Dr. Ben Kim's blog

If you're keen on limiting dairy and gluten intake, another excellent choice is the nutrient-dense navy bean. On their own, navy beans don't pack much flavour, but if you combine them with a few choice companions, you'll likely be pleasantly surprised to welcome them into your weekly menu plan. Read more

If you are underweight for your body structure, it's possible that you could experience significant improvement in your health by gaining and maintaining healthy weight.

A healthy body weight often indicates that your major organ systems - including your muscles and bones - are well developed. Of course, being at a healthy weight for your structure doesn't guarantee that your major organ systems are functioning well, but a healthy body weight does decrease the likelihood that you might have or develop osteoporosis or problems with regulating your blood sugar and insulin levels. Read more

When researchers from l'Universite de Montreal recently tested the waters of the St. Lawrence River downstream of Montreal, they discovered levels of estrogen 90 times the normal rate. These estrogens were both the natural type (estradiol) occurring in all women and men, and synthetic estrogens, like the ones found in some contraceptive medications and medications used in hormone replacement therapy. Read more

In response to my post on saying yes or no to coffee, a reader named Jillian shared the following concern:

"As a coffee drinker, I would like any reason to blindly drink it without any concern, but one thing not addressed in your article is roasting. I have heard about carcinogenic effects of roasting/charring/grilling etc. Doesn't Starbucks have to put up warning signs in California because of their roasting process?" Read more

Heartfelt thanks to those who are doing all they can to prevent more suicides due to bullying of gays, lesbians, and all others who are treated inhumanely because of differences.

I could write for days on this, but instead, I ask that you watch the following videos and share them with those who may need support. Read more

In a post on gawking in last week's newsletter, I mentioned some of the measures that I take to protect my skin from burning during the hottest of summer days.

I hope that I didn't contribute to any sun phobias that might be out there. In case it wasn't clear in my post, I am extra careful in guarding my skin because I have many areas of depigmentation which burn very quickly without some form of protection. Read more

Last week, a man in Spain died shortly after guzzling 6 liters (1.58 gallons) of beer in about 20 minutes during a beer drinking competition.

Shortly after winning the contest, Joaquín Alcaraz Gracia began vomiting and went into cardiac arrest. He was taken to a local hospital, where he passed away. Read more

Do you remember when you first noticed my freakish appearance while I was in line at the merry-go-round with my boys? Pardon the cliche - you couldn't take your eyes off me. But credit to you for keeping your head pointed straight ahead as you maintained your gawk with a sideways stare as you walked by. Read more

The other day, I spoke briefly with someone looking to address chronic edema in her legs. It was clear that she had been to the moon and back in her quest to find a solution, and despite all of her efforts, her condition had remained essentially unchanged over 20 years. Read more