In their quest for a cure they heard about Joan Mathews Larson, nutritionist, author and founder of the Health Recovery Center in Minnesota. After Larsons teenage son committed suicide she dedicated her energy to finding out how to truly help someone suffering from emotional issues. She saw first hand that talk therapy and 12 step programs were not enough. Venting and awareness weren't the cure-all. What needed to be addressed was the root of the problem, the brain! With extensive lab tests she finds out where our unique problems are and addresses those with the proper diet and hardcore supplement regimens because many of these issues can be cured by discovering our body's vitamin deficiency's and adjusting.
I'll admit I initially had no intention of reading the book. I wasn't depressed so the title didn't excite me but as I did a little scan through the book I was impressed by the array of information that had been highly researched and tested with amazing results. Plus there were self-tests in each chapter so I could see if any of these common brain tweaks belonged to me. Quiz time! Anxiety Disorder? Nope. Pyroluria? Huh? No. Manic Depressive? Nah. Hypothyroidism? Nada. Anger? Little ol' me? Never. Hypoglycemia? Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner! What does win, Alex? No sugar in exchange for a happy brain!! I tallied my score in the hypoglycemia chapter."Scores over 35 are significant indicators of hypoglycemia." I scored 70. Whoa. Well that would explain a lot...once I learned what the hell hypoglycemia was.
Hypoglycemia: Deficiency of glucose in the blood stream. Basically sugar fracks me up. Highs and crashes and mood swings, oh my! Suddenly my life started making more sense. I'm a whiny biotch in the morning. Could it be because I haven't eaten in 12 hours and my blood sugar is suffering? Would simply eating something with protein right away turn morning time from evil to tolerable or even pleasant? I recently realized (by having it rudely pointed out to me) that I'm not the sweetest thing on earth when I'm hungry. If I go too long without refueling my brain gets foggy, I feel lethargic and irritable. It wasn't until I got clean and sober that I was even able to notice that. 2+ years ago I refueled constantly with alcohol, drugs and candy to try and balance the swings and dull the pain. Come to find out, 90% of alcoholics are hypoglycemic! Alcohol sugars are the fastest at reaching our blood stream so its the go-to for many and the cause of severe cravings. As a recovering addict this was a monumental thing for me to learn about myself! Bill W., the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous discovered this missing component to the 12-Step program. Months after establishing AA he found himself very depressed. He was able to correct it by addressing his brain bio-chemically and correcting his vitamin deficiencies. It was then that his depression and cravings truly disappeared. He worked to have this piece implemented into the AA program but by this time millions of Big Books had been printed and they didn't want to alter the program. Argh! In the rooms of recovery there are many people thriving once they're clean and working the steps but there are many others who are still struggling with depression, anxiety and cravings and they cant seem to shake it no matter how diligently they follow the program. It's heartbreaking to see but this could help so dramatically!
The chapter on hypoglycemia detailed what it is, how it effects our brain, what supplements to take and how to change our diet. A few weeks after reading the book I took my routine glucose test with the midwives to see if I had gestational diabetes. (I was prego with baby #2 at the time) When the results came back the midwife said, "Hmm, definitely no GD. Your glucose levels are low. Looks like you're hypoglycemic." My eyes widened, "Really? What does that mean?" "You probably feel horrible and totally screwed up when you eat sugary foods. Best to avoid it!" That was all the confirmation I needed! I cut sugar, white carbs and cut down on caffeine. (I was pregnant and had a 1 year old to chase around. I needed that one cup of coffee!) It took ONE DAY to feel the positive effects. Suddenly the fog lifted from my brain. I didn't have that gunky fog from eating carbs or the sugar crashes I was so accustomed to. I didn't need more than one cup of coffee because I wasn't crashing down every few hours. I felt lighter and I was even being nicer to people! Say what?! I kept up with it for two weeks then as a test (and because it looked delicious) I had some ice cream to see if I would feel any different. After a bowl of creamy goodness I was suddenly very sad about who knows what to the point of tears and then I was soooo tired I couldn't keep my eyes open. So, I took a nap, woke up and thought, Daaaaamn I'm so glad I read that book!For me this discovery has taken my recovery and quality of life to a whole new level! I don't do it perfectly. Caffeine's still the hardest to break-up with but the carbs are goners and sugar doesn't look as sweet now that I know it takes me to Crazytown. If you're looking for emotional well-being and nothing else has worked please read this book or ask me more about it! I want my life to be the best it can possibly be and this has been a big part of my daily smiles.
Have any books opened your eyes to health issues no doctors had ever addressed? What books and how did the discovery change your life?
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