Health | South China Morning Post

For decades, we've been told by dietitians, doctors and public health authorities to avoid saturated fats such as butter or lard in favour of unsaturated vegetable oils like safflower and soya...

More women undergo surgery in quest for 'designer vaginas'

Labiaplasty - an operation to reduce one or both of the labia minora, or inner lips of the vagina - is rapidly gaining popularity as women go under the knife for health-related or purely cosmetic...

Marathon Mania: run for the joy of it

The thought of running a marathon three months ago seemed daunting and beyond my capability. But then I got curious. If marathons really are as tough as I thought, why do millions of people run in...

Fitness entrepreneur spreads the message on the mainland

Wherever he is - warming up a crowd of marathon runners in Tiananmen Square, or leading a pack of joggers in a Beijing park - Linus Holmsater is easy to spot.

Case history: Total ankle replacement

Graeme Collins, 63, a retired ballet dancer who now teaches, knew he was in dire straits when he first felt his ankle joint getting stiff about 14 years ago.

A bump in the road

I was a top age-group triathlete and a sub-three-hour marathon runner, spent a year as an officer cadet at Sandhurst in the 1990s and had been on operational tours. Pregnancy was going to be a...

Life is just not worth the weight for most of us

About five years ago, the percentage of Hong Kong adults who were overweight/obese stood at about 39 per cent, according to the Centre for Health Protection.

Healthy Gourmet: the slow cooking revolution

A revolution is under way: the cooking rules of the past are being overthrown by a modern approach that draws on scientific insights to make food tastier and healthier.

Book review: The End of Diabetes

In a city where food can be found in nearly every street and at every corner, it's obvious that many Hongkongers live to eat. Dr Joel Fuhrman wants you to do the opposite: eat to live.

Health Bites

A more intense form of acupuncture has been found to help patients with Bell palsy, a condition whereby the face gets temporarily paralysed for weeks or months.

THE TASTE TEST CHAI TEA

The Taste Test: Chai tea

This organic, caffeine-free herb infusion combines natural licorice root with a blend of traditional spices: fennel, anise, peppermint, ginger, cardamom, cloves and black pepper.

Grow your own

Imagine this: a car crash victim who suffers serious trauma to the brain avoids neurological damage after the doctors regenerate his lost brain matter using stem cells in the lab.

Vietnamese school trains disabled victims of Agent Orange

It is hoped these skills will help them set up a small business in future, as they are unlikely to get traditional employment after "graduating" from this Vietnamese school.