Health Check

Health Check Ep 59: What you can eat to sleep better 14:46 mins Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. In this episode, ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo speaks with Dr Richard Swinburne, a sleep scientist and the Head of Sports Nutrition at the Singapore Sports Institute on sleep nutrition, how he fl...

Health Check Ep 58: Picking an IP insurer with a good panel of doctors 20:35 mins Synopsis: This is a fortnightly podcast series on Wednesdays by The Straits Times that aims to help you make sense of health matters that affect you.   Many private sector doctors are upset with Integrated Shield plan insurers for maintaining panels of doctors that they call “highly exclusive”. These panels are one o...

Health Check Ep 57: All you need to know about Covid-19 clinical trials 18:31 mins Synopsis: This is a fortnightly podcast series on Wednesdays by The Straits Times that aims to help you make sense of health matters that affect you.   Clinical trials are research studies that are usually conducted with healthy volunteers to learn about a potential treatment or vaccine and its effect on humans. The...

Health Check Ep 56: How a mother's well-being can have a large impact on her baby 27:39 mins Synopsis: This is a fortnightly podcast series on Wednesdays by The Straits Times that aims to help you make sense of health matters that affect you.   In early March 2021, the Ministry of Health announced during the debate on its budget, that it has set up a task force to oversee the development and imple...

Health Check Ep 55: Getting working adults to share their mental health challenges 20:34 mins Synopsis: This is a fortnightly podcast series on Wednesdays by The Straits Times that aims to help you make sense of health matters that affect you.   In this episode, ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo speaks with Daniel Chang, 38, a freelance doctor who does medical aesthetic work. He started a m...

Health Check Ep 54: Understanding Singapore’s portfolio approach to vaccine procurement 9:42 mins Synopsis: This is a fortnightly podcast series on Wednesdays by The Straits Times that aims to help you make sense of health matters that affect you. This episode looks at how Singapore zeroed in on its choice of Covid-19 vaccines - from those by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna that are based on a relativ...

Health Check Ep 53: Covid-19 panel expert addresses vaccine side effects, concerns 11:25 mins Synopsis: This is a fortnightly podcast series on Wednesdays by The Straits Times and this episode is on the safety and common concerns in Singapore over the side effects of Covid-19 vaccines. Global surveys have shown that a key concern for those hesitant about taking the Covid-19 vaccine, lies with the...

Health Check Ep 52: Addressing Covid-19 vaccine safety and the science behind it 20:14 mins Synopsis: This is a fortnightly podcast series on Wednesdays by The Straits Times and this episode is on the safety of Covid-19 vaccines. Much has been said about the safety and effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine frontrunners but there are still many people who are hesitant about taking the vaccine, most...

Health Check Ep 51: How to find the right doctor 12:24 mins Synopsis: This is a fortnightly podcast series on Wednesdays by The Straits Times. In this episode, ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo asks Associate Professor Jeremy Lim, the director of global health at the National University of Singapore's Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, for tips on how to find the right doctor. They disc...

Health Check Ep 50: Pros and cons of online doctor reviews 11:51 mins Synopsis: This is a fortnightly podcast series on Wednesdays by The Straits Times.  Today’s episode is on online doctor reviews. Recently, the Singapore medical council (SMC) advised doctors to refrain from participating in online search engine optimisation platforms that make use of patient feedback and ratings, as these can be...

Health Check Ep 49: Porn is not real; how to recognise an addiction 16:20 mins Synopsis: This is a fortnightly podcast series on Wednesdays by The Straits Times.    Online porn use has reportedly gone up during the Covid-19 pandemic as reported by The Economist in May. However, there's a dark side to porn. Excessive consumption of porn affects the viewer, his or her relationships and society.  Vie...

Health Check Ep 48: Why is lung cancer no.1 killer among cancers? 14:48 mins Synopsis: Fortnightly on Wednesdays, get healthier living tips as The Straits Times chats with expert guests. With November being Lung Cancer Awareness Month, this episode looks at how lung cancer is the no.1 killer among cancers here in Singapore and globally, and will shed light on advanced treatments as well as how to...

Health Check Ep 47: You don't make a baby to save your marriage 15:45 mins Synopsis: Fortnightly on Wednesdays, get healthier living tips as The Straits Times chats with expert guests. As a family goes through different stages, conflicts can arise. There can also be changes in family situations that give rise to conflicts. These conflicts may be worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic, as more people st...

Health Check Ep 46: Is there such a concept as an anti-ageing diet? 21:16 mins Synopsis: Fortnightly on Wednesdays, get healthier living tips as The Straits Times chats with expert guests.  People are living longer, but not necessarily better if they have multiple chronic diseases. In ageing research, scientists strive to find ways to improve healthspan - the period of life that is spent in good h...

Health Check Ep 45: How to age well and achieve a lower biological age 19:44 mins Synopsis: Fortnightly on Wednesdays, get healthier living tips as The Straits Times chats with expert guests.  Some people seem to age very quickly, and look older than their age, while others appear to age less rapidly. When we are young, we want to look and feel older than we are. When we are older, we want to look...

Health Check Ep 44: Understanding suicides and how to help to prevent them 13:58 mins Synopsis: Fortnightly on Wednesdays, get healthier living tips as The Straits Times chats with expert guests. This episode is aimed at understanding suicidal behaviour and suicide prevention. ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo speaks with Dr Jared Ng, a consultant with the Emergency Services at the Institut...

Health Check Ep 43: Understanding stress in the age of the coronavirus 12:49 mins Synopsis: Fortnightly on Wednesdays, The Straits Times guides you to healthier living and clears up common misconceptions on health with expert guests. The World Health Organisation has just called for a massive scaling up of investment in mental health. Close to 1 billion people are living with a mental disorder, wh...

Health Check Ep 42: Can a person get Covid-19 twice? 9:10 mins Synopsis: Fortnightly on Wednesdays, The Straits Times guides you to healthier living and clears up common misconceptions on health with expert guests. A man in Hong Kong was found to be reinfected with Covid-19 last month, less than five months after he was infected with the disease. Researchers at the University of Hong Kong said gen...

Health Check Ep 41: The pandemic is affecting the way people with hearing loss communicate 13:13 mins Synopsis: Fortnightly on Wednesdays, The Straits Times guides you to healthier living and clears up common misconceptions on health with expert guests. ST's senior health correspondent Joyce Teo hosts Dr Ho Eu Chin, a senior consultant from the department of Otorhinolaryngology at Tan Tock Seng Ho...

Health Check Ep 40: Covid-19 airborne transmission doubts and immunity 18:23 mins Synopsis: This is a fortnightly podcast series on Wednesdays by The Straits Times. Recently, an open letter that 239 researchers addressed to the World Health Organisation calling for it to acknowledge that the coronavirus is airborne, made headlines around the world. (0:35) To counter any public misconceptions, ST s...

Health Check Ep 39: Smokers at higher risk during Covid-19 times 12:33 mins Synopsis: This is a fortnightly podcast series on Wednesdays by The Straits Times. This episode is on smoking. We all know it is harmful. According to the World Health Organisation, research suggests that smokers are at higher risk of developing severe Covid-19 outcomes and death. Yet, many people keep on puffing. (2:00) S...

Health Check Ep 38: Stress fractures from running too much during Covid-19 pandemic? 15:41 mins Synopsis: This is a fortnightly podcast series on Wednesdays by The Straits Times guiding you to a better understanding of health issues with healthy living tips. The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way we keep fit. Many people have taken to running as a form of exercise, never mind that they have nev...

Health Check Ep 37: Maintaining mental well-being during Covid-19 10:07 mins Synopsis: This is a fortnightly podcast series on Wednesdays by The Straits Times. As the Covid-19 pandemic rages on, healthcare workers have been roped in to help out at foreign worker dormitories as the testing of thousands of migrant workers for the coronavirus disease continues.   ST senior correspondent Joyce Teo spe...

Health Check Ep 36: What might Singapore's new normal look like, post-Covid-19? 14:19 mins Synopsis: This is a fortnightly podcast series on Wednesdays by The Straits Times. Singapore is now in second month of its Covid-19 circuit breaker period as people stay home in the fight against the coronavirus disease. Attention is being gradually focused on life after this period, as the country looks to...

Health Check Ep 35: Why Singapore's Covid-19 circuit breaker measures cannot be lifted so early 14:06 mins Synopsis: This is a fortnightly podcast series on Wednesdays by The Straits Times. For the latest state of Singapore's health in its Covid-19 fight, ST senior correspondent Joyce Teo speaks with Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang. He is the infectious diseases programme leader at the National Un...