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Beware of food poisoning in picnic season

Extra care should be taken in preparing and storing of picnic food due to the risk of food poisoning./ Korea Times fileBy Yoon Ja-youngIt is the peak of spring, but the exciting time can turn into a nightmare when picnic lunchboxes make you sick.The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety advised people should take heed in hygiene and food as the risk of food poisoning is huge during this season.According to data for the past five years, 37.6 percent of food poisoning cases happen in the second quarter, or the months of April, May and June. “While the temperature is high in the afternoon, it is still cool in the morning and evening. Hence, people don’t take much care in handling food and beverages,” the ministry noted in a report.“During outdoor activities, any food taken for snacks is exposed to high temperatures for a long time. Such inappropriate management is estimated to be the cause of food poisoning,” it added. The reported noted that 1,000 staphylococcus aureus, bacteria causing food poisoning, on one gram of food at 36 degrees Celsius will increas

May 3, 2013By Yoon Ja-young
Beware of food poisoning in picnic season

(235) The way saju defines you

By Janet Shin Many people read their destiny by their birth years or the Chinese zodiac signs. This applies not only to Asians, but is a global interest. in Western culture, it is common to read one’s yearly and daily fortune based on the zodiac signs of one’s birth year. Such forecasts are seen in daily newspapers and the most-viewed sections on portal sites. I have also written daily columns of “Tomorrow’s fortune” for an evening paper.The 12 zodiac signs are used in counseling the general public because it would be too complicated the other way round. Most people consider it to be the same as saju readings. However, saju uses a day stem as a representative energy of one’s destiny, which leads to much more sophisticated readings. First, the birth year can easily be figured, while the day master can’t. The latter can only be verified when we confirm with the 10,000 year calendar, called the "manseryeok" in Korean. It is not so incredibly complicated though. Owing to the rapid propagation of the Internet nowadays, you can easily get any

May 2, 2013
(235) The way saju defines you

Phobia is unlike common cold

By Park Jin-hai, Kwon Ji-youn, Yoon Sung-won“It’s circles,” Hwang Soo-kyung said in a trembling voice, when asked what scares her the most. Then she closed her eyes as if she could see them here and now. Even the very thought of circles was enough to make her shudder. The medical term for her condition is “trypophobia,” or repetitive pattern phobia. “At the sight of small circular figures of clams clustered on rocks or strawberry seeds, instant fear runs down my spine. I feel like something might creep out of those circles.”Circles are everywhere, so are trypophobes. On websites or blogs, self-diagnosed trypophobes share tales of vomiting, sleep loss and anxiety attacks at the sight of honeycombs and rotting wood punched with holes.However alien her diagnostic name is, celebrity figures daily own up about their phobias on television reality shows; actor Ricky Kim fears sharp objects; rapper Bbaek ga,  cats; emcee Yoo Jae-suk, heights; actors Cha Seung-won and Ha Ji-won, birds; and the list runs endless.Experts said that phobias are

Apr 30, 2013By Park Jin-hai
Phobia is unlike common cold

No need to worry

Hi, Dr. P,I am an American here in Korea with my husband.We live in Gangwon Province but would like to make an appointment to see you.We don’t mind the travel, but I really need to see a doctor who can help me with my problems. It has been several months now that I have felt very depressed and suffer from consistent and never-ending ruminating thoughts.I can’t seem to get a break aside from the times I talk with my husband about the kind of thoughts I keep having. We are afraid that we are helpless here since we are alone and going to a psychiatrist is taboo as well, but I can’t handle this much longer.Please help me in any way you can.Thank you so much, Doctor. Dear sender,One of the most distressing things about depression is having a great deal of anxiety or worry about something trivial. Sometimes depressed patients cannot fall asleep because of these consistent and never ending ruminating thoughts.Then, how can we stop worrying obsessively about what could happen? In one word, the answer to this question is not to worry about tomorrow.Jesus Christ also sai

Apr 26, 2013
No need to worry

Prediction of age for menopause

By Lee Hye-junA month ago, a hospital in Busan reported that the average age for menopause was 47.5, two years earlier than the Korean Society of Menopause had previously announced. They suggested that emotional stress and excessive weight control may have put forward the average age for menopause. This news troubled many women because menopause is not something to look forward to.Menopause is a permanent cessation of menstrual periods following the loss of ovarian activity. Women are born with around 2 million eggs in their ovaries. The number continues to decline and reaches 300,000 at puberty. From this reservoir, a certain number of eggs present themselves to be ovulated each month and only one egg gets selected while others fall into programmed cell death. In total, 400 eggs are ovulated in a woman’s lifetime.As women grow older, the ovarian reservoir decreases. In average women, the total number of eggs reaches approximately 25,000 usually at age 37-38, and fertility begins to decline. Menopause follows about 13 years later at an average age of 51 when the remaining eggs

Apr 26, 2013
Prediction of age for menopause

Don't hesitate if you need hearing aid

Richard Shim, CEO of Starkey Korea                                                                    / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulBy Yoon Ja-youngMost people don’t usually hesitate to buy glasses or contact lenses when they have problems with their eyesight. However, fewer are willing to get a hearing aid when one is needed.“Data shows that around one in ten people have hearing problems. This means there are around 5 million people with such a problem in this country. However, only 500,000 people use hearing aids,” said Richard Shim, CEO of Starkey Korea, the top player in the hearing aid market here.He said that while people in other countries accept hearing aids as readily as they do glasses, Koreans tend to think hearing aids are only for people with serious hearing impairments. “In the United States, for instance, former President Bill Clinton uses Starkey hearing aids, and so did

Apr 26, 2013By Yoon Ja-young
Don't hesitate if you need hearing aid

Correct posture for hiking

  By Song Sang-hoAs the weather gets warmer, many people go hiking. This is very good exercise to strengthen the muscles in the back, abdomen, thighs and calves. It is a multi-purpose work out because it strengthens basic fitness while you breathe in fresh air, helping you both physically and mentally.However, if you have arthritis, you should consult your doctor before going on a hike. Hiking is not highly recommended for patients with arthritis because existing pain can be aggravated. The pressure and load from climbing up a slope can be directly delivered to the knees, worsening arthritis. Trails with steep slopes and many stairs are especially undesirable for arthritis patients.We feel the warmth of spring in the city, but it is still chilly in the mountains. When there is a big temperature difference, blood circulation is not smooth, and this aggravates pain in the joints. Injury risks can also increase because muscles that were not used during the winter are being used. Injuries usually take place on downward paths. As the upper body tilts back and the feet get slippe

Apr 26, 2013
Correct posture for hiking

Moms' love for European formula

By Yoon Ja-youngThe biggest concern for Jimin’s mother in Busan is how to get enough powdered baby milk for her four-month-old son. It has been a month since she ordered Aptamil from Germany through an Internet shopping agent, but she got a message last week that her order had been canceled due to a supply shortage. She is concerned that the baby might have trouble adapting to a new formula if she switches brands.While she was pregnant, she researched online and offline to decide which formula she should feed her baby as she was going back to work after three months’ breastfeeding. She found out that Aptamil, the German brand acquired by Danone, was popular among mothers these days.Pediatricians say that there is little difference between formulas, but some mothers aren’t convinced. Not a few of them choose formula made of goat milk or imported brands. Japanese brands were popular, but after the tsunami and radiation leak two years ago, Koreans are shunning Japanese baby products. They seem to have been replaced by European brands such as Aptamil and Holle.As these

Apr 26, 2013By Yoon Ja-young

Recipe for slow and steady diet Tuna salad

                                                                                                   / Courtesy of CypressRecipe for slow and steady diet Tuna saladNutritional facts Carbohydrates 5gProtein 8gFat 2gIngredients       You will need 35 grams of canned tuna, 30 grams of lettuce, 15 grams of red onion and 5 grams of chicory.For the dressing, you will need a half teaspoon of soy sauce, 1 gram of crushed garlic, 1 teaspoon of crushed apple, 5 grams of grated onion, some olive oil, sugar, lemon juice and apple vinegar. Step by step     Put the tuna in a sieve to drain excess oil.Wash lettuce and chicory and cut them to the appropriate size.Wash red onion and cut into rings.Mix the ingredients for dressing.Put the vegetables and tuna in a bowl and serve with d

Apr 26, 2013
Recipe for slow and steady diet Tuna salad

Japanese Encephalitis advisory issued

A child gets vaccination for Japanese Encephalitis in this file photo./ Korea Times fileThe Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDCP) issued an advisory on Japanese Encephalitis after finding mosquitoes carrying the virus in Busan last week, for the first time this year.The center told residents in Busan to take care not to be bitten by mosquitoes, and to report pools where mosquito larva can survive to community health centers. It added that the mosquitoes haven’t been found in other areas yet.The KCDCP also advised that mosquito nets should be used in homes, people to refrain from outdoor activities at night, and they should wear long sleeves when outdoors between April and October when the mosquitoes are prevalent.Infants and children, aged between 12 months to 12 years, are recommended to have vaccinations.Japanese Encephalitis is an infection carried by a specific type of mosquito. Symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting and stomachache in the early stages, and in serious cases death. It doesn’t spread between humans. Last year, 20 people were

Apr 26, 2013By Yoon Ja-young
Japanese Encephalitis advisory issued
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