The Japanese Diet and Paradox

I just love Japanese food. I'm in the process of teaching myself how to cook it, although, maybe it will take a class or two to get me on the right track. Japanese cuisine is just as intricate and difficult as French cuisine. I think I'll try to master the more rustic foods first.

Anyway, a recent health issue has gotten me thinking about a healthy diet. I found this article about the Japanese diet and health concerns. Not surprisingly, they have a very healthy diet, but not for all the reasons that you may think.

What I read into this and what I have felt all along is that it points to homemade/artisanal and non-processed foods are the best for overall health. Also, their diet high in fatty fish and pickled foods. What I found most interesting is that it's not necessarily a diet high in animal fat (sometimes considered the enemy in our western diet), but ones that are high in processed oils (the hydrogenated ones) that are the most dangerous and should be cut out of the diet entirely.

I also found their postpartum diet (the first days after birth) for the mother to be really interesting...carp soup!

Now - off to find a cookbook with a focus on healthy Japanese eating. If anyone has any suggestions, I would be very interested in knowing what they are! (Respond below).

xo

Lis

This all makes me very happy

House calls???

(image courtesy KidsHouseCalls.com)

I feel like a star struck teenager...last night, we had our first encounter with, wait for it...a pediatrician who makes house calls!!!!
For some reason, this is the winter that we seem to catch every fly, flu and cold that comes our way. This time I gave Dane my cold and we thought it was just that, a cold, until his fever spiked to 102.5 for 2 days.

Yesterday, sick myself, I was dreading the long trek across town in the freezing cold to take Dane to the pediatrician's office, when I remembered, "didn't I read about a pediatrician who makes house calls?". Yes! oh yes.

I called Dr. Kulich from Kidshousecalls.com and scheduled a 4pm appointment. We wouldn't have to go anywhere. He would be here in the afternoon.

His service is both forward thinking and old-fashioned at the same time. The philosophy is that no child should have to wait for medical care, and that care is best handled in the comfort of their own home - just like they did years ago. The typical doctor bag is a bit larger these days, however. He can do all sorts of services, like flu shots, H1N1 vaccinations, strep tests, urinalysis, and just about any office or urgent care center can do. Dr. Kulich's bedside manner is wonderful, and my son instantly felt comfortable with him. Dane watched videos while the examination went on and the doctor's attention was fully on my son and me - very rarely experienced in a physician's office environment.

It turns out that Dane had a double ear infection, that needed antibiotics - which the doctor mixed and gave to us right before he left! It was included in the service fee - and I didn't even need to go to the pharmacy! It was so wonderful!!!!

There is an upfront flat fee for his service, but if you have health insurance, he will mail you the proper forms so you can submit and get your corresponding refund. We found that with a co-payment, cost of medicine, and time/travel, his fees were very reasonable! There is a membership option which makes a lot of sense if you have more than one child (he'll treat all children in the household for the same price). They take appointments 24/7, which in NYC is a godsend (we have no urgent care centers), as our only alternative is the emergency room or wait until business hours.



Most important, is that Dr. Kulich is a caring, super-qualified, experienced pediatrician who is taking the health care debacle in his own hands. I love his entrepreneurial spirit and we will be calling him again very soon.

Now if I can find someone who does this for adults, we would be all set!

For more information, check out their website at : www.kidshousecalls.com.
Right now, he's only servicing the NYC area. Maybe his example will cause more docs to break into this type of practice. :)