IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY AND I’M GLAD TO BE ALIVE!

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Although I don’t understand it all yet, here is the story of why I dropped out of sight for the last six months. It looks like I am going to be OK, but for a while I thought I was destined to be the healthiest person in the cemetery. I always knew there was a serious genetic problem in my family–I called it The Family Curse. I now know its name. It is MTHFR. According to the Genetics Home Reference Library, MTHFR is both the…

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The 3rd Annual Low-Carb Cruise

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“The Fascination” at the Carnival Cruise Terminal in Jacksonville Florida. Debbie Cusick took this “arty” picture of me reading the graffiti at Fort Charlotte in Nassau. Here is the rest of our tour group with our guide (that’s me in the hat, Mary-Clare Holst in the white shirt, and Kerrie Lettiero with the visor. Debbie took the picture.) Our 3rd (my second) annual low-carb cruise was even more incredible than the last one. I’m a bit tardy getting a blog up about it, so I…

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WHO NEEDS LOW CARB? (PARTIAL LIST)

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– Those who have diabetes who want to reduce or eliminate their dependence on medication. -Those who have a family history of diabetes or have been told they are pre-diabetic or insulin resistant. Anyone with an “apple” body shape is probably insulin resistant. -Those who suffer from hypoglycemia. -The overweight and obese. This is by far the largest group who could benefit from carb restriction; they now make up over two-thirds of the population of the United States (data from the National Health and Nutrition…

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A NEW BIRTHDAY! (WE NEED A HERO, PART 6)

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I am very tardy in following up on my last post about my visit to fribromyalgia specialist, Dr. St Amand. The first time I saw him, I had been following his protocol for about 6 months without having any noticeable change in symptoms, unlike most people, who feel dramatically worse at first and then begin to feel better. I was very discouraged to learn that my efforts had indeed been ineffective. He suggested that I switch to prescription guaifenesin rather than the over the counter…

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PROGRESS REPORT and WE NEED A HERO, Part 5

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I’m up to recipe number 78 with 12 more close to completion for the new book; that’s more than half way home for the food and menu part. (Yeah!) I can’t share any of it until after the book comes out, except with my recipe testers, who agreed to keep everything confidential. (All very cloak-and-dagger-ish, isn’t it?) My fantastic team of volunteer testers are doing a great job, by the way. I wouldn’t be progressing this quickly without their feedback. I was afraid that I…

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SUMMER ADVENTURES: Southern California and Dr. St. Amand

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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,…

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WE NEED A HERO, Part 3

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There are many theories about what causes fibromyalgia /chronic fatigue. There is a doctor who thinks it is caused by a deficiency of vitamin D and one who thinks it is caused by too much vitamin D. There is one who thinks it is caused by a thyroid deficiency and some who think it is triggered by infection. Some suggest that it is just an over-sensitivity to pain signals in the brain. Others blame flouride, inflammatory foods or toxins in the environment or stress hormones…

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WE NEED A HERO, Part 2

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I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia about ten years ago. In looking back, I realize that many traits that didn’t seem to be related were all part of one syndrome. When I was in high school, I would have to lie down to rest after walking home from school. I was the only one who went back to my room to brush my teeth after lunch in college, and yet I was the one who needed frequent dental work. Wool was intolerably scratchy, and the tags…

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WE NEED A HERO

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It’s official. Fibromyalgia is real. How do I know? Because I just saw an ad for a drug to treat it. Lyrica (pregabalin) is now allowed to claim that it may help patients with fibromyalgia (FMS). When The New York Times ran the story on January 14, 2008, the headline was: “Drug Approved. Is Disease Real?” In clinical trials Lyrica has been shown to reduce pain by about 2 points on a scale of 10, compared to 1 point for a placebo. It has significant…

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