Hi {!firstname_fix}

Don’t forget we have two classes starting up Monday. If you come right now, sign up, then immediately return the invitation email to join the group through which the class will be conducted, we can fit you in...

Beta-Endorphin for Alcoholics
Step 3

The BE class is specifically designed for people in recovery from alcoholism. I am going to talk about the alcoholic brain and how to heal it. The Step 3 class will be sheer fun! Step 3 is the hardest step. Even harder than the no sugar step. So even if you aren’t on Step 3, come check it out.

We have posted a schedule of the classes for the next 2 months. Check it and see if there is something you like. If there is something you would like and don't see it, let me know. We are having so much fun with these classes. It seems to provide a nice structure and I am presenting some new information as we go. I am postponing the depression class since only a few people have signed up for it.

The article on stimulants is a repost. I like to send this out again if I am hearing a lot of people struggling with the issue. And we have been talking about dopamine in the Brain Chemistry 101 Class so stimulants are on my mind (smile).

Thank you for all the kind notes on the Tsunami article. I was very touched by your response.

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.

A copy of this newsletter may also be found posted on the web at http://www. radiantrecovery.com/weeklynewsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, use the link at the bottom of the page. Do not email me, do not get mad at me, just click on the link and you will be forever removed.

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

Warmly,
Kathleen

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January 17, 2005
** Quote From Kathleen **

What seems like a story of food is really a story of possibility.

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** Testimonial for the Week**


I have always been an 'off the ground' person who was neither anchored very deeply nor centered emotionally. I am grateful for recovery because I feel that this is really much more of who I am. A wonderful maturity begins to emerge.

I go to pow-wows a lot in the summer in Minnesota. There is a dance that a lot of the women do (you have to choose one style and can only dance that way and your regalia must match the style) called 'traditional.' The women, many of whom are elders, come out with beautifully, intricately beaded moccasins, oftentimes a feather fan made out of a hawk wing, a beatiful dress with ribbon fringes, and beadwork barrettes and hairclips.

The dance itself is very very slow. The women stand straight upright and walk/march slowly to the beat of the drum in a large circle with the rest of the dancers. They never move quickly. They are a sea of slow, powerful energy as the younger, more active dancers flit by doing fancy, shawl, jingle, grass, etc. dancing.

These women are radiant, but like deep radiant -- Where there is this very quiet, deep power that radiates from them. They are unflappable, anchored. Nothing can push them - a wonderful, wise certainty. This is what I imagine the deepening that occurs with step 7 brings. Not high zingy energy, but a slowburning vitality that is grounded, deep and very very wise.

I am so early in this process - just new at moving; not yet meditating, and knowing that there is even more depth to the food groove.

It's a beautiful thing,

maggi

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**Recipe of the Week**


Here is my very own and my favorite split pea soup recipe. You can make it vegetarian style or you can add the meat bones or turkey necks for a meaty soup.

SPLIT PEA AND BARLEY SOUP


Put all ingredients in a large pot. Place over medium-high heat until it starts to simmer. Lower heat to very low and simmer for at least two hours, stirring occasionally. The longer you cook it, the better it is. Just be careful not to let the grains and beans burn on the bottom of the pot!

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


Floundering with your weight loss efforts? Feel fat and tubby in the grey of winter? Sounds like an ad, doesn’t it. Gee, but ours would say, “Want to work hard? Do Maintenance first? Learn ‘how’ to diet before you start?"

But really, the best part is the fun. We really, really have fun. Sometimes, I can't even do the topic on chat because everyone is being so rowdy. I get laughing too hard to think straight.

Click here if you are ready to change your life or just plain ole have fun.
 


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**Radiant Ambassadors**


If you love the program and want to learn to share the word more effectively, consider joining the ambassador group. We are having some much fun learning from one another.

If you haven't gotten any cards to pass out yet, order them now. They are free! It is a great way to spread the word.

Come find us among the Online Groups


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**David's Corner **

 


Well, I just read this week's main article, so I figure you will want to hear about the oils we offer. I have a lot of people getting ProEpa on Subscription. They take it every day, or they get DHA for their kids and I just send it out with their shake. And here is a new use for the DHA caps. You may have heard that Kathleen's dog, pepper is VERY pregnant. She told me that little brains are made of DHA. So guess who is getting little oil perls from grandma Kathleen?

And I just heard that our oil manufacturer won an international award for their new peach flavored children’s product. I think we will be getting some. Let me know if you are interested.

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

Thanks
David

And of course, we have something for everybody in our store


 
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**Our Online Groups**


Hi, I'm Elaine, the moderator of the Radiant Teachers group on Yahoo. The group is for teachers who are sugar sensitive and following the Radiant Recovery path. The people on the list are on various steps of the program, so the support is there to help those new to the program as well as those who have been doing it for a long time.

When I came to the program, I was seriously into my drug of choice...sugar. The program led me on a path of healing and health. Starting this program also jump started a better teacher. Before this program, I must admit, I was pretty volatile a lot of the time. I wasn't a bad teacher, but I sure wasn't the best I could be. I am much better now and as the years go on in the program, it gets better and better.

On the list, we talk about how to handle meal schedules not of our own choosing, all aspects of the steps, as well as how to deal with sugar in our classrooms with our own students. We love to have new voices on the list..so if you are sugar sensitive and a teacher, I hope you will come over and join us!

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** Featured Topic**
Restoring Your Brain and Body after Stimulant Use
Kathleen Des Maisons, Ph.D.

I have recently been working with a number of folks who are trying to crawl back to sanity after detoxing from stimulant addiction. This 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 2004.

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
JoAnna, the liaison for vegetarians gathers the testimonials
Naomi, the liaison for Yisroel gathers the recipes
Terri, the liaison for Ambassadors sends over the ambassadors quote
Marie, the liaison for diabetes gathers the info on the online lists
David, who runs the Radiant Recovery® Store talks about what new products we have.