By: Kim Atienza
Mag-fasting ka muna. Mga eight hours or more.
Doctors always remind us this before we undergo a blood test.
A recent study in Denmark as reported by Reuters Health said that most people don’t need to fast overnight before getting their blood drawn for a cholesterol test, according to a group of experts.
Reuters reported that cholesterol test results obtained one to six hours after a meal were not significantly different from results obtained after a fast.
“It could be implemented tomorrow with no problems at all,” said lead author Dr. BorgeNordestgaard, of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. “Today, the key players for keeping the fasting procedure are the laboratories drawing the blood. They simply could change the procedure tomorrow, and then nobody would fast anymore. That is what we did in Denmark – and patients, clinicians and laboratories were all happy with the change.”
Nordestgaard told Reuters Healththat doctors essentially just always had patients fast before a cholesterol test. “So people got used to it without questioning the fasting procedure,” he said.
The researchers found that not fasting, compared to fasting, didn’t significantly change the levels of substances typically measured during a cholesterol test, including triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL (or bad) cholesterol and HDL (or good) cholesterol.
•
TRIVIA PA MORE (Various Sources):
The Del Monte pineapple plantation in Bukidnon is considered to be the biggest in the Far East.
•
Both Tridacnagigas, one of the world’s largest shells, and Pisidum, the world’s tiniest shell, can be found under Philippine waters. Tridacnagigas grows as large as one meter in length and weighs 600 pounds while Pisidum is less than 1 millimeter long. A shell called Glory of the Sea (Connusgloriamaris) is also found in the Philippines and considered as one of the most expensive shells in the world.
•
Seahorses are small saltwater fish belonging to the Syngnathidae family (order Gasterosteiformes), which also includes pipefish and sea dragons. Most seahorse species, probably the most peculiar creatures in the water, live in the Coral Triangle.
•
Send your questions on anything and everything to Kuya Kim through my Twitter account @kuyakim_atienza using #AlaminKayKuyaKim.
Atingtuklasinangmgabagay-bagayna di niyo pa alam. Walang ’di susuungin, lahataalamin.Ito posiKuya Kim, Matanglawin, only here in Tempo.
