I’ve had a few posts on air pollution in Beijing, including last week’s post on indoor air pollution. Yesterday’s New York Times has a nice review article (link below) about the state of Beijing’s air. Here’s a snippet: …Beijing’s air remains far from pristine by any measure. The average concentration of particulates in city air …

It’s always fascinating for me to compare China’s health care system with my home country, the US. Both countries have acknowledged that their systems are broken, but each for very different reasons. Both also are enacting major overhauls of their health systems — although it looks like China is ahead of us on that scale. …

The hepatitis B virus is one of those dangerous viruses that can cause chronic disease; this one attacks the liver, and after many years can cause liver failure (cirrhosis), liver cancer and death. Unfortunately, in China this disease is extremely common, with an estimated 10% of Chinese infected for life. In China, most people get …

There’s an interesting new study published in Lancet this week; in China, the #1 killer is hypertension. This, along with stroke, are common killers all over the world. The problem in China is that treatment levels are much lower than in other countries, especially in rural areas. An easy thing to help high blood pressure …

Over the last months I’ve created a few online slide shows based on Powerpoint presentations I’ve given in Beijing, and I wanted to review them here. They focus on the most common illnesses, and they review symptoms as well as prevention and treatment. With the magic of the internet, you can instantly view them online …

I’ve previously discussed outdoor pollution, a common worry for expats. Less commonly discussed but possibly more concerning is indoor air pollution. It’s important to realize that a poorly ventilated house can have more dangerous air than outdoor air — especially if a smoker lives there. Someone (thanks, Liora!) passed along to me an outstanding review …

A cough is one of the most annoying symptoms of the common cold, and OTC cough syrups are one of the most popular purchases in pharmacies. But which ones really work? No Combos For Children Under Four Recent reviews have consistently shown that, unfortunately, there is no major evidence that any common OTC products help …

Have you eaten black chicken yet in China? I remember the first time I saw the dramatically dark meat on the supermarket shelves; and then I first tried it in a typical Chinese soup with wolfberries, and I’ve loved it ever since. Black chicken (also known in the Western world as the silkie breed) is …

Soy milk has been popular in Asia for thousands of years, and is much more common than cow milk here. Are there different health effects? There is a lot of differing information out there, but some recent scholarly reviews help to find some answers. There’s a terrific 2006 review from the American Heart Association – here …

Finding a good ayi — and keeping her — is a big undertaking for expats. It’s important to make sure she is well trained; some agencies claim to train their staff, but honestly I’ve found those ayi’s very inconsistent as well. There are some basics about safety and hygiene which you should make sure she …

The Hong Kong Center for Food Safety has a monthly Food Safety newsletter; this September has a good article about pesticides and fruit. One of their comments: Advice to the Public Fruits are an essential component of a healthy diet. Members of the public are advised to take a balanced diet and eat a variety …

Diabetes is the disease of high sugars in your system; it is a potentially devastating disease for many people, and it is reaching epidemic proportions among all societies that have more of an American diet (including China). It is definitely a lifestyle disease; each person’s dietary intake, exercise and weight issues play a huge factor …