Archive for Special Guest Column From Another Writer

6 Tips to Help Your Children Slim Down From Renowned Children’s Obesity Expert Dr. David Ludwig

Posted in Celebrity Corner, Clearing the Carb Confusion, Clever Takes on the News, Connie Helps "Sugar Addicts" & Their Loved Ones, Connie's Comments, Rants, Raves & Musings, Diabetes Articles, Hurrah for Hopeful News, In the News, Kudos Corner, Nutrition News & Tidbits, Obesity News, Special Guest Column From Another Writer, Take Action!, Tantalizing Tidbits, The Joys of Natural Sugars by Connie Bennett on June 6th, 2007

Art_ludwigdavid_2Parents, no need to be perplexed any more about how to persuade your kids to eat their veggies and quit overdosing on soft drinks and other sugary foods. Acclaimed children’s obesity expert David Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D. can help you to help your kids.

In fact, if anyone can inspire you and your kids, Dr. Ludwig can do it. He’s director of the Optimal Weight for Life (OWL) Program at Children’s Hospital Boston, one of the oldest and largest pediatric weight management programs for children in the country.

Since 1996, he and his colleagues have cared for a whopping 5,000 overweight youngsters and their families.

What’s more, Dr. Ludwig – who has been featured in USA Today, appeared on a bunch of top TV and radio shows – can educate you so you empower your child to have fun losing weight, getting fit and shunning those culprit carbs.

Art_ending_the_food_fight_061868326Anyhow, in Dr. Ludwig's new book, Ending the Food Fight: Guide Your Child to a Healthy Weight in a Fast Food/Fake Food World, he offers an exciting, proven 9-week program so that you can turn your children’s health around.

You can learn about his book here.

So, here are 6 pointers excerpted and adapted – with permission, of course -- from Dr. Ludwig’s book, Ending the Food Fight.

1. Working together as a family, make a “Clean Sweep” of your home environment. First, empty your cupboards, cabinets, refrigerator, pantry and other food storage areas where you keep sugary drinks, chips, cookies, candies, ice cream, refined crackers and other “fake foods” that just don’t support your family’s health. Now, toss away all the health-defeating fake food. (Don’t worry about being wasteful – the health costs of eating those commercially processed foods are far greater than the actual purchase price.) Next, go out as a family to grab a healthy lunch or afterwards do something fun outdoors like play miniature golf, take a trip to a water park or go for a hike. Then, later in the afternoon, shop together as a family and buy delicious and nutritious foods to replace all the fake foods that you’ve tossed out.

2. Introduce your children to nutrient-rich, low-glycemic real foods. This means they’ll learn about raw and cooked vegetables, fresh and dried fruits, beans, nuts and nut butters, seeds and unprocessed whole grains, and lean proteins. 

3. Start replacing refined sugary cereals and processed breads. Instead give your kids whole grains such as brown rice, millet, barley, quinoa and buckwheat, steel cut oats or stone ground breads.

4. Go for family walks. Teach your kids that walking 30 minutes a day at a moderate pace would burn over about 50,000 calories in a year or about 15 pounds of body weight. What’s so great about walking is that you can do it almost anywhere; you don’t need special training or equipment; you can take it at your own pace; it’s relaxing; and it’s free.

5. Learn “The Power of Ten.” If your children have become video-watching, confirmed couch potatoes, encourage them to get active for 10 minutes at a time. They can walk, jump rope or play outdoors in three 10-minute blocks over the course of a day or two 15-minute blocks. This is like dropping nickels and dimes into a piggy bank; no matter how you count it, you still have 30 cents.

6. Let your child participate in menu planning and food preparation. You’ll find that if your kid cooks it, he or she eats it.

Again, bear in mind that these are some of many, many proven pointers from Dr. Ludwig, one of America’s foremost children’s obesity experts. His book, Ending the Food Fight, goes into much more detail, and it even presents an easy, effective 9-week program.

Excerpted from Ending the Food Fight: Guide Your Child to a Healthy Weight in a Fast Food / Fake Food World by David Ludwig, M.D., Ph. D., published by Houghton Mifflin Company. Copyright © 2007 by David Ludwig, M.D., Ph. D. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company.

Bet you're eager to hear more about Dr. Ludwig. Well, I have a treat for you! Parents, you can attend a special teleclass with the famous children's obesity expert on Wednesday, June 20. We'd love to have you join us. More details in my next blog posting.

When you go to the special announcement page about the teleclass, please ignore the June 19 date I mention. We had to change the date due to Dr. Ludwig's schedule, and my webmaster just went on vacation so I'm waiting to find another webmaster to change it to the real date, which is June 20.

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Learn How To Put Your Blog on the Map (Blogevangize It) — Completely Off Topic

Posted in Blogger or Web Spotlight, Connie Helps "Sugar Addicts" & Their Loved Ones, Diabetes Articles, Hurrah for Hopeful News, Kudos Corner, Special Guest Column From Another Writer by Connie Bennett on April 25th, 2007

Let's forget about the dangers of sugar for a bit.

For you bloggers out there who yearn to build buzz for your site and make it attract lots of eyeballs, you have to read this fabulous entry, "The 120 Day Wonder: How to Evangelize a Blog" from Guy Kawasaki, an entrepreneur, author, speaker, investment banker, venture capitalist and managing director of Garage.com.

All 10 items in Guy's Letterman-esque list are worthy of pursuing, but I particularly love his suggestion # 2, "Answer the little man." But, hey, being a woman myself, I'm partial to my own sex so I'm going to "Answer the fun chick" or "Please the picky lady."! (You'll see what I mean when you read his blog post.)

"Scoop stuff" is another of Guy's hot blogevangizing or blogegizing ideas -- yeah, I just coined 2 new words, smushing "blogging" and "evangelizing" together. I guess I already sniff around and scoop up tidbits here and there, but you better believe I'm going to do it a lot more, thanks to this clever tip.

While you're eagerly getting more ideas to snag more readers, check out the hot tips on How to Build Traffic To Your Blog from Priya Shah. (I learned about this, thanks to Guy.

Good luck, my fellow bloggers. And feel free to link here often. (Smile.)

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Poem: Sweet Little Things Called “Friends” By Linda Rae

Posted in Blood Sugar Blues, Connie Helps "Sugar Addicts" & Their Loved Ones, Diabetes Articles, Guest Column From Another Writer, Kudos Corner, Special Guest Column From Another Writer, Take Action!, Tantalizing Tidbits by Connie Bennett on April 21st, 2007

Today, I'm happy to present something from a reader of my book SUGAR SHOCK!

Linda Rae decided to take the advice I offered in the book to get creative in conquering your sugar habit. Here's a poem she was gracious enough to let me post here.

It's important to take to heart some of Linda's observations. You see, when trying to kick out sugar and those culprit carbs, some people need to be more assertive when they're out and about doing socializing so that they can take care of themselves better. The dilemma is that people use food as a social event.

"Maybe [this poem] will  be helpful to someone," she wrote me. "Sometimes we just can't see what the problem is when it is right in front of us." Here's her poem:

Sweet Little Things Called “Friends” By Linda Rae of Maricopa, Arizona

That powerful cookie is calling my name

as I shop for my food in the Store.

It’s really quite easy to forget why I came

when I see all that ice-cream and more.

Keeping on track with my food plan on my own

is a difficult enough task to follow.

I don’t need advice or ideas for my diet.

Just try to be nice and don’t ask me to “try it”.

It’s so hard to escape those things called “temptations”.

They don’t want to leave me alone.

They come in all sizes and forms and disguises

despite my desires I’ve made known.

My friends are not helping or doing me favors

when they say, “just one taste won’t be wrong”.

They don’t understand about an addict’s behavior

and my needs to be healthy and strong.

They think it’s a diet or fad that will end

and I’ll eat like I did in my past.

I’m constantly telling them over again,

“This time I want it to last”.

I’ve decided my health and well being

is worth any “offending” I’ve done.

If “my” needs are not worth their pleasing—

then I am the offended one.

If dining at the restaurant of their choosing

is the only option for me

Then friendships I’ll have to risk losing,

so, I can remain sugar free!

Note from Connie:

I'm saddened by Linda's experience, because she sheds light on the fact that sometimes friends are unwitting saboteurs. So, when you decide to treat your body well and kick out (or cut back on) the culprit carbs, you need to surround yourself with people who will support you.

I would hope, though, that you would be able to hang onto your friends if you go sugar-free. Sure, you have to be careful when dining out, but if loved ones care for you, they'll be respectful of what you need to do for yourself.

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Could Antidepressant Drugs Have Played an Unwitting Role in the Awful Virginia Tech Shootings? See The Opinion Piece By Mike Adams

Posted in Clever Takes on the News, Diabetes Articles, Guest Column From Another Writer, In the News, Kudos Corner, Not-So-Sweet News, Special Guest Column From Another Writer by Connie Bennett on April 19th, 2007

Art_adamsshouldertopbw150The often thoughful, provocative, anti-Pharma Mike Adams, editor of the popular NewsTarget.com website, posits an intriguing idea about what may have gone on with Cho Seung-Hui, which may have led him to go on a shooting rampage at Virginia Tech.

In an e-mail designed to drum up interest in his intriguing -- and sure to be controversial -- opinion piece, Mike (seen to the left) points out that "the shooter in the Virginia Tech rampage was taking antidepressant drugs."

He continues. "And guess what? So were the shooters at Colombine High eight years ago."

Now that's downright scary and startling to contemplate. Could antidepressant drugs, which are supposed to help lift up your moods -- in some cases -- bring down the moods of the drug takers -- and possibly even make them downright homicidal, too?

Mike presents a compelling argument for his case that "there seems to be quite a pattern linking the consumption of antidepressant drugs and extreme violence against others."

He even cites an alarming study that documents numerous similar episodes of people "going berserk" (as he puts it) after taking SSRI drugs.

In his alarming article, Mike asks the compelling question: "What is it about antidepressant drugs that provokes young men to pick up pistols, rifles and shotguns, then violently assault their classmates?"

He wonders: "Could the drugs be "imbalancing" their minds, priming them for violence? The answer is a very sobering, "Yes, they could be," he contends.

"Wherever we see school violence, antidepressant drugs seem to found at the scene of the crime. The correlation is not coincidence," Mike maintains. "There is a causal link between the two." You can read Mike's column on NewsTarget.com here now.

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Hypoglycemia: The Forgotten Blood Sugar Disorder - Guest Column From Dr. Keith Berkowitz (Thanks to Blogger Jimmy Moore)

Posted in Blogger or Web Spotlight, Blood Sugar Blues, Clearing the Carb Confusion, Connie Helps "Sugar Addicts" & Their Loved Ones, Connie's Comments, Rants, Raves & Musings, Diabetes Articles, In the News, Not-So-Sweet News, Nutrition News & Tidbits, SUGAR SHOCKERS!, Special Guest Column From Another Writer by Connie Bennett on April 5th, 2007

I'm always pleased to learn of a medical doctor who's savvy about the dangers of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) -- which, as I point out in my book SUGAR SHOCK! -- is a much-ignored and much-maligned condition that plagues millions of Americans.

In fact, my interest in the dangers of sugar and refined carbs began with my own blood sugar nightmares and many baffling symptoms, from excessive fatigue to brain fog, as I reveal in Chapter 1 (when I tell my embarrassing sugar story).

FYI, I also delve into a discussion of low blood sugar in Chapter 13 of SUGAR SHOCK! This subject is so close to my heart that you can even find an excerpt, Hypoglycemia: A Hidden Hell, on the Web.

Anyhow, I was glad to see that my blogging buddy Jimmy Moore posted a special entry on his Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Blog entitlted, Is Hypoglycemia A Hidden Low-Carb Side Effect?, which was triggered by a conversation he had with New York-based physician Keith Berkowitz, M.D., who fold Jimmy that symptoms of hypoglycemia could by why your weight loss suddenly stops when following a low-carb diet.

Then, Jimmy took the smart move to invite the Dr. Berkowitz to write a special guest column. Because this is such an important subject, I'm reprinting the column here from Jimmy's Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Blog.

The Forgotten Blood Sugar Disorder: Hypoglycemia
by Dr. Keith Berkowitz, M.D.
Medical Director for The Center for Balanced Health

According to the American Diabetes Association, 21 million Americans have diabetes and another 54 million American are at risk with pre-diabetes or elevated blood glucose.

Because of this, our attention has been concentrated on treating high blood glucose while largely ignoring other blood sugar disorders. Poor eating habits, the addition of unhealthy ingredients, increased stress and poor sleeping habits has led to the increased incidence of this underappreciated blood sugar disorder: hypoglycemia.

Hypoglycemia has been traditionally defined as a low blood glucose level (serum levels less than 70 mg/dl either taken fasting, randomly or after a glucose challenge). Unfortunately, most individuals I see in my practice do not present with these results but instead present with normal blood glucose levels, the ability to lose some weight but not the last 10 to 20 pounds or unexplained low energy levels.

One reason for this is that most individuals only have fasting blood glucose or an HgbA1c taken by their health professional.

An HgbA1c level represents the average amount of glucose in the blood over a three-month period. A level of 4.0% is equal to an average blood glucose level of 60 mg/dl while a level of 5.0% is equal to a blood glucose level of 90 mg/dl. HgbA1c levels between 4.8% and 5.9% are considered normal. Levels below 4.8% are usually consistent with hypoglycemia.

Individuals with hypoglycemia can often have symptoms that include: headaches, increased irritability, difficulty concentrating, palpitations, light-headedness, fatigue, anxiety, excessive sweating or urination, leg cramps, dizziness and clamminess. Other symptoms can be related to eating. Patients I see with this diagnosis often feel more tired after meals, feel “sick” when they either miss a meal or if a meal is delayed.

So, if you have significantly reduced calories or carbohydrates, are you still unable to lose weight? Are you unable to lose that last 20 pounds no matter what you try? Eating a low-carbohydrate diet but still hungry and/or tired after meals? I just may have a solution for you.

Traditionally treatment for hypoglycemia has been to give sugar. Unfortunately, this treatment only provides temporary relief and in very sensitive individuals causes an even greater reaction thirty minutes to two hours later. Although, a strict low-carbohydrate diet is helpful, it does not always solve the problem by itself.

In my practice, Center for Balanced Health, I see individuals with such pronounced hypoglycemia that their blood sugar drops almost immediately after a glucose challenge. It’s the equivalent of filling an automobile with gas only to find that the gas tank has a very large leak.

At the Center for Balanced Health, we help patients manage their hypoglycemia by telling them to:

- Eat five to six small meals a day about every three hours. Think of yourself as a fuel-efficient automobile. You want constant flow of energy (glucose) throughout the day.

- Avoid meals that are too small or too large especially at night. Meals that are too small will not provide enough energy to get you through the day. Meals that are too large place a larger burden on your metabolic system to process these nutrients and thus can trigger a hypoglycemic reaction.

- DON'T skip meals especially breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it sets the tone.

- Balanced eating. Always have some protein and fat at each meal or snack. Avoid and limit foods high in sugar or other refined carbohydrates,especially on a empty stomach. Still utilize a controlled carbohydrate approach and get your carbohydrates from foods high in fiber (dark green leafy vegetables, non-starchy vegetables, avocado, high-fiber, low-carbohydrate crackers as examples.)

- Get a good night’s sleep. Good sleep helps replenish your system so that your body works more efficiently.

- Use of a fiber supplement (make sure you take with enough water) or eating a high-fiber food (without refined carbohydrates or sugar) before meals or snacks can help slow the absorption of carbohydrates and thus prevent rapid declines in blood sugar.

- Exercise regularly. Strength training can improve glucose metabolism

- Avoid alcohol, caffeine, tobacco use.

- Avoid the use of stimulants.

If you suspect hypoglycemia, the best diagnostic test is a glucose tolerance test with insulin levels and an HgbA1c. I usually do this test in my office because a glucose challenge can sometimes precipitate symptoms of low blood sugar.

Thanks, Jimmy, for running this informative article on your Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Blog. Guess I now to have contact Dr. Berkowitz myself. too. In fact, I have a question for him -- does he suggest the five-hour or six-hour Glucose Tolerance Test?

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Big Day Today: I’m On My SUGAR SHOCK! Blog Tour And More

Posted in Blogger or Web Spotlight, Connie Helps "Sugar Addicts" & Their Loved Ones, Connie's Announcements, Connie's Comments, Rants, Raves & Musings, Diabetes Articles, Diabetes Updates, Guest Column From Another Writer, Hurrah for Hopeful News, In the News, Kudos Corner, Nutrition News & Tidbits, Recent Research (Artificial Sweeteners), Recent Research (Obesity, Diabetes & More), Recent Research (Sugars & Inferior Carbs), SUGAR SHOCKERS!, Special Guest Column From Another Writer, Tantalizing Tidbits by Connie Bennett on February 1st, 2007

Today and tomorrow are big days for me. Just look for me all over the Internet!

You see, I'm doing the SUGAR SHOCK! Blog Tour. Look for my very different postings on the following blogs:

I'm off to these other blogs. Check back later for more exciting news!

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