You are hereMonthly archive / April, 2008
April, 2008
Fruit and withdrawal
Sometimes during withdrawal, people become concerned about cravings, headaches, fatigue, etc. These withdrawal symptoms can be alleviated with an extra serving of fruit. This is not a habit we want to carry into recovery, but it’s useful during the 4-7 days of withdrawal.
Joan
Detox
How long does detox take? We’re gathering data on this in a study even as I write. From observations over the 12 years of looking at refined food addiction, I believe there is an ‘acute’ phase of 3-7 days. In some people there is the distress of shakiness, nausea, and headache, in others the days pass without symptoms. At the end of withdrawal, many people report mental clarity, increased energy, and reduced cravings. I think of this as the end of the acute phase.
Protein Powder
In the inbox today were questions about protein powder. How often should we use it? What’s a serving size? What’s safe? Protein powder is on the food plan because people like to use it in smoothies (see Smoothies are My New Best Friend in the download, “Recipes from the Cooking Classes.”) They also substitute it for one egg in the muffin recipe. The serving size is one or two scoops according to directions on the container. It’s no different from any other processed food in that we have to read the list of ingredients to look for refined carbohydrates.
How Old is Too Old?
A new friend today asked me if I thought she should put her 90-year old super-obese mother on the food plan. I explained that it might be nice for her mother to have a few days on earth free from the disease. Imagine how much she would enjoy the mental clairity, release from fatigue, and emotional stability - not to mention that fantastic sense of well-being that eludes people who are using refined foods. However, it takes tremendous courage for an adult child to hold on for the four days of withdrawal while fighting an older parent’s cravings. I hold both of them in my prayers.
ETC Study
We started a new study this week at Employment and Training Centers. I am so proud of the employees and the management for their enthusiastic support, their abilities, and their caring attitudes. Watch this space for results and progress. If you would like to host a study at your organization, please contact me.
Joan
Music and appetite
I had a wonderful conversation with a music director the other day. He reported that during a holy week filled with music, his ususally overwhelming appetite disappeared. I explained that in his particular case, it sounded like music stimulates his comfort neurotransmitters and thereby decreases his drive to comfort his brain with food. We could all take a lesson from this. That we need to figure out, each of us for him or her self, what activity both comforts us and has healthy consequences. This keeps us from turning to lethal foods for false comfort.
Joan
Sugar, alcohol, and shame
I was talking to a psychiatrist the other day. She’s worked extensively with addicts and we were talking about the similarity between food addicts and alcoholics. She said that a characteristic of alcoholics is their deep shame and remorse over their inability to control their drinking. Other kinds of addicts don’t have this shame and remorse. I said that food addicts also have deep shame. Of course alcoholics and food addicts are both caught in the compulsive use of refined carbohydrates, alcohol in the former and sugars and flours in the latter.
Why no soy?
I recently got an e-mail asking why soy has been taking off the OK list. It’s because of the research conducted by my colleague at Union University at www.thewholesoystory.com. Check out Kaylaa Daniel’s work. Her position is that soy is not properly processed in the US and eaten in portions that are too large. I gave it up years ago when I learned of her exhaustive research. You can always test out advice for yourself by giving up a product and seeing if you feel better.
Joan
Oh, that wedding cake!
I recently heard two stories about that wedding cake problem! Two people both had stomach/intestinal problems after eating a piece of wedding cake. It’s especially hard at a wedding because that darn cake is in the middle of everything for hours on end! So, pull up your list of benefits on your way to the wedding to remind yourself of why we don’t eat it. Take a piece of muffin with you if you want to join the festivities.
There’s always a way!
Joan
Why Do We Slip?
A ‘customer’ wrote in the other day to ask why she’s slipping. There’s a short answer and a long answer. The short answer is the environment. We’re constantly bombarded by cheap availability and advertising. It’s tough. The long answer is that we sometimes fail to maintain our protection against the environment. There are two approaches to developing adequate protection. The first is avoidance of contact with harmful aspects of the food environment. This means the smell, sight, sound, touch, and of course taste of addictive refined foods.