Dr. Ben Kim's blog

Have you ever taken a careful look at the list of ingredients on your shampoo, lotion, toothpaste, lip balm, or make-up? I don't know about you, but I'm a bit nervous about putting anything on my skin or near my mouth that has a long list of ingredients that I don't recognize. Do you know that whatever you put on your skin or near your mouth has a real chance of getting absorbed into your blood stream? Considering that some of the chemicals used in commercial personal care products are highly toxic and can cause cancer, this is an extremely important issue to consider. Read more

We recently had a guest visit our clinic with chronic eczema. Eczema, also known as dermatitis, is a condition of itchy and dry skin that can progress to a rash, sometimes cracking and bleeding. This particular guest had a severe rash with painful cracks on the palms of her hand, as well as on the soft, inside part of her elbows. Read more

As my wife and I sanded the trim around our windows before painting this past summer, I was reminded of the potential danger of arsenic exposure around homes and playgrounds. For the past seven decades, a form of arsenic has been used as a pesticide in pressure treated wood used for playground sets, picnic tables, and wooden decks and porches. The concern is that arsenic – a known carcinogen – can rub off of treated wood and be ingested with hand to mouth contact. Considering that children touch their mouths sixteen times per hour when they are out playing, this is an important issue for all families to consider. Read more

Throughout the history of the world, many cultures have used fish and fish broths to nourish their people. In the Chinese and Korean cultures, fish and fish broths have traditionally been used to properly nourish pregnant women and to promote a healthy supply of breast milk.

During his travels, renowned nutritionist and dentist, Dr. Weston A. Price found that populations that regularly consumed fish had thicker bones and better skeletal structure than those that consumed mainly red meat or mainly vegetables. Read more

Ingredients:

1-2 tomatoes
Small bunch of basil
Juice of one slice of lemon
Spring or filtered water
Sea salt, to taste (optional)

Directions:

Blend all ingredients. Try this dressing with your favourite whole grains like brown rice and quinoa, as well as on your vegetable salads and steamed vegetable dishes. Read more

Ingredients: 

2 small bananas
1 tablespoon of organic, all-natural peanut butter
1 cup of almond milk or spring water

Directions:

Blend all ingredients and enjoy. Read more

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