Natural Health Care

Here's an e-mail that I received over the weekend from a fellow who I consulted for this past winter:

"Hey Dr. Ben:

To follow up, I am ecstatic to report that everything, and I mean EVERYTHING has gotten better since we last spoke.

I have been religious about not snacking after dinner. You know that I was skeptical that this alone could fix my belly, but I stand humbled. Read more »

As a general marker of overall health status, few tests carry greater predictive weight than homocysteine.

The amount of homocysteine in your blood is one of the best objective indicators of how healthy you are and how long you are going to live. Read more »

A few weeks ago, I posted a letter that I received from a client who used regular intake of lettuce and cherries to strengthen her teeth.

In learning about this, a reader in Toronto, Ontario decided to try eating blended lettuce salads daily to address chronic sensitivity that she had in a back molar. She wrote to let me know that within two days of eating blended lettuce salads, her GI tract became highly uncomfortable, as though she had non-stop inflammation in her stomach.

A short while ago, I spoke at length with a new client about the nature of her arthritis and how different it is from osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease).

Our conversation made me realize that I should write up an entire piece discussing this, as I'm certain that there are some among our readership who don't have a clue why their joint pain is getting worse by the year despite giving their affected joints adequate rest. Read more »

The first point that I make clear with all of my clients is that no single nutrient works on its own to produce health effects in the human body.

Your body needs dozens of different nutrients to survive and thrive, and every nutrient that has a nourishing effect on your body works together with other nutrients and your body's self healing mechanisms to keep you well. Read more »

To download this podcast, right-click on the following link and choose "save as."
Dr. Ben Kim's Podcast - January 1, 2013

If pressed to share just one thing that all of us can do to stay as healthy as possible, it would be this:

Don't ignore discomfort; whenever you don't feel well, strive to identify and address the root cause(s) of your symptoms.

Conventional medical practice would have us believe that prevention entails being diligent in going for regular diagnostic testing. This is screening for disease once it is already well under way; it is nothing remotely close to exercising true prevention of disease. Read more »

For many years, I have explained to questioning family members and friends why I cannot support conventional cancer-fighting fundraising campaigns.

I am not completely against conventional medical treatment options for different types of cancer. For example, for a good number of people that I have worked with over the past several years, I have fully supported and encouraged surgical excision of malignant tumours. My wariness of the mainstream cancer-fighting industry pertains to what I believe is excessive and often times inappropriate use of chemotherapy and radiation, as well as the lack of attention that is given to relevant environmental and personal lifestyle factors. Read more »

Acupressure is a healing art that involves applying pressure to specific points on your body. The idea is to manually stimulate blood flow to your largest nerves, which promotes healthy nerve function, which in turn, promotes optimal cellular function, as all cellular activity is ultimately governed by your nervous system.

So much like you can maintain healthy muscles through regular exercise, you can maintain healthy nerves through regular acupressure.

One of the topics that I am frequently asked about is acupuncture. What is acupuncture, exactly? How does it work? What conditions are acupuncture helpful for? How is it different from acupressure? Does it hurt?

What follows is a summary of how I typically answer these questions. Read more »

The next time you experience a cold or the flu, remember this: rather than take conventional drugs to suppress uncomfortable symptoms, it's better for your health to allow the cold or flu to run its course while you get plenty of physical and emotional rest.

Conventional medicine and the pharmaceutical industry would have you believe that there is no "cure" for the common cold, that you should protect yourself against the flu with a vaccine that is laden with toxic chemicals, and that during the midst of a cold or flu, it is favorable to ease your discomfort with a variety of medications that can suppress your symptoms. Read more »