Author: Masaharu Tsubokura Editors: Izumi Yoshida, Mariko Irie, Yuki Senoo 7. The high radiation level of radon in European countries The air contains the radioactive substance called radon. In our daily life, we breathe in air containing radon.As the words "radon hot springs" indicate, hot spring areas also contain radon as well. Radon is a gas generated from natural uranium in the soil, and it outputs alpha radiation as well as plutonium.By inhaling the radon, our lungs are exposed to radiation.The concentration of radon in the air varies from place to place. The exposure in European countries is higher, around 2 millisieverts per year in Germany and 3 millisieverts in France, and relative
Authot:Akihiko Ozaki M.D., Editor-in-chief of MRIC Global Omachi Hospital, Physician In December 2017, we launched the e-zine newsletter MRIC Global, an English version of the MRIC newsletter. The aim of the MRIC newsletter has been to disseminate under-represented but important health issues to the general public in Japan. MRIC Global shares this goal. It covers a variety of social and medical topics with the general public as the target audience. With all due respect, I serve as Editor-in-Chief. Over the past six months, I faced many challenges, and my job was a continuous process of trial and error. Thanks to support from team members and others, we have successfully worked through this t
Author:Amano Hoichi M.D. Graduate School of Public Health, Teikyo University Editor:Akihiko Ozaki M.D. The number of non-communicable diseases, despite being able to be prevented, has been increasing around the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health burden caused by non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has been consistently on the rise. NCDs are defined as a spectrum of diseases which are caused by unhealthy lifestyles such as high sodium intake, high alcohol intake, smoking, lack of exercise, obesity and so on. In general, hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease (CKD), stroke, coronary heart disease (CVD) and malignant tumors are considered as NCDs. In 2008, of
Author: Mariko Morita M.D., Editor: Akihiko Ozaki M.D., Naoko Matsumoto, In supermarkets and drugstores, juice for infants and toddlers feature labels such as “For children aged 5 months and more” or “For children aged 1 and more,” etc. Parents who read these labels may wonder if they should comply with them. The reality, though, is that they don’t have to take them seriously at all! Up until 2007, there used to be questions regarding whether you are letting your their 3- to 4-month-old children drink thin juice or soup written in a mother-child hand book. In addition, some childcare books over the years used to recommend to provide children fruit juice after they take a bath. However, the A
