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January 25, 2010 Hi {!firstname_fix} So here is our quick update for this week...YLD is settled. We are just finishing some logistics for the Radiant Discovery membership and expect it to be up mid week. We have a few changes in some of the groups and we will share those on the online groups lists. Today in Albuquerque we have had sun, rain, snow, hail, dark clouds and bright light. Feels like the universe. Seems to be a lot of change drifting about. I think I will write more about that in my blog in the morning. These classes will begin Wednesday, January 27, 2010. Please click on the name of the class you wish to join and it will take you to the registration page: Radiant Step 1 (1 week) is our foundation class to get you started. Learn all four parts of step 1 in a structured way. Learn how to progress through them with enjoyment. Let us support getting your program off to a fabulous start. Depression (2 weeks) is a key class for the Potatoes Not Prozac crowd. Learn in-depth information on the kinds of depression, why drugs will or will not work, how they work and how Doing the Food can help. These classes will begin Wednesday, February 3, 2010. Please click on the name of the class you wish to join and it will take you to the registration page: Using the Resources of the Community (1 week) is a free orientation for those of you who are brand new and would like to find your way around town. Come sit on the top of our double-decker bus for a guided tour. And even if you are not brand new, this is a really fun class to reconnect with all the treats of the community. Radiant Step 3 (2 weeks) is one of our core classes. This is a skill-based class. If you want to learn the baby steps of a successful step 3, come join us. This class is ALWAYS fun. 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 ** Try to write in your journal as you go through the day. Carry your journal with you. **********************************************************************
** Testimonial of the Week ** I've definitely had moments like this - restaurant bread when I didn't have my brown, sweet sauces, etc and I still very much consider myself a step 6 person. The beauty of this thing for me is that there is no 'clean' date, no 'abstinence', just learning and getting better as we go along, even through the 'slips'. It makes it an atmosphere I can live in rather than conform to. Hope I'm not out of line, but the 'elders' can correct me if so :) Katie **********************************************************************
** Radiant Ambassadors ** Do you remember the recent interview Kathleen gave on Aricia La France’s Spirit2Spirit show? I loved listening to it! Here's the link if you want to hear it again. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/proparentcoach/2009/12/17/beat-your-sugar-addiction It is fabulous to hear Kathleen talking about sugar sensitivity with someone who understands all about the benefits of doing the food! I recommended Kathleen's interview on Twitter several times, as did Aricia. From some statistics that I found, my link to the interview has been accessed at least 100 times so far! Happy days! Selena Come join us if you are excited about spreading the news. **********************************************************************
** Radiant Kitchen ** We are working on a special new segment on the website that will post our 5 star recipes and then let people share their experience in making them. I think it will really be fun. For more great program-friendly recipes, check out these great cookbooks in the store. **********************************************************************
** Your Last Diet - More Than What You Think ** Ok, a little update from last week's YLD long report. We are going to run a New Person YLD class once a month to take you through all the gifts and possibilities of your program. The newbie chats made it clear that you have way more questions that just chat ones. So, no more newbie chat (smile). We are expanding it to a free class for you, yah! Watch the newsletter for the announcement of a time. I just have to put it together. 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.
We carry Cetyl M products for people, dogs and horses. It is really fabulous. Kathleen first learned about this product when she attended a national Golden Retriever show and saw a video about a dog who was crippled and returned to mobility with this product. I gave it to my arthritic dog, Pippen, and it transformed him We have carried it ever since. It is a great product. Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. **********************************************************************
** Our Online Groups ** Come join us on the Recovery List. We are going to be looking at a whole new set of things - how to get sober, how to stay sober, how to enhance your sobriety and how to move the promises to a new level. I am going to be working with the group directly and I think it will be really fun. This actually will be the start of the exploration of some ideas for the new book on alcohol recovery. **********************************************************************
** Some Thoughts on Autism ** Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.
A number of you have asked me about autism and Asperger’s Syndrome and what you might do nutritionally? While I am not an expert in autism, I can outline some of the research that is being done and share my reflections on how it might fit together. You have the lived experience. Perhaps we can explore our way to some working solutions. I have often wondered about autism. A couple of years ago I got a gorgeous rescue golden retriever. Her people gave her up because she was a “behavioral problem.” I took her and then observed. She would not connect, made no eye contact, and spent her days immobile with her head under the bed. She collected all the dog toys and hoarded them with her there under the bed. She could not cope with new experiences. She was stubborn, willful and terrified of rain and thunder. I worked with her behaviorally for 6 months with no change made. Eventually, I took her to a homeopathic vet to see if he might offer some perspective. We met for an hour. He said, “I think she is autistic.” He had a remedy for her, but had to order it and said it would take 2 weeks. I figured while I was waiting, I would play with her food and see what happened. I did and in 3 days, this dog was transformed. She connected, she started wagging her tail, she started to play with the other dogs. Six months more and she was in a loving home being funny and loving. She is at times a little quirky, but they adore her and see her as a normal dog. The transformation got my attention. Science does not know what autism is or how to treat it. Basically, researchers admit that they are trying stuff to see if it makes any difference. But as I started reading the literature, I found some intriguing connections. Autistic children generally have high levels of serotonin in their blood platelets, but the level of “free” serotonin was low. This means that somehow the serotonin that is in the blood gets bound to the platelets but extra does not float around. This may mean high serotonin in blood cells, but low serotonin in brain. One study suggests that this early high level could have an impact on the infant brain. Small babies do not have a formed blood-brain barrier; so high levels of serotonin could cross over and “knock out” or overload the brain. This would mean a dysfunction in the serotonin receptor system. Fewer receptor sites, or impaired receptor binding, could account for the strange combination of no impulse control and obsessive brain lock we see in autistic children. At any rate, think of impaired serotonin function in your children. It is complex and not really clear, but there is no question that serotonin in some form is implicated. Research also comments on the fact that autistic children have high beta-endorphin levels. The literature does not reference baseline beta-endorphin but talks about an exaggerated stress response. Measuring beta-endorphin evokes stress, so the high levels they see may be a function of the exaggerated stress reaction. Stress evokes BE, and generally serotonin modulates the spike. If the serotonin system is impaired, there could be nothing to tone the beta-endorphin spike down so there would be a constant spiking and crashing. Higher BE levels are associated with difficulty in bonding. BE is designed to kill pain, it creates “numb.” This can be life saving in a crisis, but it does not bode well for bonding. Children treated with a BE blocker actually had fewer autistic symptoms. Researchers used a drug called Naltrexone that sits in beta-endorphin receptor sites and does not allow the heightened BE reaction to charge the system. But it does nothing to heal it. I began thinking, what about food? What do we know and how might we design a food program for your kids. The variables we are working with:
Increase the protein to make sure that the brain has the amino acids it needs to make serotonin in the brain factory. This means regular and consistent protein. And yes, I know that most of your children only want to eat carbs. Think whey protein power. Identify what proteins your kids are willing to try and use those creatively. Give your children a children’s formula of fish oil. Check the DHA formulation we have in the store. I love Nordic Naturals Products and think they are safe and very appropriate for your children. Ultimately, you will want to move your kids to a food plan that has no wheat, no hard-core dairy (whey protein powder is ok because it does not have casein), and no sugar. Get a subscription to the magazine Living Without (www.livingwithout.com). They are great about the no wheat, no dairy part. They do not understand about the no sugar part. Wheat and dairy contain opioid peptides and raise BE levels more. Sugar does the same. Obviously you will not do all of this at once. But you can take out things like soda and move incrementally towards the goal. Now, at this point, you are probably either laughing or recoiling in horror. You may be thinking, "Kathleen, that is a joke, my child only eats 2 things." I realize we have some major logistics to get through. I am very pragmatic. But, if you knew that putting your child on a protein/veggies/oil food plan with a timed evening carb would create a profound improvement, wouldn't you want to at least try? I know you have spent thousands of dollars and have tried 100 other things. You have nothing to lose. And, of course, it is critical that YOU do the steps. You cannot even think of making these changes with your child unless you are totally steady. Click here if you'd like to read the cites. 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/ |
