Dr. Ben Kim's blog

If you don't have trouble digesting whole grains that contain naturally occurring gluten, oats make for a healthy and satisfying meal - a bowl of hot oatmeal is especially nice on cold fall and winter mornings.

Of the many varieties of oats on the market, your best choice is steel-cut oats, which are whole oat groats that have been cut into small pieces. Steel-cut oats are more nutritious than varieties like rolled or quick oats, which are somewhat nutrient-depleted due to heavier processing. Read more

Originally published on January 9, 2009, updated on September 28, 2009

Over the past couple of years, I've had dozens of people recommend The Secret, a popular self-help book on the law of attraction. I have yet to read this book, but my understanding is that "the secret" boils down to this: we should continuously focus our thoughts on everything we want in life, as we tend to manifest what we regularly think about.

Most people would probably agree with the idea that visualizing a desired outcome is just one important step to manifesting that outcome. Visualizing all day long and not taking action to realize one's hopes just doesn't inspire confidence, at least not for the masses. Read more

Just a brief post to share an exquisite cover of the love theme from Cinema Paradiso.

Many thanks to David Park of Incheon, South Korea, for recommending this movie to me many years ago. In my book, Cinema Paradiso is one of those once-in-a-lifetime films. Read more

Updated on August 30, 2009

Wouldn't it be amazingly fun to travel around the world and dance outdoors with happy people? I'm guessing that it would be really good for our health.

I hope you love the following video as much as I do - it's of a fellow named Matt Harding dancing outdoors with happy people all over the world. Read more

If you've ever given some thought to how every single material object in our lives ultimately comes from the earth, you'll likely appreciate the following 20-minute video, entitled "The Story of Stuff."

The Story of Stuff does a brilliant job of explaining the true costs of each of our purchases. Read more

Updated on August 5, 2009

It's hard to believe that more than a year has zoomed by since my first post on Operation Shanti, a not-for-profit, no frills group working to empower the poorest and neediest children and elderly in Mysore, India. Read more

One of the most common and preventable physical health challenges that I have treated over the years is called frozen shoulder, also known as adhesive capsulitis. Even if you don't currently have a problem with your shoulders, I highly recommend that you read this article in its entirety, as the guidelines provided below can help you maintain healthy shoulders and prevent a wide variety of physical ailments of the shoulder and upper back regions. Read more

Q. I am experiencing what seems to be symptoms of a peptic ulcer; namely a burning, grinding stomach ache with reduced appetite, indigestion, and nausea. Read more