mstevens

I am currently outside of Thailand but friends who live there tell me that all of the tourist hot spots in Bangkok are over-run with visitors. One friend was in Pattaya recently and said similar, saying it was as busy as he could ever remember it. Photos online at Immigration show crazy queues and a quick check on Booking.com plugging some random dates in shows some hotels are full. The Chinese made up 1/3 of all international visitors before Covid and they are just starting to return. How many Chinese will visit over the course of this year? Next year? The year after? And flights from airlines which stopped flying in to Bangkok during Covid are coming back all the time. I'm sorry, but I don't know how you can possibly say tourism to Thailand won't rebound. Thailand is a fantastic place to visit and the world knows it. I strongly disagree with your comments. Record high tourist numbers are coming very soon!

It's nothing to do with being elitist and I have no idea where that comes from. I mention avocados as they are a food that most people like, are inexpensive and are very high in potassium. The bottom line is that many consume a diet high in sodium and a banana, a potato (or 2) just won't cut it. There's simply not enough potassium there to offset the sodium. If you have an issue with high consumption of sodium, you can offset it with potassium but you need foods that are very high in potassium or a high quantity of foods with moderate potassium. For example, leafy greens are high in potassium but you'd need to eat a lot of them.

Because bananas have potassium. But actually, bananas aren't that high in potassium (about 300 mg for an "average" sized banana). If you have an issue with sodium and are struggling to reduce your sodium intake, increasing your potassium intake will be very helpful. Avocados are a great source of potassium. Alternatively, potassium citrate powder is very cheap and effective.

We all need sodium and one has to be careful not to go too low on sodium as that can cause a whole set of new problems. The problem of consuming too much sodium is often not in salt added to meals, but in processed foods which can be very high in sodium. Thai food can be high on sodium too with fish sauce, soy sauce and other popular flavouring sauces very high in sodium and added in considerable amounts to many Thai dishes. If you're worried you might have too much sodium in your diet, you can balance it out to some extent by increasing your potassium intake. The ratio of potassium to sodium should be 2 : 1. Leafy greens and avocados are a good place to start to increase your potassium. I eat one avocado per day which is around 900 mg of potassium. You can also take a potassium supplement but note that potassium capsules are limited to 99 mg which is very little when you consider that the RDA for potassium is 4,600 mg! I personally take potassium citrate powder in a glass of water. About 500 mg in the morning and 500 mg before bed.

FWIW, here in New Zealand where Mainland cheese is produced, prices for quality cheese has exploded. The Mainland Vintage cheese 500 gram block used to cost $NZ 8 (about 170 baht) but now cannot be found for $NZ 13. Tasty, Edam and other varieties have also jumped in price. I used to pay $5.99 for 200 gram block of Mainland Parmesan cheese and yesterday it was $8.49. Big price jumps are happening everywhere and it's not just Thailand.

Probably a Swede working in Sweden doesn't need a work permit.....

The state of pollution in Bangkok this past week you might want to up that recommendation to Glutathione. Not sure if a good B complex would suffiice!

Bleaching your nails is brave. I'd suggest tea tree oil might be a much less harmful but very effective treatment.

I bite the bullet and buy the large bottles of Aura brand water. It's a little dearer than other brands but we're only talking a few baht which is worth it. Second choice is Minere brand. These are both mineral water which is worth consumuing in a hot country like Thailand. If you spend much time outside and sweat a lot you lose minerals and electrolytes. Mineral water helps to replenish lost minerals and electrolytes.

As you seem willing to try something different - which is to be applauded - why not try broccoli sprouts which are essentially the baby broccoli plants. They contain extremely high amounts of sulforaphane, 10 - 100 x more than a mature broccoli plant. I don't know where you'd find them in Bangkok but it should not be too hard them somewhere. They'll be cheap and are worth a go. Google broccoli sprouts sulforaphane for more details!

That's VERY harsh. You do know that LADA Diabetes is *not* related to diet but is an autoimmune disease like diabetes type 1, right? LADA Diabetes is NOT the same as diabetes type 2 which is often due to lifestyle. LADA Diabetes relates to issues with the pancreas / pancreatic insufficiency.

Arrest the power pole. It's killed 3 poor souls.

He's not that bad and actually strikes me as being quite competent. The problem he has is that he is possibly the best of a very mediocre bunch.

BULLSEYE !!!

Yes, Jacinda Ardern was respected internationally. I imagine this is because people around the world listened to her words and liked what she said, but being outside of New Zealand they did not see the results of her actions in her homeland. This is why her popularity has plummeted in New Zealand and is certainly at least part of the reason she announced she would resign.

For fungal issues, this product is very effective: Thorne Undecylenic Acid I used it for ringworm and other ongoing fungal issues and it did the trick where other more common anti-fungals were not effective. You can get it on iHerb, Amazon and on Lazada - but will pay more for it in Thailand than if you buy it online from the USA.

Jeremy Clarkson was a breath of fresh air and I found him hilarious at times, often saying things many others were thinking, but doing so in an amusing way that most of us could not come up with. I not infrequently hear people talking negatively about groups I am associated with, including my ethnicity. It doesn't bother me. If that's how they feel then so be it - they should be allowed to voice their opinion. It's not like they're saying to kill me and my ilk! All of this censorship and wokeness has gone way too far, in my opinion. Do we really wish to live in a world where you cannot say what you think?

Agree 100%! Brand DOES make a difference. Try Thorne's Melatonin which I have found to be excellent: https://www.thorne.com/products/dp/melaton-5-trade This is available on iHerb. Thorne is one of the best supplements makers. Not the cheapest, but one of the best.

Diabetes can be controlled but even controlled diabetes results in a reduced lifespan and lower quality of life. If anyone does develop diabetes, there are ways to reverse it (so long as it's not too far developed) - and that really would be the way to go if one has the necessary discipline. I've had a couple of friends with diabetes lose a leg due to the complications of diabetes and subsequent amputation. It really is a nasty condition that anyone who develops it should do their darndest to reverse it!

I have used Melatonin 1.5 mg slow-release, 3 mg and 5 mg. All work much the same for me. I feel good the next day, with zero side effects. I only use it occasionally - if I had a poor night's sleep the night before or I feel I really need a good night's sleep because I have big plans the next day.

Any chemicals like those in many shampoos, other hair products and all manner of things can add to your "toxic load". Depending on how well your body detoxes or otherwise, chemicals (of ANY nature) can have an effect on us, especially if we have been exposed to a lot. A high toxic load can cause various reactions from nausea to breathing difficulties to rashes etc. The obvious answer is to avoid anything with chemicals that causes us to react negatively. There is other stuff we can do such as use air purifiers, eat a healthy diet (which supports the liver and kidneys which are the two primary detox organs). i used to have a similar reaction to that which you describe when I was young when my mother used hair spray. My Dad did not react to it. The effect of chemicals, pollutants etc can affect different people differently. Avoidance is the best strategy.

I imagine you will be able to get back in to Thailand, no problem. I simply cannot imagine that they have gone back and digitised the millions of records they have on file of people's fingerprints and liked it to the Immigration computer system. If you're really concerned, fly in to a neighbouring country and try and enter Thailand by land - that way, if you're denied entry you can simply return to and enjoy the neighbouring country and not have to face a long flight back to wherever you just flew in from.

If it is trapped gas, consider taking a couple of activated charcoal tablets which works well for trapped gas. Just make sure not to take them within 2 hours (before OR after) eating food or taking medicine. Activated charcoal is cheap, effective and widely available.

Yep, the NZ government has flip-flopped the same as the Thais have. Many things the current NZ government does, be it related to Covid or other stuff, make little sense. You'll get no argument on that from me.

As a New Zealander, I would contend that the idea that there was broad support from locals is absolutely not correct! Most New Zealanders were appalled at the restrictions on New Zealand nationals not being able to return to the country. Many felt returning NZers should have to go in to quarantine but few thought it right that Kiwis were prevented from coming home. For weeks the news featured heartbreaking story after heartbreaking story of people who could not come home to see dying parents or relatives, New Zealand citizens stuck in far-away lands such as Afghanistan while pregnant and other crazy stories. There was a very strong backlash against this policy. I don't follow things in Australia so closely but Australians hold dear the concept of fairness and I can't imagine the average Australian supported the policy of fellow Aussies being prevented from returning to their country either.