerned about food quality and safety.

According to the Malaysian Dietary Supplement Association, Malaysians spend between RM50 and RM100 a month on health supplements.

The association found that vitamins C, E, B complex, multivitamins, folic acid and calcium are among the more popular dietary supplements, while evening primrose oil, Omega 3 fish oil, gingko biloba, royal jelly and cod liver oil make up popular natural supplements.

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So, how do we ensure of the quality of the health supplements? How about the efficacy? Who has the best interest in your health?Who is the best person to consult when you want to choose health supplements? Where do you find the non-biased most accurate informations regarding a health supplements?

Simplest way?
1) Ask the pharmacist!! Because they are the ONLY professionals trained in medicine and health supplements.

e.g. Evening Primrose Oil- Proven to be effective for Mastalgia, Osteoporosis.
How about other indications? If anybody claimed other health benefits, tell them: Let me see the prove (i.e. clinical studies)!!

You are welcome to post any supplement-related question in my shoutbox, i will try to answer it in my blog.

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Mercury contaminations in fish

There are two basics types of mercury, inorganic and organic. The organic type is also known as methylmercury. It forms when inorganic mercury gets into water systems. Mercury usually leaches into these waters naturally from soil and rocks. But burning of coal, waste incineration, and other hazardous human activity produce the most mercury.

Bacteria in the water and sediment will convert these inorganic mercury into methylmercury. These bacteria, including algae take up the methylmercury as part of their food. They then in turn consumed by larger organisms. Moving up the food chain, as bigger organisms consume larger quantities of the smaller ones, the dose of methylmercury accumulates and become concentrated.

Since fish are less efficient at depurating than accumulating methylmercury, fish-tissue concentrations increase over time. The top predator fish can have levels of methylmercury in their muscle tissue between 10,000 and 100,000 times higer than the water itself.

But still, the level is still very low in terms of hazard to humans. However we still need to becareful of the freshwater species like largemouth and smallmouth bass, perch, pickerel, lake trout, and walleyed pike; marine species like shark, swordfish, and tuna because they stay in the top predator group in their ecosystems.How does mercury toxic to us?
Mercury is neurotoxic, meaning it can damages the cells of the brain and the central nervous system. A person can experienced impaired vision, tingling or numbness in their hands and feet, impaired speech, hearing and walking.

Ask the pharmacist!!
Our body metabolizes half of the mercury in two months. So, a women who has built up a level of mercury in the body will still have 25% of that mercury inside her four months later. 12.5% of the original level six months later, and 6% eight months later. Therefore it is important for pregnant ladies to get consultation from the professionals regarding supplements they want to consume, even before pregnancy.

Also, because methylmercury and high levels of elemental mercury can be particularly toxic to unborn or young children, organizations such as the U.S. EPA and FDA recommend that women who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant within the next one or two years, as well as young children avoid eating more than 6 ounces (one average meal) of fish per week.

To Amch reader,
In Malaysia, we have a center which can test for mercury content.
"SIRIM QAS International Sdn Bhd located in Shah Alam. "

They use Flameless Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy Technique to test for present of mercury in the specific sample of fish oil. Our own National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau (NPCB) of Malaysia requires the fish oil's mercury to be less than 0.5 ppm.

So, you can ask for the testing certificate of the products you want to buy in order to be assure the products comply with the NPCB requirements. No certificate, no buy....haha...or buy from me, i can assure you i only keep reliable and tested brands.

Or you also can buy the fish oil and then send it to the SIRIM QAS to test for mercury. Then sue the company if the fish oil does not meet requirements...hahaha

For further information,
www.epa.gov/ost/fish