Dr. Ben Kim's blog

If anyone among your parents, siblings, or children have had colorectal cancer, it's generally prudent to undergo periodic colonoscopies as a screening measure. How often you have a colonoscopy depends on your overall health status and the quality of your bowel movements, so be sure to let your physician know what your diet and lifestyle look like as you decide on a screening schedule. Read more

In response to my article on the Top 3 Determinants of Heart Disease, a number of readers asked how they would know if they were having a heart attack or in danger of having one in the near future.

By definition, a heart attack occurs when blood flow to the heart is compromised. Without adequate oxygen and nutrients from fresh blood, heart cells are damaged and at risk of dying. Read more

Throughout the world, abandoned babies are found every day in woods, dumpsters, creeks, laundromats, and under subway seats. Poverty, psychological distress of teenage pregnancies, and undesired gender are common root causes of child abandonment.

In 2009, a South Korean pastor named Lee Jong Rak and his wife installed a drop box in front of their home, a box that has become a depository for unwanted babies, many with disabilities. The Drop Box is a heartbreaking documentary that tells their story. Please feel free to view the trailer here: Read more

Contrary to popular opinion, your eyes need some exposure to the full spectrum of sunlight to be optimally healthy. Light waves from the sun are converted to electro-chemical energy in cells in your retina, and this energy is transmitted throughout your brain and body where it has positive health effects.

Energy from sunlight travels to your hypothalamus, which is an area in your brain that is about the size of a grape and acts as the micro-processing chip that governs almost everything that happens in your body. Your hypothalamus receives information from all regions of your body and uses this data to regulate your autonomic nervous system to keep you healthy. Depending on your moment-to-moment needs, your hypothalamus adjusts your heart and lung rates, the amount of blood that perfuses your skeletal muscles and digestive organs, and whether you sweat or shiver, just to name a few of the bodily activities that it controls. Read more

If you're keen on taking optimal care of your eyes and vision, I encourage you to adopt the habit of blinking softly as often as possible.

Frequent and gentle blinking is essential to maintaining healthy eyes and optimal vision because it allows your eyelids to keep your eyes coated with three beneficial layers of tears: Read more

As widely covered in the media, 13-year old Jemma-Louise Roberts passed away last winter from Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS), which is thought to have come about from using tampons to help her prepare for swim meets.

TSS is a rare bacterial infection - typically by Staphylococcus aureus but sometimes group A streptococcus bacteria - that can quickly travel through the body via one's bloodstream. Toxins associated with this infection can damage and disrupt all organ systems, making TSS a life-threatening medical emergency. Toxic Shock Syndrome can affect men, women, and children of all ages. Beyond recent tampon use, major risk factors include skin wounds and recent surgery. Read more

The funny thing about accidents is that, by definition, they generally happen without notice. You're going about your business, when, often with an audible crack (even if it's only in your head), you realize that your plans just changed to some degree. This pretty much holds true for most physical injuries, which is why I'm a big believer in being careful about when and how to use my body for physically demanding activities. Read more

Starbucks in Canada recently began providing coconut milk as an alternative to dairy and soy. Curious to know the makeup of their coconut milk, I went to a local shop and gave it a try.

I'm sorry to say that I was disappointed. It felt quite artificial to my palate, and I don't consider myself to be a connoisseur of fine foods and beverages, not by a long shot.

Curious to know what was giving their coconut milk a chemical-like feel to me, I took note of their ingredients: Read more

Originally published in 2006

A few days ago, I was flipping through an Oprah magazine that my wife borrowed from our public library when I came across a short piece on forgiveness by playwright and actor Tyler Perry.

Here's the part that I felt a strong connection to: Read more

Including all of the articulations between your ribs, sternum, and vertebrae, you have approximately 170 joints in your body. More, actually, as some of your joint areas like your ankles, knees, wrists, and elbows have multiple joints within their functional units.

All of your 170 functional joints have two common elements:

1. They are tightly bound by ligaments that are intended to prevent them from dislocating.

2. They are also surrounded by skeletal muscles that control their movement, as directed by your nervous system.