Nutritional Therapy may be able to help:

Allergies
Anxiety
Bowel problems
Carbohydrate addiction
Depression
Digestion problems
Eating disorders
Foggy brain
Food addictions
Food cravings
Headaches
Hyperactivity-ADHD
Losing weight
Managing diabetes
Menopause
Migraines
Mood swings
PMS
SAD (Winter Blues)
Skin problems
Stress
Sugar Addiction
Tiredness

And much more - the food we eat, has an incredible effect on the way that we feel.

Sugar causes chronic disease research shows

International research appears to confirm that high consumption of added sugars – such as white table sugar and fizzy drinks – contributes significantly to the incidence of dental caries and obesity. >>>

Atkins Diet Revolution, by Dr Kathleen DesMaisons

Robert Atkins has been a lone and persistent voice about the negative effects of insulin for more than twenty years. Many of us tried the Atkins diet back in the Seventies when his book Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution first appeared. Atkins says that hyperinsulin anemia is the prime culprit in our being fat. High levels of insulin, he says, contribute not only to obesity, but also to high cholesterol, high triglycerides and diabetes. Atkins' solution is to shift to a low-carbohydrate, high-protein and high-fat diet.

He urges people to get themselves into a ketogenic state-one in which the body is burning its own stored fat as energy. He encourages people to shift from the use of carbohydrate fuel to the use of fat fuel. When this happens, the body throws off ketones. You can test your level of ketones (which Atkins claims is a measure of fat burning) with a dipstick easily obtained at the local pharmacy. Or you can learn to recognize the telltale acetone breath of ketosis and know you are on the right track.

Atkins' plan is very appealing. You can have steak, bacon, cheese, eggs, butter and cream. Staying away from desserts doesn't seem so bad in the face of the comfort of fat. And, most important to many of us, the Atkins plan promises dramatic results quickly. You lose weight. You lose weight fast. And you seem to feel terrific.

So what's the problem? Atkins is right on the money about insulin. High levels of insulin do affect your health. Insulin resistance is a significant variable in your weight loss equation. But ketosis is not the way to get there. Yes, you want your body to burn fat, but you want it to do that in a healthy way. Ketosis signifies that something is off balance. It is not a natural and healthy state to be in. In addition, higher fat levels contribute to insulin resistance, the very thing you are trying to heal.

The Atkins plan, done well, also creates a huge problem in your serotonin and beta-endorphin systems. If you follow Atkins to the letter, you will minimize your insulin production, which is his goal. But to make serotonin, your body requires insulin to move tryptophan (an amino acid from the protein you eat) from your bloodstream into your brain. If you don't have a carbohydrate-only insulin response to help tryptophan cross the blood-brain barrier, your serotonin level will drop. Your ability to “just say no” will drop dramatically. Your depression will return with a vengeance.

Six or eight weeks in, you will be one cranky puppy. And then you will try just a little something sweet and your cravings will awaken. The sleeping giant of your sugar addiction, now roused, will take you to the bakery, the ice cream store or the bar. You will feel wonderful with the “just a little” something, truly, truly wonderful: mellow, relaxed, hopeful and peaceful. So “just a little” more seems fine. Then you will wake up two weeks later to discover that you are in full-blown relapse. And you can't stop. Your impulse control mechanism, which is dependent upon serotonin, is shot. This is called rebound and you are in big trouble.

Now it's even more difficult to find your way back to success with the Atkins plan. The higher levels of fat you have been eating on the plan have actually made you more insulin-resistant, have disturbed your serotonin levels and set you up for serious beta-endorphin priming. The Atkins promise fails you.

Kathleen DesMaisons

Find out more on Dr DesMaisons website at www.radiantrecovery.com