I took estrogen for twenty years, but had to stop after I developed a serious blood clot. After that, the trouble started. I broke bones a few times from doing nothing in particular. I kept cracking vertebrae, and was in excruciating pain. I was crippled from it. I could hardly walk. I know I would have been in a wheelchair by now if I hadn’t found a way to make improvement.

A bone scan confirmed I had severe osteoporosis, and my doctor recommended Fosamax. A year later, a scan showed I had 5 percent improvement. The doctor was pleased, but I thought the process was very slow. So the doctor started me on Miacalcin nasal spray, too, and in another year I gained another 6 percent. The improvements were in my hack and hip.

I take 1,000-1,200 mg of calcium a day, and I try to get as much calcium in my diet as I can. I haven’t had any more breaks since I started on the prescriptions, and though I still need my pain medication when I go out, I don’t use it as constantly as I used to.

I am so much better than I was three years ago. I feel better. Going up and down stairs is still hard because I have arthritis in my hip—j am over 80, you know—but I get around and do things around the house just fine. I’m going out and having a bit of fun, rather than just sitting in my house.

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There is no denying the relationship between calorie intake and portion size. No matter what the number of calories in any one item, the more you eat, the more calories you consume. The Less Is More plan

1. cuts down the size of the portions and therefore eliminates a good number of the calories consumed;

2. cuts out empty calories.

What you’re really doing is an intricate juggling act: decreasing the portion size of high-calorie foods and increasing the portion size of low-calorie foods so that you can reduce total caloric consumption by about 1,000 per day without changing the basic structure of your meal.

• You will often be serving less food on the plate.

• You will be serving more of some foods than others.

• You will not be cutting out certain foods just because they are “fattening”; instead, you will serve them less frequently and in smaller-sized portions.

I am convinced that one of the reasons men eat so much is that they are served more than anyone else in the family. Or they get used to eating a lot when they are active, growing, teenage boys and neglect to taper down when their bodies mature. Whatever the reason, if your man is consuming more than 2,000 calories a day, he can cut back to that number without suffering—physically or emotionally. (Unless he is a marathon runner.)

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It is useful to combine an analgesic with a medication which prevents nausea. Although there are many drugs acting against nausea, only one, metaclopramide (Maxolon), also has a specific action on the motility of the stomach, making it empty faster so that tablets or medicine will be passed into the small intestine and absorbed more quickly. This has been shown by measuring the levels of aspirin in the blood stream, which are twice as high after metaclopramide is given during the acute migraine attack. It should be given 15 minutes before other drugs to help absorption. Prochlorperazine (Stemetil) has a more powerful anti-nausea effect but does not affect the motility of the stomach. These anti-emetics are more effective when given by injection but this is not practicable in the home. Unfortunately the tablets may not be absorbed and metaclopramide is not available in suppository form. Some people prefer taking these medicines in the form of a syrup.

Perhaps the most effective popular remedy for migraine is a combination of an anti-emetic, paracetamol, caffeine and codeine known as Migraleve. This can be useful in the mild attack but is not quickly absorbed with more severe attacks.

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Perhaps the greatest nutritional difference between mothers over thirty and those under is the former’s need for more calcium. Pregnant or not, the older a woman gets, the greater her need for calcium.

Calcium pills are not advised as a replacement for milk, unless prescribed by a doctor, but if you dislike drinking milk, you can always disguise it in soups, puddings, quiches, and a variety of other dishes. For example:

Dandi cottage scrambles

(1 serving = approx. 82 mg. calcium)

2 eggs                                       pepper to taste

1   scant tbsp. butter or            4 oz cottage cheese

margarine

Beat eggs. Melt butter in frying pan and pour in eggs. As they begin to set, add cottage cheese and then scramble in pan until done. Add salt and pepper. (One serving)

Banana beauty

(1 serving = approx. 296 mg. calcium)

2 sliced ripe bananas                   3/4 pint reconstituted nonfat

1/4 cup orange juice                       dry milk (but substitute 1 cup

dash of vanilla                             ice cubes for each cup water)

Put ingredients into blender – adding ice slowly – and blend until thick and creamy. (Two to three servings)

Honey heaven

(1 serving = approx. 296 mg. calcium)

1 cup skim (or low fat) milk 3/4  tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. honey                               cinnamon

Warm milk, honey, and vanilla, then pour quickly in blender to froth. Serve and sprinkle with cinnamon. (One serving)

Using tahini – which is made from sesame seeds – mixed with yoghurt makes a fine dip for raw calcium-rich and low-calorie vegetables, such as broccoli.

Also be sure to include plenty of foods rich in vitamin B6 and folic acid in your diet, particularly whole-grains and vegetables.

Supplement Suggestions

•   High-potency multiple vitamin and mineral, a.m. and p.m.

•   Multiple chelated minerals (2 tablets should equal 1,000 mg. calcium and 500 mg. magnesium), a.m. and p.m.

•   Folic acid, 800 mcg., 3 times daily

Caution: The above regimen is neither prescriptive nor intended as medical advice. Before starting any regimen, check with your doctor.

*10/137/5*

Let’s review each basic concept of weight loss to make sure you are tracking with me.

Weight-Loss Principle #1. Include a good source of protein with every meal.

When planning your meal, start with the protein. Some excellent sources of protein are fish, chicken, turkey, moderate amounts of beef, tofu, and eggs. Contrary to what you may have read in other sources, each one of these foods provides a well-balanced source of amino acids. You will want to limit beef because it can be pro-inflammatory, but you may enjoy it every two weeks or so. Always try to buy organic.

Weight-Loss Principle #2. Eat a large portion of greens with both lunch and dinner.

This can take the form of a salad (see the Basic Salad recipe in Appendix A) or lightly steamed greens like beans or broccoli. You may also include other vegetables, such as cauliflower, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, jicama, and others. There are over one hundred varieties of vegetables on the American market. Learn to enjoy them. Season with lots of herbs, garlic, or a little butter. Be creative!

Weight-Loss Principle #3. Strictly limit foods that are high in carbohydrates.

Limit foods like rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, and most of all, grains. Especially be careful to avoid all bread and pasta products. I know of no surer way to start dropping excess weight than by eliminating all wheat products from your diet!

Refer back to the Glycemic Index in chapter 6 and avoid foods that are high on the glycemic index. With every meal, include a protein portion along with beneficial fats to further slow the release of sugars into the bloodstream.

Weight-Loss Principle #4. Exercise moderately every day.

Check with your physician before embarking on an exercise program, especially if you are more than twenty-five pounds overweight or you have a physical condition that must be monitored by a professional. Even if your condition is compromised by obesity or another health challenge, your doctor can put together a program that will be right for you.

Don’t take lightly my injunction to exercise. If you are going to achieve weight control and maintain your overall health, you must get off the couch and get moving! Your body was meant to move, not to sit. Every part of your body will work better if you are involved in regular, sustained exercise.

Exercise helps relieve symptoms of asthma, improves your mood, and benefits your cardiovascular system.

Exercise lifts depression, reduces the risk of colon cancer, and helps normalize insulin levels.

Exercise is good for your back and your bones and helps reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

Exercise increases the production of endorphins and reduces chronic pain.

Exercise makes you think more clearly.

Exercise increases your metabolic rate by stimulating the activity of your thyroid gland.

Exercise reduces stress, which reduces toxic levels of cortisone and other stress hormones.

Exercise builds muscles, which makes your body burn calories more efficiently and reduces the risk of obesity.

Exercise helps control diabetes and menstrual cycles.

Name one part of the body and I’ll name at least one benefit that body part will receive from exercise! One physician felt so strongly about exercise that he titled one of the chapters in his book “If You Can’t Walk, Crawl.”

We all know that exercise burns calories. Professional dieters know exactly how many calories each type of exercise will burn and how long it takes! But beyond its calorie-burning capacity, exercise helps build lean muscle tissue—the ally of the chronically obese.

Skeletal muscle makes up about 45 percent of the total body mass and is metabolically active, depending on the amount of physical activity engaged in. Energy production, therefore, is enhanced by increasing the activity and size of the muscle mass of the body, particularly the cardiac and skeletal muscles. Put simply, the more muscle you have, the more energy you burn, and the easier it is to trim your figure.

If you want to balance your energy requirements, you want to build more muscle in relation to fat. And this is the primary reason the chronically overweight person needs to exercise. Exercise increases the metabolic rate of the entire body.

I am probably the best person to discuss exercise because I loathe it. I don’t like walking (it’s boring), riding bikes (it’s dangerous), running (it’s painful), swimming (I don’t know how), or aerobics (all of the above). I’ve never enjoyed any activity more strenuous than strolling through my flower garden or pecking away at my computer.

But when I started complaining about recurring back problems, weight gain, hormonal challenges, and numerous other “age-related” conditions, my naturopathic doctor gently started nagging me: “Started your exercise program yet? Your back will stop hurting when you start exercising. Hmmm, not exercising yet, are you?” Finally, I listened to him, got up off the chair, put an exercise video into the video machine, and started moving around a little.

“To my enjoyment, Carol has introduced me to a whole new way of eating that satisfies my hunger and meets my nutritional needs, with even a few goodies thrown in.”

СANDACE

I’m not going to tell you my workout time is my favorite part of the clay (I’m a truthful woman). But I will say that my back doesn’t hurt anymore. I’m more flexible, I can walk up a flight of stairs without suffering cardiac arrest, and my hormones have settled down into a comfortable pattern. I’m not as stressed, and I get some of my most creative ideas on the treadmill. I’m losing that extra five pounds of fat, too.

While I don’t particularly like to exercise, I love the way my body feels when I do it. And that is enough motivation for even this middle-aged, sedentary woman!

Weight-Loss Principle #5 Drink water!

What is and what is not water? Water is water (with a little lemon or lime juice for flavor, if desired). Water is caffeine-free herbal teas. Water is not coffee, soft drinks, or fruit juice. Water is not soup or any other beverage. Water is water. Period.

Your body is over 65 percent water. Water is just as essential to the body as food and is used for extremely critical body functions. For example, every enzymatic reaction that occurs in the body requires water. Without it, life ceases. Maintaining that 65 percent water content is so important that even if your body drops just 1 percent fluid level, dehydration sets in, and if the body becomes just 5 percent dehydrated, serious health consequences follow. You must drink water! By the time you feel thirsty, you’re already 1 percent dehydrated.

You need to drink eight to ten eight-ounce glasses of water each day just to hydrate the tissues and eliminate toxic waste. Most people drink far less than that amount. It is especially critical to increase water intake during weight loss, because as the body drops its load of fat, a certain amount of toxins are released into the bloodstream and sent to the liver and kidneys. You’ve got to give these organs enough water to move the waste out of the body.

*58\319\2*

It is a well-known fact that the air-bath tends to soothe the nerves and to relax the whole system, so that most people go to sleep quickly after it. Many skin sufferers who go to bed without airing their skins are asking for trouble, and they generally wake up during the night with the irritation. In a great many cases this can be avoided by the proper use of the air-bath, and this is a much better way than using all kinds of lotions and pain-killing agents. As we have already seen, there is a very close relationship between the nerves and the skin, and anything that will soothe the nervous system will allay the irritation in the skin.

If the skin irritation is localized it may be very useful to apply a cold compress before sleeping, because this will relieve the congestion and enable the patient to get off to sleep. Whenever the skin is hot and irritable the cold compress should be used. It can do no harm, and there is no other measure that will give so much relief to the hot, irritable skin.

One should remember that one spends one-third of one’s life in bed and so it is worth while thinking about it from the standpoint of health and comfort. The bed should be fairly firm, so that it holds the body without giving way too much. A sagging bed may cramp the muscles and the spine. For hygienic reasons no feathers should be used in the pillows or in any of the other parts. The covering clothes should be as light as possible, so that they give warmth without weight. It is wise for the skin sufferer to try to sleep with too little rather than too much covering, because overheating the skin is very disturbing to the sleep.

The covering of the body should be of cotton or silk material; certainly not wool.   Some people like to sleep without any covering to the body, and provided that the bed is well-aired every day there is much to be said for this habit. On the other hand, if the skin is actively throwing off the waste products of the system it is a good thing to wear pyjamas which can be changed and washed more easily than the sheets.

Taking the air-bath before retiring will help to relax the body and mind in readiness for sleep, but in any case a few minutes should be spent in “letting go” the limbs and the mind. Taking one’s business and other worries to bed is a great mistake, and if the mind is active it is a good plan to think of pleasant things. Try to remember pleasant holidays that have been spent under peaceful surroundings. Often in this relaxing, contemplative mood the mind will shut off its energy and the individual will be at sleep.

It is important to bear in mind that if one can go to sleep thinking of pleasant things one is far more likely to sleep quietly and to waken more refreshed and in a better frame of mind. The optimistic outlook is essential for the skin sufferer, and the best test for it is a good night’s sleep with dreams that do not cause any anxiety. When going to sleep there is no harm in changing the position of the body so as to relax all the muscles in turn. First lie on the back, then turn over on to the abdomen, then turn on the left side and finally turn on to the right side and then go to sleep.

A final hint: do not try to go to sleep. Sleep is a purely involuntary act, and no one can will it. It is something that is controlled by the body, and whilst we can rest by an act of will we cannot do the same with sleep. It is important, therefore, not to get the idea too much into the conscious mind. Think of relaxing and resting, and sleep, Nature’s soft nurse, will “steep your senses in forgetfulness.”

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Fortunately the female, unlike the male, does not have to produce an erection for sexual intercourse. However, any lack of hormones, particularly testosterone, lessens her sexual desire and interferes with her enjoyment of sex. It is strange but true that the male sex hormone is responsible for arousal in the female, and the female sex hormones in the male. The female sex hormones, oestrogen and progesterone, are responsible for a woman’s feminity and the normal changes in her sexual apparatus during menstruation, sex and pregnancy. Similarly, testosterone in the male is responsible for his manliness and for the development of his sexual organs including the penis. The hormones keep their respective sexual machinery in trim to respond to a stimulus from the arousal centre. Hence both sexes need male and female hormones for effective sexual responsiveness. The same three reflex mechanisms as in men, Arousal (AM), Copulatory (CM), and Regulating Mechanism (RM), are involved in female sexual behaviour.

*99\262\8*

According to the leading biological cancer specialists in Europe, Zabel, Issels, Kollath, Meyer, Lampert, Kuhl and Warburg there is, indeed, such a thing as an anti-cancer diet-a diet that can help prevent cancer, as well as help the body to cure it.

Dr. Issels advises the following anti-cancer diet to help the body prevent cancer, or to assist the body’s healing mechanism, when cancer has already developed:

1. Diet must consist exclusively of organically grown foods, which are free from carcinogenic chemicals, such as toxic additives, insecticide residues, preservatives and other man-made chemicals.

2. Most foods must be eaten in their natural, raw state, especially fresh fruits and raw vegetable salad.

3. Nuts should form a part of the daily diet. The best nuts are almonds and walnuts.

4. The diet should include generous amounts of fermented (lactic acid) foods, such as naturally fermented grains and fermented juices. According to Dr. Johannes Kuhl, the originator of the lactic acid fermentation diet for cancer, 50 to 75 per cent of the daily diet should be made up of lactic acid fermented foods.

5. The diet should include moderate amount of easily-digested proteins. These should comprise mostly vegetable origin, foods, such as green leafy vegetables, potatoes, sprouted seeds and grains, nuts, and raw, unheated, home-made cottage cheese from high quality unpasterised milk.

6. All other animal proteins like meat, fowl, eggs or fish should be completely eliminated from the diet.

7. Milk and milk products should be taken mostly in fermented and soured forms. The best forms of soured milks are acidophilus milk, natural buttermilk and home-made soured milk, preferably made from goat’s milk. Goat’s milk is better than cow’s milk. Raw goat’s milk of high quality contains anti-cancer and anti-arthritis factors.

8. Avoid saturated and cholesterol-rich animal fats, including butter. These should be replaced with a moderate amount of genuine, cold-pressed vegetable oils, especially sunflower seed oil, flaxseed oil, soya bean oil and safflower oil. Oils should never be heated.

9. Eliminate from the diet, all processed and denatured foods, especially all refined carbohydrates, such as white flour and white sugar, and all foods made from

them.

At least three-fourth of the food consumed should consist of all kinds of fruits, mostly fresh; freshly prepared juices from fruits such as orange, grapefruit, grapes, apple and pineapple; fruit salads; mashed bananas, raw grated apples, and apple sauce; raw or freshly-prepared steamed or lightly-cooked vegetables such as carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, tomato, onion and baked potatoes; and whole grain cereals and milk and milk products like curd, butter milk and cottage cheese.

The treatment of cancer thus consists of a complete change in diet, besides total elimination of all environmental sources of carcinogens. As a first step, the patient should cleanse the system by thoroughly relieving constipation and making all the organs of elimination active. Warm-water enema should be used daily to cleanse the bowels.

*28/355/5*

Diabetes self-management education (DSME) is critical to successful re for all people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. National standards for DSME are regularly updated by the American Diabetes Association d are reviewed and approved by key organizations with involvement diabetes care.

The 10 national standards for DSME are comprehensive and fully de-ibed in the Clinical Practice Recommendations of the American Diabetes Association. The ADA has a recognition program for hospitals, nics, and other health care sites that develop programs in accord with ;se guidelines. Reimbursement for DSME from Medicare is linked to  ADA recognition. The 10 standards can be summarized as follows: . Documentation of organizational structure, mission and goals, and recognition of quality DSME as an integral component of diabetes

• Definition of target population, its educational needs, and necessary resources.

•Oversight by a representative advisory body, including planning, ongoing review of outcomes, and consideration of community concerns.

• Designation of a qualified coordinator.

• Interaction of the patient with diabetes with a multifaceted education instructional team, which should include at least a registered dietician and a registered nurse who are certified diabetes educators (or eligible to become a CDE).

•Regular continuing education for the instructors.

• A written curriculum, with criteria for successful learning outcomes.

• Individualized assessment, development of an educational plan, and reassessment of participants.

• Documentation of step 8 in a confidential education record. Development of a continuous quality improvement process. care.

*35\357\8*

Chondromalacia, one of the most common causes of knee pain in younger people, can be caused by a traumatic injury to the patella, such as a severe blow, but can sometimes occur for no apparent reason. Chondromalacia also appears to be part of the normal aging process. In fact, in older people, the wearing away of articular cartilage is called osteoarthritis. However—and this is what’s confusing for so many patients— there is no evidence that chondromalacia in younger people will lead to arthritis down the road. We used to assume that chondromalacia in the young would automatically develop into arthritis. However, careful studies have shown that there is no clear-cut progression. In fact, we now believe that although the end result is the same, chondromalacia and arthritis may be very different problems caused by different circumstances. In addition, there is no direct correlation between patellar pain and destruction caused by chondromalacia. Sometimes a person with mild symptoms can actually have more destruction than someone who is in constant pain.

Chondromalacia is rated according to the severity of the condition on a scale of 0 to grade 4, with 0 considered healthy, smooth cartilage. In grade 1 chondromalacia, there is some blistering or disturbance on the surface of the articular cartilage; grade 2 chondromalacia, the surface is scratched or fissured; grade 3 chondromalacia, the Assuring is deeper or down to the bone; grade 4 chondromalacia, the surface is worn away down to the bone and the bone is also worn out.

The pain caused by chondromalacia is somewhat mysterious, because there are no nerve endings in the articular cartilage. However, it is believed that when the articular cartilage is damaged to the point that it is no longer an efficient shock absorber, the force exerted through the bones, which are rich in nerve endings, is all the greater. We perceive the extra force as pain.

Chondromalacia is usually diagnosed by symptoms. An X ray will not show chondromalacia. An arthroscope will conclusively show the presence of chondromalacia and the stage of the disease. However, if your doctor suspects that chondromalacia is the problem, he will probably prescribe a good strengthening program since there is little that can be done surgically to improve the situation. In some cases, the surgeon may wash out the area, that is, smooth the surface of the articular cartilage (on the back of the patella) and remove any debris that may be causing the joint to “catch.” Patients are also usually advised to refrain from activities that may aggravate the pain.

*29\185\2*