[Nov3]

This lady while taking side swipes at AA has discovered what Bill Wilson discovered decades ago. He called it the "The Vitamin B-3 Therapy." AA also published a pamphlet for doctors which I believe was called "A Second Communication to Doctors". It was official AA literature but was withdrawn after Bill's death. It involved large doses of niacin (not niacinamide) and low carb eating. It cured his fatigue and depression and helped many other alcoholics. Here she is trying to do something similar and acting like she invented it.

Dr. Atkins also commented on the lifted depression and it has literally cured eating disorders for many (not all) overnight. It is tragic to see a beautiful girl destroy her health and beauty and be basically powerless.

[Sam Cree]

Interesting.

One thing I have noticed is that when I drink, I crave sugar the next morning, and usually have a Coke, something I normally avoid.

I've also been avoiding sugar recently, there is no doubt whatsoever that my anxiety level is way down. IMO, anyone with an anxiety problem should avoid sugar and starch.

[since1868]

I also believe Bill said the only thing he would change about AA was the coffee and donuts.

[Think free or die]

This is very interesting. The more I read about carbs, the more I'm convinced that the level of refined carbs and sugars of our modern western diet are causing problems for a lot of people. We're taking steps to reduce the refined carbs and sugars in the family diet, and increasing protein and selected fats. Our 10 year old son's migraines have already improved, and for the most part, his moods seem more stable. He never had much of a sweet tooth, and seldom drinks soda. Nevertheless, he's doing better with an increase in proteins, especially at breakfast.

[SamAdams76]

Since going "normal-carb" in April (less than 100g a day), I drink a lot less beer. Now I never had a problem with drinking. But I would crave beer. I now wonder if it was my body looking forward to the carbs and alcohol (sugar). I still appreciate a good glass of beer but my cravings for it are gone and one glass satisfies me. I now have maybe six beers a week where before, I would drink 3-4 a day and go through a case a week. Now I can really emphasize quality over quantity. It's easier to rationalize buying a case of premium beer when you know it will take you a month to drink it.

[Cogadh na Sith]

Quackery.

Perhaps I should re-introduce good ol' Snake Oil...

I'll have to give it a phancy doctor-lingo sounding name like: "Herpetoleoic Therapy".

People are pretty gullible.

[dadokane]

FROM QUACKERY.COM

LARSON IS A GRADUATE OF DONSBACH MAIL-ORDER "UNIVERSITY"

Notes on Kurt Donsbach In 1979, Donsbach began operating Donsbach University, a nonaccredited correspondence school that awarded bachelor, master, and doctoral "degrees" in nutrition.

The fact that his "university" was not accredited did not deter Donsbach from stating that it was-by the National Accreditation Association (N.A.A.) of Riverdale, Maryland. An investigation by the National Council Against Health Fraud revealed that this "agency" was formed in 1980 by a California chiropractor and had "accredited" Donsbach University a few months later. In 1981,

Dr. William Jarvis, President of the National Council Against Health Fraud, visited N.A.A. in Maryland and found that its "office" was a telephone in the living room of its executive director, who said he received $100-a-month salary. Although N.A.A. correspondence had designated the man as holding a "Ph.D." from the Sussex College of Technology in England, the British Embassy informed Jarvis that it did not consider the "school" or its diplomas valid.

[dadokane]

LARSON REFUSED TO PRODUCE EVEN ONE SUCCESSFUL FORMER PATIENT TO MAIA SZALAVITZ TO SUBSTANTIATE HER FRAUDULENT CLAIM OF A 75% SUCCESS RATE. THE AUTHORS POINTEDLY NOTE THAT SHE WAS THE ONLY REHAB IN THE U.S.A. THAT REFUSED TO DO SO.

"Dr." Larson's partner was defrocked by the Minnesota Board of Medicine after mis-treating 18 women patients with approaches touted in her book.

See: Recovery Options: The Complete Guide. How You and Your Loved Ones Can Understand and Treat Alcohol and Other Drug Problems. Joseph Volpicelli, M.D., Ph.D., Maia Szalavitz. Wiley & Sons, 2000. ISBN 0-471-34575-X. Paper, $15.95

[CajunConservative]

The author of Potatoes Not Prozac, Kathleen DesMaisons, PhD makes this point in her book. She started out as an addictions counselor. From the website Radiant Recovery

Brain Chemistry 101

Our sugar sensitivity story includes some crucial data that has not been available to the general public before.

This information is about the vital role played by the brain chemical beta-endorphin. Beta-endorphin and its better-known partner, serotonin, can have dramatically positive -- or negative! -- effects on your moods, your behavior, and your energy level.

Your brain is designed to communicate information.

Billions of brain cells talk to each other moment by moment via a network of interconnecting cells. However, these cells do not actually touch one another; there is a tiny space between them. Information is passed across this space by way of chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. The mood-elevating brain chemicals serotonin and beta-endorphin are both neurotransmitters.

Each neurotransmitter has a unique molecular shape and carries a unique message.

The message of serotonin, for example, is "calm down". When one brain cell wants to send a message to another, it releases the relevant neurotransmitter, which floats across the tiny space between cells and looks for the receptors in the target cell that match its molecular shape.

A serotonin, for example, can only pass its message to a serotonin receptor. The same is true with beta-endorphin. If any other kind of neurotransmitter hits the receptors, nothing happens; the message does not get delivered.

Serotonin

When your serotonin is at an ideal level, you feel mellow and relaxed, hopeful and optimistic.

You have a sense of being at peace with life. You are creative, thoughtful, and focused. You also have a lot of impulse control, which enables you to "just say no" more easily.

People who are sugar-sensitive have naturally low levels of serotonin. As a result, they do not have good impulse control. It is almost impossible for them to "just say no" because there is such a short time between their getting the urge to do something and their doing it. This is why no matter how many times you vow to stick with a diet, you are not able to. The insufficient serotonin level in your brain isn't giving you the time you need to make good decisions.

Besides being impulsive, people with low levels of serotonin may feel depressed and find themselves craving foods such as bread, pasta or candy. This craving is the work of your brain, not your ego, because your brain knows that getting you to eat such foods -- which are all simple carbohydrates -- will temporarily raise your serotonin level. Unfortunately, it will also have a devastating boomerang effect and cause all sorts of negative feelings. Having low serotonin can cause these feelings:

Feeling depressed Acting impulsively Feeling blocked and scattered Having a short attention span Feeling suicidal Craving sweets and simple carbohydrates

Beta-Endorphin

The brain chemical beta-endorphin acts likes a powerful natural painkiller.

You may have heard of the "runner's high" (also called an "endorphin rush"), when the body responds to the pain of long-distance running by flooding the brain with beta-endorphin. Beta-endorphin produces a sense of well-being, reduces pain, eases emotional distress, increases self-esteem, and even creates a sense of euphoria.

Sugar-sensitive people have a naturally low level of beta-endorphin.

Their biochemical response to foods (like alcohol) that cause the release of beta-endorphin can be significantly greater than that of people with ordinary body chemistry.

Whether you are sugar-sensitive or not, sugar, like alcohol, causes a release of beta-endorphin. It can make you feel high and can reduce both physical and emotional pain. People with normal body chemistry can enjoy this without ill effects. But sugar-sensitive people respond to the beta-endorphin effect of sugar in a bigger way because their brain cells have far more beta-endorphin receptors than ordinary people.

For us sugar-sensitive people, eating sugar can make us feel and act as if we've been drinking wine!

Sugar can make us funny, relaxed, silly, inappropriate, talkative, and temporarily self-confident. You feel great -- and you long to feel this way again and again.

You have probably noticed this drug-like effect after eating sugar. Unfortunately, people don't take this response seriously. They make jokes about being a "chocoholic", but rarely speak of the real pain caused by the continuing and compulsive use of sweets, the end result of which is a drop in beta-endorphin. Having low beta-endorphin means:

Feeling tearful, isolated, depressed, and hopeless Having low self-esteem Feeling "done to" by others Having a low tolerance for pain (emotional and physical) Feeling emotionally overwhelmed Craving sweets So how does raising our beta-endorphin level with sugar result in low beta-endorphin?

The same way raising our blood sugar level or serotonin level ends up having just the opposite effect. First of all, due to a mechanism in the beta-endorphin system called "priming", ingesting a small amount of a drug (like sugar) can make a person want more. Priming is the reason it is so hard for a sugar-sensitive person to "just say no" after having a taste of something sweet. Second, the more sugar we eat, the more beta-endorphin is released, causing the brain to compensate for this "excess" by shutting down some of its beta-endorphin receptors. The result? Low beta-endorphin -- and all the pain that goes with it.

[Hildy]

Alcoholism, or any substance addiction is a physical dependence coupled with a mental obsession. I don't know how diet alone would help. But if it does for some, hats off to 'em!