Hi {!firstname_fix}

We had a wonderful seminar in Boulder. What fun to see folks from this part of the country. It was especially nice to have people from all levels of the program.

And I got up early to play some. Took the dogs and they think Boulder is a nifty place. They swam in the creek and hiked the trails. Water dogs think water is nice! I am driving back down to NM today.

We will be starting these new classes this week:

Brain Chemistry Serotonin - Week 1 is our core class on psychopharmacology. If you are ready to learn why you have a hard time saying no, why you are depressed, and such things, this is the class for you.

Anxiety - Week 1 is our core class on the biochemistry of anxiety and what you can do about it. This is a very practical look at your anxious brain and how to heal it.

Dopamine - Week 1 is a rerun of one our most powerful classes. You won't find this info anywhere else. Come join us in an indepth look at the 4th big brain chemical.

I have posted a new class schedule on line. Click here to see what is planned.

A number of you have asked me how the classes work. Check the class list page for more information on this. The classes are done online with one lesson each day. You do not have to be at your computer at any set time.

And please go read the questions and answers before you write to me. If you have trouble getting through the process, write the tech forum.

Please feel free to pass this week's newsletter on to your friends and family. Don't forget to let me know what you like and would like to see me cover.

Be sure to visit our Radiant Recovery® website and Community Forum regularly.

Warmly,
Kathleen

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August 14, 2006
** Quote From Kathleen **


When you understand your sugar sensitivity, what has been an overwhelming mystery in your life becomes a fascinating journey in self-discovery.

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** Testimonial for the Week**


Here's a great idea about how to get moving even when you can't find any motivation to do so. There is a concept from CST that helped me. From a Russian saying: "the appetite comes with the meal."

(I know! -- huh what? LOL)

But it's like when it's dinner time and you're not that hungry, but when you see it and smell it, then it's like whoa, it's dinner time.

For movement, the idea is to do something, anything, that you really really like. Then when you're up, your appetite for movement might come back.

It does for me just about every time. The only times I want to go sit down and be immobile again is if I have no energy from sleep or food or water problems. But that's very different from motivation.

I use things like juggling couch pillows or tossing them at a family member. Hey they're always close at hand LOL! But then I just love games where you get to throw things.

Connie

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**Recipe of the Week**


Zucchini and Feta Cakes

  • 6 medium zucchini
  • 4 medium thin skinned potatoes
  • 4 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
  • 1 lb feta cheese, crumbled
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 2 tablespoons oat flour
  • 5 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt and freshly milled black pepper
Grate the zucchini coarsely – a food processor is good for this – and put them into a colander. Then sprinkle them with 2 level teaspoons of salt to draw out some of their excess moisture and leave them to drain for about an hour, with a plate or bowl underneath to catch the juices.

Meanwhile, scrub the potatoes and place them in a very large saucepan. Pour just enough boiling water over them to cover them, then simmer gently with a lid on for 8 minutes to parboil them. After that, drain them and leave them aside until they're cool enough to handle. Then using the coarse side of a grater, grate them into a large bowl and season with salt and some freshly milled black pepper.

When the hour is up, rinse the zucchini under cold, running water, squeeze out as much moisture as possible with your hands, then spread them out on a clean towel or paper towels and roll it up to wring out every last drop – this is very important, so the cakes are not wet.

Now, add the zucchini to the grated potatoes, along with the spring onions, mint, feta and beaten eggs and, using two forks, lightly toss it all together. Next, divide the mixture into 16 and shape into rounds about 1/2 inch thick, pressing them firmly together to form little cakes. Then lightly dust the cakes with the oat flour.

To cook them, first pre-heat the oven to 425°F and also pre-heat two baking trays. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small saucepan, then brush the cakes on both sides with it. When the oven is up to heat, place the cakes on the trays, returning one to the top shelf and the other to the middle shelf for 15 minutes. After that, carefully turn the cakes over and then swap the positions of the trays in the oven and cook them for a further 10-15 minutes. Serve hot.



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**Your Last Diet: More Than What You Think**


We are having such a good time with new people coming in. Feels like getting ready to start school. Special thanks to Patti for her help in running some GREAT chats. Don't forget to check the YLD list to read the transcripts.

If you are not a YLD member, come and join us. Click here if you are ready to change your life or just plain ole have fun.
 


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**David's Corner **



Well the wild rice is in!!! Thank you for your patience in waiting for our shipment. If you haven't tried it, it is a great time to do so. I know that Kathleen has it a lot. I love the smell of it cooking.
When you order it, get the little rice cookbook. Kathleen cooks from it all the time. She especially loves making a little rice pudding as a special treat. Hers has no sugar, and it is really yummy. When we were in Maine last week, we were talking about family favorites. I think her rice pudding has taken the place of the grape nuts pudding my dad loves.


As many of you know, we have a little non profit that runs out of our store office. The program coordinator just had a little baby boy. I have been helping out over there for the time being as well.

Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better.

 
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**Our Online Groups**


Hi, I'm Karen, the liaison for the RadiantStep3 group. Like the name says, this group is all about our very favorite Step 3. This was a tough step for me when I started the programme and it was definitely the hardest! I either forgot to eat meals, ate the most inappropriate sugar laden stuff or just grazed my way through the day. It took me ages to master this step but now I happily eat three meals a day, it's easy and very natural and I never dreamed I would ever say that in my lifetime! :-)

The step 3 list is a great place to stop by on for those who are finding this a challenging step, or who are starting out or who would just like some extra support. We talk a lot about things like: What is a meal, exactly? How do I get my body to cooperate with eating "just" three meals a day? What are some tips to help me with consistent timing? And all sorts of other aspects of this Step. We try to make it fun, because... well why not make it fun?? Since being the liaison for this list, I've been thrilled to see so many people come through and "graduate" to the next steps! It's a great place of support... come and join us! (And it matters not if you are new to the step, totally re-doing the step or just shoring up your Step 3 after being further along in the program.)

Or come to the group page to see all our groups. http://www.radiantrecovery.com/list_serves.htm


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**Restoring Your Brain and Body After Stimulant Use**
Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.


In the past few weeks, I have been hearing more from people who are trying to crawl back to sanity after detoxing from stimulant addiction. I thought it would make sense to repost this article.

Stimulant addiction includes things like cocaine, methamphetamine, diet pills, ephedrine drinks, psuedopepipephrine drinks, Sudafed, caffeine, Ritalin, or NutraSweet products.

All of these substances activate or cause to be activated a brain chemical called dopamine. Dopamine makes you feel bright, clear, focused and functional. When you first start using these substances, you feel like you can take on the world. After a while, your brain adjusts and you simply feel “normal” after use and very discombobulated when the effect wears off. Addiction sets in when you start needing your substance in order to stave off the withdrawal.

Withdrawal from these substances makes you feel just the opposite. You feel dull, foggy, sludgy, torpid, teary, scattered and incapable of functioning. And as soon as you get your ‘drug”, even if it is a Diet Coke, you feel better. Stimulant addiction is seductive. You feel so fine when you are using and so bad when you are not, it is almost inconceivable to imagine not having it.

But, part of you has known that it is progressive and you are feeling worse. You no longer have times of feeling good, and a particular kind of bone weary exhaustion started setting in. You had to up the dose, or shorten the time between your “fixes”. What started as one latte in the morning became a triple in the morning and a single in the afternoon just to function. You knew you were in trouble and decided it was time to get off.

Doing the steps helped to get you to this place. You have been reasonably steady with your food and you were ready to get out from under this addiction. For the sake of this discussion, I am going to assume you have stopped using and you feel pretty crappy. This is a how to intervention to hold you up and restore your brain so that your willingness to get clean can stick over time.

There are 3 very specific changes you are going to make over a 3-month period to get your old brain back. [and yes, you will get back to normal!]
  1. Increase your protein intake to .6 - .8 grams per pound of your body weight. If you have been using the more hard core drugs like cocaine or meth, use the upper end. If you have been using caffeine or diet products use the lower end. But play with it to see what has the best effect. You are working to increase the level of large neutral amino acids, particularly one called tyrosine. Tyrosine is the precursor to dopamine just like tryptophan is the precursor to serotonin. Do not just go get some tyrosine [you see I know the addict’s mind, LOL]. You want the “package” that comes with protein meals. 1

    In the early weeks of your detox, you may want to add a protein snack mid morning and mid afternoon. A protein drink such as George’s Shake will be a particular comfort.

  2. Increase the size of your potato at night. Serotonin reduces the craving for stimulants. If you start having wild or hallucinogenic dreams, simply cut back some. Find the edge so you are getting restorative and restful dreaming and not getting uncomfortable dreams.2

  3. Take omega 3 fatty acids with a high concentration of EPA/DHA. These fatty acids are abundant in the membranes that are associated with synaptic function – the place where the neurotransmitters talk with one another. Increasing the omega 3s helps restore this function. 3
Make a concerted effort to stay away from foods that are high in omega 6 fatty acids – things like margarine and saturated fats [butter, cream, and meat fat] Eat foods high in omega 3 like cold water fishes such as salmon.

In your early phase, you may find it helpful to supplement with omega 3 fish oils capsules like the ones we sell in the store. The recommended dosage is 2 caps per day for a 150 pound person. You may want to increase this proportionate to your size and the severity of the detox you are experiencing.

If you are taking fish oil, it will tend to thin your blood. Sometimes this will make you more vulnerable to bruising. I have found that the antioxidant pycnogenol helps with this by strengthening capillary walls. I added this product to our store as a nice adjunct to the fish oil.

I am including some citations here if you would like to read more about this. They are linked so you can read the actual abstract on line. If you click on the link that says related articles, you can follow the topic and gather more information.

And of course, you may always email me at radiantkd@mindspring.com

Kathleen

1Fernstrom, JD, Can nutrient supplements modify brain function? Am J Clin Nutr. 2000 Jun;71(6 Suppl):1669S-75S. Review.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10837313&dopt=Abstract
2Yu DS, Smith FL, Smith DG, Lyness WH. Fluoxetine-induced attenuation of amphetamine self-administration in rats. Life Sci. 1986 Oct 13;39(15):1383-8.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=3489876&dopt=Abstract
3Zimmer L, Vancassel S, Cantagrel S, Breton P, Delamanche S, Guilloteau D, Durand G, Chalon S. The dopamine mesocorticolimbic pathway is affected by deficiency in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Am J Clin Nutr. 2002 Apr;75(4):662-7.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11916751&dopt=Abstract




©Kathleen DesMaisons 2006.

Here are the folks who are helping put the newsletter together:

Gretel, the liaison for the recovery list and the webmaster puts it all together
Naomi, liaison for step 4 gathers the recipes
David, who runs the Radiant Recovery® Store talks about what new products we have.

You are getting the weekly newsletter from Radiant Recovery® in response to your signup. A copy of this newsletter may also be found posted on the web at http://www. radiantrecovery.com/weeklynewsletter.htm.

©2006 by Kathleen DesMaisons . All rights reserved. You are free to use or transmit this article to your ezine or website as long as you leave the content unaltered and use this attribution: "By Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D. of Radiant Recovery®. Please visit Kathleen's website at http://www.radiantrecovery.com for additional resources on sugar sensitivity and healing addiction." Please notify me at kathleen@radiantrecovery.com to let me know where the material will appear.

Banner Photograph by Geraint Smith