Here are some interesting quotes from the article (Kills 99.9% of Germs — Sometimes – WSJ.com):

To cite a 99.9% fatality rate, manufacturers don’t have to kill 99.9% of all known bugs. Regulations don’t require them to disclose which bugs they exterminate, just that the products are effective against a representative sample of microbes. For instance, many products can’t kill clostridium difficile, a gastrointestinal scourge, or the hepatitis A virus, which inflames the liver. Yet by killing other, more common bugs, they can claim 99.9% effectiveness…

To claim that other microbe-unfriendly products such as household cleaners and clothing kill 99.99% of germs, companies are permitted to show such deadliness less than 99.99% of the time, according to the EPA’s rules. The standard test is run on 60 slides inoculated with a specific bug, and 59 of them treated with the product must exhibit the claimed rate of germ death. The 60th can fail to allow for a mistake on the part of testers, according to Jean Schoeni, director of research at TRAC Microbiology, which conducts EPA testing. “It’s a very fussy, particular test,” Dr. Schoeni says. Furthermore, if fewer than 59 slides show the high kill rate, manufacturers get a do-over…

The bottom line? I still think alcohol gel sanitizers are great, and even better than soap and water, but you need to do it correctly: keep rubbing your hands for up to 20 seconds. Plus, if your hands are soiled (dirt, diapers…) you still need good old fashioned soap and water.

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1. Asian Fruits & Vegetables: Which Are Healthier? - includes one of the most useful-to-daily-life PDFs I’ve ever seen from any government. Memorize it!
2. How To Prevent Heart Attacks & Strokes – even in China, heart disease is still the #1 killer. This slide show shows some basic lifestyle choices that can reduce your risks up to 80% — without medicine
3. Chinese Medicine and the Flu: I Say Tomato, You Say 西红柿 – part of a series of articles revolving around flu basics, but triggering insights on TCM and Western medicine
4. Fruits & Veggies: How Many Servings Do You Need? (And How Much Is A “Serving”, Anyway?) – again, more basics but how many actually know how much servings to eat? Now, you can find out in 20 seconds…
5. My Air Quality Journal: 太可怕！ - one of my many pollution posts; this one highlighted my really fun experiments with a handheld pollution monitor — and the many surprising conclusions…
6. Top Things Your Ayi Should Know - This one was very popular as well; it provides bilingual PDFs on food safety, hand washing, first aid…
7. Air Pollution: How Bad Is It, Really? – This article goes into detail about air pollution in China, as well as what we can all do about it
8. Do You Know Your Cardiovascular Age? – Again, heart disease is the #1 killer; with a bit of your medical records you can create a wonderfully informative graph of your 10-year risk of having a heart attack — as well as tips on what you can do to reduce that risk
9. Do You Know Your BMI? – obesity is a worldwide issue. One basic is your body mass index; do you know yours? Now you can find out…
10. Organics Quiz: Do You Know Your Labels? - There are a lot of round green stickers on Chinese foodstuff, and many do not mean organic; now you can navigate with knowledge.

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Yesterday, I posted a slightly discouraging article on how gingko doesn’t seem to stem off age-related memory loss, or the more severe Alzheimers disease. Today, I bring you some slightly positive news: you can augment your memory simply by training your brain a bit. Consider it a mental workout.

The New York Times has a nice article last week (Adult Learning – Neuroscience – How to Train the Aging Brain – NYTimes.com) discussing some fascinating research that shows how simple mental exercises can literally create new synapses and connections between nerves in your brain. This may not only protect those old memories, but can help train you to better remember new ones.

The crux of the mental exercises involves getting out of your mental comfort zone. Everyone has a “comfort zone” where they develop a thought-process routine and perspective that changes less and less as we get older. One of the study findings was to challenge your comfort zone — literally, to take a familiar scenario and literally force yourself to see it from another perspective. In this way, you literally (as shown in direct brain MRI scans) create new nerves and synapses. Here’s an interesting quote:

“There’s a place for information,” Dr. Taylor says. “We need to know stuff. But we need to move beyond that and challenge our perception of the world. If you always hang around with those you agree with and read things that agree with what you already know, you’re not going to wrestle with your established brain connections.”

Such stretching is exactly what scientists say best keeps a brain in tune: get out of the comfort zone to push and nourish your brain. Do anything from learning a foreign language to taking a different route to work.

“As adults we have these well-trodden paths in our synapses,” Dr. Taylor says. “We have to crack the cognitive egg and scramble it up. And if you learn something this way, when you think of it again you’ll have an overlay of complexity you didn’t have before — and help your brain keep developing as well.”

I think this “getting out of your comfort zone” is a fascinating idea, and not just for memory health. It’s simply a good way to live, and fosters an open mind and receptiveness to other people’s beliefs and ideas. And it adds dimensions to your life that you didn’t even know you had before.

What Else Works To Keep Your Brain In Shape?

So far, the latest evidence shows no major benefit from antioxidants like vitamin E. There’s some evidence that fish, or the major component of fish as omega-3 supplements, may have some benefit. A diet high in fruits and vegetables helps in some studies (always a good idea, anyway!). And regular exercise also may help.

What About Cell Phones?

Wow, this is an interesting study! Last week some researchers working on mice published a study (Can Cell Phones Help Fight Alzheimer’s?) showing not only a clear improvement but often an evaporation of the brain lesions that are likely to cause Alzheimers disease. How? By subjecting them to the same electromagnetic waves released by cell phones. This is way too preliminary to be applied to humans, but that would be great if in a few years this actually was proven to help humans cure this terrible disease.

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Coronary heart disease basically means disease leading to heart attacks. This is the #1 killer in most countries, and the major risks are high blood pressure and cholesterol problems. But a huge amount of your risk is lifestyle-related. This has been proven many times, and now yet again, in this new paper in the Archives of Internal Medicine which is discussed in TheHeart.org (Reduced risk of CVD, death in trim, fit, nonsmoking men). They surveyed 0ver 23,000 men and focused on smoking status, exercise and waist circumference (a simple measure of obesity). In their results, men with a normal waist girth and who were physically fit and not smoking had a 59% lower risk of CHD events (95% confidence interval [CI], 39%-72%), a 77% lower risk of CVD mortality (95% CI, 65%-85%), and a 69% lower risk of all-cause mortality (95% CI, 60%-76%) compared with men with none of these low-risk factors.

Lower Life Expectancy

There was also a dramatic difference in life expectancy; men with zero low-risk factors, compared with 3 low-risk factors had a shorter life expectancy by 14.2 years (95% CI, 12.2-15.9 years).

So, clearly and dramatically this shows just how strongly your everyday, conscious life decisions can affect your overall health. Unfortunately, they estimate that in America right now, only 4% of the population fits the lowest-risk category.

More Information

This new study leads nicely into my previous slide show that some of you have seen, regarding high blood pressure and stroke and healthy lifestyle changes you can do to help. Click on the slide show’s “FULL” icon for full screen.

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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…

This week’s New York Times discusses a just-published research paper in the Archives of Internal Medicine which monitored two groups of adults, one whose TV was shut off after a certain amount of hours, and a second group free to watch anything. They found that the restricted TV group burned off slightly more calories per day (119) while the unregulated group actually gained a bit more (95). That may not seem like a lot, but it adds up. Here’s a good quote:

…The additional activity that resulted from less television time is the equivalent of walking about eight miles a week…Dr. Otten says the main lesson for adults is that reducing your television viewing time will result in a meaningful increase in activity even if you’re not using the time for strenuous exercise.

“Compared to watching television, you burn more calories reading, writing, doing desk work — pretty much any activity other than sleeping,” Dr. Otten said. “The main finding is that if you turn off the TV, you may burn more calories without really thinking too much about it.”

TV in A Child’s Bedroom: Not A Good Idea…

Last year, The Times again reviewed TV, this time regarding TV in a child’s room. (Should Children Have Television in Their Bedrooms? – New York Times.) There’s a surprising amount of data that indeed it is not a good idea to let your child have a TV. Different studies have found increased obesity; rates of smoking later in life;  lower test scores; and sleeping problems. It’s provocative reading…

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We all know that exercise is crucial for long-term health, and most of us realize that we feel mentally healthier and more relaxed as well. But is there evidence that exercise helps your mental health and relaxes you? Yes, there is!

The New York Times has yet another good article on health, this one discussing Why Exercise Makes You Less Anxious. The main story revolves around a fascinating study involving rats and exercise:

In the experiment, scientists allowed one group of rats to run. Another set of rodents was not allowed to exercise. Then all of the rats swam in cold water, which they don’t like to do. Afterward, the scientists examined the animals’ brains. They found that the stress of the swimming activated neurons in all of the brains. But the youngest brain cells in the running rats, the cells that the scientists assumed were created by running, were less likely to express the genes. They generally remained quiet. The “cells born from running,” the researchers concluded, appeared to have been “specifically buffered from exposure to a stressful experience.” The rats had created, through running, a brain that seemed biochemically, molecularly, calm.

The article then provides a lot more research on this provocative concept, and it’s a great read. One take-home message is that exercise’s benefits on the brain need some time to develop, at least 3 to 6 weeks. So don’t give up on the exercise!

Bottom Line

This provides even more evidence that exercise is good for both your mind and your body. And it should be a positive motivator to all those hard-driven expat business people who are overworking themselves into panic attacks: you need to stop saying that you “have no time” for exercise. You only have one life, and right now is your only moment.

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A Professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the Professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The Professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous “yes.”

The Professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the space between the grains of sand. “Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things–your family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else -the small stuff. “If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. “Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The Professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

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This is definitely one of the stranger habits I’ve picked up in China, but somewhere along these three years I started to love the taste of good vinegar, especially apple vinegar. At Din Tai Feng I’ll secretly sip a spoonfull when the waiter isn’t looking. Now I have it daily, usually at least a tablespoon with water and honey.

I don’t know why, but my body literally feels good after drinking it.  Today I found a great article which discusses one possible reason; vinegar is very effective at lowering sugar levels as well as increasing your sensation of feeling full. The data was quite robust and is detailed in the article below, but the main point was that a small amount of vinegar with a meal will lower your sugar absorption levels by 30%, and also make you feel more full and hopefully eat a smaller portion. That 30% is a huge amount for a diabetic struggling to control their sugars and wanting to avoid insulin shots.

This is a great and easy suggestion for anyone to improve their health a bit, and especially for diabetics or those with “early” or borderline diabetes. As for how to take it, the easiest way is as a vinaigrette on a small salad with your meal. I often have it just in warm water but some may find that too acidic for their stomach. People should experiment! Plus, there are a lot of choices for vinegar in all local markets. It’s nice to know that there’s a medical reason for my madness. Does anyone else like vinegar?

Update: Lead in Balsamic Vinegar?

I just read a disturbing new report that details how many aged balsamic vinegars have high lead levels. It seems that many of these bottles have lead levels many times higher than healthy, which could cause health effects, especially for children. I’ll look into it more, but they recommend that people get younger balsamic vinegars, or just stick to other types such as apple, rice and others.

Article: Really? – The Claim – Vinegar Can Help Lower Blood Sugar Levels – Question – NYTimes.com.

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One of the highlights is their pool full of garra rufa fish. Known at the spa as Turkey fish, they are also called “doctor fish” and are very trendy all over the spa industry. These little guys don’t actually have teeth and eat your flesh, but they use their mouth to suck off your dead skin. That’s why they love feet. So, yes, I was curious and waded in, and in a couple minutes had a few dozen fish sucking on my toes and legs. I must admit, this was a very, verrrrrrrrrry strange feeling, not automatically pleasant but really cool to try. And I did go back a week later and did it again, and it’s quite a unique experience.

Directions To Longxi

Telephone:010-89282222

No.8 Shunjing Avenue, Panggezhuang Area, Daxing District,Beijing 102601, China
View Larger Map

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Today is Thanksgiving in the US. It’s my favorite holiday, as all my relatives will gather in my mother’s house and feast for hours. It truly is a nice way to think about the previous 12 months and realize what indeed you are thankful for. Here in Beijing, I’m thankful that I found the wonderful Schoolhouse restaurant in Mutianyu. I’m going there on Saturday for their annual Thanksgiving meal.

I’m also very thankful for my good health, and I am reminded of that blessing every time I walk into my clinic. And while we hear a lot of negative health stories coming from the US, it’s nice to take a step back and realize that health both in the US and the world is far better than it was a few decades ago. The Wall Street Journal has a nice article below discussing these 20 major advances: U.S. Health Statistics Improve – WSJ.com.

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