When a marijuana patient visits me for permission to use that drug, I have to ask them, gently, how long they have used it. Most, if they are old enough, do not give me an answer that I can quantify. Instead, they start with something like, “It seems like yesterday I used it for fun. Now, I need it just to (fill in the blank).” Survive, live, walk, or keep from throwing up. They wonder about how and when it changed from a form of recreation to a form of drug treatment.
They never seem to believe it has already been a drug, for thousands of years, in other cultures. If I give them enough time, they count their own age and their own problems by how they use it. With a few thousand papers published every year, mostly in other countries, it would be crazy at this point to try to believe it wasn’t a drug. For an amazing number of folks, it seems to be the way they reckon the passage of their lives. Read more on The Passage of Time…
Filed under Alternative Medicine, Family, News, weight by on Feb 6th, 2013. Comment. 
It is not just that Fox missed “fair and balanced” with a recent headline about why women gain weight after menopause. This is out and out false advertising.
I am glad that someone is figuring out genetic predisposition to visceral fat in mice. I actually own a significantly overweight Minnie Mouse stuffed toy. She needs to know about this. Oversimplifications of science in order to get folks to listen to or read news stories is worrisome, tedious, and all sorts of things. Read more on Misleading Headline about Postmenopausal Weight Gain Lets Me Plug My Book…
Filed under eating disorders, Education, weight by on Jan 28th, 2013. Comment.
Like many others, I am of the type who has been made to feel less. Less than healthy, less than human; whatever, the kind of feeling that sells diet food and diet plans. Read more on A Few Extra Pounds Might Not Be So Bad…
Filed under eating disorders, Nutrition, Psychotherapy, Self-esteem, weight by on Jan 17th, 2013. Comment.
I think we’d all agree that kids have tough choices to make at every turn, and this includes what they eat and drink. A thick, sloppy sandwich served with fries and a sugary soda, or a salad of mixed greens and vegetables from every color of the rainbow with a side of vinaigrette. Yeah, I get it.
But c’mon, does anyone really think that creating junk food laws for kids is going to help? Read more on Making Criminals of Overweight Children…
Filed under eating disorders, Government, News, Research, weight by on Aug 30th, 2012. Comment.
To tell people who are overweight that they need to move around more and count calories is kind of like telling Yogi Bear to leave tourists alone and avoid eating the contents of picnic baskets. It ain’t gonna happen.
I have long ago surrendered to the fact that logic, reason, science and – yes, even the truth – have overcome the need to manipulate the population with misinformation in order to control them and to wring every bit of money out of them.
I give professional nutritionists the benefit of a doubt — even though two of them wrote this book. After all, every dietitian I have ever known was “recovering” from at least one eating disorder. And usually on the “lower serotonin” side of life, probably a little obsessive, maybe a little depressed.
Mostly, these are people who believe everything they are told without questioning, or exist on “wishful thinking.” Or they have a political or professional agenda. Read more on How Many Calories in B.S.?…
Filed under eating disorders, medicine, weight by on Jul 12th, 2012. 1 Comment.
You can deep fry just about anything and it will taste good. Ask just about anyone who lives in the south. Twinkies, cheesecake, pickles, or whole turkeys. Maybe even an old tennis shoe. Nothing is exempt!
This woman has grown a Southern comfort food empire by cooking deep fried cheesecake and other things I am unlikely to eat. She did not go public with her Type II Diabetes until three years after she learned of it. Now someone from some group for science in the public interest says she should have come forward earlier.
Her empire can’t be doing that well, for I bought a little bottle of her mint jelly at some deep discount store about a week ago. I liked it, but it wasn’t any better than anyone else’s mint jelly. Admittedly, I’ve never watched her on television. I don’t watch cooking shows because I don’t care about food the same way I used to. I remember when all I could think of after one meal was what I would get for the next. And I was never even the primary food preparer at home. My honored husband has always taken that in hand for me. Read more on The Cooking Guru’s Health Problems…
Filed under Celebrities, News, Nutrition, weight by on Jun 27th, 2012. Comment.
I am not the sort of woman who runs around saying “I told you so,” or trying to impress people with how clever I am.
However, I am clever.
It’s no secret – a lot of people know it. Read more on The Worst Family To Get Involved With…
Filed under Nutrition, weight by on May 4th, 2012. Comment.
To paraphrase some recent political campaigns, the FDA was against Qnexa before they were for it.
I’ve written about this diet drug compound before – HERE And HERE.
Last time I wrote about this “drug,” I thought it was down for the count. Aauugghh!!!!
Like a scene from “Night Of The Living Diet Drugs” – it is back from the grave.
You bet your life! (Literally if you take this) – our protective government watchdogs at the FDA originally said this was too dangerous to unleash on the public. Then – as the politicians say – they did a “Flip Flop.” This No-Vowel remedy QNEXA (ok, it has a couple of vowels, but not enough) is not actually a drug – it is a combination of two drugs.
This is of course, the cheapest way to get a new product on the market and eliminate R&D costs as well as testing for safety and efficacy. The company takes two separate FDA-approved agents and combines – kind of like making Frankenstein out of left-over body parts.
(This is turning into a Halloween column, isn’t it? Sorry.) Read more on They’re Ba-a-a-a-ck!!! Zombie Diet Drugs!!!…
Filed under eating disorders, medicine, News, Nutrition, prescription drugs, weight by on Feb 28th, 2012. Comment.
When I was little, my Grandfather-of-Blessed-Memory (maternal) came to visit us at 6 am every Sunday morning, arising very early to drive about two hours from Springfield to our Boston suburb of Chelsea.
Springfield would be considered “way out west” as compared to civilized and urbanized Boston, so it is like the country mouse coming to the big city.
He said the road was not busy and drive was relaxing and pleasant for him. But his visits were anything but relaxing and pleasant for us, who would much rather have tried to sleep in on Sunday.
The exception was my paternal Grandmother-of-Blessed-Memory – who was also an early riser. Older folks often seem to get up early.
(That’s how I know I’m not old yet – I still love to sleep late). These two senior members of our family seemed to get along well. Grandfather called her “Mother Goldstein,” and even brought her a nice bottle of (coincidentally named) “Mother Goldstein” brand kosher wine. There was one incident that I recall that upset a peaceful Sunday morning when I was about five. I came downstairs in my best baby blue lace dress to hear Grandfather yelling at Grandmother never to serve him that “horrible drink” again. Read more on Chicory, Belgian Endives And Me…
Filed under medicine, News, weight by on Feb 8th, 2012. Comment.
I’m nowhere near what anyone would call a “News Junkie.” My husband, a former newspaper man, often calls my attention to articles of interest and I see headlines occasionally on various web pages, such as Yahoo or Google. But this type of story seems to come up pretty regularly any more.
Yes, most people in our country are in terrible shape. I probably harp about it more than I need to. But remember what Mark Twain (another newspaper man) once said:
“Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it!” Read more on Who Needs Wonder Drugs? We Have Vitamin C!…
Filed under medicine, News, prescription drugs, weight by on Aug 19th, 2011. Comment.