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Dr. John Hong
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Hemochromotosis | Too Much Iron!

When I was a kid, I used to read everything from Spider-Man to X-Men, but Iron Man was never one of my favorite comic book heroes. Who would have imagined in years to come that all these superheroes’ stories would become blockbuster movies? I guess it’s like Bonnie Tyler’s hit song, “I Need a [...]

Childhood Obesity & Diabetes | Turning into Sugar Babies

Type II Diabetes was called “Adult Onset Diabetes,” but it isn’t anymore because it’s now occurring and increasing in children and adolescents. In fact, one study shows that with the current trends in childhood/adolescent obesity, 40-50 percent of babies born after the year 2000 will develop Type II Diabetes in their lifetimes.

Chronic Kidney Disease Video | Slow Kidneys

Pâté is not politically correct food because of what is done to poor Mrs. Goose. Personally I think eating liver is like eating toenails or something. But then again some people eat pig’s feet, so we all have our preferences, including me.
Back in Kenton, OH, my terrorizing classmates would ridicule [...]

High Fructose and Obesity | High Fructose Corn Syrup | High Fructose Syrup Video

High-fructose corn syrup is sweet. High dose fructose is associated with Metabolic Syndrome X. High fructose corn syrup is associated with obesity

Soda is soda and a pop is a Popsicle in NYC, where I used to live. But when I moved to Kenton, Ohio at the tender age of 7, I ordered an orange [...]

Losing Weight – Top 10 Excuses Not To Exercise

Here are the top 10 excuses I hear from patients on why they don’t exercise.

Diabetic Feet – Don’t Be De-feeted

Open mouth, insert foot. Have you ever been in a situation where you wanted to die because you said something inappropriate?
Some friends threw a farewell party for me in LA when I finished residency. Not that I was a Chatty Cathy, but– I said to a couple of my friends across the dinner table, [...]

Mickey Mouse is Sinking!

Mickey Mouse-has he become obese? Minnie Mouse too? According to the New York Times, Disneyland is fixing up the “It’s a Small World” ride to accommodate obese riders.
Hmm, ironic it’s a small world. The ride was built in 1963, and back then people weren’t as heavy as we are now. In fact, when [...]

Januvia – new kid on the block for type 2 diabetes

Eating habits are very interesting. Some people don’t let food on their plate touch-so much for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Some people won’t eat meat if the bone is still attached-so much for T-bone steaks. I know some who graze like Elsie the cow but won’t sit down for dinner with the rest [...]

High Fructose and Obesity

Soda is soda and a pop is a Popsicle in NYC, where I used to live. But when I moved to Kenton, Ohio at the tender age of 7, I ordered an orange pop but got an orange soda instead. The confused worker at the Dairy Freeze told me, “You ordered an orange pop, [...]

Avandia: The Big Scare Over Weak Information

The Bachelor: Officer & a Gentleman–yuck, please give me a break! How can a soldier and a doctor go onto a game show of marriage, pledge his love to one woman but then marry the hotter woman?
Not everyone in this country can even get married, but you don’t see anyone creating legislation against TV [...]

Endocannabinoids: Can you lose weight with “anti-marijuana” medicine?

Endocannabinoids: losing weight?
Rosie O’Donnell and Donald Trump need to hash it out more so they can continue to irritate America! C’mon, Donald! You’re a rich successful man and, yes, your last name is “Trump, but you’re acting more like Donald Duck.
Lionel Ritchie needs to hash it out with his daughter, Nicole. Personally, I wouldn’t [...]

Diabetes & Exercise: A Great Team

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups used to have a silly commercial—but an effective one. Two people would collide, and one person’s chocolate would fall into the other person’s peanut butter. (Or is it the other way around?)
In our “blame-someone-else society” the two would argue, “Hey, you got chocolate in my peanut butter.” “No, you got [...]

Korean Study: Body mass index and mortality in Koreans

Korean as I am, I’m not very Korean. I didn’t learn the language, so all my relatives call me “stupid” in Korean. I don’t even know how to spell “stupid” in Korean– something like “pa-bow.” When I go to South Korea, they think I look Chinese. In fact, when I eat dim sum, the Chinese [...]

Glucose Intolerance: Pre-Diabetes is not so sweet

When I was in college, I saw a crazy, steamy movie called, 9-l/2 Weeks. There’s a scene beside an open refrigerator in which blindfolded Kim Basinger eats unidentified food given to her by Mickey Rourke. Oscar-winner Basinger reportedly said later that Rourke’s breath smelled like cigarettes the whole time, so I wonder if she opposed [...]

5 Top Excuses Not To Exercise

Exercise, the word, might sound like profanity to some people. Perhaps the “ex” reminds people of negative words like exile, extortion, or ex-spouse. But then there are good words like expert, excellent, xmas. Hmm.
I try to come up with creative solutions with my patients who balk at exercise. Could the readers of The Hook [...]

PAD: Peripheral Artery Disease: Not Pad Thai

There are too many homonyms and acronyms that all sound the same but have different meanings. How in the world can we keep up with all the different meanings for the same-sounding words?
For example, PSA in medicine means “prostate specific antigen,” but at the news station it means “public service announcement.” There are many [...]

Holiday Cheer = Holiday Pounds

I love fruitcake. Does that make me odd? Hey, anything soaked in rum long enough tastes like– well, rum! Yum, yum! I’m starting to tell all my patients, “If I see you before the holidays, make sure you bring me fruitcake– and your co-payment. Haha.”
Most patients frown and say, “I’ll gladly give you any [...]

Flu Shots: A Minor Ouch!

Some people beg for the flu shot each October. Others are petrified of getting one. “Last time I got a flu shot, I was sick as a dog. I almost died!” they say. (I always wondered why we say “sick as a dog” because my dogs have always been healthy.)
I try to convince my [...]

Byetta: He-Ya! Not A Karate Chop But How A Lizard Helps Diabetics

When I was staying at a resort in Puerto Rico ten years ago, there was a restaurant called, “Iguanas.” It was an outdoor restaurant on this small beach island surrounded by beautiful vegetation and palm trees. When the tortillas arrived on the table, we were suddenly surrounded by little lizards, like a scene from [...]

Exercise: Not a 4 Letter Word

Remember the song, “Let’s Get Physical?” Olivia Newton John wore a cute little pink sweat-suit when she sang that smash hit from the ’80s. It still fits her. Her Grease co-star, John Travolta, is not fit. After they finished singing “We Go Together,” he stopped dancing and gained 60 pounds.
I see people at [...]

Gobble Gobble: Overeating on the holidays makes you a turkey

Monty Python’s movie The Meaning of Life has a disgusting– but funny– scene at a restaurant where a morbidly obese man takes gluttony to a new level. At the end of his meal, the waiter forces upon him a “wafer-thin” mint. Despite his obvious lack of control over his eating, he reassures the waiter that [...]