MyHealth Beijing

I knew it was inevitable, but I was hoping to delay it a bit longer: my son Alex has discovered the digital world. Almost two years old, he’s increasingly fascinated with mommy and daddy’s smartphones, tablets, and laptop computers. As I […]

A good night’s sleep is crucial for all of us, but especially for children. My Alex is now 17 months old and is pretty good with his routine, being put to bed at 8 pm and usually waking up around 7:30 am. […]

When I moved to China eight years ago, I was quite shocked at seeing milk in small boxes piled high on store shelves — at room temperature! With expiration dates longer than six months! How could this be safe — […]

  Most people who are new to Beijing and China, no matter where they are from, have the same health concerns: How can I make my kids safe? Where can I find good foods? Just how bad is the air? As a […]

I see a lot of children in my practice and I’ve become a bit worried at hearing more and more moms voicing concerns about vaccines made here in China. Apparently the word on the street is that they have more […]

As I celebrate my second father’s day as a dad, I’ve been thinking more and more about my own father, who died over ten years ago. When I travel back home to Boston I always drive down the spartan Cape […]

Any long-time reader of mine knows that I’ve repeatedly lamented the dearth of independent evidence regarding pollution masks. But now I finally have good news: since last month, two excellent mask comparison reports from consumer groups in China have been […]

Which mask is the best against pollution? I can’t really answer that for everyone, as our faces have different sizes and shapes. I’ve recently shared results from three large tests, which unfortunately didn’t review many of the consumer masks I’ve used. […]

Do you or your children bike to work or school? Here in Beijing, a lot of us are fortunate to live close enough to their schools and offices that walking or biking could be an option. I bike to my […]

(UPDATE April 2014: please read my new review of three mask tests.) As a family doctor, I strive to keep my patients and my community healthy by sharing informed, evidence-based advice — in clinic and via my writing. Wellness and […]

UPDATE, MARCH 15: this project is now on hold (details here) Wow, that wasn’t very fun, was it? We just finished a miserable six days of AQI over 300. But it certainly was the perfect backdrop to my new campaign […]

UPDATE, MARCH 15: this project is now on hold (details here) Are you bewildered and overwhelmed by all of the choices for air pollution masks? Don’t you wish you could look at independent test results which compared all of them? […]

Who do you think are healthier: people born and raised in China, or in the USA? I used to generalize that the average person in China was healthier, mostly from observing Beijing’s lively street life, especially at night.  On every […]

My son Alex is almost one year old now, and he loves to put everything in his mouth, especially his bathtub toys. As he happily munches away on a day-glo orange crab with big Bambi eyes, I’m always a bit […]

The Shanghai Consumer Rights Protection Commission (上海市消费者权益保护委员会) has hit another home run! Last year,  they published a fantastic report of their independent testing of two dozen air purifiers, which I translated and blogged here. Now they have turned their focus on […]