Hi {!firstname_fix}

Please feel free to pass this week's newsletter on to your friends and family. Each week we are trying some new ideas, let me know what you think. Be sure to check out the seminars I will be doing.

A copy of this newsletter may also be found posted to the web at http://www.radiantrecovery.com/weeklynewsletter

Warmly,
Kathleen

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February 9, 2004

** Quote From Connie **

It is really kind of important to "remember" our protein requirement! It is useful during ALL the steps. That's what's so cool about breakfast. It is like an acorn. It has in it all the elements of the mighty oak that is our recovery.

Connie

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** Testimonial for the Week**

When I first read the book, more than having to give up alcohol I was spooked at the idea of giving up sugar. Yes, I did enjoy a social drink once or twice a week. Two drinks was my usual amount of alcohol. I also enjoyed wine or another drink at summer picnics. Christmas and other holidays I would have all kinds of different drinks.

But I also felt that I wanted to try the food plan. I wanted to lose some weight and feel less depressed and tired all the time. I had tried many, many diets in my life. Usually I would last on them between two to four months. I would lose a lot of weight, up to seventy five pounds. Then I would slide back into my old ways, begin eating pasta, bread and sweets.

With this food plan, which I intend to use until the day I die, I took the steps slow. Breakfast was never one of my favorite meals and it was mostly sugar and whites that I ate. After a few weeks I began to notice that if I had breakfast within one hour of waking with adequate protein, I was no longer exhausted at 3:00 and sending out for cake and coffee to give me an energy burst. I didn't fall asleep on the subway going home from work. This happened just because I was eating breakfast, no other changes. I still ate my sugar and I still had my alcohol.

My fear with starting the diet was giving up my best friend sugar. I started the steps and as I worked them slowly I began to heal. I had tons of energy and was happy. I even smiled at people on the subway and found myself humming all the time. I noticed the sunsets and how the orange light hit the glass on the skyscrapers in Manhattan. I took joy in the little things life has to offer. I no longer woke with a migraine two or three times a month and regular headaches every morning.

I could go on and this would get very long. The improvements in my health and quality of life are many. Please consider giving yourself the chance at a better quality of life if you believe you are sugar sensitive. Start with step one and give yourself a few weeks. You can stay on the steps for as long as you like. When I started I planned to never, ever detox I felt that good.

Ann

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

It isn’t really a diet but it is the LAST one you will ever need. It creates healing on a cellular level. If you want results, this is the plan for you. You are paying for the support and access to cutting edge information.

Come join us and get in on the action!

http://www.radiantrecovery.com/YLD_signup.htm

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** Radiant Recovery Seminars **

Excitement is astir!! Seminars! Learn the biochemistry. Meet other sugar sensitives. Hear Kathleen at her best. Come join us.

The first one will be held in New York on Sunday, February 29. This seminar will cover weight loss.

The second will be our annual four-day ranch held in Albuquerque May 19-22.

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** Featured Product: Radiant Recipes Cookbook **

Have you wondered what good things to fix? Our little cookbook is packed not only with sugar free options, but also has LOTS of great tips for building your program. And, the recipes are all wheat free. Here is a sample:

Kathleen's Macaroni and Cheese

8 oz. uncooked brown rice pasta
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 1/2 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit
Cook pasta according to directions. Drain well and place in 1 quart ovenproof mixing bowl.
Add cheese to pasta. Combine well.
Pour milk over pasta mixture.
Pour into serving cups and chill at least 2 hours before serving.
Bake in preheated oven 35 to 45 minutes or until cheese sauce is bubbling and top of mixture is golden brown. Makes 4 servings.

Gee, we have something for everybody in our store

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** Featured Topic**
Problems of the Gut

Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.

We will be doing a 3-part series on Irritable Bowel Disease. First is about the contributing factors, second will be some neurochemistry discussion and third is the solution. We have also set up a new list to support those of you who are dealing with this.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/radiantIBD/join

Problems of the gut can include irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), colitis, celiac disease, crohn’s disease, cystic fibrosis, diverticulitis and chronic diarrhea or constipation. Although this discussion will focus on IBS, the recommendations are applicable to all the conditions listed. The symptoms of gut problems can include:

Gas
Abdominal pain
Abdominal distention/bloating
Constipation
Diarrhea
Stomach
Rectal bleeding
Inflammation
Failure to gain weight

There are some other behavioral problems that have been reported in children and adults who manifest the intestinal problems listed above. Many of the symptoms have disappeared when the gut healed. My own sense is that these symptoms are not “caused” by the gut problems, but emerge from the same dietary imbalances that create the gut problems. So they are relational but not causal.

Hyperactivity
Withdrawal and not communicating with others
Night terrors
Emotional reactivity
Outbursts of anger
Unexplained aggression
Tics, and tilting of the head
Feet movements and jumpiness
Poor memory
Mental confusion

There is no question in my mind that diet plays a HUGE part in gut problems. But before I speak to you about a solution, let me share a little about what a healthy gut is meant to do.

A Healthy Gut

A healthy gut is designed to process the sludge sent down to it by the stomach. The healthy gut has a number of enzymes that break apart the different constituents of the sludge. Maltase breaks down carbohydrates, protease breaks down protein, lactase breaks down lactose, sucrase breaks down sugar, maltase breaks down maltose, and so on.

As the enzymes act on the thick sludge from the stomach, it becomes more liquid and more available for digestion. The intestines suck up the broken down sludge and convert it to nutrients that go into the blood for the body to use in all sorts of things like feeding your brain and making muscles and growing bones. An effective digestion means your body gets what it needs.

After the nutrients are removed from the sludge, the intestines send the waste material into the colon and then remove the water. Your gut moves the sludge on down your intestinal tube called the bowel. When the system is working right, you have a normal bowel movement which is neither too hard nor too soft. The condition of your bowel movements tells you a lot about how healthy your gut is. When you have gut problems, you can get the symptoms I have listed above.

Irritable bowel syndrome is just that – you get an unhappy bowel that is cranky and cannot do the job. It is painful and disruptive. Your life starts to revolve around the availability of a bathroom and you get frantic about what to eat or not eat. You may have been to many doctors but unless you change your diet, you won’t get the results you hope for.

Why Your Gut Acts Up

I want to help you understand some of the reasons your gut acts up. As I researched this topic, I found many discussions of what happens but not a whole lot of discussion about “why”. The scientific literature in the early 80’s discusses the role of diet and in particular about the relationship between high sugar usage and gut problems. Subsequent to that, a number of scientists debunked this connection. In the alternative literature, which tends to be more anecdotal, there is a great deal of concurrence about the relationship of diet and gut health. And finally there is the evidence that comes from personal testimony – the thousands and thousands who report profound changes in their gut when they change their diets.

My bias, of course, is that there is a significant relationship between what you eat and how healthy you are. Let me walk you through the factors I think are operating in IBS. Then I will give you some specific recommendations you can try. You be the judge. You know your body and your child’s body. I will give you some tools, show you how to use them and guide you as you work with them.

Let’s look at what I think operates in IBS:

Inadequate enzyme activity
High refined carbohydrate diets (including sugars) which fosters a change in the bacteria in your gut
The harmful bacteria start to overwhelm the good ones and your body reacts by

Inflammation
Hyper reactivity of the gut
Increased mucus

These symptoms create a vicious cycle. You get pain; you crave sugars because they evoke beta-endorphin that helps manage the pain. More pain equals more sugar, more sugar means more inflammation and more harmful bacteria

Copyright © Kathleen DesMaisons, 2004. All Rights Reserved.