Well, this hasn’t been the most fun winter here, has it? Most snow in 50 years; coldest temperatures in 60 years; Avatar sold out again. Shall I go on? Yes, you have every reason to get the winter blues; many people are very prone to this. The western world even has a name for it: …

It’s the new year, and many of you have made your annual pledge “to exercise more”. Well, before you break the promise yet again, here’s an inspiring list of the benefits that exercise can do for you — much more than just helping you to lose weight.

There’s a fascinating article in the New York Times called Exploring a Low-Acid Regimen for Bone Health, which may interest many readers. It discusses the research as to how thinning bones (osteoporosis) may in part be caused by a high-acid diet. The intriguing research was spurred by questions: …Why, for example, are osteoporotic fractures relatively rare …

A lot of money is spent every year on multivitamins, but how much evidence is there for them? In other words, do they really improve your overall health and cut down on diseases? The best studies show that, unfortunately, no, a typical daily multivitamin does not help…

Gingko is one of the world’s most popular herbs, mostly taken by older adults due to its reported effects on forestalling the inevitable loss of some brain function, as well as the more serious disease Alzheimers. Is there good evidence? Unfortunately, the best study done so far, just published, says no. Read on…

There’s been a lot of debate over the years over the health benefits of coffee. Now, the trend is towards the positive site, as some well-designed studies show benefit in some diseases.

Last week I had the pleasure of a long 20 minute radio interview with Chloe from Radio Beijing, the bilingual radio station. Playing on AM radio 774 as well as the internet, they are part of the NetFM group. They have a weekly City Rhythm broadcast, and last week we had a good talk about preventive medicine …

Here’s some good news for everyone: being healthy can lower your risk of coronary heart disease! Yes, this seems obvious that exercising, not smoking, and staying thin will help, but did you know it will reduce your risk 59-77%? Pretty impressive, no? Read on… Coronary heart disease basically means disease leading to heart attacks. This …

Sure, everyone instinctively knows that watching hours of TV most likely isn’t too healthy for you.  But exactly how bad is it? Well, there’s some interesting research, for both kids and adults, that may stir up some interesting family discussions — hopefully not over a TV dinner. Read on…

Many people are planning their tropical adventures over the Christmas and New Years holidays, and we are getting a lot of questions regarding which malaria medicines to take. There’s an excellent recent review by the Cochrane Collaboration which helps to clarify this. 

I get a lot of questions from expats, especially bikers and people walking to work, who wonder whether any type of mask is helpful. I also bike to work so I was curious as well. We’ve talked a lot about N95 masks for the flu, but how well do they work for pollution?

This week I already mentioned how exercise can relieve anxiety; now there’s even more good news on exercise (like we needed any). This latest New York Times article examines a recent study that examined children and assessed whether more exercise meant better sleep. Here’s a good quote: