My new book Beat Sugar Addiction Now! that I co-wrote with world renowed chronic fatigue expert Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum is on sale! In it you’ll find 4 distinct sugar “types.” Take the quizzes, find out which you are and kick sugar and lose weight! I myself am a recovering Ho-Ho Hunter. Which are you? Peace, Chrystle

Beat Sugar Addiction Now! The Cutting-Edge Program That Cures Your Type of Sugar Addiction and Puts You on the Road to Feeling Great - and Losing Weight!

NEW YORK, March 1, 2010— Sugar is as powerful an addiction as tobacco or alcohol—and one of the most difficult to break given its prevalence in the modern diet. The average American adult consumes 150 pounds of sugar each year! 

Now, in his new book Beat Sugar Addiction Now!, (pdf at: http://tinyurl.com/yavol6y) board certified internist and energy expert Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, reveals the four types of sugar addiction and their hidden causes. “Adrenal fatigue, candida overgrowth, hormonal deficiencies, and exhaustion, are the four major contributors to this addiction,” says Dr. Teitelbaum.

“Understanding your sugar addiction type, you can take steps to beat it and in the same stroke improve your overall health. Knowing the type of sugar addict you are also helps to solve many other chronic medical problems.”

Sugar addiction contributes to diabetes, cardiovascular disease and a plethora of other medical problems, and in day-to-day life it can just make you feel miserable. According to Dr. Teitelbaum, common complaints include: fatigue, getting irritable when hungry, having chronic nasal congestion and sinusitis, digestive problems (irritable bowel syndrome and spastic colon), weight gain with inability to lose weight even on a diet, and poor concentration and memory.

“By beating sugar addiction, you can get multiple monkeys off your back!” he explains. “Look for improvements in sleep, hormonal balance, stronger immunity and fewer infections, better nutrition, and vitality.”

Beating Sugar Addiction NOW! provides a step-by-step program for breaking the sugar addiction, managing withdrawal symptoms, and helping the body recover from its side effects. Simple sugar addiction quizzes presented throughout the book help to hone in on your type of sugar addiction and provides easy and effective steps to overcome it.

Under Our Skin

I’ve just been diagnosed with Lyme Disease and I wanted to encourage everyone out there who is affected to visit a very helpful forum at www.mdjunction.com. You can find lots of info about alternative approaches and what works best and find a Lyme Literate MD - LLMD at this website. Many mainstream doctors consider Lyme to be  ”cured” after a two week course of doxycycline but often this is not the case. Lingering symptoms of Lyme and various co-infections such as Babesia and Bartonella include low grade fever, fatigue, flu-like feelings, aches and pains and headaches and much more and can be very debiliating.  An eye opening film is entitled Under Our Skin. www.underourskin.com. If you or someone you love has Lyme it’s a MUST SEE! Peace, Chrystle

I’m happy to report that Jacob Teitelbaum, MD (author of From Fatigued to Fantastic!) and I have finished the writer’s draft of Beat Sugar Addiction Now! for Fairwinds Press. If you have a sweet tooth that is out of control then this book is for you! It’s chock full of natural remedies, prescription treatments and diet recommendations that can help you kick this toxic habit. I’ll be writing more about this as the publishing date gets closer. For today, if you are trying to cut back on your sugar consumption I suggest you try Stevia. It’s sweeter than sugar but has zero effect on blood glucose. You can use it in packet form and/or find it in products like Vitamin water.

I’m proud to say that my new book The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Natural Remedies is on sale! This was a labor of love. I talked to so many great alternative and holistic practitioners across the U.S. who helped me pack it with the latest information on over 50 conditions. You can find out more about it if you click on the “Book” icon above. I hope you enjoy it! :> Chrystle

I’ve had my share of embarrassing moments, from dropping a huge tray of dishes in a packed dining room when I was waitressing in college to negotiating for a new car without realizing the whole time I had a huge piece of lettuce stuck to my front tooth! We’ve all experienced small faux-pas and huge whoppers. No one is immune to the red, hot shame of embarrassment. “Every person on the planet has had an embarrassing moment,” says David Allyn, PhD, author of I Can’t Believe I Just Did That. How Embarrassment Can Wreak Havoc in Your Life and What You Can Do to Conquer It. “And we all have incidents we’re afraid of repeating.”  What most people don’t realize is that embarrassing moments also impact our health by causing stress and anxiety, says Dr. Allyn. Here are a few tips that can help you feel better and boost health too!     

Take yourself out of the spotlight. Even though you may be positive that you’ve made a fool of yourself, there’s a good chance others may not have noticed your blunder. “Most people are too busy worrying about what others think of them to focus on you,” says Dr. Allyn. “It’s not a reason to hide your faux pas, but it is a reason to stop imagining the worst.” 

Don’t let fear of another embarrassing moment consume you. Instead, imagine all the great things that might happen if you took action again. What doors might open up? What opportunities might present themselves? How might your relationships become that much more meaningful and special? ”When you focus on the future, you can overcome the fear of embarrassment in any situation and use your goals to triumph over your fears,” says Dr. Allyn.  

Migraines run in my family. I’ve had them since I was a student at Boston University. I’ve tried everything and recently found relief working with Christine Lay, M.D. at the Headache Institute in New York. Although she’s returned to Canada, her collegues are also outstanding. Since each of them suffers from migraines, they literally feel your pain! So you may want to check them out if you are in the New York area. Visit: www.wehealny.org/headache/index.html.

On another front, here’s some news I reported on in Remedy magazine. It’s a way that may help stop migraines before they start.  Researchers at Ohio State University Medical Center found that when a transcranial magnetic stimulator (TMS), was used to interrupt the aura phase, which typically features visual disturbances, it can help stop a migraine in its tracks.  Previously, it was thought that migraines were the result of vaso-constriction, then dilation. Researchers did this with the TMS, a portable device, the size of a hair dryer, which emits two painless, safe magnetic pulses each lasting about one millisecond. 39% of the patients that received the pulses had no or mild headache two hours afterwards as compared to 22% in the placebo group. FDA approval is forthcoming. This is great news for the 1 in 8 Americans who suffer from chronic migraines!.

If you’re like me, you suffer from allergies and sinus congestion at various times throughout the year. That’s why I thought it was important to report on this new information from the Harvard Men’s Health Watch about ways to keep your sinuses clear. Included in the tips are many natural remedies, like using saline spray. You may also want to try using a Neti pot. 

7 tips for keeping your sinuses clear, from Harvard Men’s Health Watch

BOSTON-More than 20 million Americans will have at least one bout of sinusitis this year. Blockage of the channels that drain the sinuses is the main cause of this painful condition. Keeping these channels open can reduce your chances of developing the problem, while restoring drainage if they become blocked is the key to treatment, reports the December 2008 issue of Harvard Men’s Health Watch.

Many people with sinusitis recover quickly and completely without taking antibiotics simply by promoting drainage. Harvard Men’s Health Watch offers the following tips:

*       Drink lots of water. Good hydration helps keep mucus loose.

*       Inhale steam three or four times a day. Boil water in a pan. Turn off the heat and bend over the pan with a towel over your head to catch the steam. Breathe deeply through your nose.

*       Sleep with your head elevated.

*       Use decongestants. Tablets containing pseudoephedrine or phenylephrine are helpful, but beware that they may raise your blood pressure, speed your pulse, or make you jittery.

*       Avoid antihistamines. They’re fine for allergies or a watery nose, but they make mucus thick and hard to drain-the last thing you want for sinusitis.

*       Use a saline (salt water) nasal spray to loosen mucus and rinse your sinuses.

*       A warm compress on your face may soothe sinus pain. Over-the-counter pain relievers such as aspirin or acetaminophen will help reduce pain and fever.

Antibiotics aren’t the first step in treatment. Good as they are, they have potential disadvantages. They can trigger allergic reactions or cause side effects. Most people recover fully without antibiotics, but if your sinusitis is very severe or does not improve with two to four days of drainage therapy, ask your doctor if you should take an antibiotic.

I’ve mentioned that I like walking in the woods, well, I like walking on the beach as well. There are plenty of beaches where I live, both on the Bay and the Sound. When I do walk on the beach, I breathe deeply so I can benefit from what are known as negative ions because they help to reduce stress. No one truly knows why negative ions influence the way we feel but Alan Logan, N.D. and the author of The Brain Diet explains it this way: “Negative ions have been shown to lower oxidative stres and influence inflammatory chemicals that might alter mood.” You’ll find negative ions at the beach, in forests and especially near waterfalls. “When water collides upon water there is a ’splitting’ and this generates negative ions,” says Dr. Logan. “That’s why when waves crash you get a far higher content in the air.”

You can get this soothing effect from desk top fountains and from negative ion boxes, which you can put in your home or office.

Feeling blue? Some of us notice that our mood becomes, well, less than sunny, when the days become shorter and the light wanes. This is known as S.A.D. or Seasonal Affective Disorder and up to 10% of folks in the U.S. have it. But you can take your cue from these smiling gingerbread folks and turn that frown upside down! Try these tips to feel better fast:   

1. Get a sunshine alarm clock. It’s called a dawn simulator and the light that comes from it will wake you up naturally. This light stimulates the pineal gland to produce serotonin, a kind of “natural Prozac” which can help us feel happier. Serotonin also affects  blood pressure, immunity, pain and daily body rhythms. Research shows that dawn simulators also help boost energy, productivity and quality of sleep. You may also want to use a bright light box for 2 to 3 hours in the morning as well.  You can find more information at www.lighttherapyproducts.com.

2. Hit your yoga mat. Researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine found that when volunteers practiced yoga it increased their GABA (gamma-aminobutyric) levels which can help ease depression and anxiety.

3. Go fish for essential nutrients. Eating fish and seafood can help banish the blues because they are full of omega-3 essential fatty acids. Choose cold water fish like cod, salmon and mackerel for the best benefit. Or you can take fish oil supplements, particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), to improve the effectiveness of antidepressant medications. Nordic Naturals is a good brand. Alan Logan, N.D., author of The Brain Diet and an invited faculty member of Harvard Medical School’s Mind-Body Institute suggests taking omega 3, folic acid, B₁₂, selenium, and zinc together.