Seven Weeks to Sobriety - Nutrition

[neuro equipoise]

For those of you interested in better understanding how to control
cravings, optimize your nutrition to help make withdrawal and sobriety
easier on you, this web site link below will give you detailed
information on why alcoholics do best on a hypoglycemic nutrition plan.

It also explains why dry-drunk syndrome is actually a result of blood
sugar imbalance. The site lists specific supplements which are needed
to help heal and ease withdrawal, as well.

http://www.healthrecovery.com/alcoholism_hypoglycemia.html

[Kirk S]

Thanks...

Probably why I've been craving ice cream and candy lately.

Kirk S.

"neuro equipoise" <NeuroEquipoise@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:6289-401998F7-261@storefull-3278.bay.webtv.net...
> For those of you interested in better understanding how to control
> cravings, optimize your nutrition to help make withdrawal and sobriety
> easier on you, this web site link below will give you detailed
> information on why alcoholics do best on a hypoglycemic nutrition plan.
>
> It also explains why dry-drunk syndrome is actually a result of blood
> sugar imbalance. The site lists specific supplements which are needed
> to help heal and ease withdrawal, as well.
>
> http://www.healthrecovery.com/alcoholism_hypoglycemia.html
>

[Ron]

On Thu, 29 Jan 2004 18:36:23 -0500 (EST),
neuro equipoise <NeuroEquipoise@webtv.net> wrote:

> For those of you interested in better understanding how to control
> cravings, optimize your nutrition to help make withdrawal and sobriety
> easier on you, this web site link below will give you detailed
> information on why alcoholics do best on a hypoglycemic nutrition plan.
>
> It also explains why dry-drunk syndrome is actually a result of blood
> sugar imbalance. The site lists specific supplements which are needed
> to help heal and ease withdrawal, as well.
>
> http://www.healthrecovery.com/alcoholism_hypoglycemia.html

I don't know if I'm hypoglycemic. I'd like to find out. I do know that
I do (or did - I quit smoking) almost everything that web site says you
shouldn't. I'll very often eat one enormous meal of pasta, and just
nibble the rest of the day. Lots of coffee (I've had to cut back, my
system just can't hack it anymore). Sugar breaks. (I do get my fruits
and vegetables in there.) That page read like it was written about me
personally. Funny thing is, I'm not even particularly fond of sugar,
but when I run into it (leftover birthday cake, chocolates in a bowl on
a coworker's desk) I devour it like, well, candy. I never buy it, but
it's always around, and I inhale it. It's like my body knows to stay
away, but when I get too close my eyes light up and I go ga-ga.

And the mood swings, the inability to cope with stress, irritability,
etc. Fits me perfectly.

I think it's interesting that one's disposition for drinking may be
directly attributable to diet and other easily controllable external
factors. I am certainly going to try changing some things as a result
of reading this.

Two months sober, and I'm still craving a drink (not constantly, but
sometimes almost bug-eyed). The 'spirituality / higher power' mind
games aren't doing it for me, and they won't. I think a large part of
my problem might just be me being completely retarded about how I take
care of myself. At least I can hope.

--
AB5DB9CC

[neuro equipoise]

On Fri, Jan 30, 2004, 4:40am (EST+5) can@the.spam (Ron) wrote:

> I'll very often eat one enormous meal of
> pasta, and just nibble the rest of the day.

Ron, Instead of an enormous meal of pasta, make it a semi-enormous
portion and add some chick peas, green peas, lentils, or some other
vegetables which will feed your metabolism more slowly. Anything which
is a white flour product will be metabolized like sugar in the body,
because it has the power to yo-yo your insulin levels. You don't want
to plunge your insulin levels because it can start a serious craving.


> Lots of coffee (I've had to cut back, my
> system just can't hack it anymore). Sugar
> breaks. (I do get my fruits and vegetables in
> there.)

Caffeine and processed sugar "beat up" the adrenals, and that makes it
harder to deal with stress.


> That page read like it was written about me
> personally. Funny thing is, I'm not even
> particularly fond of sugar, but when I run into
> it (leftover birthday cake, chocolates in a bowl
> on a coworker's desk) I devour it like, well,
> candy. I never buy it, but it's always around,
> and I inhale it. It's like my body knows to stay
> away, but when I get too close my eyes light
> up and I go ga-ga.

Processed sugar is a legal drug, and it's alcohol's "sweet little
sister". Processed sugar affects dopamine and serotonin receptors; it
has the power to start wiping them out.


> I think it's interesting that one's disposition for
> drinking may be directly attributable to diet
> and other easily controllable external factors.
> I am certainly going to try changing some
> things as a result of reading this.

Imagine it this way...some people are born *super-sensitive* to any
stress, and to super concentrated substances like alcohol and sugar etc.
Part of the brain which is able to control "overexcitability" is
malfunctioning in those people, and anything you can do to "soothe" that
area in your brain, by lowering the *revving* will give you more control
of your choices.


> Two months sober, and I'm still craving a
> drink (not constantly, but sometimes almost
> bug-eyed).

Congratulations to you on your progress towards better health. The more
you nourish your brain with the building blocks it needs, the easier the
withdrawal will go on you. Research studies do find that those whose
diets contain junk foods, have higher cravings and higher relapse
levels. Alcohol's "sweet little sister" sugar, is in almost every
processed food these days. Food manufacturers know that sugar is
addictive, that's why it's in their products.

Read the labels of the food choices you do make, all that sugar adds up
to *cravings*. A craving is a craving, but to an alcohol-altered brain,
a craving too easily ends up being the next drink when stress is thrown
in to the mix.

> The 'spirituality / higher power' mind games
> aren't doing it for me, and they won't. I think a
> large part of my problem might just be me
> being completely retarded about how I take
> care of myself. At least I can hope.

I look at the neuro-biology of what "spiritual" teachings actually do,
and I do understand what AA steps are doing. They are slowly rebuilding
dopamine receptors by changing linear thinking towards more right brain
holistic thinking. Increasing dopamine receptors all over the brain,
increases the connections to positive hormones which allow humans to
feel love and nurturing, higher-self, and these positive emotions
*lower* stress hormones, which does make clearer, calmer, thinking
possible.

Sunlight, exercise, socializing, certain foods, also help build dopamine
receptors, and when you look at it all together, it's all about living a
more natural life. The more you understand nutrition, the better
choices you'll make, and the longer you'll control the choices you make.

[neuro equipoise]

Research excerpt on "Sugar and Alcoholism":

"Findings published in the November issue of Alcoholism: Clinical &
Experimental Research indicate that a liking for sweets precedes
alcoholism and may in fact serve as a "marker" for the genetic risk for
developing alcoholism.

"Previous research has established that in mammals such as mice, rats
and monkeys, the preference for and consumption of sweet fluids are
strongly correlated with voluntary alcohol intake," said Alexei B.
Kampov-Polevoy, assistant professor of psychiatry at Mt. Sinai School of
Medicine and first author of the study. "It is thus possible to measure
the amount of sweet solution that an animal drinks per day and
accurately predict how much alcohol it will drink if given a chance."


Individuals with a paternal history of alcoholism were 2.5 times more
likely to like sweets than those who did not have a paternal history of
alcoholism. The present study produced some unexpected results as well:
individuals with a paternal history of alcoholism disliked the tastes of
the two weakest sucrose concentrations, while individuals without a
paternal history of alcoholism rated the tastes as neutral.

"This finding may provide a mechanistic explanation of the association
between sweet preference and risk for alcoholism," explained Kampov.
"Pleasurable reactions to both alcohol and sweet substances are
regulated by the same mechanism, namely, the brain's opioid system.
Activation of this system results in increased consumption of both
alcohol and sweets, while blockade of this system causes the opposite
effect. The latter is used in medicine when opioid antagonists such as
Naltrexone ™ are prescribed to alcoholics to reduce their drinking. We
believe that children of alcoholics have a genetic abnormality of the
brain opioid system, which leads to an increased sensitivity to the
rewarding effects of alcohol. The same abnormality of the brain opioid
system may also lead to a preference for stronger sweet solutions."

http://www.nattc.org/asme/details.asp?ID=0312b

"Ron" <can@the.spam> wrote in message
news:DelSb.180523$I06.1933512@attbi_s01...
> On Thu, 29 Jan 2004 18:36:23 -0500 (EST),

> I don't know if I'm hypoglycemic. I'd like to find out.


ron,
go here and take this test.................

http://www.carbohydrateaddicts.com/caquiz.html

[Fred Exley]

Yeah, all those symptoms fit me perfectly too. That's good and bad news.
The good news: I'm not so crazy after all -there's a medical reason for the
mood swings, depression, etc. -hypoclycemia, not just alcoholism. The bad
news: if that's what I am, then I should cut out caffine and refined sugar
too? That's the only thing keeping me off booze right now! What am I
supposed to cut out next -anything that's even remotely a
leasure???? -Fred



"Ron" <can@the.spam> wrote in message
news:DelSb.180523$I06.1933512@attbi_s01...
> On Thu, 29 Jan 2004 18:36:23 -0500 (EST),
> neuro equipoise <NeuroEquipoise@webtv.net> wrote:
>
> > For those of you interested in better understanding how to control
> > cravings, optimize your nutrition to help make withdrawal and sobriety
> > easier on you, this web site link below will give you detailed
> > information on why alcoholics do best on a hypoglycemic nutrition plan.
> >
> > It also explains why dry-drunk syndrome is actually a result of blood
> > sugar imbalance. The site lists specific supplements which are needed
> > to help heal and ease withdrawal, as well.
> >
> > http://www.healthrecovery.com/alcoholism_hypoglycemia.html
>
> I don't know if I'm hypoglycemic. I'd like to find out. I do know that
> I do (or did - I quit smoking) almost everything that web site says you
> shouldn't. I'll very often eat one enormous meal of pasta, and just
> nibble the rest of the day. Lots of coffee (I've had to cut back, my
> system just can't hack it anymore). Sugar breaks. (I do get my fruits
> and vegetables in there.) That page read like it was written about me
> personally. Funny thing is, I'm not even particularly fond of sugar,
> but when I run into it (leftover birthday cake, chocolates in a bowl on
> a coworker's desk) I devour it like, well, candy. I never buy it, but
> it's always around, and I inhale it. It's like my body knows to stay
> away, but when I get too close my eyes light up and I go ga-ga.
>
> And the mood swings, the inability to cope with stress, irritability,
> etc. Fits me perfectly.
>
> I think it's interesting that one's disposition for drinking may be
> directly attributable to diet and other easily controllable external
> factors. I am certainly going to try changing some things as a result
> of reading this.
>
> Two months sober, and I'm still craving a drink (not constantly, but
> sometimes almost bug-eyed). The 'spirituality / higher power' mind
> games aren't doing it for me, and they won't. I think a large part of
> my problem might just be me being completely retarded about how I take
> care of myself. At least I can hope.
>
> --
> AB5DB9CC

[Cheggers]

> Ron, Instead of an enormous meal of pasta, make it a semi-enormous
> portion and add some chick peas, green peas, lentils, or some other
> vegetables which will feed your metabolism more slowly.

Just for the record, chickpeas, green (english, garden or processed,
depending on where you live or what you buy) peas and lentils are NOT
vegetables. They're legumes, which belong to the same family as
peanuts. They *don't* have the same contents (and therefore, benefits)
as vegetables, but *do* seem to have the nutritional advantages that
the author described (from what I've read, anyway).

I'm no professional in this field, btw, but - evidently - I'm
something of a pedant.

If chickpea vindaloo was truly a veggie dish, I'd be 150lbs and sexy
as fuck.

In my dreams,

Cheggers

fred,
i am a firm believer of FIRST THINGS FIRST..........................

staying off alcohol is VERY important, and going out for coffee, pie
and fellowship was a big part of that for me.

as the months went on, the physical "sugar need" for balance
lightened up............................
when i quit smoking, i followed a lot of the same directions, M+M'S,
meetings, fellowship, and as the month went on, the "sugar need" for
balance has lightened up once again.

(i still LOVE sweets, but don't indulge they way i use to!)

--
read and post daily, it works!
rosie

It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often
groans
more loudly than an empty stomach.
...............................Franklin Delano Roosevelt

http://www.coxar.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/










"Fred Exley" <fexly221@msn.com> wrote in message
news:101mjrn7m3va4ef@corp.supernews.com...
> Yeah, all those symptoms fit me perfectly too. That's good and
bad news.
> The good news: I'm not so crazy after all -there's a medical
reason for the
> mood swings, depression, etc. -hypoclycemia, not just alcoholism.
The bad
> news: if that's what I am, then I should cut out caffine and
refined sugar
> too? That's the only thing keeping me off booze right now! What
am I
> supposed to cut out next -anything that's even remotely a
> leasure???? -Fred
>
>
>
> "Ron" <can@the.spam> wrote in message
> news:DelSb.180523$I06.1933512@attbi_s01...
> > On Thu, 29 Jan 2004 18:36:23 -0500 (EST),
> > neuro equipoise <NeuroEquipoise@webtv.net> wrote:
> >
> > > For those of you interested in better understanding how to
control
> > > cravings, optimize your nutrition to help make withdrawal and
sobriety
> > > easier on you, this web site link below will give you detailed
> > > information on why alcoholics do best on a hypoglycemic
nutrition plan.
> > >
> > > It also explains why dry-drunk syndrome is actually a result
of blood
> > > sugar imbalance. The site lists specific supplements which
are needed
> > > to help heal and ease withdrawal, as well.
> > >
> > > http://www.healthrecovery.com/alcoholism_hypoglycemia.html
> >
> > I don't know if I'm hypoglycemic. I'd like to find out. I do
know that
> > I do (or did - I quit smoking) almost everything that web site
says you
> > shouldn't. I'll very often eat one enormous meal of pasta, and
just
> > nibble the rest of the day. Lots of coffee (I've had to cut
back, my
> > system just can't hack it anymore). Sugar breaks. (I do get my
fruits
> > and vegetables in there.) That page read like it was written
about me
> > personally. Funny thing is, I'm not even particularly fond of
sugar,
> > but when I run into it (leftover birthday cake, chocolates in a
bowl on
> > a coworker's desk) I devour it like, well, candy. I never buy
it, but
> > it's always around, and I inhale it. It's like my body knows to
stay
> > away, but when I get too close my eyes light up and I go ga-ga.
> >
> > And the mood swings, the inability to cope with stress,
irritability,
> > etc. Fits me perfectly.
> >
> > I think it's interesting that one's disposition for drinking may
be
> > directly attributable to diet and other easily controllable
external
> > factors. I am certainly going to try changing some things as a
result
> > of reading this.
> >
> > Two months sober, and I'm still craving a drink (not constantly,
but
> > sometimes almost bug-eyed). The 'spirituality / higher power'
mind
> > games aren't doing it for me, and they won't. I think a large
part of
> > my problem might just be me being completely retarded about how
I take
> > care of myself. At least I can hope.
> >
> > --
> > AB5DB9CC
>
>

[neuro equipoise]

On- Fri, Jan 30, 2004, 10:54pm (EST-3) cheggers2004@hotmail.com
(Cheggers) wrote:
> Just for the record, chickpeas, green (english,
> garden or processed, depending on where
> you live or what you buy) peas and lentils are
> NOT vegetables. They're legumes, which
> belong to the same family as peanuts. They
> *don't* have the same contents (and
> therefore, benefits) as vegetables, but *do*
> seem to have the nutritional advantages that
> the author described (from what I've read,
> anyway).

I am a right brain dominant thinker, a holistic thinker, and to me a
"vegetable" is just plant based food. I am in the habit of looking at
the big picture, inclusivity, first.


> I'm no professional in this field, btw, but -
> evidently - I'm something of a pedant.

Ok, I'll switch to my left brain : )
Here is a dictionary excerpt:

vegetable: LL.vegetabilis - "animating, hence full of life"

1. broadly, any plant. as distinguished from animal or inorganic matter.

2. specifically, any plant that is eaten whole or in part, raw or
cooked.

3. the edible part of such a plant

4. of, or having the nature of plants in general


We are both correct. : )

[Ron]

On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 09:00:52 -0500 (EST),
neuro equipoise <NeuroEquipoise@webtv.net> wrote:

> vegetable: LL.vegetabilis - "animating, hence full of life"
>
> 1. broadly, any plant. as distinguished from animal or inorganic matter.
>
> 2. specifically, any plant that is eaten whole or in part, raw or
> cooked.
>
> 3. the edible part of such a plant

So a fruit is a vegetable, but a vegetable might not be a fruit.

And people are animals, but animals aren't people.. ;)

--
AB5DB9CC

[neuro equipoise]

On -Sat, Jan 31, 2004, 7:57pm (EST+5) can@the.spam (Ron) wrote:

>> On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 09:00:52 -0500 (EST),
>> neuro equipoise <NeuroEquipoise@webtv.net>
>> wrote:

>> vegetable: LL.vegetabilis - "animating, hence full
>> of life"

>> 1. broadly, any plant. as distinguished from
>> animal or inorganic matter.

>> 2. specifically, any plant that is eaten whole or in
>> part, raw or cooked.

>> 3. the edible part of such a plant


> So a fruit is a vegetable, but a vegetable might
> not be a fruit.

That's correct : )

In addition, I see things like evergreen shrub berries, roots of certain
bog plants, tree inner-bark scrapings, as vegetables too - because all
these things are used in natural medicine as "food"

Fruits are considered to be "seeds", in some cultures.

> And people are animals, but animals aren't
> people.. ;)

Animals are people too. Some cultures call them nations or tribes,
relatives.

Dictionary excerpt:

Peoples: "a tribe or kind, as of animals; group of creatures

[neuro equipoise]

On - Fri, Jan 30, 2004, 10:47pm (EST-3) fexly221@msn.com (Fred*Exley)
wrote:

> What am I supposed to cut out next -anything
> that's even remotely a pleasure???? -Fred

This site will take you to the "cut-out your own monk's robe kit"
instruction page. If you order the special coarse fabric, they give you
a *free* rope belt and skull cap glue too : )

http://www.Make_Me_A_Monk.com

Take it *easy* Fred : )


> Yeah, all those symptoms fit me perfectly too.
> That's good and bad news. The good news: I'm
> not so crazy after all -there's a medical reason for
> the mood swings, depression, etc. -hypoclycemia,
> not just alcoholism. The bad news: if that's what I
> am, then I should cut out caffine and refined
> sugar too? That's the only thing keeping me off
> booze right now!

Do what is working best for *you* right now.
Some day, when you are more stabilized with the big change you've made
to your metabolism, you can take it to the next level to lower your
brain "idle". Just see to it that you are getting a potent grade of
vitamin supplement, because sugar wipes out B-complex vitamins, and you
need those especially to help make brain chemicals and lower your
anxiety levels.

[Ron]

On Fri, 30 Jan 2004 08:28:38 -0500 (EST),
neuro equipoise <NeuroEquipoise@webtv.net> wrote:

>> The 'spirituality / higher power' mind games aren't doing it for me,
>> and they won't. I think a large part of my problem might just be me
>> being completely retarded about how I take care of myself. At least I
>> can hope.

> I look at the neuro-biology of what "spiritual" teachings actually do,
> and I do understand what AA steps are doing. They are slowly
> rebuilding dopamine receptors by changing linear thinking towards more
> right brain holistic thinking.

Yeah, I guess I understand that's that's happening under the hood also.
I just view words like 'spirituality', in the context of AA, as a
compromise between the bible thumpers and the athiests in a committee,
where the bible thumpers got the upper hand. I don't mean to knock
people for being spiritual, either. But in turn, I don't like being
pressured to acquiesce to religious terminology, is all.

I do try to meditate, chill out, let things go, etc. I try to walk away
from a fight. Basically, my goal is to not let my reflexive reponses
get the upper hand; deliberation is almost always a better course of
action. I don't suffer fools gladly, though.

--
AB5DB9CC

[neuro equipoise]

On - Sun, Feb 1, 2004, 12:56am (EST+5) can@the.spam (Ron) wrote:

>> On Fri, 30 Jan 2004 08:28:38 -0500 (EST),
>> neuro equipoise <NeuroEquipoise@webtv.net>
>> wrote:

>> I look at the neuro-biology of what "spiritual"
>> teachings actually do, and I do understand what
>> AA steps are doing. They are slowly rebuilding
>> dopamine receptors by changing linear thinking
>> towards more right brain holistic thinking.

> Yeah, I guess I understand that's that's happening
> under the hood also. I just view words like
> 'spirituality', in the context of AA, as a
> compromise between the bible thumpers and the
> athiests in a committee, where the bible thumpers
> got the upper hand. I don't mean to knock people
> for being spiritual, either. But in turn, I don't like
> being pressured to acquiesce to religious
> terminology, is all.

I don't know anything much about AA teachings besides what I've read
here in the last few weeks. I am a non-alcoholic person here as a
researcher to learn and better understand your lives, and share with you
what I've learned. I don't participate in a lot of threads because I
don't know what it feels like to crave, but I do participate wherever I
can offer something, and I learn a lot just by reading here.

Spirituality to me is more about developing the healthy mind, balancing
the left and right hemispheres, balancing the emotions with logic,
balancing the rational brain with the older mid-brain which is in charge
of ego etc. It's not about religion to me, it's about living as a
natural human, knowing that I have sharp animal instincts too.
Spirituality to me is more like courage, integrity, determination,
kindness and serenity, all rolled into one, plus more. All these
qualities put together are like the whole being greater than the sum of
its parts.

I do understand that some who are undergoing great illnesses sometimes
don't have the strength to see themselves as courageous, determined, or
worthy of someone's kindness, and that is where a metaphor of "higher
power" as religion comes in to help lend strength to the weaker ones.
That is why our brains have a healing imagination, and healers from the
beginning of time used "belief" to help people heal themselves. The
brain can turn on chemicals to heal, because the sub-conscious mind
can't tell the difference between reality and make-believe. That is why
all wisdom teachings were stories, the brain loves stories.

No one really knows why we are here. Quantum physics proves that
scientists know less than they think they did. Some indigenous cultures
just call it "Great Mystery" and that seems about right to me.

[Julie LaRue]

Pain and suffering is what led me to want to quit drinking. God took away
my craving for alcohol when I surrendered during the first step. I practice
H.A.L.T (don't get to Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired) to keep my body and
mind in a good place.

Spend your time going to meetings and working the steps and forget this
hypoglycemic garbage unless you have been diagnosed as a diabetic.

Julie




"neuro equipoise" <NeuroEquipoise@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:6289-401998F7-261@storefull-3278.bay.webtv.net...
> For those of you interested in better understanding how to control
> cravings, optimize your nutrition to help make withdrawal and sobriety
> easier on you, this web site link below will give you detailed
> information on why alcoholics do best on a hypoglycemic nutrition plan.
>
> It also explains why dry-drunk syndrome is actually a result of blood
> sugar imbalance. The site lists specific supplements which are needed
> to help heal and ease withdrawal, as well.
>
> http://www.healthrecovery.com/alcoholism_hypoglycemia.html
>

[Robert McGregor]

"Julie LaRue" <Sissi_Julie@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:rV_Tb.9713$GO6.9000@newsread3.news.atl.earthl ink.net...
>
> Spend your time going to meetings and working the steps and forget
this
> hypoglycemic garbage unless you have been diagnosed as a diabetic.
>
> Julie

"Julie LaRue" <Sissi_Julie@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:qyiTb.6101$jH6.5032@newsread1.news.atl.earthl ink.net...
>Since none of you are Doctors or Pharmacists such
> comments can be medically dangerous.
>


Dr Julie, or just plain ole Pharmacist Julie?

Bob