Most Recent Health Tips, Health News, and Easy Healthy Recipes

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 tablespoons miso or den jang
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon raw or unpasteurized honey
1/2 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard 2 small cloves garlic

Directions:

Place all ingredients except olive oil in a blender. Blend ingredients for 10-15 seconds or until homogenized. Read more

Vegetable juices are power packed with vitamins, minerals, and numerous phytochemicals that help cleanse your blood and prevent disease. If you don't already have a juicer, I highly recommend a champion juicer. We've used one for years without any problems. Read more

A favorite staple in the Korean diet is a soup called den jang gook. For those of you who aren’t familiar with den jang gook, it is Korea’s version of miso soup, made out of fermented soy beans. During their first year or two of marriage, Korean women like to joke about their husbands' gas from indigestion smelling like den jang gook. In other words, they are crazy in love. Read more

If you haven’t already read other articles that I’ve written on healthy vs. unhealthy fats and oils, you may not know that the healthiest oil that you can use on a daily basis is coconut oil.

Although coconut oil has always been a healthy food choice, its reputation suffered a great deal during the 80s and 90s when it was lumped together with other saturated fats as a cause of cardiovascular disease.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Coconut Oil May Speed Up Metabolism and Increase Energy
It’s true that 92 percent of the fatty acids in coconut oil are saturated. What many people don’t know is that over two-thirds of these saturated fatty acids are medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA). MCFAs are different from other varieties of saturated fatty acids in that as soon as they enter your bloodstream, they are taken to your liver where they are converted to energy. Whereas other dietary fats and even excess carbohydrates can be stored as fat in your cells, the MCFAs found in coconut oil provide an almost immediate source of energy and may actually speed up your metabolism.

Because of its potential ability to speed up metabolism, coconut oil is a good food choice for people with sluggish thyroid glands, as well as for people who find it difficult to shed unwanted weight.

The Safest Oil for Cooking
The high percentage of saturated fatty acids found in coconut oil makes it extremely stable when exposed to heat. Unlike almost all other vegetable oils, coconut oil contains virtually no trans fats, and is highly resistant to free radical formation when used for cooking at high temperatures. No other oil comes close to being as safe and healthy for cooking as coconut oil.

Coconut Oil May Help Those with Digestive Problems
Many people who have suffered with inflammatory conditions of the intestines like Crohn’s disease have successfully used coconut oil for its anti-inflammatory and soothing properties. Coconut oil's ability to help improve the balance of microorganisms in the intestines is likely another reason why people who suffer with digestive disorders benefit from using it on a regular basis. 

A Good All-Natural Moisturizer for Your Skin
In addition to its potential healing properties for your internal health, coconut oil makes for an exceptional skin moisturizer. First of all, it doesn’t contain any of the carcinogenic chemicals that are found in many commercial moisturizers. Secondly, coconut oil is easily absorbed into your skin, where it can help to prevent free radical damage, wrinkling, and sagging.  It may even be able to restore strength to the underlying connective tissue.

To summarize, here is some of what coconut oil may do for you:

• Improve your energy
• Reduce your risk of heart disease
• Reduce your risk of cancer
• Improve your digestion and ability to absorb nutrients
• Promote weight loss and maintenance of your ideal weight
• Help prevent bacterial, yeast, fungal, and viral infections
• Support and enhance your immune system
• Help regulate your blood sugar and prevent or control diabetes
• Help prevent osteoporosis
• Help prevent premature aging and wrinkling of the skin
• Help keep your skin smooth and soft
• Help protect against skin cancer and blemishes

Coconut oil does NOT do any of the following:

• Does NOT contribute to heart disease
• Does NOT contribute to weight problems
• Does NOT increase blood cholesterol
• Does NOT promote platelet stickiness or blood clot formation

In choosing a coconut oil for your daily needs, I recommend that you look for a source that fulfills the following guidelines for healthy virgin coconut oil:

1. Should smell and taste like fresh coconuts
2. Certified organic, USDA standards
3. No hydrogenated oils / trans fats
4. No chemicals or preservatives added
5. Only fresh coconuts are used - no dried copra, which is used to make many other commercial coconut oils
6. No refining, bleaching, or deodorizing
7. No genetically modified coconuts (Non-GMO)
8. Coconuts are from traditional palm trees only - no hybrid tress are used

For more scientific information about the properties of coconut oil, I recommend that you read Eat Fat, Lose Fat: Lose Weight And Feel Great With The Delicious, Science-based Coconut Diet, by Sally Fallon and Dr. Mary Enig. Read more

This ultra simple recipe is a delicious way for you and your family to enjoy all of the health benefits of broccoli. Even kids love oven-roasted broccoli.

Ingredients:

1 head of broccoli, washed and cut into florets
2 teaspoons of olive oil
Juice of one lemon
Sea salt and pepper, to taste Read more

Many of us have come to believe that eating healthier means eating lots of fruits and vegetables. While fruits and vegetables are much better for you than refined foods like cookies and chips, my experiences and research have led me to believe that too much fruit can be harmful to your health. Read more

I recently came across the work of Steven Bratman, a medical doctor whose studies and experiences make him a highly regarded expert in alternative medicine. Of particular interest to me is a book that he wrote called Health Food Junkies : Orthorexia Nervosa: Overcoming the Obsession with Healthful Eating. I would like to thank Dr. Bratman for graciously giving me permission to share the following article that he wrote on this topic with our guests. - Ben Kim, D.C. 
  Read more

Do you know anyone who suffers from chronic low back pain? As simple as it seems, many people with chronic low back pain can improve and even fully heal their backs by doing one simple thing: stretching their hamstrings.

I consider Krispin Sullivan to be the world's foremost expert on the relationship between vitamin D and human health. Many thanks to Krispin for taking the time to update and educate me on the latest in vitamin D research and what we can do to ensure appropriate levels for excellent health. You can read more about Krispin's work and upcoming book at her website. - Ben Kim, D.C. Read more

With greater awareness of the many health problems associated with pasteurized dairy products, many people are turning to vegetarian milk substitutes like soy milk and rice milk. I’m not a big fan of either. Here are some reasons why I don’t think soy or rice milk should be staples in your diet:

1. Many brands of soy and rice milk contain polyunsaturated vegetable oils which can contribute to an imbalance of essential fatty acids in your body. As harmless as this might sound, I am convinced that a chronic imbalance of essential fatty acids caused by regular consumption of polyunsaturated vegetable oils is a major cause of cardiovascular disease. Polyunsaturated fats that contribute to this harmful imbalance are found in safflower, corn, soybean, sunflower, and cottonseed oils. I recommend that you stay away from these oils completely. Read more about healthy vs. unhealthy fats here.

2. Some brands of soy and rice milk contain rice syrup, evaporated cane juice, or some other natural sweetener. Natural or not, most sweeteners put significant stress on your pancreas and liver. They also raise your insulin level, which significantly increases your risk of suffering from unhealthy weight gain, high blood pressure, heart disease, premature aging, and several other negative side effects.
3. While fermented forms of soy like miso, tempeh, and natto can be healthy choices for some people, non-fermented soy products can cause a variety of health problems if consumed in large quantities on a regular basis. I will discuss the details of when soy can be good and when it can be bad in a future newsletter.

Ready for some good news?

You can make a rich and creamy alternative to cow’s, soy, and rice milk with raw almonds and a good blender. Here is how we make it at our clinic:

All-Natural Almond Milk

1 ½ cups of raw almonds, soaked in water overnight
4 cups of filtered or spring water
3-5 dates (optional)

Blend 1 ½ cups of raw almonds that have been soaked overnight in 4 cups of water. Blend with dates if you like your milk with a hint of sweetness. Strain once to remove almond granules. The result is a delicious, creamy milk that is free of harmful vegetable oil, concentrated sweeteners, and the problems associated with cow’s milk and soy. It keeps for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. Read more