Venus rising on a deep blue night

Welcome to Radiant Recovery®
July 21, 2019,
Hi {!firstname_fix},
Here is Venus again. I just happen to love this image. And it gets a high open rate, so I am going to take the liberty of reposting it :). I have a lot to report to you this week. I was going through my email a few days again and caught a note from Green Med Info Newsletter. I always enjoy seeing what they are up to. This article was titled *Research Reveals How Sugar CAUSES Cancer.* Now that was a pretty outrageous title and I thought, *oh, good, grief, that seems a little extreme.* So I read the article. It sort of meandered about and didn't really tell me what I wanted to know.
So then I went over to the original research which was published in 2014 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. It was entitled *Increased sugar uptake promotes oncogenesis via EPAC/RAP1 and O-GlcNAc pathways.* The authors were at the Lawrence Labs in Berkley and the Graduate School of Medicine in Hokkaido, Japan. Now this article stretched my brain. It is way over my pay grade, but I could get the gist of it.
Let me walk you through a bit to let you follow what I got: *Increased glycolytic activation itself can be an oncogenic event...* and * reduction of glucose uptake in malignant cells promoted the formation of organized and growth-arrested structure with basal polarity, and suppressed oncogenic pathways..* And that is the simple stuff :)
What is means is that more sugar turns on cancer in certain cells. and more significantly, that stopping it turned the cancer formation off...Now, they were looking at breast cancer cells and they were working to sort out what was really going on. There has been a lot of discussion in the scientific literature about more sugar being related to more cancer, but until this particular study, the pathways seemed to be hard to sort out. So they were reporting that more sugar turns malignancy on, and taking it out seems to turn it off.
Now I think most of you know by now, Science is very, very slow. Researchers take a tiny question so they can isolate variables. And then they have to publish and then other people have to replicate. And they have to report. It goes back and forth for many years.
At best, they are cautious, meticulous and thorough. And they generally do not make outrageous claims. In this article, they are simply reporting that more sugar promotes the formation of malignant cells via some specific metabolic pathways.
Now, I am not that kind of researcher. I am with out guys out on the front lines of regular life thinking about what do we need to know to feel better and heal. But this kinda knocked me off my feet. I felt the same way when I first was reading in the heroin literature about self esteem in heroin addicts. My pragmatic response is pretty functional. Ok, so if we are dealing with cancer, we need to be off sugar. And what does that mean for people who are addicted. And we can add this question to the questions that we are already asking about obesity and diabetes.
The nature of addiction means *continued use despite adverse consequence* so, in fact, we already know that knowing something doesn't necessarily evoke change. And I think that one of the dilemmas is that when we get scared, we want to have sugar because it makes the scary feelings go away. Sugar evokes both amnesia and anesthesia.
The article touched me. I want to think about what to respond to those people who might be dealing with cancer, might be feeling scared and helpless, or might be feeling exhausted, beaten down and wiped out by treatment. And I have a pretty clear sense that this would mean creating some sort of *fast track* that is not crazy making.
I KNOW from 25 years of experience that going too fast usually creates destabilization and unraveling. But, I also know, that hidden in our stories are actually a number of people who just decided to *do* all 6 steps in a week and were totally fine albeit a little disoriented. So I am thinking it would be possible.
Last week, as I was setting up the coaching groups, I set up a *special needs* group. I was going to use it for people who are dealing with restriction. But after I read this article, I decided I would preempt the focus for a place to do cancer support. Now I have no idea if anyone is interested in this. But I figure we will find out LOL. If you are not, I will use the time to go learn more. if you are, we can do that together.
I had so much else to tell you. July is always like this. Housecleaning on a physical and a spiritual level. I will put the rest of the things down in the article section. Bear with me with a rather unusual edition. :)
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Kathleen Smiling
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WORKING WITH KATHLEEN
Coaching is a special offering for people who are serious about enhancing their programs and would like to have ongoing coaching. We will do individual assessments to sort out exactly where you are in the process. You will be guided in making your own individual plan. You can learn about journaling and adjusting your food for your own life needs – what to do when. You will be given tools and shown how to use them.
We are just starting a new group called Return to Radiance Coaching for those who have done the steps in the past and then drifted. Skilled Coaching is for people who are steady on step three and ready to move through four-six. The small groups stay together as they learn skills. And Special Coaching will be geared to people have health considerations that mean they need to take some drastic steps sooner than they might like. This will NOT include weight issues at this point. Sign up for YLD is that is a concern. I will address some of those issues in chat. If you want to sign uo for Special, put a note in the notes section so have context.
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Signature Coaching is intensive individual coaching geared to your specific situation. You may want to step out of the craziness of sugar addiction, return to steadiness and clarity after slipping away, slow down and focus on your recovery, or deepen a steady rhythm of recovery.
This is a way to step out of feeling overwhelmed with where to start and what to do. Because it is so individualized, we can work on what is right for you at this point in your journey. People tell me that coaching helps them feel safe and focused. We work with your style, your rhythm. We address your fear and let go of shame.
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"You are telling your body it is important. You are noticing what you are eating and what you are feeling."
Testimonial of the Week

You're in a terrible place right now and I don't want to add to your unhappiness, but I know I've made decisions in the past that I just wouldn't have made now I'm steady.

I know I lost opportunities, closed doors and went down roads that I needn't have if I was clearer.

Before Kathleen's program, everything was too hard, or too sad, or too exhausting, or too upsetting, or too offensive, or too difficult, or too hopeless to solve.

Now, everything seems more clear, more calm and even the crises aren't crises anymore.

My life IS difficult, but so much more manageable than the old days of addiction.

If you decide to leave or stay, you're going to need strength and perspective and a steady mind to work things out.

I'm with Kathleen. Get yourself steady for six months and things will seem clearer and all the "what ifs" won't have as much power over you.

In the meantime, doing the program concentrates your energies on YOU instead of the frustration of being with HIM. instead of focusing on the problems, focus on healing yourself. Become really strong and who knows what you'll decide from a position of steadiness and calm.

Eliza :-)
David Smiling
David, your Radiant Recovery® Concierge
Come visit our STORE. Call 505-345-3737 or email David if you have questions.
David, the store manager, is always happy to help.
Safe Place
Buy Now

I think you will love the Safe Place CD. It has a special introduction, and is licensed to use the Kolbialka Bolero we all love so much. It is timed for 20 minutes so is ideal for your mediation time. It is the ground for all the work of stilling the mind and opening your heart to healing.

Kathleen has been using this meditation with her clients for more than 25 years. She uses it as the center of her own spiritual practice. Like her food program, it is deceptively simple. Kathleen takes her listeners to a place of safety.

Use this CD over and over to train a response that is immediate and fully relaxed. Teach your deepest self to be quiet and still. Open your heart to the light and your life will change.

$12.95/$11.95 (subscription)
Your Last Diet!
Your Last Diet Book Cover

I had someone ask me why I don't just tell people what to eat in order to lose weight. It really pushed me to think about what it is we are doing in YLD. The key concept is about LAST - this means the whole point is to get you to realize that diets are not the story. Diets = restriction which is simply one more way of taking away power. YLD is all about *empowerment* which means it is slow, thoughtful and transformative. It can be a little disorienting since it is so different from what you are used to.

Chats, chats, chats. We just keep talking, reflecting, learning. You will learn about fat terror, about the myths of obesity, how dieting fosters *restriction* and what that means for your long term success. We add new science to help you understand why you do what you do.

I’m in my third year of recovery and THIS year is the worst roller coaster of trying to balance my protein/sugar/mood swings. Was at wit’s end, wondering where could I find a doctor who knew addiction recovery AND nutrition when my sis sent me a blurb on your book. Went to bookstore and the words leapt off the cover at me! I KNEW it was more than just blood sugar; I had been doing food combining, protein in the a.m ., etc., for years, even before I quit drinking. You have saved my life and, more important, my peace of mind by filling in the blank spaces in my diet management. All I want is to feel normal after I eat! Even after I had the blood sugar thing down, I was still experiencing weird feelings, and there they were in the book: a column for beta-endorphin and one for serotonin! Thank you so much for giving me direction!! God bless you! I have been telling everyone about your book.

—M. S.

If you would like to join us in YLD, come find us here.
Dog on rooftop

Being Brave

Kathleen DesMaisons, PhD

Yes, that is a dog on the roof. It is a rescue dog on the roof of my house. I have had a house cleaning service come every other week for maybe 2 years. Four women show up for an hour and sort of buzz through cleaning everything, floors, bathroom, kitchen, sheets. I had thought it was a really good investment. This month, I just had the thought that maybe I would hold off on the expense and see how I felt about doing it. My grandson has been helpful and cooperative and I figured we could just try out saving the money and investing in some other things. The bathroom needs remodeling, LOL.

I have been doing a room at a time and discovering that many things were not taken care of. Behind the couch, behind the books on the bookshelves. Under the TV cabinet. Now, I am not at all OCD about cleaning, but it has been a little disconcerting to realize that what I thought was *clean* is not what was happening. So now it is.

It seems as if this process has a spiritual component as well because I have also been doing some housecleaning about my follow through on some of my commitments in the community. Looking at underneath parts is difficult and certainly unsettling. I recently had an experience with someone not following through on something. I was disappointed and kinda mad. I did not want to hear *sorry*, I simply wanted it to be fixed.

That was a good lesson. I have some logical housekeeping to do with the classes and my commitments. I will do that with the same rigor I just cleaned the bookshelf. Thank you for your kindness and patience. I know that my actions will speak louder than anything I might say. That little dog is no lion king, but he is willing, and brave and he did come down when I went and got him. This newsletter will sure go down in history as a strange one!

Here is the Annie Lane column that brought so many of you here.

Dear Annie: I read with interest the letter from "Weird, Stupid or Selfish?" – whose husband eats all the decorative candy she puts out. His inability to resist sugar resonated with me, as I have sugar sensitivity and have engaged in exactly the same behaviors. I simply could not resist sugar.

After years of struggling and dieting and sitting in work meetings obsessing about the doughnuts instead of the topic at hand, I discovered the book "Potatoes Not Prozac," by Kathleen DesMaisons. Her theory is that people who are sugar sensitive have brains that respond differently to sugar, alcohol and refined carbs and that what they eat and when they eat it have a huge effect on them. She shows how to rebalance blood sugar levels, serotonin and beta-endorphins through small lifestyle changes and offers the latest research, free online support and seven steps to change your life. It is not about willpower; it’s about biochemistry, which her program can slowly improve, just one tiny step at a time, with amazing results.

I have been sugar-free for six years now, lost 25 pounds and never gained any of it back. I can go to dinner with family and don’t even think twice when someone orders dessert. I don’t have cravings, and sugar is no longer on my radar. I am more focused and more tolerant, and the daily mood swings are gone. The woman who wrote to you could suggest to her husband that he check out http:// radiantrecovery.com to see whether he does have sugar sensitivity. At the very least, she would be better informed about this condition. – Happy Without Sugar

Dear Happy Without Sugar: I hadn’t considered that health issues might explain

her husband’s behavior. In fact, I hadn’t even heard of sugar sensitivity.

Thanks for opening my eyes to the condition! I’d like to encourage all readers to talk to their doctors if they find themselves compulsively eating sugary snacks.

—Email questions to dearannie@creators.com

ANNIE LANE
©2019 Kathleen DesMaisons. All rights reserved. You are free to use or transmit this article to your blog 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 for additional resources on sugar sensitivity and healing addiction.

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