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June 28, 2010 Hi {!firstname_fix} Well it is has been an intense week around the community. Lots of getting clear and settling in. I think it reflects what is happening in the universe as well. Somehow it feels as if things have amped up and the standards are higher. It has been exhausting and naps have seemed nice. But I like where we have gotten to. I have spent the last week on ancestry.com. I thought I was just following a story that we were descendants from some people on the Mayflower. I ended up tracking things back to 772 BC! Now that is a lot of family. It was just fascinating. I loved going through things that I have read about in history but never realized it has any connection to me. I think this is a fun new hobby.  We are doing a Radiant Recovery one-day seminar in the heart of beautiful Boulder, Colorado on Saturday, July 10. This will give Colorado and nearby residents an unparalleled opportunity to meet with others doing the program and to hear directly from me. I will be presenting the latest information on the dynamic evolution of the steps, the addiction amoeba and Emotional Healing. So, please come join us, it will be fun!This class will begin Wednesday, June 30, 2010. Please click on the name of the class you wish to join and it will take you to the registration page: Brain Chemistry: Beta Endorphin (2 weeks) is one of our most popular classes. It will teach you the core of the science behind the program. This is the outline for a critical part of sugar sensitivity, why you act the way you do and what you can do to change it. I love this class and so do all the people who have taken it. Somehow BE rocks! These classes will begin Wednesday, July 7, 2010. Please click on the name of the class you wish to join and it will take you to the registration page: Step 2: Skillful Use (2 weeks) is the next level of journaling. This is for those of you who know *how* and want to learn what to do with your data. This class shows you how to interpret what you have written in an exciting and pragmatic way. Radiant Diabetes (2 weeks) is the class we do every so often for those of you who have diabetes as part of your story. If you want to learn how diabetes and sugar sensitivity go hand in hand, this is the class for you. This class will teach you about the numbers and the solution. We will have our community experts as teaching assistants so this is a wonderful opportunity to learn skills ideally suited for your recovery. The class schedule is online. Click here to see what is planned. Please wait to sign up for classes until a week or two before, and do not sign up for classes that are not yet scheduled. A number of you have asked me how the classes work. Check the class list page for more information on this. 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. Be sure to visit our Radiant Recovery website and Community Forum regularly. Warmly, Kathleen **********************************************************************
** Quote From Kathleen ** The relationship between your food and your quality of life is powerful. **********************************************************************
** Testimonial of the Week ** 
When I got here I also thought I was the one person for whom the steps would not work.I thought it's all very well, but they haven't got my special this, that and the other. But I kept showing up and posting, and that was enough. The steps started to work. I loved your descriptions with the fish. You drew a good picture. It reminded me of one night we were in eurochat. I always remember this picture, though Kathleen tells the story better. I hope it's printed somewhere, I couldn't find it. But here's the gist of it. It's how, in recovery, it's like a school of dolphins. The little new dolphins are swimming in the middle. The dolphins with a bit more experience form a protective circle all round the outside. They are all swimming together. I do think it's great you are posting and connecting. That's great moving forward already . Come and tell us about your step 2. Are you liking it? are you journalling step 1 ? what do you think your next move forward or nano step will be? Mosaic **********************************************************************
** Radiant Ambassadors ** 
A couple of weeks ago I attended a Food And Behaviour Research conference. While some of the scientific information was a little too scientific for me, sugar addiction, sugar sensitivity AND Potatoes not Prozac were mentioned, although only very briefly. I spoke to one lovely lady about Radiant Recovery - she works for a University. I told her about my previous bingeing and depression and that the support with Radiant Recovery was excellent. As she deals with students who have eating disorders, she is always on the lookout for more free help and advice for them. She asked for some Radiant Recovery business cards and I gave her a whole stack of them. She will leave some in her office for students to pick up (smile). I left a lot of Radiant Recovery and Little Sugar Addict cards alongside some of the other information that delegates had left. As soon as I put them out, someone from behind me reached over and took one. There were definitely fewer cards around when I left! Selena Come join us if you are excited about spreading the news. **********************************************************************
** How I Found Radiant Recovery ** About a year after moving to CO I started to notice that my cousin's child was acting a lot like me when I was younger. It hurt me a great deal when I would see her do things and get in trouble. It hurt me deeply because I could sense she did not want to do the things that she was doing and was ashamed of them. The more I was around her the more I sensed it and the more it hurt me. Like Kathleen says, I sensed it at a cellular level. To me it was so obvious and it frustrated me so badly that no one else saw or sensed it. I talked to my Aunt (her grandmother) about it trying to explain what I felt but was only met with "What are you talking about, you sound crazy." It just truly broke my heart. I still was not sure what the issue was but I wanted to protect her from the hell that I had gone through. Than I met with this little girl's aunt and a group of my cousins' friends for a birthday get together. Everyone knew this little girl and was talking about her, talking about what an evil little child she was. I almost walked out I was so upset. How can a group of 8 adults be talking so badly about a 6 year old child? I vowed at that moment to do whatever I could to protect this child from the hell I went through. The next night we met as a family at my Aunt's house for a birthday dinner and of course cake and ice cream. Normally I get up to help serve the desserts, but this time my boyfriend got up to help instead of me. As this little 6 year old was eating her ice cream, her mother told her, "No more after this, you know what happens." My question to her was, "What happens?" She then went on to tell me that she totally switches to a mean angry little girl after eating too much sugar. I thought oh my this was and is just like me. She told me they still were not sure what was going on but it was a pattern that they had noticed. Amazing to think that if I had gotten up to serve the deserts instead of my boyfriend I would have missed this life changing statement. I went home that night and researched anger and sugar and stumbled on Kathleen's work. I bought PNP the next day, read the whole thing that same day and started following the program the next morning. I did buy the mother of this child The Little Sugar Addicts book. But at this time they still are in denial, saying it is not all sugars that cause her issues and that she will learn to regulate herself over time. I am hoping that one day they will look closer at Kathleen's work. I do have hopes for the little girl. She is aware but still too young to understand. It really made me smile, about a year ago she looked at me while we were shopping in Costco and said out of the blue, "You know Cousin Aunt Kari (a name all the kids have given me) I don't like that way I feel when I eat sugar. It makes me feel really bad and I don't like it." At 7 years old and to be so aware already is wonderful. I am far enough along in my program that I no longer feel the need to protect her and take a way her pain. But I know that I will always be here for her when she needs me. And when she is ready to start asking questions to better understand, then I will be here. It just breaks my heart so bad that instead of giving this child more structure around food and a protein-filled breakfast they have just stuck her into counseling. But I do have high hopes as I see already how aware she is. The awareness at such a young age is such a powerful gift. Actually the awareness at any age is a powerful gift. Kari **********************************************************************
** Help Wanted ** We are going to start including some *want ads* for things that we need help with. If you love what the program has given you, maybe you will consider giving back.RECIPE COMPILING: We have wonderful recipes scattered all around the lists. I would love to gather them and compile them for people to be able to access easily. TEAM MEMBERS We are looking to add team members to some of the step lists. If you are solid with your program and would like to support others, this is a way you can help. Here are the teams that need help:
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** Radiant Kitchen ** 
Ok, I have to say, these turned out pretty well, but not before like an hour
of trying to figure out the maths. Thank goodness I had help from a smart
math person. :)So, Emily tried a tortilla recipe earlier and made some notes about it: (Tortilla recipe) 1 C flour mix ¾ tsp xanthan gum ½ tsp salt ½ C warm water and mentioned somewhere that she was thinking of using the same proportions as were in the pizza crust recipe she posted before that: (Pizza combo) 1 C brown rice flour 2/3 C oat flour 1/3 C sorghum flour 1/3 C almond meal I spent some serious time trying to work out how I was going to get a 1:1:2:3 ratio come to the 1 C. called for in the tortilla recipe. Luckily I had Math Support. Eventually we decided that thirds were too hard and decided to make something up using fourths. So, for the Tortillas, I used:
I was really careful with the water because Emily said hers were too wet and I didn't want to use a whole bunch of flour to roll them out. At first I poured in enough to just get it sticking together and forming clumps. I used all but about 1/8th cup of it (I checked to see) and then I made a few to see what would happen. They were ok, but not quite sticking together well enough, so I added the rest of the proportion of water for the dough that was left. When I did that, it was just getting to the sticky point. Perfect so that it stuck together as one big ball, and I was getting a little stuck to my fingers, but not a ton. I made a few more, cooked them, and kept them under a damp paper towel. Took them out one at a time to fill with chicken and cheese, microwaved to melt the cheese, and they were absolutely floppy like they should have been. So, I was really pleased with the way these turned out! Then again, I haven't had a flour tortilla in six months, so I could be mistaken. I think the key to my success was not using flour to roll them out. The dough was pretty dry, only barely sticky, like I said, so plucked chunks about the size of a golf ball, rolled them with oiled hands, spread about 1/4 t. (ish - I'm not afraid of olive oil) of oil on the silpat, rolled it in that, spread some oil from my hands on the rolling pin and flattened it out as thing as I could get it. I was limited by my coarsely ground pecans and oat flour to a certain thickness, but it worked for me. Then I picked up the silpat, put my palm on the tortilla, turned the whole thing upside down, and slowly rolled back the silpat from the tortilla and plopped it in the pan. I cooked them on medium heat for a minute or so on each side. Once I did a few I could see that I didn't want them too brown, just cooked, so they'd still be pliable. Kept them in under that damp towel and they got more pliable as they sat. Did the same microwave move and ate shredded chicken tacos with salsa - and it ALL stayed in the shell! It was amazing. I did a fold, not a roll, so I'm not sure how the roll would work. I'm scheduled to make them again this week, so I'll see if I can roll them without cracking. My next thing will be to see if I can freeze them so that I have them handy instead of making them every time. Both of my kids ate them and there were no complaints. I love that the shells are floppy like they should be, with a nice flavor, but nothing overpowering - just a good vessel to get the innards to my mouth intact! :) Interested to hear your thoughts.... Heidi For more great program-friendly recipes, check out our cookbook in the store. **********************************************************************
** Your Last Diet - More Than What You Think ** Well, our chats were fabulous. I think our new idea will be just great. Don't forget you can connect with your phones or ipad now. The other thing we will be looking at is how we provide the guidance about losing weight....I am thinking that perhaps our structure needs some updating and revision. I will be talking about this on the YLD list. If you are not a YLD member, come and join us. Click here if you are ready to change your life or just have some plain ol' fun! **********************************************************************
** Radiant Recovery® Store ** David manages the Radiant Recovery® Store. He is also Kathleen's oldest son.  Well, the 18 wheeler pulled in with our next order of Restore. The new jars have the correct scoop in the package, so no more fretting about grams to which line. I think all of us who use Restore know that this is simply the best tasting why protein isolate on the market. Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. **********************************************************************
** Our Online Groups ** The Step 3 list is a great place to stop by 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??? 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.) **********************************************************************
**The Broader Role of Serotonin in Healing Sugar Sensitivity ** Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.
Many of you have found the science of the sugar sensitivity/obesity story uniquely helpful. Learning about serotonin and beta-endorphin has helped to the take the edge off of guilt and self-hatred. This is not about will power or commitment. It is about biochemistry. You know how strongly I feel that if you understand the biochemistry, you can make far more informed choices about what to do to help heal your body. I want to share some more about our friend serotonin. I want to help you better understand what a huge effect it has on us and why. I want you to understand more about the role of exercise in serotonin functioning. We’ll look some more at the science, and we’ll also take a look at some new ideas which are just beginning for me. Serotonin had been implicated in a wide range of physical and emotional problems. Documented studies have shown serotonin to be involved in such things as mood disorders (particularly depression), anxiety disorders, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), PMS, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sleep disorder, sensitivity to pain, migraines and substance abuse. A long list. Sounds familiar, yes? We eat compulsively, we are depressed, we have PMS, we have insomnia, we get anxious, and we act addictively. We know the story. But many of you may not know that these are all linked to serotonin. The serotonin story is everywhere - both literally and figuratively. Not only are the symptomatic manifestations of serotonin imbalance everywhere, serotonin receptor sites are all over our body. They are not just in our brains. They are in our blood, our heart, our lungs, our muscles, our liver, and our kidneys. They are in the placenta and in MAST cells. So you will “feel” low serotonin in very diverse ways. Let’s play with this some. Remember when you have felt depressed. When you feel as if you cannot pick up your arm and move - no energy. When it feels dark throughout your body. Well, serotonin is in the platelets of your blood. Wherever there is blood, there is serotonin. And if it is low you will be affected in many subtle ways. Let’s go through some of these systems and imagine how low levels of serotonin might affect us. Levels in your platelets: Have you ever noticed when you feel depressed that you experience it in your entire body? You feel as if you cannot move your arm, or you simply cannot pick up your leg to go up the stairs? Or you literally feel *dark* all over your body? If serotonin creates a sense of *brightness* in your mood, when you have lower serotonin you will feel darkness. You will feel the darkness where the serotonin is. If it’s in platelets, you will feel dark wherever you have blood. People who have never experienced this simply do not understand when you say *I feel like I cannot move. * The world feels dark. It feels all-pervasive. But think about this - if it’s happening in your blood cells, it IS all pervasive. Your blood cells are dark. Serotonin in your heart: When I started reading about that, I was floored. Think about having a “heavy” heart or feeling as if your heart is dark. Think about grief. When you experience trauma or intense stress, your serotonin levels get depleted. Maybe there is a link here. I certainly can connect to feeling very different heart feelings when my serotonin levels are up. My heart feels light and full. I have always attributed this to something psychological. But I have a hunch that the ole serotonin levels play a part. Serotonin in your lungs: I am struck by the fact that people who have been doing the food plan for a while often say to me, “Kathleen, I feel as if I can catch my breath now.” They do the program; they are rigorous about the protein and the potato in the evening. And the breath changes. We know that meditation increases serotonin levels. Maybe it’s the breathing increasing serotonin levels. Serotonin in your kidneys: We know that serotonin levels are connected to edema. Isn’t that interesting. And serotonin drops before menstruation. And when do we retain water? Why is it when we do the food that we are less bloated? ConnectionsYou know that these are outrageous speculations. But perhaps they really are connections. We don’t “know” this yet from science. But my intuition is that we know it from our sugar sensitive intuition, strong that it is. Connections. This is what this process is about. The connections help me to understand why the change that people experience is so profound.So, hold this idea that serotonin is important. Let’s go back to our basic premise that changing diet can change serotonin levels. Plasma tryptophan (the tryptophan in the blood) is directly related to the amount of protein we eat. The body cannot make its own tryptophan. It comes from protein. Now you know that we have to do some special eating to get the tryptophan from our blood into our brain. The evening potato creates a rise in insulin which takes the other amino acids off to the muscles leaving dear little tryptophan without competition. We have thought of little tryptophan sacrificing himself to the serotonin factory. I usually hold the image of him diving into a vat of some blue liquid and transforming into some sort of gold “stuff” (the serotonin) that gets sent out to the cells. My active imagination seems closer to the process than I thought. There is an enzyme, named tryptophan hydroylase that does the magic of making little tryptophan into serotonin. The enzyme does important work – another key player. Tryptophan hydroylase Now, here is the ringer. This enzyme has an absolute requirement for molecular oxygen. The level of oxygen in the tissues directly influences the rate of serotonin formation. The synthesis rate may be limited by the availability of cofactors such as oxygen…and the tryptophan in the blood. That's the science talking. But it means more oxygen = more serotonin. And how do we get more oxygen? Exercise and breathing. This startling bit of information gives us another clue why exercise helps us feel better. Not only does exercise increase beta-endorphin, it also increases serotonin production. More exercise = more oxygen. More oxygen = more serotonin. Everywhere. Breathe. Exercise.
Here are the folks who are helping put the newsletter together:
Gretel, our webmaster, puts it all together. David runs the Radiant Recovery® Store. Selena provides the weekly Ambassadors column. ©2010 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, use this attribution: "By Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D. of Radiant Recovery®", and notify kathleen@radiantrecovery.com of the location. Please visit the Radiant Recovery® website at http://www.radiantrecovery.com for additional resources on sugar sensitivity and healing addiction. 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/ |
