In my previous emails with that relative, I shared with him my parenting experience with my children and how American parents raise their children. Because he is an adult now and I was hoping he could understand it.

Unfortunately, he misunderstood my intention, thinking I was trying to compare my children with him. I know they are totally different in personality, growing up experience, and maturity.  It is like comparing apple with pear when they are of different kind.

I felt both sorry and upset, sorry that he misunderstood me. The argumentative tone in his email sounds rather upsetting.

If you have a great sense of worth and accomplishment tied up in your work, terminating your job completely may not work well for you.

Your financial readiness is the next thing you should consider. I was surprised that not many physicians are ready for retirement by the time they feel like to. Because they even have not earned enough or have not saved enough.

Don’t sell your stocks during recession. “The people who weathered the last recession the best were the ones who held tight to a diversified portfolio and continued adding money to it.”

Last, resist the urge to chase “can’t miss” investments, such as private partnerships that purchase real estate or invest in various types of businesses: restaurants, car washes, and the like. “Nine times out of 10 these things don’t work out.”

Desirable cholesterol level
–total <200
–HDL >40 for male >50 for female
–LDL <70-130 depending on risk factors
–triglycerides <150

Not overeating can improve your blood sugar
–Because you are eating possibly half as much food
–Eating when you are not hungry causes insulin to be released.

How to raise your HDLs
–exercise
–it can take 6-12 months to see a difference in HDLs through walking
–diets, exercise and the way you are eating can improve it

Now it makes me feel so good after sharing with my readers.

There are three types of heart attack.
(1) The first type is caused by slow build up of plaque, which eventually blocks blood flow to vessels that supply the heart with oxygen. This in turn causes chest pain or angina. Its diagnosis can be made with treadmill or angiogram.

(2) The second type is caused by inflammation in the arteries; half of all heart attacks occur in people with desirable cholesterol levels. This is where we need baby aspirin. It helps prevent inflammation.

(3) The third type is caused by arrhythmias, that is, erratic heart beat which often causes sudden death. It may account for half of the 500,000 heart attack deaths each year; sudden death happens unless a defibrillator is on hand;

Knowledge is power. Ignorance can cost life.

P.S. my daughter is leaving for Albuquerque, New Mexico today with her school for this year’s Acadec. They will be back on Saturday. It reminds me of the 2007 Acadec in Hawaii when my son went there with the school.

What struck me is the doctors’ opinion on what killed her. “Being headstrong or unreasonable was the quality that the doctors in Alamosa and Denver blamed for her death—for Shonnie was right about dying young. She carried in her cells a dangerous genetic mutation and died when she was 28, after refusing surgery for her aggressive, inherited breast cancer. Jealous of her body, oblivious to the gene, she insisted on another style of care.”

Shonnie Medina’s story reminds me of some patients that I have worked with. One of them died at age 40 of breast cancer. She had it when she was 31 years old. After surgery and chemo, she refused hormone therapy because she wanted to have more children. After 8 years, the tumor came back with a vengeance and took her life the next year.

I would say being headstrong and unreasonable could kill many patients like Shonnie.

A friend of mine sent to me this and other health related writings. Here’s a summary of its main idea.

(1) Learn how to live a healthy life. Don’t die of ignorance.
(2) Don’t punish yourself with other people’s weakness. Don’t get mad. Don’t let madness control you for over 5 minutes.
(3) It’s very important to be in good mood. You are not likely to get sick if you are optimistic and with positive attitude.

I have long before learned that my aunt’s family had a rather unhealthy lifestyle. They would eat to their heart content whatever they like, without caring for the consequence.

Now we learned of the unexpected death of this famous conservative activist at the early age of 43, seemingly of heart failure.

At this age, who would expect this would happen. I guess people at this age do not pay due attention to their health simply because they have never expected death could occur to them at age 43. A heavy lesson to all.

His family set up in his memory Thomas P. O’Sullivan IV Foundation to supports research, education, advocacy and early detection of colorectal cancer. This is the only organization in the area dedicated to this form of cancer. The foundation is funded primarily through the annual proceeds of the Tom O’Sullivan Golf Classic.

Stories like this often serve as a reminder of the importance of early detection of any type of cancer.

P.S. 3/2/2012 This is the fourth week of my participation of the program and I have already benefited from it. I removed these notes, as I believe you will get the full benefit by personally participating in it. For any questions, you can go to Naturally Slim website.

First, “Too much or too little sleep can increase blood pressure and levels of stress hormones,” says Jennifer Mieres, M.D., a spokesperson for the American Heart Association. Over time, this stress can wear on the heart.

Second, if you have gum disease. “While the link is not clear, it may be that the inflammation from gum disease allows bacteria to enter the mouth’s blood vessels, travel into the coronary artery vessels, and narrow the passages. This reduces blood flow.

Third, depression is a risk factor. It “can cause abnormal heart rhythms, elevated blood pressure, and faster blood clotting, all of which tax the heart.”

Fourth, if you’ve been diagnosed with certain autoimmune conditions. “The biological mechanisms and causes of these diseases still are not clear, but they may be related to inflammation.”

Fifth, you feel tired and sluggish. “Lower hemoglobin levels force the heart to work harder, which means it wears out sooner. “Anemia can be a key risk factor, especially as women start getting close to menopause and their periods become irregular and they’re living with lower hemoglobin levels.”

Sixth, your mother had a bad heart. “Children typically spend more time with their mothers than with their fathers. Mothers with heart disease are more likely to smoke, have a poor diet, and/or be inactive, which can influence the behavior in offspring and increase their risk.”

Seven, you’re taking steroids. Because “steroids increase blood pressure, lipids, and blood glucose, thus increasing the risk of heart disease. Since steroids change the potassium balance in the heart muscle’s cells, they may be the root cause of atrial fibrillation.”

“Diet affected tests of memory and thinking skills. A diet rich in vitamins and fish may protect the brain from ageing while junk food has the opposite effect, research suggests.

“Elderly people with high blood levels of vitamins and omega 3 fatty acids had less brain shrinkage and better mental performance, a Neurology study found.

“Trans fats found in fast foods were linked to lower scores in tests and more shrinkage typical of Alzheimer’s.

“They found those who had more vitamin B, C, D and E in their blood performed better in tests of memory and thinking skills. People with high levels of omega 3 fatty acids – found mainly in fish – also had high scores. The poorest scores were found in people who had more trans fats in their blood. Trans fats are common in processed foods, including cakes, biscuits and fried foods.”

The article states, “Strength training is an important part of an overall fitness program.” Here’s the brief list of benefits.

(1) Use it or lose it. Muscle mass naturally diminishes with age.
(2) It helps develop strong bones.
(3) Control your weight.
(4) Reduce your risk of injury.
(5) Boost your stamina. As you get stronger, you won’t fatigue as easily.
(6) Manage chronic conditions.
(7) Sharpen your focus.

When I was at office, some people introduced to me shoes like MBT, Ecco, and Clark. I have never cared about brand name shoe like that, as talks like this often remind me of the shoes that a Chinese friend’s daughter once bought. That girl spent over $100 on a pair of sandal when you can get one for less than $10 a pair and she was only a high school student! Even worse, her mother showed me two pairs of that.

But a few days ago when I was flipping through Discover magazine, I noticed the advertisement of Gravity Defyer Ballistic sneaker. The thing that attracts me is its claim, that is, it could “relieve your foot, ankle, knee, hip and lower back pain.”

Talk about all these pains during my morning walk when I have a full taste of them all! As an exception to my usual stinginess, I decided to treat myself well this time with a pair of pain-killer shoe. And they are on sale with free shipping.

The next morning, 10/19, I jumped out of bed as soon as the alarm rang because I was eager to put on my new shoes and run. That truly gave me a good start for the day. It seems I have got what I paid for, at least psychologically, if that counts.

I walked and ran for two miles without seeing a soul. In the evening around 6 pm when I took my daughter to bookstore, the store seemed empty.

After we got back home, I mentioned this to my daughter, “Why were there so few people at Barnes & Noble’s?” She was not sure why. I told her my early morning walk. “There were very few people because it was cold and people stay indoor as much as they can. That’s how winter fat is accumulated.”

Indeed, going outside in winter either for a walk or for bookstore seem to be an uncomfortable challenge to many people. That’s where a strong will power plays a key role.

From my own observations, the main explanation is their low socioeconomic status. There is a heavy overlapping of race and social class in that you find a heavy concentration of blacks in both prisons and among low social class. Very often, a person from poor background postpones seeking medical help when she feels lump in her breast. By the time she shows herself at a doctor’s door, her disease is very often at a late stage and she misses her survival chance.

Another health factor associated with social class is ignorance, that is lack of knowledge of healthy living leading to many avoidable diseases. Once again, the lower the social order, the less likely a person is aware of healthy living.

Alas, how dreadful it is to be poor and sick at the same time! Pick one instead. Better still, be wealthy and healthy!

A woman in her 40s died of lung cancer. Since her youthful years, she drank and smoked, becoming alcoholic with a long smoking history, plus suffering from anorexia.

When young people think they are invincible, they abuse their bodies to the maximum and have to pay a heavy price in later years. This reminds me of a Chinese saying–

Get rid of the bad habit, whatever that is, for those who love you and need you.

However, instead of making complaints, she told me, “Some men seem to get worse as they age, either in temper or in whatever bad habits they might have. One way to look at this problem is, they become sick as they age, either mentally or psychologically.”

I told my friend, “If you can see him as being sick, you will not take his words for real.” After all, who would fight with a sick person? Nowadays people attach great weight to being healthy. They are also aware that feeling good or being in good mood is very crucial to their health. Yet, without a positive, sunny and cheerful environment, it is hard to maintain a high spirit and to feel good and healthy.

Instead of waiting for others to create this environment for us, I told my friend, it is up to us to create and maintain a positive and wholesome environment for ourselves. Call this win-win deal.

People with apple shape tend to have abdominal fat, which may produce substances that contribute to inflammation throughout the body. This is linked to a higher risk of many kinds of disease. And, fat that collects around or near internal organs seems to pose a greater health risk than that which is just beneath the skin.

In general, you’re in risky territory if your waistline measures more than: 40 inches for a man, 35 inches for a woman. You have to figure out a way that work for you to shrink your waistline, if you are at high risk.