Overseas Chinese Web Guide

Category: Health

  • Waterproof Mattress Pad

    The Newpoint Terry Waterproof Mattress Protector is absolutely fantastic. If you have any one in the house that is potty training or with incontinence issues, this is this mattress protector is the product to use. On Amazon, this mattress protector comes in sizes from Twin (currently at $9.88) to California King (currently at $29.99).

    So, what’s so great about this mattress protector? Well, previously, I was using the flat waterproof pads sold at Babies R Us or Target. Inevitably, when a bed wetting episode did occur, the urine would just run around the mattress pad and soak into the layer below. Even when I had the entire mattress covered with an assortment of pads, with enough liquid, the barrier would be circumvented. Additionally, these mattress pads felt uncomfortable because they were firmer than the underlying mattress and trapped heat.

    In contrast, the Newpoint Terry Waterproof Protector simply works. It’s a soft, fitted sheet that envelopes the mattress. Much more comfortable to sleep on in that it doesn’t bunch up, feel hard, or trap heat. Also, it has kept the underlying mattress completely dry up to now. I bought one to test, and now I have bought two more for the rest of the mattresses in the house.

    Update: Five months later, the Waterproof Mattress Protector has surrendered. Still comfortable, but no longer waterproof. 🙁 Well, that was good while it lasted. Too bad it quit after five months instead of five years.

  • Omron Pedometer HJ-112: Step Currency

    I love my Omron Pedometer. I am constantly checking it throughout the day just to make sure that I am on track to meet my fitness goals.

    With pedometer secured, I am totally focused on “step currency.” That’s a term for my personal game where I earn steps (or points) throughout the day for completing certain activities. So, I am now figuring out how many steps I will be rewarded with each activity. Huge stores are priceless. I picked up 1,000+ steps at Costco a few days ago. That really helped boost my step count. The pedometer also totally reverses my normal strategy. Ordinarily, parking karma means securing a prime spot right by your destination. However, if you are trying to boost your step count, parking a little further away is now a positive, not a negative. Imagine, fighting for that spot in the parking lot that is the furthest away. A total change in thinking for the better.

  • Omron Pedometer HJ-112 / HJ-113

    I recent purchased an Omron HJ-112 Digital Pocket Pedometer. Amazon also sells the Omron HJ-113 Digital Pocket Pedometer, but only through a third-party. Besides the obvious color difference, the HJ-112 has a front reset button to zero out your stats, and the HJ-113 does not.

    First, I am a reluctant adopter of a pedometer. I thought it would end up being another pointless gadget to lug around throughout the day. However, after just two days of use, I am really glad I purchased it. The Omron HJ-112 pedometer is a rather basic model. No stored stats with accompanying maps or color charts like the RunKeeper iPhone App. However, the trade off is that the Omron HJ-112 pedometer boasts a tremendous battery life measured in months, unlike the iPhone 3GS while running RunKeeper.

    Anyways, the pedometer has really proven to be a good motivational tool because it made me realize how little exercise I was getting during the work day. On my first day, I only mustered around 500 steps at work. Hard to hit that 10,000 daily step goal when the prime hours of the day are wasted in sedentary work while plopped right in front of a desk. I thought I would be generating a few thousand steps at work, but that was not the case. Anyways, I soon realized that I had to take full advantage of every opportunity to walk, such as walking (instead of driving) the kids to school or eating at a cafe down the street instead of at a restaurant in the same work complex.

    Another lesson I learned is that stealing a 1-2,000 steps throughout the day is a far more manageable practice than trying to meet the entire 10,000 step goal all at once. From parking down the street at work to taking the long way to lunch, you can add to your tally without ending up completely drained for the day.

  • Palo Alto Fire

    Yesterday, I spotted this fire while biking through the Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve. When I tried to call 911 to report the fire, I was placed on hold for much too long before I simply gave up. If you are considering terminating your land line at home and going 100% cellular, keep in mind that response times for 911 calls differ between land lines and cell phones. Also, while 911 is an easy number to remember, we all need a back-up just in case no one is picking up the call on the other end. I’ll be programming in the direct phone number to the police department, fire department and poison control center soon.

  • Air Quality Forecast

    During the past week, the California wildfires have left the air quality a bit lacking. Even though I am not in an area threatened by wildfires, I have seen their toll on my immediate surroundings. I have smelled a smoky odor on and off during the past few days and the skies have been quite hazy. Usually, I don’t hear an air quality report unless I am listening to the radio in the car. However, since I am trying to bike to work nowadays, I have to look elsewhere.

    If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District has a Spare the Air web site that provides a Bay Area Five Day Air Quality Forecast in an easily readable form. You will have to read the Air Quality Index page to decipher their numbers and color coding. For air quality in other areas, AIRNow offers national forecasts and conditions. Here’s a link to the California Air Quality Conditions and Forecasts page.

  • Cancer Incidence, Mortality, and Associated Risk Factors Among Chinese Americans

    The American Cancer Society released a report on Cancer Incidence, Mortality, and Associated Risk Factors Among Asians Americans of Chinese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese Ethnicities in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. The report looked at prostate, breast, lung, and colon/rectum cancer among Asian Americans in California.

    • “Chinese Americans had among the lowest incidence and death rate from all cancer combined; however, Chinese women had the highest lung cancer death rate (among Asian Americans).”
    • “Chinese Americans in California have high rates for colorectal, liver, and lung cancer compared with other Asian ethnic groups.”
    • “The high rate of colorectal cancer among Chinese in California contrasts sharply with the low risks in China, and the increase in risk with time since migration implicates behaviors associated with the Western lifestyle.“
    • “The incidence and mortality rates … for liver cancer among Chinese men in California … are more than twice as high as in Japanese men ….” In Asia, Hepatitis B virus infection is the main cause of liver cancer, while in America, Hepatitis C, alcoholic cirrhosis, and obesity are more common causes of liver cancer.

    Read the Full Report.

  • Farmers Markets and Organic Foods

    Lately, the American mainstream press has focused on China’s poor food and product safety record. However, the open secret is that there’s no secret at all. Before the pet food debacle, these same stories would appear in the newspaper, but be buried in the international news section. Now that American pets have died, these same stories are now front-page news. News is all contextual.

    If you have any concerns about food safety, you may want to visit a local farmers market. A recent study on organic food indicates that organic foods may be better for you. Not just in the sense that organic foods do not contain pesticides, but that the level of antioxidants in organic foods is greater than that of conventionally grown foods. The real good news is that at many farmers markets, you will find Asian farmers selling organic Asian vegetables.

  • China’s Upton Sinclair

    Whenever I read any negative news articles about China, I don’t see a society too different from the one we celebrate in America. From a business, legal and political perspective, some analysts may contend that America and China are polar opposites. But, that is not the case. In fact, we are traveling along the same path. The difference is that China is a few steps behind. That’s all.

    So, the latest episode involves the use of melamine by Chinese manufacturers in animal feed. That and the occasional mass food poisonings of humans that occur in China but do not garner as much press as when American dogs and cats get ill. Well, we’ll just have to wait for China’s Upton Sinclair to write a Chinese version of The Jungle.

  • No More Pearl Milk Tea

    I love the pearl milk tea at Fantasia Coffee & Tea. My favorite flavors are taro and red bean. However, a recent study may give pearl milk tea lovers some pause. While drinking tea can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, these benefits do not extend to drinkers of pearl milk tea, also known as tapioca milk tea or boba milk tea. As it turns out, when milk is added to tea, it cancels out the protective effect that tea drinking has against cardiovascular disease. Maybe next time I’ll ask them to hold the milk.