
Your Life-Your Choice                    ISSN 1488-0253 
                                         July, 2000
                                         Issue 58 


 
Letter From the Editor

Hello to all subscribers at Your Life-Your Choice. In
this issue of our newsletter we are introducing a new
column entitled "Pounds and Predators", which will be 
written by our own researcher Danielle Carrie. Danielle
has been responsible for much of the researched information
you have received at Life-Choices, and in the course of her
research has discovered how much contradicting information
is available on the internet on the subject of weight loss. 
Take the trip with her as she unravels the myths, the 
misrepresentations, and the truths of weight loss promotions.
This is a must read for many, and will be a true bonus to those 
who must practice weight management. 

Brigitte Synesael 
Editor of Your Life-Your Choice 
Make it your business to be informed! 
No one cares more about you than YOU.

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ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE: 
1. SYNDROMNE X  By  Dr. John Maher
2. POUNDS AND PREDATORS by Danielle Carrie
3. CHEMICAL STRAIGHT-JACKETING by 
      Johann Christoph Arnold.
4. Talk to GARLIC  from Played Out in Kentucky 

===========================================

Section 1 

         THE SWEET TOOTH, THE SOUR MOOD, AND
         THE BITTER TRUTH ABOUT SYNDROMNE X
                By Dr. John Maher

Diabetes, also known as hyperglycemia, a fancy term for
high blood sugar, is the third leading cause of death in 
America. Hyperglycemia,and its cousin hyper-insulinemia,
are often a major factor in heart disease, the number one
killer. Indeed, the relationship of high blood sugar and 
high insulin to heart disease is so strong there is a 
frightening name for it:   SYMDROME X !!! 

The oxidation of cholesterol causes hardening of the 
arteries. Insulin effects an enzyme in your liver to 
increase cholesterol. Adult onset diabetes is the end 
result of insulin resistance. This means that your blood sugar "resists" the normal response to insulin, which is 
to move sugar from your blood to your cells. In response, 
the body produces more insulin resulting in high blood 
insulin levels or hyper-insulinemia. Eventually you become 
so insensitive to insulin that your blood sugar stays 
elevated, i.e., diabetes. 

Why does this happen? The fact is diabetes is largely a first 
world disease. It appears to be related to over consumption
of simple sugars, sweets, refined flours, and calories that 
are low in fiber and minerals, coupled with lack of exercise. 
Strangely enough, these "dysglycemias" often start as a problem 
with LOW blood sugar. As the brain is the major consumer of 
sugar, when blood sugar gets low we get tired, cranky, and 
can’t focus well.

Low blood sugar is caused by consuming too many calories at 
once, especially the sweets and refined grain products, or 
even dried fruits and fruit juices. Your body "over-reacts" 
by pouring large amounts of insulin from your pancreas into 
your blood stream. The insulin drives all that sugar in your 
blood into the cells so well, you actually wind up with LOW 
blood sugar. Your brain then gets hungry for the sugar it 
needs and tells you to EAT MORE! 

Years of this kind of abuse leads to insulin resistance, 
where   you no longer respond to insulin effectively. The 
result is "hyperinsulinemia" as your body produces more
and more insulin which grows less and less effective. All
the insulin in your blood causes the liver to make cholesterol
leading to heart disease. This scenario is known as Syndrome X.
 
The risk factors for Syndrome X include hyperglycemia (fasting glucose greater than 110mg/dl), high fasting triglycerides 
(> 100 mg/dl), high blood pressure ( > 125 over > 85) along 
with central adiposity (fat mostly around the belly), inactivity 
(< 30 min , 3x/week), low birth weight (less than 5.5 lbs.), 
weight gain of 10 or more lbs. after 18 in women and after 21 
in men, a waist size > 30" in women and 36' in men, and first 
degree relatives with diabetes, high blood pressure, heart 
disease or high tryglcerides in middle age. 

Black women, Japanese Americans, Latinos, South East Pacific
Islanders and East and American Indians are higher racial risk
groups in ascending order, once they adopt the SAD, the
Standard American Diet.

PS.  High blood sugar also is a major cause of aging in general.
The excess sugars form Advanced Glycation End-products 
aka AGE! These AGEs cause a non-enzymatic molecular
dysruption leading to the cross-linking of connective tissue, 
a major degenerative process on the cellular level which leads 
to the unfortunately more familiar problems of cataracts,
wrinkles, blindness, foot ulcers and kidney disease. 

Read more about Dr. John Mayer on our Meet the Team 
page; http://www.life-choices.com/team.html

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Section 2
                Pounds and Predators 
                 by Danielle Carrie

As I watch the news, read the daily paper or try and enjoy 
an episode on the television, I can’t help but notice that
I am constantly bombarded with weight loss and diet plans
that are designed to work for everybody, or your money
back, guaranteed. With such differing opinions on the same
subject, I end up questionioning the validity of the products
and the integrity of the  information provided. With so much
controversy stewing in my own head, I felt the need to look into 
this deeper and do some research on the weight loss industry.
So off I went to surf the web and bury my nose in books to try
and figure out the mystery behind weight loss. 

The first thing that caught my attention was that the weight
loss industry easily generates a revenue of 10 billion dollars 
per year. With that kind of revenue generation who wants to
fix the problem? This just leaves an open door for more and
more competitors to make more and more money from people 
who have a serious health issue. This is disgusting to me,
nevertheless I see this type of money making all over... 
if you can’t beat them join them. Right?

However, be that as it may, I still feel weight loss is 
an intense issue that needs to be addressed and treated 
seriously, without fail. It can escalate into so many 
other health problems such as; heart disease, diabetes,
depression etc. It is unfair to prolong any suffering of 
this nature. The weight loss industry uses the severity of 
the diet issue to play on the weakness of the buyer. For 
example, I recently read an ad on the Internet about losing 
10 pounds in three days. For someone with a weight problem 
this is literally a dream come true, as long as they can keep 
the weight off they can solve their entire weight problem in 
a month. Is weight loss really this easy? Doesn't it make 
sense if you lose weight that fast you will gain it back just
as fast or even in some cases faster. 

To me it is very evident that there is much controversy
surrounding the issue of weight loss. With that in mind, 
I’d like to thank Your Life-Your Choice for opening up a 
section to me in their newsletter to help sift through 
the weight loss battle. I will spend time researching and
reporting until we are able to get to the bottom of the 
weight loss mystery. Until next time.

I welcome any comments or questions you have related to
diet or weight loss  mailto:research@life-choices.com and 
put "Diets Don’t Work" in the subject heading.
Danielle Carrie

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Section 3 
                CHEMICAL STRAIGHT-JACKETING 
           How kids are drugged into submission.
                 By Johann Christoph Arnold

Ask anyone to name the chief dangers facing children today,
and they're likely to tick off a predictable list-homelessness
and malnutrition, poor education and inadequate healthcare.
They're not wrong. But the longer I work with children, the
more concerned I am about another quiet wave that carries
just as a great a menace: the mindset of avoidance. Call it 
what you want-convenience, denial, or stubbornness-but 
if there's anything that characterizes education across the
board, it's the persistent habit of turning our backs on the
hardest questions, and falling for the answers that soothe us
back to sleep. Though the tendency to settle for the most
painless solution to a problem is a normal human trait, it is
rarely a healthy approach to child rearing. 

>From parenting journals to popular books, the wisdom is the
same: children may be cute, but raising them is a thankless 
chore. Childhood itself has come to be viewed as a suspect
phase. Children of all ages and means are being squelched on
the playground and in class, not because they're unmanageable
or unruly, but simply because they're behaving like children 
should. Diagnosed with "problems" that used to be recognized 
as normal childhood traits-impulsiveness and exuberance, 
spontaneity and daring-millions of children are being 
diagnosed as hyperactive and drugged into submission.

I'm referring, of course, to the widespread use of Ritalin 
and other related stimulants, and to the public's fascination
with medicine as the answer to any and every problem. Ritalin 
is surely a legitimate drug for certain specific conditions. 
But given the threefold increase in its use in the last decade, 
one has to wonder if  it isn't being misused as an easy cure-all 
for problems such as ADHD (attention deficit-hyperactivity 
disorder) and to rein in lively children who may not even have 
the disorder. After all, much of what is designated as ADHD is nothing more than a defense against over-structuring-a natural 
reflex that used to be called letting off steam-or alternately, 
a symptom of various unmet emotional needs. Jeff, an old friend, gives a poignant example:

"Jerome, an eight-year-old from Seattle, came and stayed
us last summer for a break from the city. When he arrived he
was a mess, though he was on Ritalin. After two or three 
days, however, we weaned him off his dose, because with all
the room to play he was no longer bouncing off the walls, 
but beginning to take himself in hand. (At home in his
apartment building there was nothing for him to do but watch
 TV.) I could definitely see the change.
When this little guy first arrived he could barely keep his
attention on anything for more than a minute, he was so
keyed up and distracted. I laid down some ground rules
and gave him some time. I took him out with a bike, 
since he was unsure of how to ride...By the end of his
stay he was so settled and happy that at one point he even
asked me if he could call me Dad. I just about lost it.
This child didn't need Ritalin: all he needed was fresh
air-and love."

Put Jerome back in the projects, and he will probably revert.
He'll be put back on Ritalin, and his "symptoms" will be
re-suppressed. Whether he'll ever get the attention he really
needs, either at home or at school, is quite another question.
Fortunately it's one that increasing numbers of people are
asking, like Peter Breggin,  a pediatrician and author:
"People call drugs like Ritalin a godsend for emotional
and behavioral problems...But I think the way they're 
overused is absolutely horrifying. When I was asked by
the National Institutes of Health to be a scientific discussant
on the effects of these drugs at a conference they held, I
reviewed the important literature, and I found that when
animals are given them, they stop playing; they stop being
curious; they stop socializing; they stop trying to escape.
Ritalin makes good caged animals...We're making good
caged kids. It's all very well to talk about it taking a whole
village to raise a child, but in practice, we're acting as if
we think it only takes a pill."


Given the dismal state of the culture described above, 
parenting in the 21st century is clearly going to involve
a lot of hard work. But why should that frighten us? As
long as we run from the responsibilities that will always be 
there, we will not only squander the most formative
moments of bringing up children, but rob ourselves as well
of its most meaningful joys. 

Excerpted from 
“ENDANGERED: Your Child in a Hostile World" by Johann 
Christoph Arnold. 
Free ebook & interactive website:  
http://www.plough.com/endangered/
Order the paperback 1-800-521-8011(US), 0800 018 0799(UK) 
Email the author: JCA@plough.com

***********************************************
Section 4.

Dear Garlic,
 
My Husband Loves sports, he plays everything, 
watches them ALL on TV, then wants me to 
dress up like a Tennis Pro or Footballer at 
bedtime to PLAY!!! 
I HATE sports!! what can I do to get his 
mind OFF them for a while? 
It's ruining our relationship. 
signed Played Out in Kentucky 
           ***
     
Dear Played Out,

Some nice, cool, green turf, a football jersey, and you. 
He doesn’t seem to be asking for too much. What you need
to keep in mind here is that this is a compliment to you.
Fantasies, his or yours are an important part of the total
loving experience.  Want him to check if the grass is 
greener on the other side of the fence? No, I didn’t
think so. Please, indulge your sports pro. Let him make
his play in his own exciting fashion. By all means
encourage him with a heartfelt “touchdown” when
that majic moment arrives. It's time to keep in mind
how many other players are only too happy to play the
game, but he has chosen you to make his big score.
Harmless fantasies can only make your love life better.
Then, when you’ve indulged him in his playtime, its
your turn to indulge yourself. Have you told him about
your yearnings and fantasies? Do so, fair exchange is
no robbery. Nothing is more important in intimate 
relationships as the freedom to indulge yourself as long
as it causes no harm to your partner. If you can’t be
bothered (remember he shoots and you score), you 
may be benched, and another player  substituted.
Enjoy yourself, and enjoy your sporty lover, not
everyone gets a chance to play for the Gray Cup.

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Like to talk to Garlic? Yes, men are welcome too: 
put "Dear Garlic" in Subject line. We can talk about 
*Note that the Dear Garlic segment of Your Life-Your Choice 
is for entertainment purposes only. The advice is intended 
to tickle your funny bone so put your Sense of Humor hat 
on and let's take a look at the "lighter side" of life. 
After all, LAUGHTER is supposed to be the BEST medicine.

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