Information relating to health - general and Japan orientated health articles. In particular, non Japanese living or having lived in Japan may find these articles of helpful. http://www.healthhokkaido.com/press.cfm health http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Tue, 13 May 2008 07:05:06 +0900 Tue, 13 May 2008 07:00:49 +0900 holloway@healthhokkaido.com FeedForAll v2.0 (2.0.2.9) unlicensed version http://www.feedforall.com Is spitting up normal? When should I worry? Gastroesophageal reflux (GER or spit up) is common with babies. In fact, more than half of all babies experience reflux in the first three months of life, and most infants stop spitting up by 12 months, according to Dr. Lynnette Mazur, professor of pediatrics at the UT Medical School at Houston. "Only a small number of infants can have problems surface because of GER, such as refusing food and suffering weight loss. http://www.healthhokkaido.com/article/childrearingA.cfm B92A5A27-A43A-46F5-9CD7-BAB382002FFB Tue, 13 May 2008 07:00:49 +0900 In Japan, eating special soba noodles on New Year's Eve is a popular custom. This delectable dish is called "toshikoshi (literally "year-passing) soba" and it symbolizes, as the name indicates, the previous year's passing. http://www.healthhokkaido.com/article/soba.cfm 63452FCE-56A1-4D04-8856-64B2BFEE78B5 Tue, 13 May 2008 07:00:48 +0900 With every puff on a cigarette, the smoker invites some 3,000-plus chemicals into the body. Many are proven to be carcinogenic or cancer-causing. Nicotine and carbon monoxide combine, resulting in peripheral vasoconstriction (narrowing of the blood vessels) and oxygen depletion. This produces a rise in blood pressure and heart rate. Nicotine also interferes with insulin absorption, exposing the smoker to diabetic complications. "One is too many and a thousand is not enough." http://www.healthhokkaido.com/article/smokingA.cfm 2099ED94-E73B-49C1-93F4-4AEA6CF35D04 Tue, 13 May 2008 07:00:47 +0900 Crawling on the bottom of our TV screens and splashed across our newspapers recently are the chilling statistics that half of our nation's sexually-active youth carry at least one sexually-transmitted disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that almost half of all new cases of STDs come from those between ages 15-24. http://www.healthhokkaido.com/article/std1.cfm E56F50D9-291F-4807-9A84-DF1FE3200A8D Fri, 9 May 2008 06:59:21 +0900 "Whenever I see a new patient," the doctor was saying casually, "I usually can tell immediately if they are a heavy smoker or not." Just keep in mind that, like pretty, sexy is as sexy does. If you are a smoker with premature facial wrinkling, yellowed skin, stained teeth and fingers, bad breath and an overall ashtray essence, sexy isn't the word that comes to mind. http://www.healthhokkaido.com/article/smokingA.cfm A97B3F32-D66B-4B74-8F28-B7C9D2BA1719 Fri, 9 May 2008 06:59:20 +0900 it's customary to eat unagi , especially grilled ones, on specific dates, which we call "doyou-no ushi-no hi". Some of my non-Japanese friends are confused by this. They ask me "Why do Japanese eat eel on Beef Saturdays -" They mistakenly think that "doyou" means "Saturday", and that "Ushi" means "beef". In fact, in this case "doyou" means "the end of the season". Each season has its own "doyou". It usually lasts 18-days, but the summer one is especially important in Japan. http://www.healthhokkaido.com/article/eel.cfm 82740934-A765-4DCC-8F33-494D21B29661 Fri, 9 May 2008 06:59:19 +0900 In Japan, more than 30,000 suicides are reported a year, and it is speculated that many of the victims suffered from a depressive disorder. Depressive disorders make one feel exhausted, worthless, and hopeless. It's important to recognize and treat depression as early as possible. Doing so decreases your risk of becoming seriously depressed. http://www.healthhokkaido.com/article/depression.cfm A620292B-B0E4-49E3-B174-E5648BECE1B3 Thu, 8 May 2008 06:52:10 +0900 Your world comes crashing down in the one second you hear your frantic 18-year-old daughter shriek, "Mom, I feel a lump!" Shocked, you think, surely she's too young to have a breast lump. Surely she's too young for breast cancer... As if the teen years aren't tough enough, adding distinctly "grown-up" problems such as the fear of breast cancer can be overwhelming for daughters and parents. http://www.healthhokkaido.com/article/breast_cancer2.cfm EAEFFBA3-E80C-47CD-AA4C-E0F563AD8E3B Thu, 8 May 2008 06:52:09 +0900 Lecithin contains phosphatidyl choline, a precursor to acetylcholine, which is the predominant parasympathetic nervous system neurotransmitter which is essential for a healthy nervous system. This substance improves your memory and concentration. Unfortunately, the richest sources of lecithin also tend to be high in fat and cholesterol, such as eggs and organ meats. So taking lecithin from soybeans is an ideal for your low-fat and well-balanced diet. http://www.healthhokkaido.com/article/soyabean.cfm 61802BC3-7EB8-4727-B538-42E5D9E34C59 Thu, 8 May 2008 06:52:09 +0900 Bleeding and cold, Tara Burr couldn't move her legs. Still strapped into the remains of her crumpled car, which had just plunged 15 feet off a freeway exit ramp, she managed to call 911. Her first inkling of the severity of her injuries came when the paramedics informed her that her left foot was pointing in the wrong direction. http://www.healthhokkaido.com/article/car_accidentB.cfm 2A7C4090-5769-458D-9ECE-2A4EF0CCBFCC Wed, 7 May 2008 07:20:53 +0900 Catechin is a type of polyphenol, which is a powerful antioxidant found not only in green tea, but also in garlic, fruits, potatoes, and some varieties of nuts. Actually, antioxidants destroy free radicals, which can damage the body at the cellular level leaving the body susceptible to cancer, heart disease, and many other degenerative diseases. There are many kinds of polyphenols, but catechins are the strongest of them all. http://www.healthhokkaido.com/article/green_tea.cfm 6BD28EB5-A98B-420B-B179-7AEAB1D495D1 Wed, 7 May 2008 07:20:04 +0900 Being pregnant and having a baby in a foreign country can sometimes be a frustrating process. There are many cultural and procedural differences in maternity care between Japan and other countries. In this month's issue, I discuss maternity life in Japan. http://www.healthhokkaido.com/article/pregnancy.cfm F969CB5A-E3C1-4954-B941-685863FFF39D Wed, 7 May 2008 07:19:05 +0900 That word. You have to love it. Just the way it hisses out of our mouths deliciously chilling - autopsy. Inside is a respectful written guide of procedure during autopsy, meant to demystify the process and separate fact from fiction. http://www.healthhokkaido.com/article/autopsy.cfm 90CCD43F-C800-4D9D-8811-D00E60619F24 Tue, 6 May 2008 09:32:24 +0900 The first Medical Psychiatry Unit (MPU) in Japan was established in 1990. In this article, the clinical experiences during the first four years of this unit are presented and the characteristics of the unit between the first two years and the latter two years are compared. The number of patients, the average length of stay, the primary psychiatric disorders as well as the combined physical diseases and their outcomes are presented. http://www.healthhokkaido.com/article/counsel_unit.cfm F57B85B7-BBD8-4839-BA12-E2C3E486B8E9 Tue, 6 May 2008 09:32:25 +0900 A person is a person regardless of whether he or she has a disability, Frieden says. It is preferable to identify someone as a person with a disability rather than as a cripple, an invalid or a handicapped person. Frieden uses a wheelchair after being injured in a traffic accident while in college. http://www.healthhokkaido.com/article/disability.cfm 3FC0A3BF-9EC4-49CA-B25B-54C638D91980 Tue, 6 May 2008 09:32:26 +0900