Hi {!firstname_fix}

Thought you would all enjoy sharing in my travel this week.

I am up in Northwest Washington at an addictions conference for Native Americans hosted by the Lummi Nation. I will be presenting some of the ideas that you are working with - how biochemistry can set you up for addiction and then how diet activates it.

If you are Native American and would like to share in our discussion please come join our new Radiant Native American elist.

Please feel free to pass this week's newsletter on to your friends and family. Let me know what you like and would like to see.

A copy of this newsletter may also be found posted to the web at http://www.radiantrecovery.com/weeklynewsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, use the link at the bottom of the page.

Warmly,
Kathleen

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February 16, 2004
** Quote From Kathleen **


Food is a living thing that can participate in your recovery. Your energy and feelings will shape what you cook, and what you cook and eat will shape you.



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** Testimonial for the Week**

I have really taken time with my journaling the last couple of days to see why I resist or maybe I am better saying slip with it so easily.

It may sound a bit mad but I took time to sit and have a conversation with myself about my feelings and what I felt the journaling was about. From this I realised it was simply a record of what I ate and when and what I felt. I was just recording information. That's all it was, a record of information that I could use to see how well I was doing or more importantly for me about how well I wasn't doing 'cos that is about the only time I took action.

When I sat and talked to myself saying things like, "Hi Moira how are you today?" or "Ok you're feeling low I hear what you're saying, you feel low, etc." Then I got it ! My body wants a relationship with me it wants to talk to me and the journal is the way my body can talk to me. My journal is my body's voice. It's not about whether I am doing good or bad (as I saw it). It's about using the journal to learn how to talk to my body, to give my body a voice. It's meant to be about a fun relationship with myself. It's not about judging myself (Oh boy that has been such a biggy for me!) It's also about experimenting with my food. You see, I was still so rigid with my food in fear of not eating enough or having a blood sugar drop because I wasn't having enough and the list goes on !

Yesterday and today I played around with my food really just because I realised what journaling was really about and I am finding I have been overeating. I was so so scared about getting hungry between meals (one of my big fears).

I am so grateful for this insight it has freed me to really start healing on a much deeper level.

p.s. for the newbies, I have been journaling (on and off (smile)) for over a year now !

Love Moira

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

Did your New Year's resolution fade? Maybe more support will help. And YLD is about WAY more than pounds. It is intense support and problem solving. We have LOTS of fun too.

Come join us and get in on the action!

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


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** Radiant Recovery Seminars **

The first one will be held in New York on Sunday, February 29. This seminar will cover the biochemistry of sugar sensitivity and weight loss questions. This is a small group and you will get to talk to Kathleen directly.

The second will be our annual four-day ranch held in Albuquerque May 19-22. Radiant Ranch is the highlight of the year. Most of the liaisons come and we all have a blast. Swimming, hot tubbing, great program-friendly food and lots of new information.



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** David's Corner **


Hello, my name is David. Many of you have talked with me when you have called the Radiant Recovery Store. I am thrilled to be working with my Mom to make the store work for you. Each week I will be writing a short column for you.

This week, it makes sense to remind you of two incredible products that can support your program. The first is Gammazyme, a specialized enzyme product for people who have problems with their gut. Digestive enzymes are great for sugar sensitive people, but the protease can be a problem if your gut is inflamed. Gammazyme takes care of that and helps digest your food better. Means YOU get more nutrition.

The other product is our famous ProEpa, the best fish oil you can get. Mom spent many months searching for a pure oil. I was amazed how thorough she was. But I encourage all my athlete friends to take this product. We think of it as lubrication for *aging* joints. Mom cracks up at the idea of 30 year olds referring to themselves as *aging*, but hey, it works!

Let me know if I can be of any help at all.

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


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** Featured Topic**
Problems of the Gut - The Solution

Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.



The solution starts with creating balance in your body and gut. That starts with doing the seven steps of the Radiant Recovery Program. This will give you a way to reduce refined carbohydrates and eliminate sugar without being crazy. Most healing plans tell you to go off these things immediately. This sends your body into total shock and increased pain. It doesn’t work. The seven steps will. They are slow enough to allow you to integrate the change.

The specific added things you will do include the following:

  1. Take digestive enzymes
  2. Take a good multivitamin
  3. Increase omega 3 fatty acids and decrease omega 6 fatty acids
  4. Remove wheat from your diet
  5. Remove gluten from your diet
  6. Minimize all grain products
  7. Take out dairy products
I am sure you are thinking there is no possible way you can do all this. Do not scare yourself. You do a little at a time. And if you find symptom relief, you will be motivated to do more. You will not do this all at once. And you may not have to do all of it. You will be able to sort out how much and at what rate you need to make change.

The Adjuncts to the Steps

When to add these adjunctive therapies? You can start the first three immediately.

  1. Get digestive enzymes. Make sure to get a collection that does NOT include protease or bromalain or hydrochloric acid. Protease breaks down protein. If you have any exposed tissue, it will eat you. Bromalain and HCA do the same. I recommend a product called Gammazyme that we carry in our store. I like the product, have used it myself and feel it can be a big help. The dosage depends on how much you eat. You take them each time you eat.

  2. Take a good multivitamin. I really like a product called All One. It comes in powder form so you can adjust the dosage to fit your weight and size. Do not use a product that has a high level of vitamin C that you take in one dose. The advantage of All One is being able to split the dose in to smaller increments.

  3. Increase your omega 3 fatty acids. They come from fish and flax oil. Many people add 1-2 tablespoons of flax oil to their morning shake. If you have IBS, you will also want to take fish oil capsules. When you take fish oil, you want to make sure you get oil that is free of heavy metals, and does not have an aftertaste. There is nothing worse than burping fish taste. I spent 6 months looking for a product that met these criteria. I found something called ProEPA that I like a lot. We added it to our store and found a children’s product called DHA I am pleased with both.
Taking Things Out

The next sequence includes taking out. There are two parts to it – grains and dairy. Choose whichever of the two is the easiest and has the least charge for you.

Dairy Products
Dairy products include milk, cream, sour cream, ice cream, cheese, whey, and commercially made yogurt. You can make your own yogurt and it will enhance the good bacteria in your gut.

It is easy to learn how much of a culprit dairy is for you. Stop having any dairy products for one week. See what happens. Then have some sort of dairy product and see what happens. Your body will tell you.

Many people stop using dairy and start using soy as an alternative. Some people find that soy is an irritant. Others find that whey which is distilled down to the proteins only from dairy works just fine. This may work just fine for you if you are an adult. Do not use soy products with children. Soy is estrogenic which means it creates a hormonal effect in the body. Activating estrogen in children’s bodies can create vaginal changes in girls and interfere with testes development in boys. Use rice or nut milks as an alternative. You can use them in place of milk in any recipe.

Grain Products
The second biggie is dealing with grain products. There is a continuum for you to look at. How far along you need to go depends on the severity of your condition. The first step includes taking out all wheat products and eating nothing that has wheat in it. Start with overt wheat such as bread, cereals and pasta. Replace them with wheat free bread, use rice pastas and rice-based cereal. I use wild rice because it is not a grain and is very kind. See how your body responds. You may find this is the only grain change you need to make.

The next level includes taking out gluten. You will need to learn what a gluten-free life includes. The best resource available is a website called www.livingwithout.com or the magazine of the same name. They are experts in this and the material they present is clear, helpful and to the point. They also have lots of alternative things to eat.

The final level includes taking out all grain products. This may be necessary for only the most severe gut problems. If you feel this is the important next step for you I suggest you get a copy of a book called Breaking the Vicious Cycle. It is a useful tool. It is a little hard to read, but they speak of something called an “elemental diet” which works well for the most severe cases. However, the book does not take into consideration the issues of eitehr sugar sensitivity or addiction. Your job is to make sense of the parts that fit for IBD and work within healing your sugar sensitivity

In my experience in working with thousands, I have found that the combination of the 7 steps, the first 3 supplements and taking out wheat and dairy do the trick. And over time, your gut heals and you become more able to handle some amount of these.

Please let me know if you have questions or concerns. Join the IBD list and let's talk. I have been sharing some more of the neurochemistry of IBD there. You can read that in the archives.

Copyright © Kathleen DesMaisons, 2004. All Rights Reserved.