Do you know what Acrylamide is?-Good advice by Dr.Harold   This is a chemical found in starches when they are over cooked at high temperatures like 248 F or 120deg.C. You need to be careful adding potatoes to meat curry and others and boiling for hours in a cooker, can brown the starch in potatoes to produce a cancer producing chemical called Acrylamide. Be aware, when you eat toast, French fries, you are taking some dose of this chemical into your body. It is a white, odourless, crystal compound, and is used to make plastics and treat waste water, among other things. Studies have shown that in animals acrylamide can damage DNA and cause cancer. Among humans there is no proof so far that this chemical can cause cancer. For some types of cancer in humans, including kidney, endometriosis and ovarian cancer the results of these studies are mixed, with ...

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Eggs film-By Dr Harold Overview For over 15 years, people enjoyed eating eggs when studies revealed that cholesterol in eggs did not influence the blood cholesterol levels. The liver seems to rejectdietary cholesterol and excrete in the bile for further recycling. It was believed that it is dietary saturated fat that is converted into blood cholesterol by the liver. The new findings contradict the latest dietary guidelines for Americans, released in 2015; the US Department of Health and Human Services and the US. Department of Agriculture said that Americans no longer had to worry about keeping their cholesterol intake within a certain limit. Please watch the video, and it might unravel your doubts to continue enjoying an egg a day. 23/03/2019 ...

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The problem with metformin – Good advice from Dr Harold Are you taking metformin for your diabetes? It is prescribed for over 120 million people worldwide. Do you have any frequent digestive problems such as diarrhoea, flatulence, heavy feeling in your lower abdomen? These symptoms may be due to taking metformin for years. These gastro-intestinal problems start years after being on metformin. There are two forms of metformin: regular and extended release. Most problems are with the regular one. You should always take your metformin with food and also drink plenty of water. Your doctor will start on a lower dose and increase gradually until the blood sugar level is controlled. I am writing this information because my wife has been complaining of occasional bloating of her tummy and heavy feeling in the lower abdomen. Recently a pelvic ultra sound done revealed nothing to worry about. I then asked her to ...

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What is Lymph System? – Written by Dr harold Gunatillake-FRCS, MBBS, FICS, FIACS, AM(Sing)-Health writer   Just like there are arteries and veins to circulate blood carrying nutrients, other metabolites and waste material to and from the tissues and organs there is another system called the lymph system which is filled with watery milkish fluid called lymph carrying nutrients and waste material between the body tissues and the bloodstream? You could compare the two transport systems like the road and railway systems, respectively. The lymph system is composed of very tiny thread-like meshwork of vessels under the skin (subcutaneously) and deep in relation to the blood vessels, mainly accompanying the veins. Like the railway system there are stations joining this system called nodes, commonly found in the neck, armpit and the groin. These nodes are bean shaped organs and are part of your body’s defensive barrier – the immune system. There ...

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Are you taking a low dose Aspirin, daily? – Good advice by Dr.Harold Your doctor will recommend you to take a low dose of aspirin after the age of forty. Most people do not take it seriously until they are about 60 years and over. Why does your doctor does want you to take aspirin, daily? The reason is that a low dose of aspirin daily lowers your risk of getting a heart attack or stroke, by thinning your blood. Normally, clotting of blood occurs by clumping of platelets in your blood stream. At times of a bleed from an artery chemicals are produced to make platelets paste to each other and form a bung. Aspirin tend to delay this process. Further, if you happen to get chest pain (angina) whilst driving, you might escape a severe attack by taking one or two aspirins immediately, which may help to dissolve a ...

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Should we eat more Bananas? – Written by Dr Harold Gunatillake FRCS, FICS, FIACS, AM (Sing), MBBS-Health writer   Bananas are available in every little way-side tea boutique or street eating outlet in Sri Lanka on the main trunk roads.  Bananas are kept hanging in most of these places. The secret is that hanging unripe green skin bananas change as they ripen and become sweeter. There are enzymes in bananas that begin to break down starches into sugars. What this means is that it is already digested into sugar for easy absorption, unlike most other fruits. Hanging seems to accelerate this enzyme activity. You can stop your vehicle and order a bunch and feed your hunger pans, quite fresh and filling, too.  The question is asked how healthy are they, and are they low calorie? They are extremely healthy full of nutrients and most average size banana (6-7 inches-101grams) have approximately ...

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Diabetics must eat starchy carbs Did you know that you eat basically two varieties of carbs, both equally beneficial to your health and survival? They are classified as starchy ones and leafy ones. One cannot survive on the healthy leafy vegies alone you need starchy ones too to feel full, satiated and get the required micronutrients. Just imagine you eat many cupful of healthy gotukola or kale, you’ll never be satisfied how healthy they are, and not been able to concentrate on your daily work or relate to colleagues and family. When adding a few starchy vegies you tend to promptly revive. Starchy vegies contain more complex carbs and more calorie-dense compared to those non-starchy ones mostly rabbits eat. The common starchy ones are corn, potatoes, zucchini, parsnip, pumpkin, butter squash, sweet potatoes, yams and other underground rhizomes.( Rice and wheat are grains and not vegetables).These starchy vegies are packed ...

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The Perahera season is starting in a few days in Kandy and a variety of home grown fruits are galore and the vendors are making preparations for their harvest. The smell of durian fruit is all over, in the streets and most homes. Mosquitoes so abundant have disappeared temporarily when normally they buzz, and the biting starts at dusk. Meanwhile, the monkeys on coconut trees wait to aim a nut on your head, which could be hazardous. ...

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