We all know far too much about air pollution, but did you know that noise and light pollution can also harm our health? On the February 1 broadcast of EZFM’s Beijing Hour morning radio show, host Paul James and I discuss Shanghai’s nascent efforts to control such pollution, as well as how we each can avoid it. We also talk about the dark side of the otherwise-awesome Spring Festival — the adverse health effects from fireworks and food.

You can listen by clicking on the links above.

More Podcast Information

You can always listen live to my radio interview each Wednesday around 7:35am Beijing time, on the Beijing Hour program on EZFM 91.5, which is broadcast from 7-8am every weekday by host Paul James. EZFM is the popular bilingual radio station on the China Radio International network, broadcasting here in Beijing and on multiple stations all over the world, as well as live online here.

You can listen to all my previous podcasts at the podcast archive.

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• A Day In Beijing Is Like Smoking Only One Sixth Of A Cigarette? It’s Almost…Disappointing! – this was one of my most fun projects, and still very controversial.
• Official School Air Pollution Action Plan: You’re Not Going To Like It – another very controversial post, I detail why Beijing schools should enact no-outdoor-activity cutoffs when the AQI reaches 200.
• Alen Air Purifiers Battle IQAir and Blueair – I had geeky fun running around my apartment for 3 days with 4 purifiers, one particle monitor and a spreadsheet. And the winner is…the consumer!
• Happy Birthday, Dad. You Died Far Too Young – the most painful article I’ve ever written, I offer this as a homage to my father, who died of alcoholic cirrhosis.
• Hey Laowai: Now You Can Use Weibo In English. Here’s How – not medical but important and also very popular, I give step-by-step instructions on using China’s coolest website, Weibo (you can always follow my Weibo at weibo.com/daniudaifu). Also non-medical but culturally important was my article helping people use group-buying websites in China (tuangou), which have saved me tens of thousands of RMB on everyday purchases in just two years
• High Cholesterol Hits Home… – another very personal article, I describe my brother’s efforts to control his dangerously high triglycerides
• Radiation Hits China — In “Harmless” Amounts. What Level Actually is “Harmless”? – this was enormously popular all over the world, not just in China, during last spring’s radiation scare in Japan.
• Air Pollution Masks: Buy Them Now! Here’s Where — And Why – I detail why I think N95 masks should be the new Beijing accessory.
• Welcome To Beijing! Here’s What You Need To Know To Stay Healthy – I detail my top ten wellness tips for Beijing’s newcomers
• Diabetes: What Natural Medicines Work — Or Don’t Work? and Diabetes: What’s The #1 Way To Prevent It? – this one-two punch offers practical tips on both avoiding and treating the global lifestyle epidemic of diabetes

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It’s truly an amazing step, and I hope it gets even better over the next few months. I’d like to see a couple improvements:

• Correction, Feb 3: this reading is actually one monitor, on the western side of the city, and not a city-wide average, as I had incorrectly stated before. I’m told that other PM2.5 monitors will be added as the year progresses. Right now the PM2.5 data is a city-wide average. I’d prefer to see hourly updates from each of their monitors. As you can see from their PM10 data, the readings vary widely between city districts and between rural and urban monitors.
• I’d also like an archived database to access previous results
• There is no AQI posted for each PM2.5 number, which decreases its real-world usefulness. You have to convert yourself (just multiply the PM2.5 reading by 1,000 and use this online calculator)

How Does It Compare?

One obvious question is: how do the numbers compare to the US Embassy’s famous Beijing monitor? I’ve checked a couple times and found the numbers relatively the same:

• January 26 morning (10 readings): US Embassy is 73 ug/m3 (= AQI 155) and BJMEMC is 80 ug/m3 (= AQI 159)
• January 27 morning (10 readings): US Embassy is 93 ug/m3 (= AQI 167) and BJMEMC is 72 ug/m3 (= AQI 155)

It’s only a couple readings so far, but those AQI differences are surprisingly and reassuringly similar.

Now What?

I really give credit to the BJMEMC for pushing this data many years ahead of schedule. It’s a very positive step which should be acknowledged. China is now ahead of many developing countries, which mostly publish only PM10 data. So now that there is official data, what’s next?

• Will the US Embassy shut down their site, since it technically is no longer needed?
• Will local schools start having air pollution action plans?
• Will such data actually quicken public efforts to clean the air?

Stay tuned…

PM2.5 Beijing Air Pollution Monitor

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On the January 18th broadcast of EZFM’s Beijing Hour morning radio show, host Paul James and I discussed the sad news about Beijing’s annual Happiness Index, which has been declining for 4 years in a row. We also talk a bit about a Fengtai neighborhood concerned about “radiation” from a new cell phone tower.

You can listen by clicking on the links above.

More Podcast Information

You can always listen live to my radio interview each Wednesday around 7:35am Beijing time, on the Beijing Hour program on EZFM 91.5, which is broadcast from 7-8am every weekday by host Paul James. EZFM is the popular bilingual radio station on the China Radio International network, broadcasting here in Beijing and on multiple stations all over the world, as well as live online here.

You can listen to all my previous podcasts at the podcast archive.

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Check Out These Related Articles:
Amazing PM2.5 Breakthrough, & Stem Cell Crackdown	What About The Other Pollutions (Noise & Light)?	Another Milk Scandal, and Blood Autotransfusion: Latest Podcast

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Medical:

• Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database — This website is, by far, still the best source of evidence-based and unbiased data on every herb, supplement and vitamin you would ever use. There’s a small fee for monthly use, but they also have a huge list of freely available and incredibly useful articles on the front page: look for “Clinical Management Series”
• Consumerlab –  Don’t know which brand of vitamins to buy? Fret no longer; the people at Consumerlab do their own independent testing of all the major brands. Their website is full of useful tidbits on all supplements and vitamins. Again, there’s a fee but it’s worth it for anyone interested in supplements.
• iHerb – I just discovered this website a month ago and already love it. Think of it as the Amazon.com of supplements. Many expats use this website to order at a very good deal — and they are delivered within 2 weeks from the US at extremely reasonable shipping fees. No more Costco runs and asking visiting friends to load up! Use coupon code ONU242 at checkout to get $5 off your first purchase.
• Chinadialogue – This is an outstanding, bilingual collection of well-written and researched articles on China’s many public health issues of the environment.
• Asia Healthcare Blog — This group is supersmart and they write extremely useful and thoughtful articles on all aspects of healthcare in China.
• Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety — This website is still my most useful bilingual source of food safety information. Honestly, I wish by now there would be a mainland equivalent!
• US Embassy Beijingair feed — Yes, we still must give thanks to the original source.
• UpToDate – Pricy, but worth every penny for tens of thousands of doctors all over the world. By far, the most highly regarded evidence-based source of information for all physicians.

Non-Medical:

• Tuangou — you do use tuangou, yes? This is an absolute must for any laowai with a modicum of Chinese reading ability. Tuangou simply means “group buying” and refers to the dozens of Groupon-style websites that offer amazing deals on everything you can think of. My wife and I have bought hundreds of items on tuan800, meituan, gaopeng and many other sites and literally save tens of thousands of RMB every year on restaurants, movies, spas, houseware — anything.
• Weibo — I now love writing on my Weibo account more than on this blog! Weibo has really taken off in China, and it’s really fun to share my health information with 300 million Chinese people.
• Amazon.cn — I finally found a shopping website online in China that didn’t terrify me. Amazon has the same layout and easy payment system as in the US, and while their selection isn’t huge, it’s a lot more dependably authentic than on Taobao.
• Consumersearch – this is still my #1 website to research any consumer product, including air purifiers, water filters — anything.

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On the January 11 broadcast of EZFM’s Beijing Hour radio show, host Paul James and I discussed the very welcome and long-overdue crackdown on the stem cell industry in China. We also talk about the astoundingly good news that the Beijing Ministry of Environmental Protection will start to publish hourly PM2.5 data by January 23rd — an amazing four years ahead of schedule. You can listen by clicking on the links above.

More Podcast Information

You can always listen live to my radio interview each Wednesday around 7:35am Beijing time, on the Beijing Hour program on EZFM 91.5, which is broadcast from 7-8am every weekday by host Paul James. EZFM is the popular bilingual radio station on the China Radio International network, broadcasting here in Beijing and on multiple stations all over the world, as well as live online here.

You can listen to all my previous podcasts at the podcast archive.

Share this:

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Check Out These Related Articles:
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Metro’s Fish and Produce — My wife and I finally discovered Metro, the German hypermarket chain, this summer, and we’re really glad we did. It’s instantly become our favorite place to buy groceries. I’m especially impressed with their standards on two important food safety concerns: their frozen fish section, and their organic and traceable produce.

Water filters for shower and drinking – Every winter in Beijing, I have seriously itchy, dry skin mostly around the shins which drives me nuts. I’ve survived on thick moisturizers and baby oil — until this winter, when I’ve had zero problems with itchy skin. Not just a slight improvement; my shins have been completely itch-free, and I’m usually not even using any oils at all. What’s the big improvement? I’m happy to say that my theory about Beijing’s shower water having skin-irritating chemicals may actually be true! Last spring I bought and installed an Aquasana Shower Filter, and I’m actually shocked that I now have zero itchiness. Perhaps those of you who also complain of thinning hair in China may benefit? (This is obviously not a scientific study, just anecdotal, I just thought I’d share…)

Also, we installed an under-the-sink drinking water filter in our kitchen and we really love this as well. I never liked the water bottle idea, and I previously had used those 1 liter Brita-style countertop jugs which constantly needed refilling. But this installed version filters much more efficiently and is also extremely convenient.

Elderberry & Zinc lozenges for the common cold — In my desperate search for evidence-based treatments for the common cold, I’ve discovered some fairly strong evidence that both elderberry and zinc help to decrease the severity and length of the common cold. So I now take a chewable elderberry/zinc combo pill three times a day whenever I feel a regular cold starting, and I must admit that my colds last year were much shorter and less severe. I’m sure there are multiple products to buy, including syrups for kids: one great website to research and to order and deliver is at another of my 2011 discoveries: iherb.com.

An 18-Speed Bicycle — Yes, people, I have now started to practice what I relentlessly preach: exercise! For the first time since coming to Beijing, I am getting routine exercise. And the best part is that it’s not purposeful “exercise” — it’s simply  real-life commuting 25 minutes a day on my new Giant Hunter 2.0 urban bicycle instead of my fun-but-lazy electric bike. I am now getting 250 minutes a week of moderate, cardio-burning exercise. The air pollution has been relatively good lately, but I have my N95 mask in my bag just in case. And of course, I usually wear my bike helmet — although it didn’t prevent my backside from throbbing after this morning’s tumble on black ice…ouch…

Men’s sunscreen face creams — Women have been far ahead than men when it comes to availability of daily facial moisturizers which also have built-in sunscreen. Finally this year, Watsons and all other major stores started to carry my favorite men’s version, Neutrogena Triple Protect face lotion. This has SPF20 and also is great post-shave, especially for acne-prone sensitive skin types like mine.

What were your major health breakthroughs in 2011?

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In last week’s podcast on EZFM’s Beijing Hour, host Paul James and I discuss the hot headlines around aflatoxin discovered in a batch of milk. We also talk about the difficulties of blood shortages in China, and how autotransfusion (stocking up on your own blood) can help those who are scheduled for surgeries.

More Podcast Information

You can always listen live to my radio interview each Wednesday around 7:35am Beijing time, on the Beijing Hour program on EZFM 91.5, which is broadcast from 7-8am every weekday by host Paul James. EZFM is the popular bilingual radio station on the China Radio International network, broadcasting here in Beijing and on multiple stations all over the world, as well as live online here.

You can listen to all my previous podcasts at the podcast archive.

Share this:

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Check Out These Related Articles:
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December’s long nights are here, and while our holiday preparations can be exciting, many people feel stressed and depressed during these long winter months. Some people who tend towards depression may have worse symptoms; others have what is called “seasonal affective disorder”, or SAD. This depression occurs during the winter months, where the low amounts of sunlight affect their circadian rhythms and cause depression, which can often be severe.

We all feel blue from time to time, but how can you tell if it’s more clinical depression? You can answer a couple questions we doctors may ask you as a screening test:

• “During the past month, have you often been bothered by feeling down, depressed, or hopeless?”
• “During the past month, have you often been bothered by having little interest or pleasure in doing things?”

If you answered “yes” to either question, you may have clinical depression and should discuss this with your doctor.

Home Treatments

Not everyone who feels down needs to be given prescription medicines. Exercise is a great aid to lift many people out of their winter blues, and it also helps to manage stress. But you don’t get this mood boost from one workout; usually it takes at least 3 weeks of moderate exercising at least 2 hours total each week before your brain’s chemistry starts to improve.

The first-line treatment for SAD often is light therapy, where the person gets daily treatments in a room with a bright light box. This hellps to readjust your circadian rhythms to a more “summery” state.

Don’t forget that counseling, especially specific types such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can help many people with all ranges of depression. Being depressed is not a failure! If you feel you need help, please seek it from your family doctor or a counselor.

Medicines

There are also a couple natural supplements which are considered by my favorite herbal website, the Natural Medicines Database, to be “likely effective and safe”. These two herbs are SAMe and St Johns wort.

St Johns wort has the most research of all natural products for depression, and it basically acts as a low-dose OTC version of prescription Prozac-type pills. It does work well for mild depression, but it isn’t a miracle cure, and it has similar side effects as the Prozac-type medicines. Plus, it interacts with some medicines such as birth control pills and coumadin. And it’s also difficult to guarantee that your pill has the proper amount of active ingredient.

​SAMe is another natural supplement (also used for arthritis) which has some evidence for helping mild depression. But it is expensive, and there are quality issues with different brands, as well as some side effects you would need to first research.

Some evidence exists for fish oil’s ingredients of omega 3 fatty acids, especially the EPA part. But the doses apparently need to be high (3 grams or more), and it’s best taken along with a prescription antidepressant to boost the effect. But I also feel that omega-3 hasmultiple other positive health benefits for most age groups, including for children, and the side effects are minimal.

What about vitamin D? Everyone’s vitamin D levels are lower in the winter due to lack of vitamin D-creating sunlight on our skin. But there isn’t much research to support taking this as a antidepression supplement. However, most people, including children, should already be taking daily doses of vitamin D in the winter for a myriad of other reasons, including decreasing colds and flu.

Many people with depression and SAD do eventually need the more traditional prescription pills such as Prozac, and there’s nothing at all wrong with that. Again, it’s not a failure on your part; depression for many is a genetic issue, and some need medicines just as a person with high blood pressure or diabetes needs medicine.

My bottom line: the best way to prevent the winter blues is to stay active and keep a healthy diet. You can consider some supplements we’ve discussed, but if you feel you need more help, please do not hesitate to contact your family doctor or a counselor. We’re here to help!

(This article first was published in my monthly “The Doc Is In” column in Beijing Kid’s December 2011 issue. You can read my previous columns here.)

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I’m very skeptical of the common practice in Chinese “health check” centers to do multiple screening tests for cancers. Many of these tests are neither specific nor sensitive enough for cost-effective screening, and most patients end up spending a lot of money on follow-up tests which prove benign. I’m not saying the concept is bad, I’m saying that many blood biomarkers are not ready for prime time. It’s really a shame, as many cancers including liver cancer are usually diagnosed too late to help the patient survive for a long time. Perhaps there’s now some hope with liver cancer, as a Chinese team has designed a blood test which may be more accurate than the common AFP test. This hopefully will turn out to be truly effective, especially for China, as liver cancer from hepatitis B is extremely common. I discuss this issue in my weekly radio broadcast on Beijing Hour; you can listen to the podcast with the above links.

Paul James and I also discuss recent news stories about the questionable nutritional value of many popular milk beverages, including Wahaha’s Nutri-Express line of milk+juice combinations. I’ve never tried them so cannot comment on the taste (milk with juice?), but in general the vast majority of this class of drinks are never as nutritious as the real deal. In other words, pure milk is usually a lot better than the super-sweetened mixes, and juices in boxes are almost always super-sweetened and also have less of the original nutrients. Your grandma was right: an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

More Podcast Information

You can always listen live to my radio interview each Wednesday around 7:35am Beijing time, on the Beijing Hour program on EZFM 91.5, which is broadcast from 7-8am every weekday by host Paul James. EZFM is the popular bilingual radio station on the China Radio International network, broadcasting here in Beijing and on multiple stations all over the world, as well as live online here.

You can listen to all my previous podcasts at the podcast archive.

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