Sophie Nguyen
Sophie Nguyen recently graduated from the University of Science and Technology of Hanoi (USTH) with a Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology. With a passion for nutrition and food science, Sophie gained experience in food composition analysis and nutrition development. She also participated in an international credit mobility program in Cancer Biology at the University of Trento (Italy).
As an undergraduate research assistant at USTH, Sophie analyzed and extracted compositions of endemic tea species in Vietnam. Additionally, she tutored fellow Biology students and led a group project titled "Vietnamese carrot hairy root induction and cultivation for optimized β-carotene production". The project aimed to develop an innovative method for producing β-carotene.
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What Causes Heart Murmurs? Symptoms and When To Worry
Heart murmur sound Murmurs are often unexpectedly found during auscultation, which means listening to sounds in your body, often with a stethoscope, a key part of examining the heart (1, 2). Irregular heart sounds can also be detected with a manual or electronic stethoscope (3). What does a normal heartbeat sound like? Your heart consists […]
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Is Kefir Good for Upset Stomach? Tips and Precautions
What is kefir? Kefir is a tangy fermented milk drink made with small, gluten-free, cauliflower-shaped kefir grains, usually 1 to 4 cm in size (2). These grains contain a mix of bacteria and yeast known as “probiotics.” The key bacteria are lactic acid bacteria, mainly from Lactobacillus groups, known for promoting gut health (1, 3, […]
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Can You Drink Coffee While Fasting? All You Need To Know
Coffee during intermittent fasting: Black or with milk? Unlike other diets that suggest what to be on your plate, intermittent fasting (IF) is more about when to eat (1, 2). Intermittent fasting has historical roots in religion, spirituality, and culture. In the modern version, IF means you go without eating for a set period (usually […]
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Why Is Soda Bad for You: 18 Side Effects on Health and More
How does soda affect your body and why you should quit drinking Is drinking soda bad for you? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the harmful effects of soft drinks on the human body – as with other sugary drinks, include weight gain/obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes, heart […]
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Does Chewing Gum Break a Fast: Everything You Need to Know
Does chewing gum break a fast? Fasting is when you go without eating or drinking anything with calories for a set period (1). Can you have gum while fasting? If you’re looking for a quick answer—gum, with some calories, may disrupt your fasting efforts. Can you have chewing gum while intermittent fasting? Intermittent fasting (IF) […]
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Liver Disease and Itchy Skin: Causes and Treatments
Does liver disease cause itching? Possible Links Roughly 4.5 million people in the United States (1.8%) have liver disease, according to the National Health Interview Survey in 2018 (1). Long-term liver problems can cause itching, also known as pruritus. The itchiness does not depend on how long the disease has lasted, how serious it is, […]
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Is Burping a Lot a Sign of Cancer? Possible Links and More
Excessive belching and cancer: What is the link? Belching, also called burping or eructation, is when air from your stomach or esophagus comes out into the throat in a sound (1, 2). Belching is usually good, as it means your body is getting rid of extra air to ease your stomach (1, 3). Everyone experiences […]
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Can You Donate Blood if You Have Diabetes? Facts To Know
Can people with diabetes donate blood? Things you should prepare to give blood Every year, five million American people need a blood transfusion (1), which means every two seconds, someone in the US requires blood help (2). Can you donate blood if you have diabetes, which affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide? The simple […]
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Can Eating Sugar Cause Diabetes: What You Should Know?
Does eating sugar cause diabetes? Facts to know The short answer to “Does sugar cause diabetes?” is no, it does not directly cause diabetes. However, increased sugar intake is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is a chronic disease triggered by many factors (1). So, whether it’s type 1, type 2, […]
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Can Diabetes Cause Dizziness? Diabetes and Vertigo
Can high blood sugar cause dizziness and vertigo? Dizziness and diabetes explanation Feeling dizzy is a common reason for medical visits—about 5% of walk-in clinics and 4% of emergency department patient visits complain about this, including two different underlying problems: “Dizziness” and “Vertigo.” “Dizziness” differs from “vertigo,” a condition that feels similar but signals a […]
