FEED YOUR BODY RIGHT: SAVE NOW, SPLURGE LATER

Mary Adams longed for a way to enjoy the goodies at parties and holiday dinners without exceeding her 1,200-calorie-a-day limit. “I read that the average Thanksgiving dinner has more calories than I eat in an entire day,” says the 48-year-old Denver resident, who was restricting calories to slim down her 286-pound frame.

Friends suggested that she try snacking on something before special eating events, but Mary doubted that would work for her. She feared that she’d eat beforehand and then indulge anyway, doubling her potential for gaining, rather than losing, weight. So she came up with the idea of banking calories.

“I realized that if I ate only 300 calories during the day, I’d have 900 left for dinner. I could eat what I wanted and not go over my calorie goal,” she explains. “The trick was to find foods that would fill me up on the fewest calories.” So she started checking her calorie counter for filling but low-cal foods. Among her choices were light J bread, light cereal, tiny graham crackers, carrots, celery sprinkled *i with chili powder, sugar-free Jell-O, and lots of water. ?

Like someone squirreling away money from every paycheck to buy an expensive coat or a new stereo system”, Mary saves up calories so she can splurge on food at special events. “When my office “* planned a big holiday dinner, I saved 100 calories a day for 10 days,” she says. “I was able to go to the dinner, sample all the great foods, and not worry about overindulging!”

Since establishing her personal calorie account in 1998, Mary has dropped 112 pounds. And she plans on using calorie banking to get to her 135-pound goal. She’s banking on making it.

WINNING ACTION

Save, save, save, then splurge. While this tactic may not work for everyone, Mary found her own way to enjoy party foods without ruining her weight-loss efforts. As I say in my Ten Commandments of Weight Loss on page 1, slimming down doesn’t have to mean giving up on all of the fun. You just have to find a way to do both. Give Mary’s method a try to see if it works for you.

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NERVOUS SYSTEM PAIN

Among the most severe of all chronic pain syndromes is trigeminal neuralgia or tic douloureux. This condition, known in some alarmist literature as ‘suicide pain’, is an affliction of a sensory nerve in the face.

Even a puff of wind, or a slight brushing touch, can set off a bout of severe pain. The pain is classically described as being fleeting in nature, occurring like lightning strikes — each one being as agonising as the others.

Although its cause is as yet unknown, it has been treated in the past by neurosurgical procedures which include lifting the nerve off from the artery thought to be causing compression on the nerve.

More damaging procedures such as alcohol injections of the nerve and a collection of nerve cells which control it, have been used, sometimes effectively, but sometimes leaving one side of the face totally numb.

Treatments Medications include the anti-epileptic drugs Tegretol and Dilantin. More recently, another anti-epilepsy medication, Ri-votril, has been successfully used in pain clinics in Australia and throughout the world.

Antidepressant drugs such as Prothiaden, Anafranil and Tolvon have also been used to modify the pain experience and to control the understandable depression that is caused by this most devastating of pain problems.

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CULTURAL ASPECTS OF PAIN: LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP

Surgeons also sometimes play a game which is seemingly interminable: ‘If in doubt, cut it out’. Alternatively: ‘A chance to cut is a chance to cure’.But, there are also many surgeons who agree with those medical schools that teach that surgery is an admission of defeat and should only be seen as a last resort.

Before submitting to the knife, you should be certain the doctor has satisfactorily answered the following questions:

1. Why is the operation necessary?

2. What are the risks of complications, including death?

3. What are the risks without surgery? Are there alternative methods of treatment?

4. What are the chances that the surgery will achieve its aim? Surgery can never be undone. While a surgeon may cite a 75 per cent success rate, the other 25 per cent of failures sometimes develop long-standing problems that did not exist before!

The following poem is taken from The Pain Game by Dr C. Norman Shealy: There was a crooked man Who walked a crooked style He saw an orthopaedist Who sinisterly smiled. Ahah! I have the answer, Your problem is quite clear I diagnose a bulging disc We’ll remove it, have no fear. The surgery was ended The doctor got his fee And now the disc that was removed Is causing pain around the knee. So that crooked man who still had Pain and strife

Became another victim of a well-intended knife.

Information important for understanding

Closely allied with the ‘It’s all in your head!’ game is the implication, sometimes spoken quite frankly: ‘You’re too stupid to understand!’ Trading on this basis, doctors can excuse many of their own failures. They will fail to explain to a patient the risks of surgery or any other treatment, or the alternatives available.

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PHYSICAL EXAMINATION

Physical examination, and further questioning, usually leads to the impression that the complaint of pain is excessive compared with the physical findings and that emotional factors have significantly contributed to the pain — the presence of which medical treatment cannot offer a reasonable expectation of cure.

Common denominators are often lack of relief from medication and often depression, addiction and decreased ability to function normally as a result of over-medication. Frequently, there is also disability beyond that justified by the physical findings and the contribution of psychological and social factors for the reinforcement and perpetuation of pain behaviour is overlooked.

People often tend to over-value their pain. That is, the pain plays a central part in how they relate to themselves or others. In such cases, the pain controls the person rather than the reverse! Manipulation of others happens more often than most doctors would like to admit. Histories reveal that the patient has often succeeded in manoeuvring physicians into attempting ill-advised medical treatments or surgical procedures.

All this can be very tricky for the physician trying to make a diagnosis and decide the correct treatment. Often the presence of medical illness unrelated to pain is overlooked because of the patient’s restricted focus on the pain complaint. Most patients convey a sense of urgency, complain of distress and disability, and expect that the illness will be named and a definitive treatment started. Little pain management can be achieved until both patient and physician exchange the patient’s expectations, or desires for pain relief, for that of a mutual goal of rehabilitation.

After all, effective pain management involves an unwritten contract between patient and therapist.

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THE ESSENTIAL BACKGROUND — THE HISTORY OF PAIN

.fain exists in all age groups and is common to almost all humanity — affecting the psyche or mind as well as the soma or body.

It cuts across the boundaries of culture, heritage, socio-econom-ics and language. Pain has always been attended by controversy as it is symptomatic of many diseases and its problems involve many disciplines in medicine and philosophy. Its presence or absence has formed the basis for some philosophic systems, and has been the inspiration for much of the world’s literature.

Many penal codes are based on the notion of inflicting pain, both mental and physical on the transgressor. Even the word ‘pain’ has similar roots to the Greek word for penalty.

Pain is no ordinary sensory experience. It has several attributes which differentiate it from the sensations of touch, smell, taste, etc.

One is the emotional aspect of real or threatened pain; another is the subjective experience of pain, which makes it a unique experience different for each individual.

Pain is not always experienced as noxious, and in some aberrant behaviours it is sought for pleasure and recreation. Pain is a perceptual behaviourial state of the whole animal.

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CLASSICAL ALLERGIC DISEASES: ASTHMA WITHOUT ALLERGENS

Asthmatics who are constantly exposed to their allergen – as is the case with house-dust sensitivity – are likely to have bronchi that are highly ‘irritable’, because of the inflammation in the membranous linings. The late-phase reaction, described in the box below, plays a large part in producing this state of chronic sensitivity. Once it has developed, all sorts of irritating stimuli can then spark off an asthma attack. Common irritants include smoke (cigarettes, bonfires etc), factory fumes, infections, very cold air and sulphur dioxide.

Becoming emotional or afraid can have the same effect as these airborne irritants, as can strenuous exercise. It was the ability of the emotions to bring on an asthmatic attack that led to the idea of asthma being largely ‘psychosomatic’.

Eating large amounts of the food additive monosodium glutamate, can also provoke an asthma attack, according to Dr David Allen, a respiratory specialist from Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, Australia. He believes that MSG -common in Chinese cooking, packet soups and other convenience foods – has an effect on the central nervous system which triggers off the attack. Similar claims have been made for diets that are high in salt, although how salt in food might contribute to asthma is unknown.

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MAIDENHAIR TREE (GINKGO BILOBA) – GENERAL INFORMATION

Some people over the age of seventy have registered a notable improvement in health after only 4—6 weeks when they have taken a double dose of the tincture three times a day (the normal dose is 15-20 drops three times a day). Relief is even more certain when a low-protein diet, but one that is rich in vital substances, vitamins and minerals is also followed. Although scientists believe that ginkgo flavone compounds are responsible for this plant’s diverse effects, other yet undiscovered substances in the plant must also be given some credit for these benefits.

It is possible to normalise high blood pressure after just a few weeks of taking Ginkgo biloba, probably because the blood’s viscosity will be favourably affected. We do not know of any other plant remedy that is as beneficial for the brain, central nervous system and vascular system. Moreover, it is interesting to note that the tincture produces a welcome secondary effect, the stimulation of the kidneys and pancreas. Improved blood circulation and supply of oxygen ensure that the cells of the central nervous system are better nourished, hence more efficient. Furthermore, the circulation in the skin, therefore the functioning of the finest capillaries, will be promoted. When Hypericum is taken at the same time, ten drops on an empty stomach every morning before breakfast, this will influence the circulation even more. Anyone over the age of fifty would do well to take Ginkgo drops for a few months, since various body functions can thus be improved. For when there is better blood circulation, the entire body will benefit from a general cleansing process. The use of this remedy in daily alternation with Vinca minor has also given very good results.

Vascular constriction caused by nicotine can also be favourably influenced – but one has to stop smoking. Circulatory disturbances in the arms and legs, even diabetic vascular damage, will diminish.

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HOW A GOOD HERBAL REMEDY IS DEVELOPED – COMBINING REMEDIES

The purpose of combining remedies is to enhance the effect of one through the addition of another. If a calcium deficiency is to be treated, it will be necessary to make sure that there is not a deficiency of silica at the same time. If there is, the patient must take both minerals. Supposing he also suffers from night sweats and at the same time wants to get rid of a bad cough; for the first, sage (Salvia) would be needed and for the second, extract of pine buds or lance-leaf plantain (also known as ribwort, or Plantago lanceolata) would be the indicated remedy.

It will be clear, therefore, that in order to cure different illnesses, the doctor can choose a suitable combination of remedies, but he must be careful that the individual remedies are compatible. There are some that vitalise the body, while others have a relaxing effect. As a rule, a knowledge of pharmacology is required to be able to choose and combine remedies correctly. Still, even in former times, when physicians were not so well trained and informed as they are today, they hit upon remedies by accurate observation and careful analysis of their findings. They were successful in discovering effective combinations, with one remedy increasing the effect of another, so that the action of the combined ingredients was greatly improved. However, if the combined remedies do not complement one another, not being compatible, the total effect can be reduced rather than enhanced.

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THE SKIN – DETRIMENTAL INFLUENCES

When I visited Mesopotamia (between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers) I went to a small museum at the edge of the ruined city of ancient Babylon. There I saw vessels that had been used by women of those bygone times for the storage of oils and creams. According to ancient records, the women even used plants as a basis for the preparation of cosmetics and aromatic oils, as it is still the practice in those areas among Arab and Bedouin women. On another visit, this time to the Indians of the Amazon region, I became acquainted with a plant from which a fatty red dye is obtained. The natives use this extract to paint the body and face and it adheres to the skin for weeks, not even soap being strong enough to remove it.

The skin is, and should be, the expression of one’s good health, so if you want to help nature a little by caring for your skin, use nothing but biological cosmetics, especially those of natural plant origin, since they stimulate and support the skin’s natural functions. Other cosmetics are little more than paint, a veritable deception.

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NATURE DOCTOR – A HELPFUL ILLUSTRATION (VIRUS)

The virus, my virologist friend explained, could be seen as a villain who has been thrown out of the house itself but has stayed on the veranda. As soon as the circumstances in the house change – or the body’s overall condition deteriorates again – the villain is there ready to slip into the house to cause havoc once more. This illustration reminded me of something that once happened in our own house. A family of sables climbed from the trees into the attic, where they created an awful racket. What could I do but have some of the trees near the roof cut down, and close up every hole through which they could possibly enter. A few years later, however, a creeping plant grew up the wall unnoticed, giving the sables the chance to climb in and become a nuisance yet again. Once more we had to block everything up, but this time we got rid of them for good because we made sure there were no openings left anywhere.

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