There’s a lot of evidence accumulating regarding which meats are good, or bad, for your health. We seem to understand the basics but it’s nice to start getting data to back up what common sense tells us.
A recent study did indeed suggest what many have thought — that a diet high in red & processed meat worsens heart conditions and causes early death, including from cancer.… Read the rest
By now, most clinics have received their supplies of seasonal flu (not H1N1) vaccine. But how effective is it, and who really needs it? Many people are wary of this vaccine, and only about 40% of adults get it annually.
The annual flu virus, for most people, is not a severe illness and is treated like a cold.… Read the rest
I started to discuss rabies in last week’s review on Beijing vaccines, but there’s a lot of other information that expats need to know. Why is this so important? Because rabies is a major problem in China, and thousands of people die every year in China from infected dog bites — the majority of whom are children under 15 years, and whose lives would have been saved by receiving the rabies vaccines earlier.… Read the rest
Many people love their tanning booths, especially during the winter doldrums, but there is accumulating evidence that they do cause skin cancer. Last June, the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) officially elevated tanning beds to its highest cancer risk category – “carcinogenic to humans” (Group 1).… Read the rest
Every time a drug company researches a medicine, they need to demonstrate that their pills work better than a “placebo” pill — a dummy pill with no chemicals, usually just a sugar pill. The fascinating issue is that even that placebo pill shows some positive benefit for patients — 30% or more patients report improved symptoms by taking a pill that logically shouldn’t be helping at all.… Read the rest
Heart attacks and stroke combined are the #1 killers in most countries, including China. But there are a lot of lifestyle factors that play into this. In fact, about 90% of your risk for heart attacks and strokes can be modified by your conscious, everyday activities!… Read the rest