By Elizabeth Szlek, LMHC
For most Americans, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have not changed our lives appreciably. By this I mean, if we are not acquainted personally with someone serving in the military, we may not have realized the personal devastation these two wars are bringing to thousands of families across our land. As a counselor of returning veterans, I can tell you that effects of modern combat are absolutely horrific. I am not even talking about the physical wounds, which number in the thousands, or perhaps hundred of thousands. I am more familiar with the trauma injuries, and especially Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. (PTSD).
While Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is being called the “signature injury” of the Iraq war, PTSD has been with us since the time of Homer, who wrote about it in the Iliad. Since war began, soldiers have been traumatized by it. It seems that normal humans simply cannot bear for long, the horrors of war. For everyone except the sociopathic, the human mind will eventually just go “off line”.
Traumatic Brain Injury results when the brain is forcefully slammed against the inside of the skull, usually because of a violent explosion or impact, such as a roadside bomb. PTSD can occur without any concurrent physical injury, or it can accompany TBI.
What is PTSD?
Looking at the words, we can see that PTSD follows some kind of physical or psychological shock.. It could be the result of a crime such as rape, or witnessing a horrific natural disaster, such as Hurricane Katrina. It can also occur in soldiers who have been trained to override their natural aversion to killing, and who go beyond their personal moral codes to commit acts of violence, or who witness ghastly events.
This problem among soldiers, as I have said, has always been part of military life, even though it has not always been fully understood. In the Civil War, the problem was called “soldier’s heart”. During World War I it was called “shell shock”, and then in World War II, “combat fatigue”. Following the Viet Nam conflict, the term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder evolved, and that is how we look at this problem today. PTSD has been taken out of its formerly military context, and is applied to all sorts of civilian trauma, as well. However, military psychiatrists have stated that every single soldier will eventually develop PTSD if left in intense combat situations for too long. This astonishing fact should be made known to those who might think a soldier “weak” or worse, when the symptoms of PTSD occur.
PTSD occurs when a person is not able to properly process the events around them. It is a state of intense overwhelm, and because of this, the precipitating event seems to remain in the victim’s present, rather than receding into the ever more distant past. Such symptoms as nightmares of the event, and flashbacks take over the life of a badly traumatized person, and they cannot seem to break free of the terror they once experienced. When veterans return home, neither they nor their families are normally prepared to deal with this spiritual, emotional and psychological condition, and many families break apart.
There are, however, new methods, which do not rely on drugs, to help PTSD sufferers. I am committed to helping veterans, their families and others who wish to break free of this debilitating condition. The use of psychiatric drugs is increasingly being seen as a harmful method of dealing with PTSD, and many veterans are dying from unexplained causes following drug treatment for PTSD. I will continue this story in my next column, so please stay tuned!
Elizabeth Szlek is a Tricare Provider, and welcomes your comments and questions. She is the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Yorkville, and can be reached at (315) 768-8900 or info@thedoorcounseling.com.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Get The Salt Out!
By Elizabeth Szlek
You know there is a problem in the American diet when NBC Nightly News does a whole piece on it. Some weeks ago, I watched them go on and on about the fact that the American diet contains too much salt. They hit some of the obvious targets, like fast food and other processed foods, but, of course, they didn’t really give the whole salt story. Things are a lot worse than you might expect out there in salt land, and no one is telling the truth to us all. To find out what is really happening you have to go to those more obscure sources, like the books you find in the health food stores, or the web sites which rise up in counterpoint to the major media outlets on the web. When you get to these places, you tend to get a little angry, because you realize that you have been skipping down a garden path to nutritional hell!
But We All Need Salt!
Yes, of course, salt is a necessary element in the diet of all animals. We need it to live. Salt is, of course, sodium chloride, and throughout man’s time on earth, he has spent much of his energy seeking salt. I never really knew this fact until I read Mark Kurlansky’s simple titled epic saga, Salt. In this book you find the entire world history of empires which rose and fell upon the ability to find and sell salt. Salt figures in many world events as an economic force and source of great wealth, for the simple fact that before the days of refrigeration, it served as the main preservative of food in all nations. Salting meat, and preserving vegetables in salt, known as pickling, kept people from starvation for thousands of years. But, in this day and age, salt is rarely used for these purposes, and few of us make salt cod or sauerkraut our main dietary staples. Yet, the American diet is more loaded with salt than ever before. Where does it all come from?
It is estimated that 90% of the American diet consists of processed foods, and, as in millennia past, it is salt that is doing the preserving. We just aren’t tuned into this fact, and are gleefully consuming two or three times the amount of salt we need, each day.
How Much Is Too Much?
If we harken back to the Paleolithic Era, and look at the diet of those people, we would find that their diet was high in potassium, and low in sodium, because all natural unprocessed foods contain more potassium than sodium. In fact, a diet high in these foods would have contained about ten times more potassium than sodium, according to the author of the fine little book Get The Salt Out! This meant that our bodies learned not to hold onto potassium, but due to its scarcity, we developed a taste for salt, and a penchant for seeking it in our environment. If you’re like me, I’ll bet you never said to yourself: “I need to eat something potassium-y!” Salt, though, that’s another story. I generally go looking for salt on a regular basis, but luckily, I don’t have to find a salt lick or brine spring, I can just find my jar of macadamias!
Humans in general need about 2000 milligrams of salt a day to keep things running smoothly. That’s equivalent to about a teaspoon. Not much, especially when you consider that many foods, such as meats, already contain salt naturally.
What is the Problem with Salt?
Too much salt can wreak havoc with our bodies. Too much sodium can produce a host of life-threatening conditions, such as high blood pressure, leading to heart attack, stroke, serious kidney diseases or kidney failure, hardening of the arteries, enlarged heart and congestive heart failure.
In addition to that, too much dietary sodium increases the risk for osteoporosis and probably kidney stones, as well, because excess sodium causes calcium to be lost through the urine, and then blood levels of calcium fall, prompting calcium to move from the bones to the blood.. We all know that too much sodium causes fluid retention, and weight gain, but it also produces headaches, and stomach ulcers and stomach cancer.
There is also a genetic component to salt intake. It has been theorized that African-Americans, who greatly outpace others in developing high blood pressure, may have less tolerance to sodium, because in their native lands in Africa, they consumed largely a diet high in potassium, due to its high vegetable content.
More Bad News
For years I have been going back and forth: Should I bother using sea salt, or use the regular stuff that is dirt cheap? I really couldn’t taste the difference, and the price difference was large. Now I know the truth: Like everything else, processed salt, by which I mean refined salt is actually HARMFUL to the body, because it has been stripped of all its minerals, besides sodium and chloride, and it has been heated at high temperatures that changes its chemical structure. It is chemically cleaned and bleached, and treated with anti-caking agents, which cause it to remain in the body, and actually build up. The anti-caking agents used contain, generally, aluminum-based chemicals, and I hope you know how bad THAT is for you. Lastly, because this process makes salt bitter, some sugar is added to the salt. Contrast all that with sea salt, which contains innumerable minerals, no additives, and just plain natural salt. I’ll never go back to the little girl with her shaker again!
Processed Foods
I know I have beat this drum before, but: You have to stop eating processed foods! They are simply loaded with salt! Check out a little innocent pack of Ramen noodles: 1100 milligrams of salt! That’s half your day’s limit! But here is a real shocker: Yes, a can of cola contains loads of High Fructose Corn Syrup, but guess what else it has loads of: Salt! Few of us know this little factoid. They need the salt in there for some reason, maybe to preserve the junk in its pristine state. So, the need for more and more sugar to cover the salt.
All processed foods are teeming with sodium, but if you would just stop and read the labels of everything you eat, just once, you will begin to get an idea of just how much damage you are doing to your body on a regular basis. It is said that only 5% of our salt intake comes through the salt we add when cooking, and just 6% is added by our table salt shaker. This means that, again, 90% of our salt is from processed foods! Take stock of your salt intake and lose the processed foods! Your body will thank you!
Elizabeth Szlek is a trained chef and has taught nutrition and Healthy Cooking. She is also the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Utica, and can be reached at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
You know there is a problem in the American diet when NBC Nightly News does a whole piece on it. Some weeks ago, I watched them go on and on about the fact that the American diet contains too much salt. They hit some of the obvious targets, like fast food and other processed foods, but, of course, they didn’t really give the whole salt story. Things are a lot worse than you might expect out there in salt land, and no one is telling the truth to us all. To find out what is really happening you have to go to those more obscure sources, like the books you find in the health food stores, or the web sites which rise up in counterpoint to the major media outlets on the web. When you get to these places, you tend to get a little angry, because you realize that you have been skipping down a garden path to nutritional hell!
But We All Need Salt!
Yes, of course, salt is a necessary element in the diet of all animals. We need it to live. Salt is, of course, sodium chloride, and throughout man’s time on earth, he has spent much of his energy seeking salt. I never really knew this fact until I read Mark Kurlansky’s simple titled epic saga, Salt. In this book you find the entire world history of empires which rose and fell upon the ability to find and sell salt. Salt figures in many world events as an economic force and source of great wealth, for the simple fact that before the days of refrigeration, it served as the main preservative of food in all nations. Salting meat, and preserving vegetables in salt, known as pickling, kept people from starvation for thousands of years. But, in this day and age, salt is rarely used for these purposes, and few of us make salt cod or sauerkraut our main dietary staples. Yet, the American diet is more loaded with salt than ever before. Where does it all come from?
It is estimated that 90% of the American diet consists of processed foods, and, as in millennia past, it is salt that is doing the preserving. We just aren’t tuned into this fact, and are gleefully consuming two or three times the amount of salt we need, each day.
How Much Is Too Much?
If we harken back to the Paleolithic Era, and look at the diet of those people, we would find that their diet was high in potassium, and low in sodium, because all natural unprocessed foods contain more potassium than sodium. In fact, a diet high in these foods would have contained about ten times more potassium than sodium, according to the author of the fine little book Get The Salt Out! This meant that our bodies learned not to hold onto potassium, but due to its scarcity, we developed a taste for salt, and a penchant for seeking it in our environment. If you’re like me, I’ll bet you never said to yourself: “I need to eat something potassium-y!” Salt, though, that’s another story. I generally go looking for salt on a regular basis, but luckily, I don’t have to find a salt lick or brine spring, I can just find my jar of macadamias!
Humans in general need about 2000 milligrams of salt a day to keep things running smoothly. That’s equivalent to about a teaspoon. Not much, especially when you consider that many foods, such as meats, already contain salt naturally.
What is the Problem with Salt?
Too much salt can wreak havoc with our bodies. Too much sodium can produce a host of life-threatening conditions, such as high blood pressure, leading to heart attack, stroke, serious kidney diseases or kidney failure, hardening of the arteries, enlarged heart and congestive heart failure.
In addition to that, too much dietary sodium increases the risk for osteoporosis and probably kidney stones, as well, because excess sodium causes calcium to be lost through the urine, and then blood levels of calcium fall, prompting calcium to move from the bones to the blood.. We all know that too much sodium causes fluid retention, and weight gain, but it also produces headaches, and stomach ulcers and stomach cancer.
There is also a genetic component to salt intake. It has been theorized that African-Americans, who greatly outpace others in developing high blood pressure, may have less tolerance to sodium, because in their native lands in Africa, they consumed largely a diet high in potassium, due to its high vegetable content.
More Bad News
For years I have been going back and forth: Should I bother using sea salt, or use the regular stuff that is dirt cheap? I really couldn’t taste the difference, and the price difference was large. Now I know the truth: Like everything else, processed salt, by which I mean refined salt is actually HARMFUL to the body, because it has been stripped of all its minerals, besides sodium and chloride, and it has been heated at high temperatures that changes its chemical structure. It is chemically cleaned and bleached, and treated with anti-caking agents, which cause it to remain in the body, and actually build up. The anti-caking agents used contain, generally, aluminum-based chemicals, and I hope you know how bad THAT is for you. Lastly, because this process makes salt bitter, some sugar is added to the salt. Contrast all that with sea salt, which contains innumerable minerals, no additives, and just plain natural salt. I’ll never go back to the little girl with her shaker again!
Processed Foods
I know I have beat this drum before, but: You have to stop eating processed foods! They are simply loaded with salt! Check out a little innocent pack of Ramen noodles: 1100 milligrams of salt! That’s half your day’s limit! But here is a real shocker: Yes, a can of cola contains loads of High Fructose Corn Syrup, but guess what else it has loads of: Salt! Few of us know this little factoid. They need the salt in there for some reason, maybe to preserve the junk in its pristine state. So, the need for more and more sugar to cover the salt.
All processed foods are teeming with sodium, but if you would just stop and read the labels of everything you eat, just once, you will begin to get an idea of just how much damage you are doing to your body on a regular basis. It is said that only 5% of our salt intake comes through the salt we add when cooking, and just 6% is added by our table salt shaker. This means that, again, 90% of our salt is from processed foods! Take stock of your salt intake and lose the processed foods! Your body will thank you!
Elizabeth Szlek is a trained chef and has taught nutrition and Healthy Cooking. She is also the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Utica, and can be reached at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Why Are You Eating Soy?
By Elizabeth Szlek
As I get more and more into the whole Genetically Modified seeds thing, the tragedy that will one day unfold before us seems to creep closer. I just ordered a whole garden of heirloom seeds, and intend, to the best of my ability, to plant them and actually get some return on my gardening efforts. Past forays into vegetable gardening left me with maybe three pumpkins and a couple of tomatoes. It now looks like I really need to produce some food, and perhaps the thing that will make is possible was a big can of anti-rabbit stuff I can spray around, since my resident wild rabbits have been the main recipients of my gardening efforts to date. This year, it’s MY TURN! Which brings me back to soy: A dreadful plague upon us all. We need to look at this stuff once again and firmly fix in our minds what it is! I am turning to Kaala Daniel, whose book The Whole Soy Story is still the best source for a detailed understanding of the problems with soy.
A Very Short History of Soy
The soybean was first cultivated in China, where it was considered “the yellow jewel”, and for several thousand years it ranked with rice, millet, barley and wheat as one of the “Five Sacred Grains”. What few among us know is that soy was never eaten by the Chinese until around 2500 years ago, when the method of fermenting soy into soy sauce was discovered. No, what they did with soy was plough it into the fields, thereby enriching the soil with its nitrogen-fixing roots. Soy was understood to be completely indigestible to both animals and humans in its original state.
So, soy sauce appeared, and other fermented soy products, such as tempeh, natto and miso eventually entered the food pantry of Asians. The key here is the word “fermented”. Fermentation is a beneficial process, whereby certain qualities of a food are changed into something often more healthful or delicious. Think of milk turning into Brie, cabbage into sauerkraut, grape juice into wine, and you get the general picture of fermentation. Yeast also helps turn flour into bread, and brine turns cucumbers into pickles. With soy, though, the original product—the naked soybean -- is considered inedible, and the fermentation makes it usable by the body.
Soy traveled to Japan, and in the 12th century, the Samurai warriors imposed the ascetic diet of rice, vegetables, fish and tofu (in small amounts) upon the population, and they have more or less stuck to this program until now.
Tofu is created from soy milk by precipitating curds by the use of nigari, or magnesium chloride. The curds are then pressed into blocks, creating the famous white, cheesy-looking stuff we all know and (sort of) love. It is interesting to note that monks in Japan, who are celibate, were the first to embrace the use of tofu as a meat substitute. The soy phytoestrogens have the effect of lowering testosterone, and thus making the monks’ commitment to celibacy that much easier. Take note you tofu-munching men! You might want to reconsider your chances at creating progeny!
But I digress. Soy consumption remained a thing of Asia, for the most part, with a few bottles of soy sauce on American shelves for those occasional forays into Chinese cuisine. However, after WWII, American technology and agribusiness concurred that soy was going to provide oil for processed foods, and many millions of acres were planted. Soy oil formed the basis for most margarines (with trans fats). However, there was a problem: Once the oil was extracted, tons of waste products remained. Most of it was fed to livestock for feed, until the amount of the stuff just began to overwhelm American food processors. This is where American innovation just took over. They thought and thought, and began coming up with “food products” made from unfermented soy. Stuff like lecithin, textured vegetable protein, soy flour and soy milks, infant formula, and eventually thousands of other products that are now ubiquitous in our processed foods. Not to mention those horrible little edamame beans.
So What’s Wrong With Soy?
I only have a limited space here, and for those of you who really want to understand this in depth, please get Dr. Daniel’s book mentioned above, but there are many reasons why we should not be eating unfermented soy. The main problem is that soy contains both toxins (poisons) and antinutrients. Antinutrients are elements of a food that work against good nutrition. Here is a short summary of some of the problems soy presents to the human body.
1. Over 90% of soybeans are genetically modified. GM foods present their own problems, but in addition to that fact, all soy is prone to causing allergic reactions, and soy is considered one of the top eight allergens in our diet.
2. Soy contains goitrogens, which damage the thyroid.
3. Soy contains lectins, which cause red blood cells to clump together and may cause immune system reactions.
4. Soy contains oligosaccharides, which cause bloating and flatulence.
5. Soy contains oxalates, which prevent proper absorption of calcium and have been linked to kidney stones and other painful conditions.
6. Soy contains other antinutrients, phytates , which impair absorption of minerals such as zinc, iron and calcium.
7. Soy contains isoflavones, or phytoestrogens (plant estrogens) that act like hormones and affect the reproductive and nervous systems. These include genistein and daidzein.
8. Soy contains protease inhibitors, such as trypsin inhibitors, which interfere with the digestive enzymes protease and trypsin. This can lead to gastric distress, poor protein digestion and an overworked pancreas. This can push one towards diabetes. A friend asked if the protease inhibitors in soy were the same as those in the HIV drugs. Yes, they are the same thing, which is why many HIV patients do develop diabetes and other gastic diseases. I guess it’s a tradeoff, but one which non-HIV people don’t have to make.
9. Soy contains saponins, which may lower cholesterol (but not in a good way) and may damage the intestinal lining.
I don’t know about you, but I think this list is long enough to scare anyone! None of us need to have any of the problems listed above, and if restricting our intake of unfermented soy will do it, I’m all for it!
What to Do?
If you are a reader of food labels, you can immediately see the problem. Soy is added to EVERYTHING these days. And I mean everything. It is rare to find a food in a box that doesn’t contain soy in some form. Again, the goal for better health is to eat foods that are not processed, and which don’t even have labels. And, it is true that the “health foods” sector of the market is heavily invested in pushing unfermented soy-based foods.
There are good substitutes for the substitutes, such as almond milk in the place of soy milk. But, for most Americans, eating processed foods is a way of life, and it will take major changes to remove such unhealthy foods from their diets. Keep reading labels, and avoid unfermented soy!
Elizabeth Szlek is a trained chef and has taught Healthy Cooking and nutrition. She is also the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Utica. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
As I get more and more into the whole Genetically Modified seeds thing, the tragedy that will one day unfold before us seems to creep closer. I just ordered a whole garden of heirloom seeds, and intend, to the best of my ability, to plant them and actually get some return on my gardening efforts. Past forays into vegetable gardening left me with maybe three pumpkins and a couple of tomatoes. It now looks like I really need to produce some food, and perhaps the thing that will make is possible was a big can of anti-rabbit stuff I can spray around, since my resident wild rabbits have been the main recipients of my gardening efforts to date. This year, it’s MY TURN! Which brings me back to soy: A dreadful plague upon us all. We need to look at this stuff once again and firmly fix in our minds what it is! I am turning to Kaala Daniel, whose book The Whole Soy Story is still the best source for a detailed understanding of the problems with soy.
A Very Short History of Soy
The soybean was first cultivated in China, where it was considered “the yellow jewel”, and for several thousand years it ranked with rice, millet, barley and wheat as one of the “Five Sacred Grains”. What few among us know is that soy was never eaten by the Chinese until around 2500 years ago, when the method of fermenting soy into soy sauce was discovered. No, what they did with soy was plough it into the fields, thereby enriching the soil with its nitrogen-fixing roots. Soy was understood to be completely indigestible to both animals and humans in its original state.
So, soy sauce appeared, and other fermented soy products, such as tempeh, natto and miso eventually entered the food pantry of Asians. The key here is the word “fermented”. Fermentation is a beneficial process, whereby certain qualities of a food are changed into something often more healthful or delicious. Think of milk turning into Brie, cabbage into sauerkraut, grape juice into wine, and you get the general picture of fermentation. Yeast also helps turn flour into bread, and brine turns cucumbers into pickles. With soy, though, the original product—the naked soybean -- is considered inedible, and the fermentation makes it usable by the body.
Soy traveled to Japan, and in the 12th century, the Samurai warriors imposed the ascetic diet of rice, vegetables, fish and tofu (in small amounts) upon the population, and they have more or less stuck to this program until now.
Tofu is created from soy milk by precipitating curds by the use of nigari, or magnesium chloride. The curds are then pressed into blocks, creating the famous white, cheesy-looking stuff we all know and (sort of) love. It is interesting to note that monks in Japan, who are celibate, were the first to embrace the use of tofu as a meat substitute. The soy phytoestrogens have the effect of lowering testosterone, and thus making the monks’ commitment to celibacy that much easier. Take note you tofu-munching men! You might want to reconsider your chances at creating progeny!
But I digress. Soy consumption remained a thing of Asia, for the most part, with a few bottles of soy sauce on American shelves for those occasional forays into Chinese cuisine. However, after WWII, American technology and agribusiness concurred that soy was going to provide oil for processed foods, and many millions of acres were planted. Soy oil formed the basis for most margarines (with trans fats). However, there was a problem: Once the oil was extracted, tons of waste products remained. Most of it was fed to livestock for feed, until the amount of the stuff just began to overwhelm American food processors. This is where American innovation just took over. They thought and thought, and began coming up with “food products” made from unfermented soy. Stuff like lecithin, textured vegetable protein, soy flour and soy milks, infant formula, and eventually thousands of other products that are now ubiquitous in our processed foods. Not to mention those horrible little edamame beans.
So What’s Wrong With Soy?
I only have a limited space here, and for those of you who really want to understand this in depth, please get Dr. Daniel’s book mentioned above, but there are many reasons why we should not be eating unfermented soy. The main problem is that soy contains both toxins (poisons) and antinutrients. Antinutrients are elements of a food that work against good nutrition. Here is a short summary of some of the problems soy presents to the human body.
1. Over 90% of soybeans are genetically modified. GM foods present their own problems, but in addition to that fact, all soy is prone to causing allergic reactions, and soy is considered one of the top eight allergens in our diet.
2. Soy contains goitrogens, which damage the thyroid.
3. Soy contains lectins, which cause red blood cells to clump together and may cause immune system reactions.
4. Soy contains oligosaccharides, which cause bloating and flatulence.
5. Soy contains oxalates, which prevent proper absorption of calcium and have been linked to kidney stones and other painful conditions.
6. Soy contains other antinutrients, phytates , which impair absorption of minerals such as zinc, iron and calcium.
7. Soy contains isoflavones, or phytoestrogens (plant estrogens) that act like hormones and affect the reproductive and nervous systems. These include genistein and daidzein.
8. Soy contains protease inhibitors, such as trypsin inhibitors, which interfere with the digestive enzymes protease and trypsin. This can lead to gastric distress, poor protein digestion and an overworked pancreas. This can push one towards diabetes. A friend asked if the protease inhibitors in soy were the same as those in the HIV drugs. Yes, they are the same thing, which is why many HIV patients do develop diabetes and other gastic diseases. I guess it’s a tradeoff, but one which non-HIV people don’t have to make.
9. Soy contains saponins, which may lower cholesterol (but not in a good way) and may damage the intestinal lining.
I don’t know about you, but I think this list is long enough to scare anyone! None of us need to have any of the problems listed above, and if restricting our intake of unfermented soy will do it, I’m all for it!
What to Do?
If you are a reader of food labels, you can immediately see the problem. Soy is added to EVERYTHING these days. And I mean everything. It is rare to find a food in a box that doesn’t contain soy in some form. Again, the goal for better health is to eat foods that are not processed, and which don’t even have labels. And, it is true that the “health foods” sector of the market is heavily invested in pushing unfermented soy-based foods.
There are good substitutes for the substitutes, such as almond milk in the place of soy milk. But, for most Americans, eating processed foods is a way of life, and it will take major changes to remove such unhealthy foods from their diets. Keep reading labels, and avoid unfermented soy!
Elizabeth Szlek is a trained chef and has taught Healthy Cooking and nutrition. She is also the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Utica. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
Monday, February 28, 2011
TEDx in Oneida County: Changing the Way We Eat!
By Elizabeth Szlek
If you were watching the Foodshed Buying Club website in the past few weeks, you would have noticed an invitation to join others in watching a TEDx event at the Cornell Co-operative Extension, on February 12 of this year. Now, you might ask, what is TEDx? I admit, this was my first TED conference, but the founder of the Foodshed Buying Club, Shulamis Giordani, has been participating in TED events for some time. She just managed to bring it all to us in the Oneida County for a full day – for free!
TED (which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design) is a non-profit group devoted to ideas worth spreading. They have been at it since 1984, but I must admit, it didn’t make it onto my radar since this event about food. TEDx events are a more recent development, and they are always locally sponsored. The originating group for this event was TEDxManhattan, but the beauty of this kind of production is that it is broadcast in real time all over the world, so everyone present is seeing and experiencing the same event, all at once. The program lasted a full day, from 10:30 AM to around 6:30PM, but not to worry, the organizers had lined up several noteworthy businesses to provide free breakfast, lunch and a snack. The Rosemont Inn, Nail Creek Pub, the Bagel Grove, Slow Food Mohawk Valley and Jennifer Nutt came up with some wonderful eats for the large crowd who assembled for the event.
So, as we all watched the big screen in front of us, the day began with the host, environmental activist Laurie David, welcoming all of us around the world. From then on, there were a series of short talks, usually lasting about ten minutes, punctuated by Ethel ( the too-cool-for-school string quartet), and food!
The first session of TEDx consisted of views on “What happened?” to our way of eating. Talks ranged from a British professor, Carolyn Steel, showing how food shaped the cities we live in, to a report from MacArthur genius Cheryl Rogowski declaiming about the need to “respect the soil”, and eat seasonally. A woman from west central Illinois demonstrated the horrors of the factory hog farms which moved into her neighborhood (a NIMBY issue if I ever heard one!), and there was an enlightening talk on the American Farm Bill, and how little goes to the small farmers, versus Big Ag. The final speaker for the morning session spoke about the federal school lunch program, and the fact that one third of American kids are obese, and pointing out that some kids eat most of their meals at school, so it is really time to take a look at the nutrition kids receive in these all important meals.
The 1:30 Post-lunch session began with a revelatory speech by Dan Barber, a restaurant owner who traveled to Spain and found a wonderful fish on his plate from a sustainable fish farm at the end of the Guadalquivir River, where it runs into the sea.
The beauty of this fish farm is that it has developed into a complete self-sustaining loop, with the birds feeding on the fish, dropping their waste into the water, where it feeds the algae, which are eaten by small fish and other sea life, which is then eaten by the fish. No feeding of farm fish, as in America or other venues, is needed. This fish farm, unlike those which actually feed chicken-based feed to the captive fish, does not need to feed the fish at all, and therefore, no antibiotics or other nasty additives are found in the fish so farmed. This represented, for me, the most wonderful segment of the entire day, and one which lead to speculation as to why we cannot duplicate this system somewhere in America.
Local food advocates also presented their views on how Americans need to use all available land to “grow their own”, especially organically. We have seen the rise of community gardens in Utica, and it seems we are on the cutting edge of food thinking with such wonderful programs. Urban farming, edible schoolyards, mobile greengrocers and the CSA gardens must be the wave of the future! It was reported that in 1986 there were exactly two community gardens in America – but today, there are over 4800! This movement is especially important, but the organic farming movement still only represents 1% of all food produced in America. We should all prevail upon our elected officials at both state and federal levels to encourage the development of more sustainable and organic farming.
The final segment of the second section was by Josh Viertel, President of Slow Food, USA. He called slow food, or anything that is the opposite of “fast food” a “gateway drug” to activism and involvement in helping to preserve and protect real foods grown on smaller farms, free from pesticides and toxins. As encouragement to those fighting for preservation of healthy food choices, his take was this: “First they ignore you, then they fight you, then you win!” Let’s hope the food activists, and all of us, take his advice to heart, and begin talking, writing and working to keep real food in our stores and in our homes.
Fortified by bacon chocolate chip cookies made by Jennifer Nutt, the assembled group advanced to the final afternoon session. Dr. William Li gave a short talk entitled, “Can We Eat To Starve Cancer?”, which was fairly removed from the general trend of the rest of the segments, focusing on the discovery of anti-angiogenesis foods. For me, this was the most intriguing idea of the day.
Dr. Li’s research has shown that the development of cell groups into life-threatening cancer tumors depends upon the tumor’s ability to grow new blood vessels, called angiogenesis. He has discovered that a host of “regular” foods, such as blueberries, kale, grapes, shrimp, cheese and many others, actually contain substances called anti-angiogenesis agents, which actually prohibit the development of these tumor blood vessels. Therefore, while the threat of cancer may be present, it never materializes, and the person goes on with life unaffected. This is truly a revolutionary view of disease, by a typical allopathic doctor, but is seems to provide wonderful new ways for people to both protect themselves, and deal with early stage detected cancers. You can find his speech on the internet by Googling Dr. William Li and cancer. No doubt Dr. Li will be making the rounds of all the talk shows soon.
The day ended with more talks concerning finding funding for food-based businesses, growing foods in hanging gardens in urban windows, and other imaginative segments, including a man who grew a truck garden – in the bed of his truck!
TEDx in Oneida County was a triumph of organization, by Shulamis Giordani, owner and founder of the Foodshed Buying Club. She did a marvelous job of bringing the world to the cozy room at Cornell Co-operative Extension, and in doing so, it is hoped she helped all present change the way they eat!
Elizabeth Szlek is the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Yorkville, NY. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com
If you were watching the Foodshed Buying Club website in the past few weeks, you would have noticed an invitation to join others in watching a TEDx event at the Cornell Co-operative Extension, on February 12 of this year. Now, you might ask, what is TEDx? I admit, this was my first TED conference, but the founder of the Foodshed Buying Club, Shulamis Giordani, has been participating in TED events for some time. She just managed to bring it all to us in the Oneida County for a full day – for free!
TED (which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design) is a non-profit group devoted to ideas worth spreading. They have been at it since 1984, but I must admit, it didn’t make it onto my radar since this event about food. TEDx events are a more recent development, and they are always locally sponsored. The originating group for this event was TEDxManhattan, but the beauty of this kind of production is that it is broadcast in real time all over the world, so everyone present is seeing and experiencing the same event, all at once. The program lasted a full day, from 10:30 AM to around 6:30PM, but not to worry, the organizers had lined up several noteworthy businesses to provide free breakfast, lunch and a snack. The Rosemont Inn, Nail Creek Pub, the Bagel Grove, Slow Food Mohawk Valley and Jennifer Nutt came up with some wonderful eats for the large crowd who assembled for the event.
So, as we all watched the big screen in front of us, the day began with the host, environmental activist Laurie David, welcoming all of us around the world. From then on, there were a series of short talks, usually lasting about ten minutes, punctuated by Ethel ( the too-cool-for-school string quartet), and food!
The first session of TEDx consisted of views on “What happened?” to our way of eating. Talks ranged from a British professor, Carolyn Steel, showing how food shaped the cities we live in, to a report from MacArthur genius Cheryl Rogowski declaiming about the need to “respect the soil”, and eat seasonally. A woman from west central Illinois demonstrated the horrors of the factory hog farms which moved into her neighborhood (a NIMBY issue if I ever heard one!), and there was an enlightening talk on the American Farm Bill, and how little goes to the small farmers, versus Big Ag. The final speaker for the morning session spoke about the federal school lunch program, and the fact that one third of American kids are obese, and pointing out that some kids eat most of their meals at school, so it is really time to take a look at the nutrition kids receive in these all important meals.
The 1:30 Post-lunch session began with a revelatory speech by Dan Barber, a restaurant owner who traveled to Spain and found a wonderful fish on his plate from a sustainable fish farm at the end of the Guadalquivir River, where it runs into the sea.
The beauty of this fish farm is that it has developed into a complete self-sustaining loop, with the birds feeding on the fish, dropping their waste into the water, where it feeds the algae, which are eaten by small fish and other sea life, which is then eaten by the fish. No feeding of farm fish, as in America or other venues, is needed. This fish farm, unlike those which actually feed chicken-based feed to the captive fish, does not need to feed the fish at all, and therefore, no antibiotics or other nasty additives are found in the fish so farmed. This represented, for me, the most wonderful segment of the entire day, and one which lead to speculation as to why we cannot duplicate this system somewhere in America.
Local food advocates also presented their views on how Americans need to use all available land to “grow their own”, especially organically. We have seen the rise of community gardens in Utica, and it seems we are on the cutting edge of food thinking with such wonderful programs. Urban farming, edible schoolyards, mobile greengrocers and the CSA gardens must be the wave of the future! It was reported that in 1986 there were exactly two community gardens in America – but today, there are over 4800! This movement is especially important, but the organic farming movement still only represents 1% of all food produced in America. We should all prevail upon our elected officials at both state and federal levels to encourage the development of more sustainable and organic farming.
The final segment of the second section was by Josh Viertel, President of Slow Food, USA. He called slow food, or anything that is the opposite of “fast food” a “gateway drug” to activism and involvement in helping to preserve and protect real foods grown on smaller farms, free from pesticides and toxins. As encouragement to those fighting for preservation of healthy food choices, his take was this: “First they ignore you, then they fight you, then you win!” Let’s hope the food activists, and all of us, take his advice to heart, and begin talking, writing and working to keep real food in our stores and in our homes.
Fortified by bacon chocolate chip cookies made by Jennifer Nutt, the assembled group advanced to the final afternoon session. Dr. William Li gave a short talk entitled, “Can We Eat To Starve Cancer?”, which was fairly removed from the general trend of the rest of the segments, focusing on the discovery of anti-angiogenesis foods. For me, this was the most intriguing idea of the day.
Dr. Li’s research has shown that the development of cell groups into life-threatening cancer tumors depends upon the tumor’s ability to grow new blood vessels, called angiogenesis. He has discovered that a host of “regular” foods, such as blueberries, kale, grapes, shrimp, cheese and many others, actually contain substances called anti-angiogenesis agents, which actually prohibit the development of these tumor blood vessels. Therefore, while the threat of cancer may be present, it never materializes, and the person goes on with life unaffected. This is truly a revolutionary view of disease, by a typical allopathic doctor, but is seems to provide wonderful new ways for people to both protect themselves, and deal with early stage detected cancers. You can find his speech on the internet by Googling Dr. William Li and cancer. No doubt Dr. Li will be making the rounds of all the talk shows soon.
The day ended with more talks concerning finding funding for food-based businesses, growing foods in hanging gardens in urban windows, and other imaginative segments, including a man who grew a truck garden – in the bed of his truck!
TEDx in Oneida County was a triumph of organization, by Shulamis Giordani, owner and founder of the Foodshed Buying Club. She did a marvelous job of bringing the world to the cozy room at Cornell Co-operative Extension, and in doing so, it is hoped she helped all present change the way they eat!
Elizabeth Szlek is the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Yorkville, NY. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
The Twin Crises in America
By Elizabeth Szlek, Licensed Mental Health Counselor
I met last night with a group of women in a lovely Victorian home in Rome. We had met before, to discuss the problem of what kind of diet is the most healthful, and this meeting was a general discussion, which lasted for several hours.
The group was varied. There was a young mother, who was nursing her five-month-old son, as we spoke. He is doing very well! There was an older woman who, like me, is of Polish extraction. But, she had the blessing of growing up on a farm. Her family ate bacon every morning. She looked very healthy, and, this remarkable woman had given birth to seven children! Others had different stories, but we all were joined together in the search for the “right” way to eat. We want to eat in order to give our bodies the nutrients it needs. Quite a novel world view in our country, where eating to enjoy oneself seems to be the way to go!
The Case of Paul
A lot of issues coagulated (if that is the right word) for me yesterday, when I met a new client, Paul. Here, in one person, I saw the twin crises of mental health and diet come together in his "story", which is this: Paul began drinking lots of soda when he was a teenager. At that same time, he became very anxious, and was told he had anxiety issues. Soon after, he began to be medicated for his anxiety.
The medication didn’t really help, but Paul began drinking, and became violent when he did so. Eventually, he was placed in a mental hospital, and has been a chronic mental patient since that time. He showed me the long list of medications he is taking, and I mean a really, really long list.
I asked Paul about his diet, and it seems that it consists largely of Coke! Cans and cans of Coke, every day. Like, maybe, ten cans. And, of course, he is still anxious a good bit of the time. He has never really had any good counseling, but has had psychiatrists who, being stumped, give him more and more psychotropic medications. He has been told he is bi-polar, schizophrenic, and all sorts of other things.
But, guess what? I don’t believe any of it. To me, Paul is very likely hypoglycemic, and that’s it!
Hypoglycemia? What is it?
Of course, most of you know what hypoglycemia is: Low blood sugar. But how, you might say, could such a simply diagnosis escape the notice of all those scores of medical professionals who have been dosing Paul with drugs for the past years?
You all remember the old adage: If you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail! That is, if you are an allopathic doctor, or a psychiatrist, and someone comes in with a problem, you look for the drug to fix it! Except, drugs are usually not the solution. Food is the solution, or more properly, nutrition.
Here’s the thing: Hypoglycemia looks exactly like anxiety! Trembling, confusion, racing thoughts, feeling like you are going to pass out, chills, you name it! Low blood sugar is a terrible thing to experience. But, if a psychiatrist saw you experiencing low blood sugar over a long period of time, he or she would probably give you a diagnosis such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or maybe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. These disorders do exist, but in the case of Paul, I’m pretty sure his ingesting lots of sugary sodas caused his “psychiatric” symptoms. Why do I say this?
When someone drinks a can of soda, the sugar rapidly enters the bloodstream. To counteract this surge of sugar, the pancreas releases a lot of insulin, to bring the blood back to normal. Some people just cannot handle this kind of sugar attack, and their insulin removes TOO MUCH sugar, bringing sugar levels quite low. All of the “anxiety” symptoms appear, and in addition, the adrenal glands release epinephrine and norepinephrine, which cause hyperfocussing and other excitatory responses. Because this represents a state of arousal, cortisol, the stress hormone, is also released. And, to top it off, the brain sends out the exicitatory neurotransmitter glutamate, to really crank things up! If a child went through this pattern, we would call him or her “hyperactive”, and likely, this kid would be given some drugs to “calm down”.
So, once the body is in this state of low blood sugar, what do you think the natural response would be? Well, if you were a soda addict, you would go and get another can of Coke! If you were indulging in alcohol, you would go get another drink. And the cycle would continue.
The Horrible Triad
We have now identified three conditions that all lead to this kind of hypoglycemia. One condition is diabetes, the other is obesity, and the last is alcoholism.
It has been shown that kids who become hyperactive almost always have family members who suffer from these conditions, and now, it makes sense to me. All these people have trouble with sugar consumption. This leads to an inescapable conclusion: We all eat too much sugar, and it is wreaking havoc with our bodies and minds.!
Last night we were discussing the “holidays” of American life. Think about it: Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Easter. What do all these have in common?
Publicly sanctioned ingestion of candy! Candy, candy, candy! And, of course, the rest of the year Americans can fall back upon their sodas, pastries and snack cakes for that little “boost” of sugar.
The Twin Crises
So, why am I talking about the “Twin” crises in America. Simply because when someone who has trouble with sugar goes to a doctor, or worse, a psychiatrist, the old hammer comes out. Some kind of toxic medicine is given them for the problem.
I probably don’t have to remind you that in medical school, newly minted doctors have suffered through maybe a couple of hours of nutrition training. Tops. It just isn’t seen as very important.
However, when 25% of American children are on some kind of toxic medication, and 60% of adults are overweight or obese, and 75% of violent criminals are hypoglycemic, and children are becoming diabetic at shocking rates – well, perhaps it is time to stop medicating and start looking at the underlying cause of all these afflictions. Perhaps it is time to stop subsidizing the production of sugar, and start taxing heavily, as we do tobacco, anything containing the stuff! Maybe, even, it is time to train our doctors thoroughly in the wisdom of proper nutrition.
Maybe we don’t need anti-psychotic medications, when research shows that 100% of so-called schizophrenics are allergic to gluten. Maybe we don’t need Prozac when it has been shown that omega-3 oils alleviate depression. Maybe we don’t need Ritalin when it has been demonstrated repeatedly that taking toxic substances out children’s diets restores them to normality.
It is obvious that the aims of Big Pharma and Big Food have converged and produced a huge crisis in health in America. Please take some time to learn exactly what your body needs to perform properly. Food is not fun, it is the stuff of a healthy body and mind!
Elizabeth Szlek is the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Yorkville, NY. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
I met last night with a group of women in a lovely Victorian home in Rome. We had met before, to discuss the problem of what kind of diet is the most healthful, and this meeting was a general discussion, which lasted for several hours.
The group was varied. There was a young mother, who was nursing her five-month-old son, as we spoke. He is doing very well! There was an older woman who, like me, is of Polish extraction. But, she had the blessing of growing up on a farm. Her family ate bacon every morning. She looked very healthy, and, this remarkable woman had given birth to seven children! Others had different stories, but we all were joined together in the search for the “right” way to eat. We want to eat in order to give our bodies the nutrients it needs. Quite a novel world view in our country, where eating to enjoy oneself seems to be the way to go!
The Case of Paul
A lot of issues coagulated (if that is the right word) for me yesterday, when I met a new client, Paul. Here, in one person, I saw the twin crises of mental health and diet come together in his "story", which is this: Paul began drinking lots of soda when he was a teenager. At that same time, he became very anxious, and was told he had anxiety issues. Soon after, he began to be medicated for his anxiety.
The medication didn’t really help, but Paul began drinking, and became violent when he did so. Eventually, he was placed in a mental hospital, and has been a chronic mental patient since that time. He showed me the long list of medications he is taking, and I mean a really, really long list.
I asked Paul about his diet, and it seems that it consists largely of Coke! Cans and cans of Coke, every day. Like, maybe, ten cans. And, of course, he is still anxious a good bit of the time. He has never really had any good counseling, but has had psychiatrists who, being stumped, give him more and more psychotropic medications. He has been told he is bi-polar, schizophrenic, and all sorts of other things.
But, guess what? I don’t believe any of it. To me, Paul is very likely hypoglycemic, and that’s it!
Hypoglycemia? What is it?
Of course, most of you know what hypoglycemia is: Low blood sugar. But how, you might say, could such a simply diagnosis escape the notice of all those scores of medical professionals who have been dosing Paul with drugs for the past years?
You all remember the old adage: If you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail! That is, if you are an allopathic doctor, or a psychiatrist, and someone comes in with a problem, you look for the drug to fix it! Except, drugs are usually not the solution. Food is the solution, or more properly, nutrition.
Here’s the thing: Hypoglycemia looks exactly like anxiety! Trembling, confusion, racing thoughts, feeling like you are going to pass out, chills, you name it! Low blood sugar is a terrible thing to experience. But, if a psychiatrist saw you experiencing low blood sugar over a long period of time, he or she would probably give you a diagnosis such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or maybe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. These disorders do exist, but in the case of Paul, I’m pretty sure his ingesting lots of sugary sodas caused his “psychiatric” symptoms. Why do I say this?
When someone drinks a can of soda, the sugar rapidly enters the bloodstream. To counteract this surge of sugar, the pancreas releases a lot of insulin, to bring the blood back to normal. Some people just cannot handle this kind of sugar attack, and their insulin removes TOO MUCH sugar, bringing sugar levels quite low. All of the “anxiety” symptoms appear, and in addition, the adrenal glands release epinephrine and norepinephrine, which cause hyperfocussing and other excitatory responses. Because this represents a state of arousal, cortisol, the stress hormone, is also released. And, to top it off, the brain sends out the exicitatory neurotransmitter glutamate, to really crank things up! If a child went through this pattern, we would call him or her “hyperactive”, and likely, this kid would be given some drugs to “calm down”.
So, once the body is in this state of low blood sugar, what do you think the natural response would be? Well, if you were a soda addict, you would go and get another can of Coke! If you were indulging in alcohol, you would go get another drink. And the cycle would continue.
The Horrible Triad
We have now identified three conditions that all lead to this kind of hypoglycemia. One condition is diabetes, the other is obesity, and the last is alcoholism.
It has been shown that kids who become hyperactive almost always have family members who suffer from these conditions, and now, it makes sense to me. All these people have trouble with sugar consumption. This leads to an inescapable conclusion: We all eat too much sugar, and it is wreaking havoc with our bodies and minds.!
Last night we were discussing the “holidays” of American life. Think about it: Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Easter. What do all these have in common?
Publicly sanctioned ingestion of candy! Candy, candy, candy! And, of course, the rest of the year Americans can fall back upon their sodas, pastries and snack cakes for that little “boost” of sugar.
The Twin Crises
So, why am I talking about the “Twin” crises in America. Simply because when someone who has trouble with sugar goes to a doctor, or worse, a psychiatrist, the old hammer comes out. Some kind of toxic medicine is given them for the problem.
I probably don’t have to remind you that in medical school, newly minted doctors have suffered through maybe a couple of hours of nutrition training. Tops. It just isn’t seen as very important.
However, when 25% of American children are on some kind of toxic medication, and 60% of adults are overweight or obese, and 75% of violent criminals are hypoglycemic, and children are becoming diabetic at shocking rates – well, perhaps it is time to stop medicating and start looking at the underlying cause of all these afflictions. Perhaps it is time to stop subsidizing the production of sugar, and start taxing heavily, as we do tobacco, anything containing the stuff! Maybe, even, it is time to train our doctors thoroughly in the wisdom of proper nutrition.
Maybe we don’t need anti-psychotic medications, when research shows that 100% of so-called schizophrenics are allergic to gluten. Maybe we don’t need Prozac when it has been shown that omega-3 oils alleviate depression. Maybe we don’t need Ritalin when it has been demonstrated repeatedly that taking toxic substances out children’s diets restores them to normality.
It is obvious that the aims of Big Pharma and Big Food have converged and produced a huge crisis in health in America. Please take some time to learn exactly what your body needs to perform properly. Food is not fun, it is the stuff of a healthy body and mind!
Elizabeth Szlek is the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Yorkville, NY. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
Friday, February 11, 2011
The Myth of the Chemical Imbalance
By Elizabeth Szlek, Licensed Mental Health Counselor
I am sure that most of you can conjure up a lovely, production-value-laden commercial for some kind of psychiatric drug. Somewhere in the message you hear the words “chemical imbalance”, and begin absorbing the meme (propaganda) that when someone has a mental illness, it is due to a chemical imbalance in their brain. This all sounds rather reasonable, and scienc-y, doesn’t it? Who are you to question a huge pharmaceutical corporation raking in billions on each little pill every year? Or, God forbid, question the most powerful people in America – psychiatrists? Psychiatrists can meet you and decide you need to be locked up, and you WILL be locked up. Even common criminals have a better shot at freedom than those who seem too different.
Well, I am here to tell you that our society has constructed a house of cards called Biopsychiatry, and it is possible that the first gusts of wind have already started blowing, ready to collapse it.
What is a Chemical Imbalance of the Brain?
First off, let us state that our brain is the most complex entity in the entire known universe. No one understands completely what is going on. We do know that the brain makes use of upwards of two hundred neurotransmitters, or chemical messengers, which keep things running smoothly. However, most psychiatric drugs operate on just a handful of these transmitters. What psychiatric drugs do is load the brain up with selected transmitters, and send the brain into a chemical imbalance. Did you get that? The chemical imbalance did not exist until a drug designed to enter the brain actually enters the brain. Now, you actually DO have a chemical imbalance. Actually, to be more specific, you now have brain toxicity or poisoning, because these drugs are composed of toxic chemicals, such as fluoride, found in Prozac and other anti-depression drugs.
Once a drug has entered the brain, NO ONE KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN! By this, I mean, no one can remotely imagine the effect it will have on the individual, because we are all different. Basically, though, we can assume one of three general effects:
1. The person will say that s/he feels “nothing”. The perception of “no effect” probably means that this person has a very well-functioning liver, because this organ is responsible for cleaning toxins out of the body. These are the lucky ones.
2. The second class of people “feel different”, and for whatever reason, they attribute these new feelings to the efficacy of the drug. It is doing what the psychiatrist said it would do. Now, there is a placebo effect here, as well as the actual effect of the drug. This means that you can give some people a pill composed of sugar, and when they take it, they feel a lot better! But, of course, they have taken a toxic substance that is indeed affecting their brain, so, for some, they think that a good thing is happening to them. It’s not, though, because they are putting a toxic substance into their brain, and many changes are occurring in the brain which are not good. The brain is being at least temporarily changed to accommodate itself to the toxin. Neuron receptors are being pared back to prevent overload of a particular neurotransmitter, and sometimes these do not grow back. After long-term psychiatric drug use, dementia occurs, which means the brain has lost significant cognitive functioning. I had a client who had taken Xanax for over twenty-five years. She couldn’t remember how to fix dinner any more. 25% of the children in America are taking powerful drugs. How long will it take some of them to become demented?
3. The third response to psychiatric drugs is the one we all fear the most. This response is that the person’s liver absolutely cannot metabolize the drug. Toxins build up in the brain, and chaos results. In this class we find those who “go postal”, those who hallucinate, become psychotic, kill and maim themselves or others, go out and commit inexplicable crimes, and do all sorts of other horrible things. It is a fact that the majority of school shooters have been exposed to psychiatric drugs, and every time you hear of some very weird shooting or killing, you should first think: “Was this person on psychiatric or street drugs?”, because usually, that is the case. I know a woman whose daughter, age twelve was a lovely, happy girl, a good student, who went to her family doctor because she has warts. The kindly physician questioned her about school, and she admitted to some disappointment about something happening at school. He decided she was “depressed”, and gave her a prescription for Zoloft. Within days, she was found dead in her room, having hanged herself. This is the power of psychiatric drugs on those who cannot metabolize them. One to two percent of people cannot metabolize these drugs. Millions are taking them every day. You can expect more horrific stories to appear regularly. But now, you don’t have to shake your head in wonder at the nonsensical nature of the crimes. It makes sense.
Myth and Truth
So, there is no inherent chemical imbalance in the brain that requires the correction of psychiatric drugs, but there is something happening to millions of brains around the world. The truth is that our brains are mightily affected by our nutrition, and millions of people are simply malnourished. Translating this into simple terms, this means that for the first time in history, large portions of the population are not giving their brains the nutrients it needs to function properly. This is the little secret that is coming out day by day. Every day or so I receive another notation that a study has been conducted that finds, for example, that lack of sufficient vitamin D is responsible for depression, or that so-called schizophrenia is ameliorated by ingestion of the fat-soluble vitamins.
This is the movement that may soon demolish the entire biopsychiatric house of cards, with their hundreds of different “disorders”. Nutrition will be seen to be the key to mental health, and the “cure” for mental “illnesses.” If there is something called a chemical imbalance of the brain, but which is really a nutritional deficiency, it will be corrected not by toxins, but by foods!
Elizabeth Szlek is the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Yorkville. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
I am sure that most of you can conjure up a lovely, production-value-laden commercial for some kind of psychiatric drug. Somewhere in the message you hear the words “chemical imbalance”, and begin absorbing the meme (propaganda) that when someone has a mental illness, it is due to a chemical imbalance in their brain. This all sounds rather reasonable, and scienc-y, doesn’t it? Who are you to question a huge pharmaceutical corporation raking in billions on each little pill every year? Or, God forbid, question the most powerful people in America – psychiatrists? Psychiatrists can meet you and decide you need to be locked up, and you WILL be locked up. Even common criminals have a better shot at freedom than those who seem too different.
Well, I am here to tell you that our society has constructed a house of cards called Biopsychiatry, and it is possible that the first gusts of wind have already started blowing, ready to collapse it.
What is a Chemical Imbalance of the Brain?
First off, let us state that our brain is the most complex entity in the entire known universe. No one understands completely what is going on. We do know that the brain makes use of upwards of two hundred neurotransmitters, or chemical messengers, which keep things running smoothly. However, most psychiatric drugs operate on just a handful of these transmitters. What psychiatric drugs do is load the brain up with selected transmitters, and send the brain into a chemical imbalance. Did you get that? The chemical imbalance did not exist until a drug designed to enter the brain actually enters the brain. Now, you actually DO have a chemical imbalance. Actually, to be more specific, you now have brain toxicity or poisoning, because these drugs are composed of toxic chemicals, such as fluoride, found in Prozac and other anti-depression drugs.
Once a drug has entered the brain, NO ONE KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN! By this, I mean, no one can remotely imagine the effect it will have on the individual, because we are all different. Basically, though, we can assume one of three general effects:
1. The person will say that s/he feels “nothing”. The perception of “no effect” probably means that this person has a very well-functioning liver, because this organ is responsible for cleaning toxins out of the body. These are the lucky ones.
2. The second class of people “feel different”, and for whatever reason, they attribute these new feelings to the efficacy of the drug. It is doing what the psychiatrist said it would do. Now, there is a placebo effect here, as well as the actual effect of the drug. This means that you can give some people a pill composed of sugar, and when they take it, they feel a lot better! But, of course, they have taken a toxic substance that is indeed affecting their brain, so, for some, they think that a good thing is happening to them. It’s not, though, because they are putting a toxic substance into their brain, and many changes are occurring in the brain which are not good. The brain is being at least temporarily changed to accommodate itself to the toxin. Neuron receptors are being pared back to prevent overload of a particular neurotransmitter, and sometimes these do not grow back. After long-term psychiatric drug use, dementia occurs, which means the brain has lost significant cognitive functioning. I had a client who had taken Xanax for over twenty-five years. She couldn’t remember how to fix dinner any more. 25% of the children in America are taking powerful drugs. How long will it take some of them to become demented?
3. The third response to psychiatric drugs is the one we all fear the most. This response is that the person’s liver absolutely cannot metabolize the drug. Toxins build up in the brain, and chaos results. In this class we find those who “go postal”, those who hallucinate, become psychotic, kill and maim themselves or others, go out and commit inexplicable crimes, and do all sorts of other horrible things. It is a fact that the majority of school shooters have been exposed to psychiatric drugs, and every time you hear of some very weird shooting or killing, you should first think: “Was this person on psychiatric or street drugs?”, because usually, that is the case. I know a woman whose daughter, age twelve was a lovely, happy girl, a good student, who went to her family doctor because she has warts. The kindly physician questioned her about school, and she admitted to some disappointment about something happening at school. He decided she was “depressed”, and gave her a prescription for Zoloft. Within days, she was found dead in her room, having hanged herself. This is the power of psychiatric drugs on those who cannot metabolize them. One to two percent of people cannot metabolize these drugs. Millions are taking them every day. You can expect more horrific stories to appear regularly. But now, you don’t have to shake your head in wonder at the nonsensical nature of the crimes. It makes sense.
Myth and Truth
So, there is no inherent chemical imbalance in the brain that requires the correction of psychiatric drugs, but there is something happening to millions of brains around the world. The truth is that our brains are mightily affected by our nutrition, and millions of people are simply malnourished. Translating this into simple terms, this means that for the first time in history, large portions of the population are not giving their brains the nutrients it needs to function properly. This is the little secret that is coming out day by day. Every day or so I receive another notation that a study has been conducted that finds, for example, that lack of sufficient vitamin D is responsible for depression, or that so-called schizophrenia is ameliorated by ingestion of the fat-soluble vitamins.
This is the movement that may soon demolish the entire biopsychiatric house of cards, with their hundreds of different “disorders”. Nutrition will be seen to be the key to mental health, and the “cure” for mental “illnesses.” If there is something called a chemical imbalance of the brain, but which is really a nutritional deficiency, it will be corrected not by toxins, but by foods!
Elizabeth Szlek is the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Yorkville. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
Monday, January 31, 2011
The Most Important Thing You Can Eat!
By Elizabeth Szlek, LMHC
With that arresting title, I thought I would get your attention! However, there is one part of any diet that actually falls into this category, and I would bet that the overwhelming majority of readers has never given this piece of the nutritional puzzle a second thought. What could it be?: Protein, vitamins, fats (can’t be that!), minerals, water? Good guesses, but these elements are merely the raw materials used by this body system to carry on all the life processes and create all the body parts. The answer: Food enzymes!
What Are Enzymes?
This is going to sound a little overblown, but the fact is, enzymes are the stuff that make life possible. For starters, they must be present for every one of the over 80,000 chemical reactions that take place in our bodies to occur. No enzymes, no activity. You could think of them as the “labor force” which actually does all the work. But, in truth, they are much, much more. You could ingest all the vitamin, minerals and other nutrients you want, but without sufficient enzymes, nothing would happen.
It is almost impossible to accurately describe enzymes, but giving it a stab, here goes: They are the life force of the body. They are the energy source of the body, and without them, bodily life ceases. It is amazing that so few of us understand or even recognize this fact, but learning how enzymes are used in the body can mean the difference between a life of health, one plagued with illness, and one which is cut short due to exhaustion of enzyme supplies.
Again, it is very difficult to describe “what” enzymes are. In a way, you can think of them as the essence of animal life itself. They are mystical, if you really want to think about it. With all this in mind, let’s see if we can figure out how to incorporate these ideas into our day-to-day lives.
Where Do Enzymes Come From?
The classic text on enzymes was written in 1946, by Dr. Edward Howell. Food Enzymes for Health and Longevity made a splash in certain circles, but it didn’t really get going until recent years, and has been especially promoted by the Weston A. Price Foundation (www.westronaprice.org) , the organization that is attempting to bring traditional ways of eating back to replace the deadly American diet we are now being pressured to adopt. Dr. Howell opened a healing clinic in the ‘30’s, in which he worked to cure illnesses through nutrition. His book is the fruit of those years of healing. The book is no easy read, but its foundational wisdom is there, and I am giving you the general overview. To pursue this topic further, you might want to read instead the wonderful book Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig. That opus forms the basis for the work of the Weston A. Price Foundation.
According to Dr. Howell, when a person is born, they have a storehouse of food enzymes within their bodies, which he calls their “enzyme potential”. He states that “This limited supply of activity factors of life force must last us a lifetime.” In addition, he goes on to state that the faster metabolic rate, the quicker the enzymes are used up. For me, this was an eye opener. Throughout our society, we hear, every day, “Get your metabolism to speed up!” Me, I’m pretty sedentary, and yet very healthy. Can it be that reading books is preferable to Zumba classes?? I certainly hope so! But I digress….
The second big idea he puts forth is that we can supplement our inborn enzyme potential by eating foods which contain the materials our body can use to produce more enzymes. However, listen up! Eating food that is cooked to a temperature beyond 212 degrees destroys 100% of the enzymes in it. This fact is the basis for the “raw food” movement that you may have heard of. And, our American diet consists almost totally of cooked and processed foods. In other words, dead foods that cannot ultimately promote life.
Here’s how Dr. Howell puts it: Regardless of the species of animal, the faster the metabolic rate, the short the life span. Other things being equal, you live as long as your body has enzyme activity factors to make enzymes from. When it gets to the point that your body can’t make certain enzymes, then your life ends.
The Secrets of Health and Longevity
If you are in despair at this point, don’t worry! Few among us have the fortitude to live on a diet of raw foods. But, if we realize that our diet MUST CONTAIN LIVING FOODS, and the more living foods we consume, the better our store of enzyme materials, we have several choices.
First, we can make a concerted effort to include raw, living foods in our daily diets. This would include nutritionally dense salads (spinach, not Iceberg lettuce), fresh fruit and uncooked vegetables, raw animal products such as raw milk and raw honey, and even raw meat and fish. All traditional cultures have had these products in their diets. Just think of steak Tartare, sushi, carpaccio, Kibbeh, and escabeche, to name a few. These are animal products which have been enjoyed for centuries. Then consider a rare steak, cooked to well below 212 degrees. Delicious! And full of enzymes.
Another way to go is to eat fruits that are high in enzymes, such as papaya (raw), bananas, avocados and mangoes. This is sounding better every minute! However, some foods, mainly seeds, contain elements known as enzyme inhibitors, and these foods should never be eaten raw. This includes raw peanuts, soy in any form (Don’t eat edamame!), raw peas or lentils, or potatoes. Most nuts should be soaked and then lightly roasted, which removes the inhibitors, and actually makes the nuts much more delicious.
Dr. Howell’s work seems to prove that using up our precious enzyme supplies leads to premature aging, and the development of most degenerative diseases. He recommends that if insufficient enzymes are ingested, and a diet of mostly cooked food is eaten, the person should ideally take enzyme supplements to make sure enzyme supplies are at levels that sustain life.
Think about eating more raw foods that are enzyme rich—and stay away from processed, dead food!
Elizabeth Szlek is a Health and Wellness Counselor, and is the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Yorkville. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
With that arresting title, I thought I would get your attention! However, there is one part of any diet that actually falls into this category, and I would bet that the overwhelming majority of readers has never given this piece of the nutritional puzzle a second thought. What could it be?: Protein, vitamins, fats (can’t be that!), minerals, water? Good guesses, but these elements are merely the raw materials used by this body system to carry on all the life processes and create all the body parts. The answer: Food enzymes!
What Are Enzymes?
This is going to sound a little overblown, but the fact is, enzymes are the stuff that make life possible. For starters, they must be present for every one of the over 80,000 chemical reactions that take place in our bodies to occur. No enzymes, no activity. You could think of them as the “labor force” which actually does all the work. But, in truth, they are much, much more. You could ingest all the vitamin, minerals and other nutrients you want, but without sufficient enzymes, nothing would happen.
It is almost impossible to accurately describe enzymes, but giving it a stab, here goes: They are the life force of the body. They are the energy source of the body, and without them, bodily life ceases. It is amazing that so few of us understand or even recognize this fact, but learning how enzymes are used in the body can mean the difference between a life of health, one plagued with illness, and one which is cut short due to exhaustion of enzyme supplies.
Again, it is very difficult to describe “what” enzymes are. In a way, you can think of them as the essence of animal life itself. They are mystical, if you really want to think about it. With all this in mind, let’s see if we can figure out how to incorporate these ideas into our day-to-day lives.
Where Do Enzymes Come From?
The classic text on enzymes was written in 1946, by Dr. Edward Howell. Food Enzymes for Health and Longevity made a splash in certain circles, but it didn’t really get going until recent years, and has been especially promoted by the Weston A. Price Foundation (www.westronaprice.org) , the organization that is attempting to bring traditional ways of eating back to replace the deadly American diet we are now being pressured to adopt. Dr. Howell opened a healing clinic in the ‘30’s, in which he worked to cure illnesses through nutrition. His book is the fruit of those years of healing. The book is no easy read, but its foundational wisdom is there, and I am giving you the general overview. To pursue this topic further, you might want to read instead the wonderful book Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig. That opus forms the basis for the work of the Weston A. Price Foundation.
According to Dr. Howell, when a person is born, they have a storehouse of food enzymes within their bodies, which he calls their “enzyme potential”. He states that “This limited supply of activity factors of life force must last us a lifetime.” In addition, he goes on to state that the faster metabolic rate, the quicker the enzymes are used up. For me, this was an eye opener. Throughout our society, we hear, every day, “Get your metabolism to speed up!” Me, I’m pretty sedentary, and yet very healthy. Can it be that reading books is preferable to Zumba classes?? I certainly hope so! But I digress….
The second big idea he puts forth is that we can supplement our inborn enzyme potential by eating foods which contain the materials our body can use to produce more enzymes. However, listen up! Eating food that is cooked to a temperature beyond 212 degrees destroys 100% of the enzymes in it. This fact is the basis for the “raw food” movement that you may have heard of. And, our American diet consists almost totally of cooked and processed foods. In other words, dead foods that cannot ultimately promote life.
Here’s how Dr. Howell puts it: Regardless of the species of animal, the faster the metabolic rate, the short the life span. Other things being equal, you live as long as your body has enzyme activity factors to make enzymes from. When it gets to the point that your body can’t make certain enzymes, then your life ends.
The Secrets of Health and Longevity
If you are in despair at this point, don’t worry! Few among us have the fortitude to live on a diet of raw foods. But, if we realize that our diet MUST CONTAIN LIVING FOODS, and the more living foods we consume, the better our store of enzyme materials, we have several choices.
First, we can make a concerted effort to include raw, living foods in our daily diets. This would include nutritionally dense salads (spinach, not Iceberg lettuce), fresh fruit and uncooked vegetables, raw animal products such as raw milk and raw honey, and even raw meat and fish. All traditional cultures have had these products in their diets. Just think of steak Tartare, sushi, carpaccio, Kibbeh, and escabeche, to name a few. These are animal products which have been enjoyed for centuries. Then consider a rare steak, cooked to well below 212 degrees. Delicious! And full of enzymes.
Another way to go is to eat fruits that are high in enzymes, such as papaya (raw), bananas, avocados and mangoes. This is sounding better every minute! However, some foods, mainly seeds, contain elements known as enzyme inhibitors, and these foods should never be eaten raw. This includes raw peanuts, soy in any form (Don’t eat edamame!), raw peas or lentils, or potatoes. Most nuts should be soaked and then lightly roasted, which removes the inhibitors, and actually makes the nuts much more delicious.
Dr. Howell’s work seems to prove that using up our precious enzyme supplies leads to premature aging, and the development of most degenerative diseases. He recommends that if insufficient enzymes are ingested, and a diet of mostly cooked food is eaten, the person should ideally take enzyme supplements to make sure enzyme supplies are at levels that sustain life.
Think about eating more raw foods that are enzyme rich—and stay away from processed, dead food!
Elizabeth Szlek is a Health and Wellness Counselor, and is the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Yorkville. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Globes, Gowns and Insults
For The Rome Observer, January 18, 2011
By Elizabeth Szlek, LMHC
Last Sunday night we all were encouraged to watch the Golden Globes annual awards presentation, so that we would all know what movies to go to, and which television shows to watch. Since I am a fan of neither, I didn’t intend to participate in this nationwide event, but as it happens, my curiosity got the better of me, and I tuned in for the first hour of red carpet, and then for a couple of hours more of the real thing – until I couldn’t take it anymore.
I do watch “Project Runway”, however, because I am a former devoted seamstress, who used to make all her own clothes. Yep, I was totally broke, but because a friend supplied me with free couturier fabrics, I ran around Manhattan sporting Yves St. Laurent suits, Calvin Klein sportswear, and Nina Ricci concert gear. So, I do like to see what people are wearing, it’s true.
And, the Globes did not disappoint in that department. There were many very beautiful women wearing equally beautiful gowns. Some were simply stunning. It is obvious there is no lack of design talent in America (and abroad). Of course, the crassness of having to tell “who” you are wearing is what the red carpet stuff is all about now. Think of it as a one-hour promo for the fashion industry. Yes, you have to listen to mindless patter, but it is all pretty civil. The interviewers have a practiced breathlessness when jamming a mic in the face of some has-been or soon-to-be, or, (gasp) actual living icons like Angie and Brad.
Downhill Fast
Once I returned from my popcorn-making duties to settle in for the “real” show, I found myself looking at Ricky Gervais, the host. I figured I would watch for a while, and then pull the plug when it got too boring. But, as it turns out, something else took place.
I am a member of the Boomer Generation, and went through the whole thing with rebellion, protesting, and the rise of the rogue/rebel/misfit actor thing seemingly started by Marlon Brando. Actors used to practice, or at least fake, civility, since they were often portraying upper crust sorts of characters, and they maintained this façade during their public appearances. Let me tell you, folks—game over on that one.
First, if there were writers for this event: Shame on you! Shame! Shame! Oh, but maybe that concept is now forgotten by the generation who’s “gotta be me!” Gotta be me and say every revolting and ugly and unkind thing I can think of – epater les bourgeois! We must all “shock” everyone else now, and because of this, an basically stupid event like the Golden Globes becomes a festival of insult to one and all.
I noticed one thing, though. Most of the younger people involved were not as ugly as the older generations. The young ones still had the deer in the headlights look, fear, when reading their little presentation speeches. This left the veterans like “Iron Man” Robert Downey, to make a complete fool of himself while he sexually harassed all the actresses nominated for awards. But, then, he himself was dissed by the gracious host, Mr. Gervais, who helpfully pointed out that Mr. Downey had been through several rehab experiences. Just the sort of intro anyone would enjoy! In fact, Mr. Gervais outdid himself by introducing the President of the Golden Globes association by chattering on that he had just come from helping him off the toilet, and then giving him his false teeth.
When said elderly gentleman then appeared, he threw a jibe back at his host, saying, in essence, “You’ll never work in this town again!” Lovely.
The insults just kept coming: In introducing an entire category of awards, Foreign Films, the presenters stated something to the effect that “no one in America cares about this one” and indicated it was a big bore. The woman who accepted the award nattered on in English, dropping a line about potatoes that I didn’t catch, but at least she seemed genuinely pleased by the events.
Some young guy I have never seen before won an award, and he took this opportunity to “come out” for all the gays in existence, and tell the world, and the television audience, “Screw you!” How very lovely.
The Big Moment of the evening came when actor Robert De Niro received a Lifetime Achievement award. He looked terribly disheveled, unlike some of the other men, who presented themselves in suits made from either fabulous stuff, or perhaps some of the ubiquitous garbage bag garment produced on the aforementioned “Project Runway”. He accepted the award and launched into a garrulous and unkempt flow of verbiage, offering the idea that perhaps the foreign correspondents were in slight attendance because they had been deported. This was obviously scripted, because he complained that the crawl was going too fast and he missed some of what he had to say…Tant pis!
Is It We or Is It Hollywood?
At this point, I have to wonder: Are we getting what we want, or what Hollywood thinks we want, or deserve? Are we as a nation equally crass and vulgar as these “stars”?
I don’t know the answer, but I believe that through the years, the films we have all watched HAVE made a deep impression on us all. I don’t believe that theatrical performances, in any medium, are valueless entertainment. They do mold our minds and our values, just as music does. Maybe because I don’t watch much TV or go to movies, this makes me out of touch with the current Zeitgeist. Maybe many of you did not notice the profound disconnect between the lavish dresses and the offensive manners and lack of any kind of civility. For me, it was like putting on a Prada gown and going down to the pigsty: except that I really think highly of pigs and their intelligence.
I think the rebellion thing, the need to be outré and “bad” has come full circle. Now, we can’t even have a civil awards presentation! Everyone is constantly finding themselves in the midst of a “roast”. I never liked that form of comedic battling, and I still don’t, but now the Rodney Dangerfield Way of Life seems to have overtaken everything. Aren’t you sick of it? Don’t you long for a kind, polite word? I do, but I don’t expect to hear any any time soon.
Elizabeth Szlek is the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Yorkville, NY. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
By Elizabeth Szlek, LMHC
Last Sunday night we all were encouraged to watch the Golden Globes annual awards presentation, so that we would all know what movies to go to, and which television shows to watch. Since I am a fan of neither, I didn’t intend to participate in this nationwide event, but as it happens, my curiosity got the better of me, and I tuned in for the first hour of red carpet, and then for a couple of hours more of the real thing – until I couldn’t take it anymore.
I do watch “Project Runway”, however, because I am a former devoted seamstress, who used to make all her own clothes. Yep, I was totally broke, but because a friend supplied me with free couturier fabrics, I ran around Manhattan sporting Yves St. Laurent suits, Calvin Klein sportswear, and Nina Ricci concert gear. So, I do like to see what people are wearing, it’s true.
And, the Globes did not disappoint in that department. There were many very beautiful women wearing equally beautiful gowns. Some were simply stunning. It is obvious there is no lack of design talent in America (and abroad). Of course, the crassness of having to tell “who” you are wearing is what the red carpet stuff is all about now. Think of it as a one-hour promo for the fashion industry. Yes, you have to listen to mindless patter, but it is all pretty civil. The interviewers have a practiced breathlessness when jamming a mic in the face of some has-been or soon-to-be, or, (gasp) actual living icons like Angie and Brad.
Downhill Fast
Once I returned from my popcorn-making duties to settle in for the “real” show, I found myself looking at Ricky Gervais, the host. I figured I would watch for a while, and then pull the plug when it got too boring. But, as it turns out, something else took place.
I am a member of the Boomer Generation, and went through the whole thing with rebellion, protesting, and the rise of the rogue/rebel/misfit actor thing seemingly started by Marlon Brando. Actors used to practice, or at least fake, civility, since they were often portraying upper crust sorts of characters, and they maintained this façade during their public appearances. Let me tell you, folks—game over on that one.
First, if there were writers for this event: Shame on you! Shame! Shame! Oh, but maybe that concept is now forgotten by the generation who’s “gotta be me!” Gotta be me and say every revolting and ugly and unkind thing I can think of – epater les bourgeois! We must all “shock” everyone else now, and because of this, an basically stupid event like the Golden Globes becomes a festival of insult to one and all.
I noticed one thing, though. Most of the younger people involved were not as ugly as the older generations. The young ones still had the deer in the headlights look, fear, when reading their little presentation speeches. This left the veterans like “Iron Man” Robert Downey, to make a complete fool of himself while he sexually harassed all the actresses nominated for awards. But, then, he himself was dissed by the gracious host, Mr. Gervais, who helpfully pointed out that Mr. Downey had been through several rehab experiences. Just the sort of intro anyone would enjoy! In fact, Mr. Gervais outdid himself by introducing the President of the Golden Globes association by chattering on that he had just come from helping him off the toilet, and then giving him his false teeth.
When said elderly gentleman then appeared, he threw a jibe back at his host, saying, in essence, “You’ll never work in this town again!” Lovely.
The insults just kept coming: In introducing an entire category of awards, Foreign Films, the presenters stated something to the effect that “no one in America cares about this one” and indicated it was a big bore. The woman who accepted the award nattered on in English, dropping a line about potatoes that I didn’t catch, but at least she seemed genuinely pleased by the events.
Some young guy I have never seen before won an award, and he took this opportunity to “come out” for all the gays in existence, and tell the world, and the television audience, “Screw you!” How very lovely.
The Big Moment of the evening came when actor Robert De Niro received a Lifetime Achievement award. He looked terribly disheveled, unlike some of the other men, who presented themselves in suits made from either fabulous stuff, or perhaps some of the ubiquitous garbage bag garment produced on the aforementioned “Project Runway”. He accepted the award and launched into a garrulous and unkempt flow of verbiage, offering the idea that perhaps the foreign correspondents were in slight attendance because they had been deported. This was obviously scripted, because he complained that the crawl was going too fast and he missed some of what he had to say…Tant pis!
Is It We or Is It Hollywood?
At this point, I have to wonder: Are we getting what we want, or what Hollywood thinks we want, or deserve? Are we as a nation equally crass and vulgar as these “stars”?
I don’t know the answer, but I believe that through the years, the films we have all watched HAVE made a deep impression on us all. I don’t believe that theatrical performances, in any medium, are valueless entertainment. They do mold our minds and our values, just as music does. Maybe because I don’t watch much TV or go to movies, this makes me out of touch with the current Zeitgeist. Maybe many of you did not notice the profound disconnect between the lavish dresses and the offensive manners and lack of any kind of civility. For me, it was like putting on a Prada gown and going down to the pigsty: except that I really think highly of pigs and their intelligence.
I think the rebellion thing, the need to be outré and “bad” has come full circle. Now, we can’t even have a civil awards presentation! Everyone is constantly finding themselves in the midst of a “roast”. I never liked that form of comedic battling, and I still don’t, but now the Rodney Dangerfield Way of Life seems to have overtaken everything. Aren’t you sick of it? Don’t you long for a kind, polite word? I do, but I don’t expect to hear any any time soon.
Elizabeth Szlek is the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Yorkville, NY. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Fluoride, A Toxic Waste
For The Rome Observer, January 11, 2011
By Elizabeth Szlek, LMHC
I was astounded to see the bit on NBC Nightly News last week about the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommending that fluoride levels in our nation’s drinking water be lowered. There was Dr. Nancy, telling us all the story about how 42% of kids in America are getting too much fluoride, and they are suffering from dental fluorosis (staining and mottling of their teeth), due to excess fluoride consumption.
Now, if you had not thought about fluoride before this, you might think well of our doctor on NBC, and would be much obliged to her for setting us all straight on how much fluoride we SHOULD be ingesting. Trouble is, her story, as it often is, was a carefully concocted bit of propaganda, used to cover up a prevailing meme, which is, “Adding fluoride to drinking water prevents dental cavities”. This statement is a lie, and I will tell you why.
What is Fluoride, Anyway?
There is no one thing called fluoride, but a class of compounds in which the element fluorine combines with other elements. Fluorine is a halogen, and is a yellowish, poisonous, highly corrosive gas. Other commonly known halogens are chlorine, bromine and iodine. All are used industrially to kill pathogenic organisms, and of course, they can kill human cells, too. That is just what they are doing in our bodies as we ingest fluoridated water. Fluorine is the most reactive halogen, and thus, it never occurs in its pure form in nature, but always combined with something else, which makes it a fluoride.
Fluoride is a byproduct of the aluminum, steel and fertilizer industries. In 1948, in Donora, PA, where a plant of U.S. Steel was located, a severe air inversion occurred, trapping all of the fluoride gases being given off. An entire town was affected by the cloud of fluoride gas. 6,000 men, women and children in Donora were sickened and eleven people died from lung destruction in one night. This one instance demonstrates the destructive power of fluoride compounds on the body. But there are many others.
If we look at what fluorides are used for industrially we will find many compounds being used. First, there is the extremely corrosive hydrofluoric acid, which is used to etch glass. Sodium fluoride in high concentrations is found in all rat poisons and many pesticides --- it kills them very effectively. Sodium hexafluorosilicate (also known as sodium silicofluoride) is a common ingredient in pesticides, and is also added to drinking water. Yes, you heard right. It is added to drinking water. You are constantly drinking in something used to kill pests. Poisons have many properties, but obviously, promoting good dental health is probably not one of them. As it happens, there is no credible proof that adding poison to your drinking water has any positive benefits, and the reasons for this are several.
Why Is Fluoride Added to Drinking Water?
The main thing to remember is this: Fluoride added to your drinking water is put there not for your benefit, but for the benefit of those who have a lot of it on their hands. As a byproduct of various industrial processes, including nuclear ones, there is a lot of fluoride to get rid of. If it were disposed of directly, it would have to be treated as a toxic waste product, and you know how troublesome THAT is.
Instead, our government allowed these toxic substances to be added to our drinking water, in small amounts, of course, where it supposedly is an effective deterrent to the development of dental cavities (caries). But why?
Well, it is an interested little factoid that Andrew Mellon, Treasury Secretary and the founder of Alcoa (Aluminum Company of America) had lots of waste fluoride lying around, and the head of U.S. Public Health Service reported directly to him in his capacity as Treasury Secretary. The head of the USPHS was none other than a Dr. Dean, who came to be called “Mr. Fluoridation”, since he so ardently promoted the use of fluoride in our nation’s water systems. For Andrew Mellon, problem solved!!
But, in order to sell the idea of fluoridation to Americans, he employed the skills of the original “spin doctor”, Edward L. Bernays, father of the art of public relations, and author of his famous book, Propaganda. He did a bang up job for Alcoa.
What’s So Bad About Fluoridation?
There are several important points to consider when trying to decide if water fluoridation is for you:
1. Fluorides are poisonous to the human body. There is really no “safe” level, and when water is fluoridated, everyone drinking it is drugged at the same level. Babies, the elderly, sick people, and everyone else all get the same dose, all the time. Some people drink more than others, and so they are getting even MORE of the stuff. We are drugged against our will.
2. The predominant benefit of fluoride in preventing tooth decay is TOPICAL, not SYSTEMIC. This means that fluoride works as a pesticide (killing bacteria in the mouth) when it is applied directly to the teeth, such as by using toothpaste or mouthwash. Contaminating entire water systems with this stuff is just stupid.
3. Fluoridation is causing tooth damage in over 40% of our nation’s children. Dental fluorosis is an ugly condition, which is irreversible, and which indicates that other skeletal issues may be developing.
4. Infants being fed formula which is prepared with fluoridated water receive 250 times the recommended limit of .0004ppm concentration found in breast milk. What does this mean? Brain damage from this highly toxic substance!
5. Boys who drink fluoridated water have a very high chance of developing deadly bone cancers. In addition, others can develop bone diseases and skeletal fluorosis.
6. Most importantly, dental caries can be totally prevented by correct nutrition. In many primitive societies, dental care was unheard of, but with proper nutrition, even teeth never brushed had NO INCIDENCE OF CARIES!
Please think about whether you wish to ask your municipality to discontinue water fluoridation. It could be one of the most important issues we all face.
Elizabeth Szlek is the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Yorkville, NY. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
By Elizabeth Szlek, LMHC
I was astounded to see the bit on NBC Nightly News last week about the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommending that fluoride levels in our nation’s drinking water be lowered. There was Dr. Nancy, telling us all the story about how 42% of kids in America are getting too much fluoride, and they are suffering from dental fluorosis (staining and mottling of their teeth), due to excess fluoride consumption.
Now, if you had not thought about fluoride before this, you might think well of our doctor on NBC, and would be much obliged to her for setting us all straight on how much fluoride we SHOULD be ingesting. Trouble is, her story, as it often is, was a carefully concocted bit of propaganda, used to cover up a prevailing meme, which is, “Adding fluoride to drinking water prevents dental cavities”. This statement is a lie, and I will tell you why.
What is Fluoride, Anyway?
There is no one thing called fluoride, but a class of compounds in which the element fluorine combines with other elements. Fluorine is a halogen, and is a yellowish, poisonous, highly corrosive gas. Other commonly known halogens are chlorine, bromine and iodine. All are used industrially to kill pathogenic organisms, and of course, they can kill human cells, too. That is just what they are doing in our bodies as we ingest fluoridated water. Fluorine is the most reactive halogen, and thus, it never occurs in its pure form in nature, but always combined with something else, which makes it a fluoride.
Fluoride is a byproduct of the aluminum, steel and fertilizer industries. In 1948, in Donora, PA, where a plant of U.S. Steel was located, a severe air inversion occurred, trapping all of the fluoride gases being given off. An entire town was affected by the cloud of fluoride gas. 6,000 men, women and children in Donora were sickened and eleven people died from lung destruction in one night. This one instance demonstrates the destructive power of fluoride compounds on the body. But there are many others.
If we look at what fluorides are used for industrially we will find many compounds being used. First, there is the extremely corrosive hydrofluoric acid, which is used to etch glass. Sodium fluoride in high concentrations is found in all rat poisons and many pesticides --- it kills them very effectively. Sodium hexafluorosilicate (also known as sodium silicofluoride) is a common ingredient in pesticides, and is also added to drinking water. Yes, you heard right. It is added to drinking water. You are constantly drinking in something used to kill pests. Poisons have many properties, but obviously, promoting good dental health is probably not one of them. As it happens, there is no credible proof that adding poison to your drinking water has any positive benefits, and the reasons for this are several.
Why Is Fluoride Added to Drinking Water?
The main thing to remember is this: Fluoride added to your drinking water is put there not for your benefit, but for the benefit of those who have a lot of it on their hands. As a byproduct of various industrial processes, including nuclear ones, there is a lot of fluoride to get rid of. If it were disposed of directly, it would have to be treated as a toxic waste product, and you know how troublesome THAT is.
Instead, our government allowed these toxic substances to be added to our drinking water, in small amounts, of course, where it supposedly is an effective deterrent to the development of dental cavities (caries). But why?
Well, it is an interested little factoid that Andrew Mellon, Treasury Secretary and the founder of Alcoa (Aluminum Company of America) had lots of waste fluoride lying around, and the head of U.S. Public Health Service reported directly to him in his capacity as Treasury Secretary. The head of the USPHS was none other than a Dr. Dean, who came to be called “Mr. Fluoridation”, since he so ardently promoted the use of fluoride in our nation’s water systems. For Andrew Mellon, problem solved!!
But, in order to sell the idea of fluoridation to Americans, he employed the skills of the original “spin doctor”, Edward L. Bernays, father of the art of public relations, and author of his famous book, Propaganda. He did a bang up job for Alcoa.
What’s So Bad About Fluoridation?
There are several important points to consider when trying to decide if water fluoridation is for you:
1. Fluorides are poisonous to the human body. There is really no “safe” level, and when water is fluoridated, everyone drinking it is drugged at the same level. Babies, the elderly, sick people, and everyone else all get the same dose, all the time. Some people drink more than others, and so they are getting even MORE of the stuff. We are drugged against our will.
2. The predominant benefit of fluoride in preventing tooth decay is TOPICAL, not SYSTEMIC. This means that fluoride works as a pesticide (killing bacteria in the mouth) when it is applied directly to the teeth, such as by using toothpaste or mouthwash. Contaminating entire water systems with this stuff is just stupid.
3. Fluoridation is causing tooth damage in over 40% of our nation’s children. Dental fluorosis is an ugly condition, which is irreversible, and which indicates that other skeletal issues may be developing.
4. Infants being fed formula which is prepared with fluoridated water receive 250 times the recommended limit of .0004ppm concentration found in breast milk. What does this mean? Brain damage from this highly toxic substance!
5. Boys who drink fluoridated water have a very high chance of developing deadly bone cancers. In addition, others can develop bone diseases and skeletal fluorosis.
6. Most importantly, dental caries can be totally prevented by correct nutrition. In many primitive societies, dental care was unheard of, but with proper nutrition, even teeth never brushed had NO INCIDENCE OF CARIES!
Please think about whether you wish to ask your municipality to discontinue water fluoridation. It could be one of the most important issues we all face.
Elizabeth Szlek is the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Yorkville, NY. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
What is Mental Health?
For The Rome Observer, January 4, 2011
By Elizabeth Szlek, Licensed Mental Health Counselor
There is much talk in the news about mental illness and everyone seems to understand what that is all about. As you read my columns in this paper, you and I will be looking at the present state of the mental health care in America, and together we will decide what is true and what is false. We will be looking at mental health memes! I guess you can already tell that I may have my doubts about a lot of what is going on…
However, as to the question of “What is mental health”?”,I have very definite ideas of what mental health looks like, how to achieve it, and how to tell if someone is mentally healthy or not. For me, it all comes down to relationships.
The Four Relationships
I believe that for a person to be mentally healthy, they need to have four different kinds of good relationships. If these are in order, it is almost assured that the person will be able to function well in society, and will enjoy great peace of mind and harmony. If, on the other hand, any of these relationships are in trouble or even missing, there will be less to be happy about. This will lead to mental distress and sometimes the person will become overwhelmed by life. So, what are these four types of relationships.?
The first relationship we must consider is the one we have with ourselves. This might seem like an odd thing to think about, but the truth is, many people are taught by those around them to think poorly of themselves. They are shamed and criticized, and, in a word, not loved enough. I spend a lot of time telling people they are wonderful, because – they are! There are many ways to go astray from a good relationship with oneself, such as addictions, anxiety, depression and other distressing states. All these problems, however, can be worked on, and people can come to a proper assessment of their real worth, and learn to treat themselves with respect but also learn to practice humility.
Family and Friends
Of course, no man is an island, and we all need to have good, loving relationships with our families, and with friends. Some people are lucky, and their parents loved them, disciplined them and taught them to value the things that endure. Others were not so lucky. They have a difficult time trusting others, since they have been so hurt. Perhaps they can even say they have no friends. This is indeed a troubling situation, and one which needs to be addressed. Sometimes those who have a bad appraisal of themselves are also bad at creating relationships with others. Again, this takes skills that can be acquired, so there is no reason to despair. Everyone who is willing can learn to be a friend to others.
Relationship with Community
Since we no longer live in a tribal society, but are part of a democratic country, we all need to be involved in something bigger than our family. We can break free from narrow prejudices, and learn to enjoy the company of people who are different from ourselves.
I remember living in Siena, Italy, where there were fierce rivalries between the thirteen neighborhoods that comprised that ancient city. Lives were lost over trifles, just because someone was from the “Turtle” contrada, and not the “Fish” contrada (neighborhood). These medieval loyalties were interesting to watch, but I don’t think most of us would want to be so bound by a few city blocks. The world is a big place! We all need to be able to move out into it, following our own talents and inclinations.
We all benefit from joining organizations which match our interests, whether that be a church, political party, sports group, a volunteer organization, or any other worthwhile group. Working and playing together, we form bonds of friendship with others, increase our feelings of competency and generosity, and we feel included, and not just by our “tribe”.
Relationship with our Higher Power
Finally, I believe humans have a very real need for a connection to something greater than ourselves. This power is usually described as God, but many people have been hurt in their relationships to religious organizations, so we will use the more neutral term, Higher Power. This is somewhat mysterious to those who do not think about this type of relationship, but I believe it is a necessary part of development of one’s greatest gifts. Many of us experience something “beyond” ourselves, and enter into spiritual states, When you believe something bigger than you is out there, it is a great comfort, and the springboard for many wonderful moments in life.
A Final Word
This is my basic view of mental health. It’s all about how we are connecting to ourselves, to a Higher Power, to friends and family, and to the larger world around us. Sometimes it seems very difficult to manage all these facets of relationship well, but I will be discussing all four aspects of this struggle in my future columns. I certainly welcome your feedback and comments and questions.
Elizabeth Szlek is the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Utica. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900, or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
By Elizabeth Szlek, Licensed Mental Health Counselor
There is much talk in the news about mental illness and everyone seems to understand what that is all about. As you read my columns in this paper, you and I will be looking at the present state of the mental health care in America, and together we will decide what is true and what is false. We will be looking at mental health memes! I guess you can already tell that I may have my doubts about a lot of what is going on…
However, as to the question of “What is mental health”?”,I have very definite ideas of what mental health looks like, how to achieve it, and how to tell if someone is mentally healthy or not. For me, it all comes down to relationships.
The Four Relationships
I believe that for a person to be mentally healthy, they need to have four different kinds of good relationships. If these are in order, it is almost assured that the person will be able to function well in society, and will enjoy great peace of mind and harmony. If, on the other hand, any of these relationships are in trouble or even missing, there will be less to be happy about. This will lead to mental distress and sometimes the person will become overwhelmed by life. So, what are these four types of relationships.?
The first relationship we must consider is the one we have with ourselves. This might seem like an odd thing to think about, but the truth is, many people are taught by those around them to think poorly of themselves. They are shamed and criticized, and, in a word, not loved enough. I spend a lot of time telling people they are wonderful, because – they are! There are many ways to go astray from a good relationship with oneself, such as addictions, anxiety, depression and other distressing states. All these problems, however, can be worked on, and people can come to a proper assessment of their real worth, and learn to treat themselves with respect but also learn to practice humility.
Family and Friends
Of course, no man is an island, and we all need to have good, loving relationships with our families, and with friends. Some people are lucky, and their parents loved them, disciplined them and taught them to value the things that endure. Others were not so lucky. They have a difficult time trusting others, since they have been so hurt. Perhaps they can even say they have no friends. This is indeed a troubling situation, and one which needs to be addressed. Sometimes those who have a bad appraisal of themselves are also bad at creating relationships with others. Again, this takes skills that can be acquired, so there is no reason to despair. Everyone who is willing can learn to be a friend to others.
Relationship with Community
Since we no longer live in a tribal society, but are part of a democratic country, we all need to be involved in something bigger than our family. We can break free from narrow prejudices, and learn to enjoy the company of people who are different from ourselves.
I remember living in Siena, Italy, where there were fierce rivalries between the thirteen neighborhoods that comprised that ancient city. Lives were lost over trifles, just because someone was from the “Turtle” contrada, and not the “Fish” contrada (neighborhood). These medieval loyalties were interesting to watch, but I don’t think most of us would want to be so bound by a few city blocks. The world is a big place! We all need to be able to move out into it, following our own talents and inclinations.
We all benefit from joining organizations which match our interests, whether that be a church, political party, sports group, a volunteer organization, or any other worthwhile group. Working and playing together, we form bonds of friendship with others, increase our feelings of competency and generosity, and we feel included, and not just by our “tribe”.
Relationship with our Higher Power
Finally, I believe humans have a very real need for a connection to something greater than ourselves. This power is usually described as God, but many people have been hurt in their relationships to religious organizations, so we will use the more neutral term, Higher Power. This is somewhat mysterious to those who do not think about this type of relationship, but I believe it is a necessary part of development of one’s greatest gifts. Many of us experience something “beyond” ourselves, and enter into spiritual states, When you believe something bigger than you is out there, it is a great comfort, and the springboard for many wonderful moments in life.
A Final Word
This is my basic view of mental health. It’s all about how we are connecting to ourselves, to a Higher Power, to friends and family, and to the larger world around us. Sometimes it seems very difficult to manage all these facets of relationship well, but I will be discussing all four aspects of this struggle in my future columns. I certainly welcome your feedback and comments and questions.
Elizabeth Szlek is the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Utica. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900, or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
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