SUMMER ADVENTURES: Southern California and Dr. St. Amand

I’ve been traveling for the past three weeks. I will blog my way through my notes about the interesting things I encountered, food-related and otherwise. The first leg of our travels took us to Southern California for a family trip touring the theme parks and tourist attractions with my daughter, Glenda, and her family. My son, Nathan, who lives in L.A., took the week off to join us.

This picture is of my two kids and my three grandchildren at Legoland. Left to right: Glenda, Dee Dee, Nathan, Brandon, and Aidan.

I can report a slight improvement in park food in the last few years, although most of it is still a lot like the fried Twinkies and funnel cakes found at county fairs, which seem to be trying to outdo each other to create the most deadly concoctions. (The latest fair horror story I’ve heard described a hamburger on a split Crispy Crème donut, dipped in batter and deep-fried.) Most of the parks now have fresh fruit available if you are willing to search it out. The new Legoland in Carlsbad, 30 miles north of San Diego, was better than the rest, understandably, since they are specifically trying to attract the 3 to 11 age group. I didn’t always agree with what they considered healthful, but at least they are trying. An example of a misguided effort: apple fries. They used apples instead of potatoes, then rolled them in cinnamon and sugar and topped them with white fluff extruded from a machine. It’s fruit, so it must good for you, right? At Sea World, the children’s “healthy” plate was pasta with meatless tomato sauce, carrots and raisins.


The picture above shows a sign at Universal Studios advertising an “All You Can Eat Pass” that covered your snacks in the park. From my angle, it looked like it said, “Fat Pass,” which would have been quite appropriate.

I managed to be good through most of the trip by starting with a big omelet for breakfast to keep me from getting hungry and having a salad topped with cheese and steak, salmon, or chicken for lunch. My biggest splurge was at the Chicken Dinner Restaurant at Knott’s Berry Farm. They serve hand-made biscuits just like the ones my mother used to make. They were small, but I had two with butter and Marionberry jam. Confession is good for the soul.

WE NEED A HERO, PART 4
We flew in to LAX on our California trip, so I skipped a trip to the La Brea Tar Pits with the family for an appointment with Dr. St. Amand, the fibromyalgia specialist who has his office in Marina del Rey. My previous posts about the doctor (We Need a Hero, Parts 1, 2, and 3) are here: http://carbwars.blogspot.com/search?q=lyrica, here: http://carbwars.blogspot.com/search?q=part+2, and here: http://carbwars.blogspot.com/search?q=Part+3.

I had been taking guaifenesin as part of his protocol for about 5 months, gradually working my way up to larger and larger doses with no results. It didn’t take the doctor long to determine that it had indeed been ineffective. He suggested that I consult with his assistant, Claudia, to go over all the products and supplements that I had been using to see if I had overlooked a source for salicylates that could be blocking the guai. He also gave me a prescription for guaifenesin and said that they had been experiencing problems with the over-the-counter brand.

The bad news is that I have to start over from scratch, so back to 300 mgs twice a day to work my way up from there until it kicks in. I was up to 2400 mgs a day before, so the good news is that I may get results at a lower dose this time.

I went to the on-site pharmacy and stocked up on officially sanctioned products. It was encouraging to talk to another customer there who had successfully reversed her fibromyalgia with Dr. St. Amand’s protocol. She definitely considered him to be her hero. I waited until July 20, after I returned from my second trip, to start the guai again.

More to come: an Eclipse jet, very expensive pizza, a natural cook, glaciers, sea lions, otters, whales, and LOTS of bears.

(C) 2008, Judy Barnes Baker

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Judy Barnes Baker

The working title for my first book was, “You’ll Never Know What You Are Missing.” It summed up my goal: to make eating for health synonymous with eating for pleasure. Once you discover the secret, you will find that the very best food for weight management, longevity, the treatment and prevention of disease, and over-all health and happiness is also the most sumptuous, satisfying, and indulgent way of eating the world has to offer. You are invited to the feast. Enjoy!
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Andrew
14 years ago

Great to see this…

Thank you very much…
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Andrew
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