Reducing stroke risk factors
ACCORDING to the American Stroke Association, there were already 442 million people having high blood pressure in 1990 and this figure increased to 874 million sufferers in 2015 worldwide. High blood pressure was responsible for 14% of total deaths and 143 million disabilities.
A frightening statistic from the American Stroke Association shows that in every six seconds, one person gets a stroke. Each year, there are about 40,000 people within our country suffering from stroke, which is expected to be the single largest cause of severe disability in Malaysia.
If you have high blood pressure, your stroke risk increases six times. Therefore, the key to reducing stroke risk is by reducing risk factors, which include diseases like hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes, not forgetting detrimental lifestyle factors like smoking, lack of exercise and unhealthy food or diet.
While trying your very best to control hypertension and other diseases that increase the risk of stroke, it is also crucial to protect your brain cells early to minimise any possible brain cell damage, either from an unnoticeable small scale stroke (silent stroke) or the big blown up attack of major stroke.
Palm tocotrienols is one of the very few health supplements that has undergone stringent clinical trials and proven to help protect brain cells from damage. It also helps salvage cells from damage caused by stroke.
A recent report in STROKE Journal (2014) shows that 200mg of palm tocotrienols taken twice a day can reduce the progression of brain cell damage that leads to formation of white matter lesion, a risk factor of stroke.
According to Dr Cameron Rink from the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center brain damage during a stroke can be prevented by triggering the surrounding blood vessels to dilate and redirect the blood flow around a blockage. The blood vessel “redirect” is the result of 10 weeks’ worth of supplementation in canine model with palm tocotrienols 200mg twice a day.
Dr Rink discovered that palm tocotrienols could stimulate arteriogenesis – the formation of collateral blood supply, with the expansion and redirection of the existing blood vessels at times of emergency, so that blood and oxygen can be delivered to the stroke affected brain areas. This collateral blood supply could provide a major difference in stroke outcomes.
“We know that people who have good collaterals have better recovery from strokes. We studied that tocotrienol helps improve the function of collaterals, which would offer someone better protection from an initial or secondary stroke,” says Rink.
Palm tocotrienol in Suprabio formulation used in clinical trials: Unfortunately, palm tocotrienols by nature is known to be poorly absorbed into human body.
Hovid Berhad, as a pioneer manufacturer in palm tocotrienols discovered this issue many years ago. With its expertise and continuous innovation, Hovid’s research team has successfully developed a novel self-emulsifying delivery system called Suprabio, which increases adsorption of tocotrienols by 300%. Suprabio system is validated and clinically proven by Prof Chandan Sen from Ohio State University to effectively reach human brain cells. Tocovid Suprabio is the palm tocotrienols used in most major researches.
To know more about palm tocotrienols protection, call 03-7831 2738 (weekdays, 9am to 4pm). E-mail kyyoon@hovid.com to redeem educational material on stroke prevention.