This article was originally published as my Holistic Outlook column in The Times Herald Record.

By now, most of us know that Paula Deen — the celebrity TV chef who’s made a fortune promoting dishes such as doughnut-sandwiched burgers topped with buttered bacon and eggs — has diabetes.

I am deeply sympathetic to her right to privacy as she dealt with her health issues, but pardon my cynicism while I doubt that explanation for the three-year lag time — not when accompanied by the announcement of her lucrative spokesperson contract for a new diabetes drug costing $500 a month, and denials that her style of eating had anything to do with her illness.

Let’s be perfectly clear about two things:

1. Type 2 diabetes is preventable with lifestyle choices.

2. Type 2 diabetes is reversible with lifestyle choices.

There are no quick fixes

Genes matter. They set a predisposition, but only rarely do they determine our fate. We can move that predisposition from one end of the continuum to the other with decisions we make each day about food, sleep, exercise and stress management.

Is this more complicated than taking a pill? Does it take more of a commitment to your health and less reliance on quick pharmaceutical fixes for complex problems? Yes, indeed. But if you want all your parts to function as long as you’re going to use them, it’s a no-brainer.

Even with treatment, diabetics have a significantly higher risk for heart disease, stroke, dementia, kidney disease, blindness and amputations. You have a choice; don’t go there.

The rate of diabetes is increasing in every demographic category, not from genetics but from lifestyle, particularly the kinds of unhealthy high-fat, high-sugar foods that Deen profitably promotes.

Take control of your health

How can you begin to change your own course?

1. Eat more “real food.” If you’re reading ingredients, it’s processed, not real food. There are an infinite number of delicious ways to serve healthy lean proteins (chicken, fish, turkey, etc.), veggies, beans and fruit. Explore.

2. Reduce or eliminate sugars and refined foods. Almost everything packaged is sweetened, from cereals to breads to tomato sauce. Believe it or not, cravings will disappear if you eliminate these completely, and they drive you crazy if you “have a little.”

3. Make a distinction between healthy fats and unhealthy fats. Plant fats are good for you, as are fats from pasture-raised animals. Don’t eliminate fat from your diet, just change the source.

“To date, no study has found any long-term benefit of attention-deficit medication on academic performance, peer relationships or behavior problems, the very things we would most want to improve. ” Children’s A.D.D. Drugs Don’t Work Long-Term – NYTimes.com.

This is such an important article, given the number of children (and adults) on drugs for ADD/ADHD, or contemplating it.

I have had tremendous success in my practice, with an individualized, comprehensive approach to addressing ADHD and ADD, that includes:

• identifying and addressing nutritional issues, including food sensitivities, re-balancing macronutrients (protein, fat and carbs) appropriately, looking at minerals such as zinc and magnesium.  Supplements can be helpful at times, and I have lots of experience in working with (and often correcting) kids’ picky palates. Each of these issues has a tremendous impact on the brain.  Individualizing this is key!
  
• Decreasing toxic burden. This may include addressing heavy metals, over-reliance on sugar or processed foods, or other toxic substances that have been introduced into the environment.  Lead, mercury and cadmium are neurotoxins that have been associated with ADHD, as well as other health issues. Fortunately there are safe and healthy ways to decrease levels, even for young children.
• Homeopathy. If used appropriately, as a constitutional approach, homeopathy can be nothing short of miraculous at times.  It is also safe, and inexpensive. However, I do not recommend the combinations of remedies with “symptom labels” that you find on drug store and health food store shelves. Any issue that is chronic should be addressed by a professional homeopath, who identifies the single remedy that will work most effectively for the person on all levels.
• The Listening Program. Since I have been working with TLP in my office, the accolades for this program have been pouring in.  While it is an investment, I can’t say enough about its benefits over the long term.  Furthermore, it is a resource that can be beneficial for the entire family.

Please don’t believe that there are no alternatives to medication.  There are, and they work.

by Kathy Swanwick for The Times Herald Record

Up until a few years ago, Dr. Alan Schaffer had the bad — although delicious — habit of grabbing a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream before settling onto the couch at home to watch a ballgame on TV.
“It was 1,000 calories, all fat and sugar,” he said.
Ironically, as the medical bariatrician at Goshen Medical Associates, Schaffer has the job to help his patients lose weight — and keep it off. He knew it was time to better manage his own, so three-and-a-half years ago he started on a weight-reduction program.

‘It was a revelation’
Schaffer began paying more attention to his food, consuming more lean meats, fruits, a wide variety of vegetables and whole grains. Instead of the ice cream at night, he’d reach for an apple. Rather than drink an eight-ounce glass of orange juice in the morning — with maybe 24 grams of sugar — he’d eat an orange, better for him because of the fiber.

Schaffer lost 40 pounds, has kept the weight off and said he feels 10 years younger. And, along the way, he discovered that the types of foods he consumes affect his overall mood as well.
“I’m eating better,” he said. “It really was a revelation. It’s about knowing myself and knowing that when I eat a lot of carbohydrates I get out of control. The nurses in my office noticed that I was nicer. It mellowed me, smoothed out my mood.”

Schaffer’s improved food intake falls in line with the principles of current diets such as the Zone, which take into account the glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) of the foods we eat.

If you start eating like this now, perhaps your annual New Year’s resolutions will become about maintaining your weight, overall good health and enjoying your food — not just about the sometimes-elusive and frustrating goal of weight loss.

What is the glycemic index?
Minding your GI and GL are tools to help establish healthier eating patterns, experts say.
“Glycemic index,” said Schaffer, “is a measure of how fast a particular carbohydrate will increase one’s blood sugar. Sugar has an index of 100. This is important because high-glycemic-index foods will cause insulin levels to spike higher, resulting in the development of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), but more importantly, buildup of fat. Insulin promotes production of fat and inhibits its breakdown.”

GI, according to the Mayo Clinic, was originally devised as a way to help diabetics control their blood sugar levels. Foods with a glycemic index of 55 or less are considered low; those with indices of more than 70 are considered high.

Glycemic load, said Schaffer, “is the amount of carbohydrate an individual takes in, say, in one day. Or the amount of carbohydrate in a particular food.”

Insulin surges increase appetite
“People have been using these concepts for a very long time,” said Kristine Bihun, a clinical diabetes educator at the Stanley S. Dunkelman. M.D., Diabetes Treatment Center at Orange Regional Medical Center in the Town of Wallkill.

“Pick healthy foods that are less processed, with less effect on blood sugar and less effect on insulin production. As a result, your body will release less insulin in response.”
Those insulin surges, she said, will cause you to want to eat again quickly.

Go to MyPlate.gov, Bihun suggested, for information on how to put together a nutritious meal. For example, one-half of your dinner plate should be filled with vegetables, the other half divided into grains and protein.

And use common sense, she urged, when choosing foods based on their GI and GL.

“It’s not that straightforward,” said Bihun. “People think they can sit with a list of foods and pick what they will eat. But not all foods have a GI. It works (only) to a certain degree.”

Coping with carbs
“If you have an array of high glycemic carbs, pick and choose,” said Fran Sussman, owner of Fran Sussman Holistic Services, in Chester. “Presented with bread, pasta, alcohol and dessert, pick the one you want most, and skip the others for that meal. Having all will definitely raise your blood sugar precipitously; having one, in the context of a meal, will probably not.”

It’s important, said Sussman, who has 20 years of training in food sensitivity, for people to often cook at home instead of constantly eating out or having TV dinners or prepared foods. Roast a chicken on the weekend, she suggested, for protein for your lunch for a few days. Or make meals ahead in a slow cooker.

She advises her clients to eat three daily meals made up of four parts: lean protein, starch, nonstarchy carbs — such as a salad made up of richly colored vegetables — and a little bit of healthy fat, such as avocado, nuts, seeds, coconut and walnut oil.

“The impact of carbohydrates on your blood sugar can always be moderated by combining them with protein and fat, and by increasing fiber,” said Sussman. “Some acids, like vinegar and lemon juice, help a little, too, so don’t skip the salad dressing.”

Check the dressing, though, to be sure it’s free of a lot of additives.

Finding a balance

Warwick resident Kim Sumner-Mayer first sought Sussman’s help a few years ago when she was suffering from postpartum depression, weight gain and “brain fog.” Following a consultation, Sussman told Sumner-Mayer that she was probably gluten intolerant.
“So I took all of the gluten out of my diet,” said Sumner-Mayer, 43, and a family therapist. “I instantly felt better.”

Several months ago, though, she called on Sussman again for guidance; she wanted to “tweak” her diet a bit as she hadn’t yet entirely dropped all the weight.

This time, they concentrated on the types of carbohydrates she was consuming, as well as when and how much she was eating.

“I didn’t realize I was so sensitive to carbs and sugar,” said Sumner-Mayer, who said her diet is now gluten-free and nearly sugar-free. “It’s made a big difference.”

In the past few months, she said, she’s been getting most of her carbohydrates from vegetables such as squash, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and zucchini.
“And I love sweet potatoes,” she said. “They’re so nutritional.”

But she doesn’t entirely deprive herself and has pancakes with her family on weekends.
“I’m not extremist about it,” said Sumner-Mayer, who noted that she gets regular exercise and now weighs less than she did before she had her first child. “I’m trying to find a balance. I cut way back on baked goods and sweets. My carb cravings went away. I don’t want brownies or chocolate as much. The less I have, the less I want.

“Forty-three years of eating and I’m now just finding this out about myself,” she added.

TRY THESE MEALS TO KEEP YOUR BLOOD SUGAR EVEN
Local nutritional experts suggest the following sample meals to help keep your blood-sugar levels even throughout the day.

Remember to check with your doctor about what is the best food plan for you before beginning any program.

Breakfast
Fran Sussman, owner of Fran Sussman Holistic Services in Chester, suggests having two eggs, a starchy vegetable such as cooked carrots and a piece of whole grain toasted bread with a little dairy butter “from pasture-fed cows” or almond butter. Add a mango or some berries, but avoid traditional, sugary breakfast foods.
“If you have cereal and a banana for breakfast,” said Sussman, “you’re basically having candy for breakfast.”

Lunch
Make a sandwich on multigrain bread with lean meat, lettuce, tomato and mustard, said Kristine Bihun, a clinical diabetes educator at Orange Regional Medical Center. “Mustard has no calories,” she said. “Be careful of real mayonnaise, which is high in fat.”
You might also have a salad with high-quality sliced turkey, grilled chicken, tuna or salmon with a light dressing.

Dinner
Chicken, fish or lean beef with broccoli and a salad with oil and vinegar is a healthy, low-glycemic meal, said Alan Schaffer, M.D., of Goshen Medical Associates. Be sure to grill the chicken and steam the broccoli. No croutons in the salad. You can substitute other vegetables for the broccoli, but be aware that peas, carrots, onions, Brussels sprouts and potatoes are high in starch, with higher glycemic indexes.

After-dinner or late-night snack
Grab an apple, Schaffer suggested, instead of ice cream or cookies. It’ll satisfy your craving for something sweet, and add some fiber to your diet at the same time.
-Kathy Swanwick

10 TIPS TO REDUCE YOUR DIET’S GLYCEMIC INDEX
1. Pile ‘em high: Fill half your plate with vegetables or salad.

2. Be wise with your potatoes: Pair one or two baby new potatoes with a small ear of corn, or make a white bean and potato mash. Or try sweet potatoes, yams or taro – steamed, roasted or mashed.

3. Go grainy: Choose a really grainy bread, sourdough bread, pumpernickel or bread made from legumes.

4. Smart carbs: Refined breakfast cereals will spike your blood glucose and insulin levels. Replace them with smart carbs such as natural muesli or traditional (not instant) oatmeal.

5. Look for low: Try low-GI rice, serve your pasta al dente, and choose intact grains such as barley, buckwheat, bulgar and quinoa. Opt for lower GI starchy vegetables.

6. Love those legumes: Get into the habit of eating legumes such as beans, lentils and chickpeas, and have them at least three times a week.

7. Develop the art of combining: Mix some high-GI carbs with some low – lentils with rice, rice with beans and chili, tabouli tucked into pita bread, baked beans on toast.

8. Have lean protein with every meal: Go with lean meat, skinless chicken, fish and seafood, eggs, milk, yogurt or cheese. Or eat legumes and tofu if you’re vegetarian.

9. Tickle your taste buds: Try vinaigrette (using vinegar or lemon juice with a dash of extra virgin olive oil) with salads, yogurt with cereal, lemon juice on vegetables such as asparagus or sourdough bread. These foods contain acids that slow stomach emptying and lower your blood glucose response to the carbs in the meal.

10. Keep track of your snacks: Go low-GI when snacking, with fresh fruit, dried fruit or fruit and nut mix; low-fat milk and yogurt. Limit high-GI refined flour products such as cookies, cakes and pastries – regardless of their fat and sugar content. And watch portion sizes of low-GI foods; too much will increase your glycemic load.

Source: Glycemic Index Foundation

Link to original article here

via Gluten-free Diet Now Fuels Tennis Star Andy Murray – Celiac.com.

Andy Murray joins Novak Djokovic as a publicly gluten free athlete and star.

If you’re gluten sensitive, going off gluten gives you a noticeable boost in energy, both physical and mental, and since athletes are always looking for anything that gives them just a bit more edge, it makes sense that they would be appreciative of the benefits they experience in training and performance.

Even for us mere mortals, the difference can be significant in terms of energy, focus and general well being, as well as the myriad health benefits from reducing inflammation and improving ability to absorb and utilize nutrients.

Read about other stars that are gluten free here

Hospital Treatment for Anorexia Is Questioned – NYTimes.com.

I’m no expert on anorexia, and I can honestly say that eating disorders are some of the toughest issues I’ve worked with in my practice.  But I do know that one component of anorexia, and most eating disorders, is zinc deficiency, and that correcting this often helps significantly.

This can be tested, very simply, by doing a zinc challenge.  A small amount of liquid zinc is swished around in the mouth and swallowed.  If it tastes like water, that indicates a severe zinc deficiency.

I find this is also an issue with many young children with extremely fussy palates, as is often the case with kids on the spectrum. Correcting the zinc deficiency often opens their palate to many new foods that they had previously rejected.

Liquid zinc for testing and supplementation is available here.  Just let them know you are my client. Or you can pick up a bottle in my office.

I know you’re full of new January resolve (and maybe a few too many holiday indulgences) but diets don’t work (you know that, don’t you?).  And there is a better way.

Cutting calories doesn’t work.  It just sets you up for an even slower metabolism and a worse rebound.  Exercise can help, but exercise alone won’t get you to your goals.  And besides, most people spend way too much time doing the wrong kind of exercise.  I’d like to teach you how to use exercise most efficiently, so you will get better results in less time.

And I want you to learn how to eat!  That dreadful article in the NY Times this weekend got part of the story but not the whole story. Yes, that’s right, I’m going to contradict the conclusions of all those scientists, doctors and journalists, and tell you that it is possible to lose weight and keep it off, and that it doesn’t have to mean you are obsessed with not eating for the rest of your life (wouldn’t that be awful?!), or that you feel constantly hungry or deprived. NOT AT ALL!  The trick is to work with the metabolic issues they identify, but not by severely cutting back calories (500-550 calories a day? come ON!), or trying to burn off everything you eat in the gym.  Or by using food “products” that you have to buy in order to stay on the program.

I want to teach you how to successfully navigate each and every situation in which you might eat: not only at home in your own kitchen, but a restaurant, a holiday event, parties, visiting friends, your in-laws, etc.

I want you to know how to choose foods that give your metabolism and your hormones the correct message every time: to retain lean muscle and burn fat.  When you are eating healthy, you will naturally lose weight.
What’s that? You say that you already eat healthy? That’s what many of my clients tell me when they first come in to my office. But there is a very big difference between eating theoretically healthy and eating individually healthy, for you, as a unique individual.  I can help you identify what is individually healthy.

• Wouldn’t you like to know what specific foods are stressing your system and telling your body to store fat? (it’s often foods we think of as healthy!)

• Wouldn’t you like to identify the triggers that drive your cravings and that feeling of insatiable hunger that sometimes comes over you?

• Wouldn’t you like to know how to avoid the energy slumps that come mid-morning and mid-afternoon, and the will power failure that goes with them?

• Wouldn’t you love to have will power not be an issue?  To have your own body re-balance so that your cravings are eliminated and this time you can stay with your resolve to look and feel better?

It’s not only possible, it’s within your reach. I have successfully helped many hundreds of people, from their teens to their 70s, succeed at this.  And not only do they lose weight, and look and feel better, but lots of other symptoms start to disappear as well, including achy joints, headaches, respiratory problems, rashes, fatigue, brain fog, and much, much more.

Want to fit into those skinny jeans?  Want to have more energy, more radiance, more focus?

Why not get started? Sign up for your 13 Week Success Program and I will personally guide you through it every step of the way.  This program will give you the guidance, support and accountability to reach – and surpass – your goals, and it is all customized for you, as a unique individual.  This is not a one-size-fits-all program, which is a large part of why it is so successful.

Want to learn more about the Program and how it works?  Click here. Want to read more of my client’s experiences? There are lots of testimonials on my website, but here’s a new one from a very happy client:

Get Started! Book Your First Appointment Now!

Because of the odd weather, and the lack of a solid freeze, we are still contending with ticks in the Northeast, so please don’t relax your guard for yourself, your family or your animals.  I highly recommend the use of Cistus Tea.  I still have small quantities in stock and expect to be getting more this month.

Lyme disease has been one of my specialties for more than 15 years, and my training with Dr Dietrich Klinghardt has enabled me to get even better results for clients with chronic and neurological Lyme.

Here is one client’s story:
“I came to Fran with excruciating body pain, in my joints and muscles. My energy was close to flat: I could drag myself to work, I could drag myself home and maybe cook a meal. That’s it. No socializing, no personal life, no joy, no life. Sometimes the pain was so bad my roommate had to help me from my car to the door barely one car’s length away. I was using a cane out of the house and a walker at home. I made slow progress from one room to another. I felt like a 90 year old at 54. I talked to Fran at the health food store where I work, asked her questions. She was very available and kind.

I had been to a chiropractor, an acupuncturist and an orthopedist. An MD had said I had arthritis so I tried self-treatment for about a year with little gain. One MD/naturopath had suspected I had Lyme but the test came back negative, the antibiotic did nothing, and so I moved on.

In December of 2010 I had my first visit with Fran. She told me a plethora of things going on with me, including food allergies (I was already off cow’s milk and wheat), mercury poisoning, candida and finally Lyme! I trusted her judgment.

One month later, the horrific pain I was going the horrific pain I was going through subsided.

Slowly over the period of a year, seeing Fran for detox and other treatments, following my diet (for the most part) I am without my cane since Aug 19 or thereabouts of this past year, my body movement has become more limber and flexible.

And best of all my energy is back – better than before, I think. I have my life back.

I had no life for at least one solid year with this thing.

The relief I feel is tremendous. I was so frightened about what was happening to my body.

Fran’s treatments included all of me, all levels of being: an important part of holistic treatments, and why I rely on holistic “medicine” and not medical doctors.

Thanks to Fran and her genius for finding and studying complex and subtle alternative treatments.

This article was featured in The Times Herald Record.

Can you pass this test? Do you…

• fall asleep easily, within 15 minutes of putting your head on the pillow?

• sleep soundly, through the night, for 8 hours without waking?

• awaken feeling rested, refreshed and ready to start your day?

That’s a sound night’s sleep, and very few of us get it.

If I had to pick one thing to improve most people’s health, it would be to increase the quality and quantity of their sleep.   We don’t live healthy, happy lives when we are sleep-deprived.  Plus it just feels awful to be tired all the time.  After a while, you start thinking it’s normal to feel lousy, but if you get more and better quality sleep, you will feel the difference.

Here are some tips:

Create an optimal sleep environment.

Turn off. Try switching off wifi at night. This is usually simple:  just pull the plug or push a switch, then turn it back on in the morning. We are bombarded with electromagnetic fields 24/7 and you may not know how sensitive you are until you reduce your exposure.   Some clinicians even recommend switching off fuses to the bedroom at night.
Black Out. How many light sources are in your bedroom?  TV?  Alarm clock?  Phones? Computer?  Night light?  Lights from other rooms, or outside?  Light exposure switches off melatonin production, and melatonin is the hormone that creates deep sleep.  We naturally produce less as we age, but we need the cue of darkness to produce it at all.  Use lined curtains to block ambient light, and remove electronics with LEDs.  A piece of electrical tape can cover light on anything remaining, like smoke detectors.

Cover up. If you can’t make your bedroom completely dark, use a sleep mask. It may take a few tries to find one that’s comfortable and effective, but they’re generally inexpensive. Keep a spare in your suitcase for travel.

Cool it. Optimal sleep temperature is 60-68 degrees.  Sound sleepers naturally have a lower core temperature at bedtime, while insomniacs have a higher one, which increases restlessness.  Drop the thermostat (you’ll sleep better knowing you’re saving money, too) and try a hot water bottle to warm your feet.

Natural Sleep Aids

• Melatonin is a hormone, and if you are not deficient, supplementing may not help.  Studies show small time-released doses to be most effective.

• Tryptophan is my first go-to sleep supplement in my practice.  It is safe and usually quite effective.  I generally have clients start with 1000mg and increase by 500mg a night, up to 6000mg, until they are sleeping soundly through the night.

Of course, it is wise to check with a qualified health professional before trying supplements.

• Caffeine If you are one of those people who boast that they can drink coffee at 11PM with no problem, you have adrenal exhaustion.  That’s not good.  Limit coffee to one reasonably sized cup to accompany or follow breakfast, not replace it or precede it.  Tea in the afternoon is fine if you are sleeping well; if you are not, try to eliminate caffeine altogether for a while.  Yes, you will feel more tired short term: that is the truth that caffeine masks.

If you consistently get good quality and adequate quantity sleep, your energy will soon soar, and every organ and system in your body will function better.

Link to original article here

Celiac Nutrition and Gluten Free Health Blog.

I always recommend my clients advocate for themselves and let their servers know, when they are dining out, that they must avoid gluten.  If your server isn’t clear, have them check with the chef.

By the way, did you know that most restaurant french fries are now made from a concoction of frozen dehydrated potatoes and wheat flour?  Make sure to check.  Dusting, dredging, and mixing flours is very common, and can be dangerous to those of us who are gluten free.

Scientists analyzed blood taken from Air Force soldiers in the 1960s and compared them to blood samples taken from a group of random volunteers today. They discovered that markers of celiac disease and gluten sensitivity were 400% higher in today’s blood samples.

via Celiac Nutrition and Gluten Free Health Blog.

These numbers are pretty startling.  I believe there are many factors, including the overall decline in our diets and the increasing exposure to toxins of all sorts.  We are designed to adapt, but there is just so much we can adapt to before our bodies start breaking down.  As for the change in wheat, it makes it sound as though higher gluten content is something that just “happened”, rather than something cultivated to get fluffier, more shelf-stable products, which is the case.

The good news is that we always have the option to take control of our health, and our body is designed to respond well when we do. We are designed to heal, given the right information, support and guidance.  Please let me know if I can provide that for you.