Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Sugar Shark: What sets off your feeding frenzies?

Sugar SharkWhat sets off your feeding frenzies?An all-day meeting. No, wait. An all-day brainstorming session. A room, a big table, 15 to 20 colleagues, a whiteboard. A time keeper. The charge: think hard all day while never losing focus. Be brilliant. Come out with a plan for the department, for the year.Between you and me, I'm not very good at this. Not the thinking all day part, not the focusing part, and actually, not the brilliance part. Yet somehow I was invited to the meeting, becauseā€¦ Oh, because I own a watch. I was asked to be the time-keeper. Somehow, the most easily distracted woman in the room was charged with keeping us on task. We turned off our cell phones. We instructed everyone we were not to be disturbed. We would stay focused. No distractions at all. Except for that large pile of scones, chocolate chip cookies, and sugary drinks in the corner over there.Normally I can look right past these foods. I see them, say inwardly "I don't eat that stuff," and I move on. I wasn't born being able to do that, but have worked for years to recognize and shun high-sugar, low-fiber foods. They are not good for me. They are not on my diet. That's what I did when I arrived at this day-long meeting. I cased the joint, noted what was available, helped myself to the coffee, and decided snacking was out of the question this morning.And that worked for the first couple of hours. Thinking, developing strategies, probing, expanding. These might not sound like the most active verbs, friends, but it was work. We were a unit of high-performance professionals from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds, taking one day to set a new direction for a whole department. I don't know about the others, but speaking for myself, I was working so hard, thinking with such intensity that tiny beads of sweat popped out on my upper lip and chin. The room became warm with the force of my own professionalism. Or maybe it was the heat of so many bodies. Or possibly it was the glitchy furnace. Whatever the reason, by 11 a.m., I was hot, drained, hungry, my blood sugar dropping through the floor, a headache coming on, my memory going fuzzy, and lunch was still a good hour or more away.I normally have a mid-morning snack. I normally pack my food the night before a meeting like this, knowing I won't be free to go find something good to eat. There won't be cheese, nuts, veggies, fruit at this meeting, or any meeting. There will be cookies, donuts, baked goods, chips. No brain food, no sustenance, just white flour and sugar. At meetings, conferences, clubs, we humans have made a tradition of offering one another insulin releasing, non-nutritive substances, with the choice of corn syrup, caffeine, aspartame or nitrates to wash them down. We love this stuff, even as it kills us. I'll choose the caffeine, or water if I'm feeling strong, and take breaks to nibble on nuts or string cheese or dried vegetables or fruits I nearly always carry in my bag to pull me through between meals. But this morning I had no snacks in my bag. I had forgotten to pack anything. Failed to plan for this day. I looked over at the scones. They smiled back at me with love, all greasy, doughy innocence.No, I reminded myself, I don't eat those things. Another few minutes went by, and my head began to throb. In an hour I would have a full-blown migraine and be unable to finish the day. That would not do, I told myself. That would be irresponsible. Just a little sugar isn't going to kill me, I reasoned. Just a corner of one of those scones may be all my body needs to push through, until lunch, until veggies and protein come along. Here's the impressive part. I was able to hold this debate with myself in my head for several minutes while simultaneously listening to my colleagues, reacting, and recording our entire transaction on the white board. While my reasoning mind was hard at work, my needy little prehistoric inner eyes kept darting over to the snack table, fixating on those scones. Not on the orange juice. Not the tomato juice. Not the far lesser of the evils set before me. The scones.I saw my chance when one of us launched into a lengthy opinion. My inner predator made up its mind. A little sugar, in this instance, I was sure, was taking one for the team. I would be bad to be good. I went to break off a corner of a cranberry scone, one of those pound-and-a-half scones, which are really sugar cookies in disguise, that trendy little bakeries produce these days, and darned if a whole half of one didn't fall into my hand. I ate it. I was immediately sorry. It didn't fix my headache. I found and swallowed my medication for that. Lunch arrived 20 minutes later, accompanied by large chocolate chip cookies. I ate one of those too. And I ate another one after the meeting, on the way home. Calculating my calorie load while finishing my cookie, I decided to skip dinner. Heaping terrible decision upon terrible decision, I went to bed early, sick, tired, hung over.I am a classic sugar shark. And I'm not alone. This behavior is common among us. If we can stay away from the sugar, the white flour and potato snacks (sugar in disguise), we're fine, but once we have a taste for it, once there's a bit of it in the air or on the tongue, a feeding frenzy commences, and we're not happy until it's all been consumed. It took me days to recover from this feeding. I didn't have too many calories, but too little protein, no good fats, no fiber, no sense. I made my headache worse, sent my blood sugar spiking and plummeting repeatedly.I know my body, know how it responds to this food, I know all of this about myself, but for some reason, I just didn't behave. I just didn't plan. I should have healthy snacks with me always. Always. Knowing at the start of the morning that I would need food, I should have excused myself from the meeting until I found some. And why am I writing all of this now? Just a cautionary tale. For you and for me. I hope to remember this adventure the next time I'm scheduled for a long meeting, so I'll plan for it. I'll ask the hosts to provide something other than sugar. Why not? I hope you can think about your options the next time you're faced by a snack table or charged with filling one. If it's your meeting and you want to get the best out of people? Feed them veggies, nuts, fruit, cheese. Offer water and teas among your drink choices. If you're headed for a day-long trip, visit, or seminar, pack along foods you know you can nibble without difficulty. Never let your inner shark do the thinking for you.University of Hawaii Healthy Meetings ChecklistDoc Weil on fighting the energy slump Want to discuss today's Post? Visit The Skinny Daily Forum at 3fatchicks.com. more...

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Originally Posted on 10/12/2005 1:48:14 AMContent source: http://skinnydaily.blogspot.com/archives/2004_01_28_skinnydaily_archive.html#107525929390546322

Living the Low Carb Life: Jonny Bowden's field guide

Living the Low Carb LifeJonny Bowden's field guideFirst, understand who Jonny Bowden is. He's a nutrition and fitness writer, educator, and advisor, the weight loss coach on iVillage's popular diet and fitness site. And if you asked him to draw a map of the contentious and fiery world of nutritional theory, he would not only draw it, but could clearly demarcate all the borders, rivers and passages, reveal the history of the indigenous tribes, name all the treaties, disputes, wars and skirmishes, pillagers and peace makers. And if you asked him where he fits into the picture, he would place himself in a pirate ship running the borders of this warring continent, gathering what riches each country offers, and giving them away. If you don't mind me mixing a few metaphors.He doesn't mind being on the fringe. He abhors inertia, politics, loses patience with policy and protocol. He can smell an agenda on the slightest wind, and will call it out. He doesn't pull punches, he doesn't always adore the same people I do, he doesn't agree with some people he respects and doesn't respect some people he agrees with, and he's never unclear about any of that. That makes him an awfully fun read.With all of that, he's just the nicest guy. On paper and in person. I mean, for a pirate, he's just awfully peace-loving.What he always is, what I trust him to be, is fair and clear. And funny. And kind. And smart enough to sort good research from bad, and clear results from unclear, then distill it into useful, doable things for those of us who can't possibly predict or dodge the magma of nutritional science that flows forth daily.And in Living the Low Carb Life (Sterling, 2004) he's done what we needed someone to do. He has gathered up all the most popular of the Low-carb diets and created a field guide. You know the field guides we use to tell one bird species from the another, the edible mushrooms from the poisonous ones, the groundhogs from the woodchucks? Yes, well, here Bowden draws out 14 low carb diets, from the earliest ones that far predate Atkins, all the way up to South Beach. You'll read the difference between the Zone and Somerciszing, the Paleo Diet and Neanderthin and recognize a Gittleman from a Schwarzbein at 20 paces. He lays out the structure, history, influences of the diet, describes its essential principles, and then gives his opinion and rating of each plan. It's enough to give you a sense of which plans might fit your lifestyle best. And that was a lot of good work, alright. But what I like best about this book is the fore- and after-matter. His first two chapters give the history of the low carb movement and the clearest description of why low carb diets work and for whom that I've ever enjoyed. His last chapters are a terrific guide to nutritional supplements (the value of this advice far exceeds the price of the book), great chapters on myth-busting and FAQs and tips, and a useful description of eating when you eat this way.Finally that last little, innocuous looking chapter. Sneaky little bugger wrote his own low carb plan, all of 14 pages, and snuck it in to the back of the book. This little plan is all the low carb diet anyone really needs. Combined with his resources section (Yes, full disclosure, SDP gets a plug in there.), these last chapters will guide you to a low-carb way of eating that is the closest description to my own way of eating that I have ever seen. It's not dissimilar to the one he described in his popular Shape Up! Diet and fitness program, followed by many thousands through iVillage and many thousands more who buy and use his books. That one was the most useful book I read while losing my 100.He also posits his own eating-and-lifestye pyramid, suitable for photocopying and taping on your refrigerator door.Smart, sensible, clear-eyed, funny, warm, and doable. I like this guy. I recommend the book.Living the Low Carb LifeJonny Bowden's PracticeShape Up!Want to discuss today's Post? Visit The Skinny Daily Forum at 3fatchicks.com. more...

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Originally Posted on 10/12/2005 1:19:13 AMContent source: http://skinnydaily.blogspot.com/archives/2004_01_26_skinnydaily_archive.html#107512297332466292

Kid Stuff: Are you up to it?

Kid StuffAre you up to it?I went to our community pool the other day. That's not unusual. I have belonged to the pool for a couple of years. My pool time is early in the morning, weekdays. Grownups everywhere. But this was a Saturday afternoon, and I was under the wing of my niece. I am still recovering.I had no idea what my pool looks like on a Saturday afternoon. Kids. Everywhere. From tiny little tykes who have a hard time walking a straight line on a good day, much less while shivering and wet, to gigantic lugs who lope quickly enough around the edges of the pool to force the lifeguards to actually use their whistles. I've never heard the whistle in use at that pool. But on a Saturday afternoon it goes off almost constantly, because the pool is crowded with wet young people.My pool experiences take place in much emptier lanes where I churn dutiful laps in varying sets and strokes, alternating counts in a feeble attempt to keep things interesting. I usually pick the same lane, and swim at the same time with the same people.But my niece works the pool this way: First you go to the water slide, and climb the stairs and slide down a half a dozen times, and then you go whirl in the whirlpool (not the hot tub, but the swirly thing that spins you around to anchor the nausea you picked up from the slide), and then go stand under a thing that dumps buckets of water on your head, and then dive into the big pool to toss a basketball around, and then over to the T-Bar, where you glide through the air for the length of the pool while hanging like a monkey and then back-flop into the water when you get to the end, and then you take on the big float-walk, where you try to walk across a floating sausage roll without slipping off into the water, and back onto the T-Bar, and then back to the slide and around. A few laps in between. I'm not sure, but I think you can burn 780 calories per hour doing the pool this way.Well, it turns out there is not upper age limit on this equipment. And she didn't want to do these things by herself. And I have given myself an able body, after all. What good is a functioning body if you aren't going to use it? Right? Sure, I felt a little silly. Sure, I behaved in an age-inappropriate way. Of course, I was triple and quadruple the age of my nearest playmate. But I did it. Because it was there. Because I could do all of these things. It wasn't long ago that maneuvering any of this equipment was outside of my ability and functionally impossible. I would have stuck in the slide, would have been too big to whirl, would not have tossed a basketball while treading water, because I couldn't tread water. The T-Bar. Well, we don't have to discuss the T-Bar.While my nieces stay with me, we're having fun horsing around on my exercise balls, dancing, or trying to imitate the dancing we see in the movies we're watching. We're playing. I have friends who kid me about my new exercise routines. They wonder why I work so hard, when the body I need is one that can comfortably sit in front of a computer all day. Am I not overshooting my necessary fitness level? And they make a valid argument. We don't need to work as hard as Amish folks do. We don't need to grow our food or chase it down. Most of my days do not require the upper body strength I've been working so hard to develop.But there are a few of those days. Raking leaves days, splitting wood days, clearing the garage days, washing dogs days, and days when your niece insists on gliding over a bright blue pool on a T-bar and back-flopping into the water. On these days having strength enough to do what must be done is a great thing.I wasn't strong enough to play with these kids almost the entire time they were growing up. I missed a lot. I am so grateful I had the chance to get my strength back before they became "too old" for play. I hope to stay in shape so that I can play with their kids. And you? Do you remember playing? Are you able to play with the kids in your life? Would you if you could? Are you able to play at things that you know you would enjoy if you were strong enough, fit enough, confident enough? Or have you given up things you wish you hadn't?Play is a very good reason to get in shape. A functioning body lets you face water slides and wave pools without fear. Well, okay, not without fear, but without excuses. And while that might not sound like a good thing? Trust me, it is so good.Amish diet and fitness planHow water slides workMy poolWant to discuss today's Post? Visit The Skinny Daily Forum at 3fatchicks.com. more...

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Originally Posted on 10/12/2005 12:41:11 AMContent source: http://skinnydaily.blogspot.com/archives/2004_01_23_skinnydaily_archive.html#107483036033116104

School nurses dispensing fewer drugs

Bucks County Courier Times Most Bucks County school nurses are dispensing significantly fewer prescription medications, particularly for psychiatric disorders. more...

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Originally Posted on 10/11/2005 11:28:10 PMContent source: http://topix.net/r/0g7o0kZA0RgYUXjwPrv=2FteVr1pIJPt=2B1AXk=2FPQ57VMzfqUxp=2Bhk5ZOTJ8yLaZ=2BDGyPr9xsxZC9=2FKtRhZxRnhid3Cp1x3N7gUj5mGrvcEArETFfOfbraAIFHGG8=2FzGOuHy

Diabetes a common problem among vets

Bucks County Courier Times Frank Yocum survived an enemy booby trap, but like some other Vietnam War veterans, he returned home with a time bomb inside his body. more...

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Originally Posted on 10/11/2005 11:01:09 PMContent source: http://topix.net/r/0g7o0kZA0RgYUXjwPrv=2FteVr1pIJPt=2B1AXk=2FPQ57VMzfqUxp=2Bhk5ZOTJ8yLaZ=2BDGyPr9xsxZC9=2FKtRhZxRnhidw8jxYYBBS9Q3I1NOdKlnfsYYYgEdW3dO4bPqpwRhhw8

Japan's first case of West Nile fever disclosed

A man in his 30s who came back to Japan from the United States last month has contracted West Nile fever, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry announced on Monday. more...

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Originally Posted on 10/11/2005 10:37:08 PMContent source: http://topix.net/r/0g7o0kZA0RgYUXjwPrv=2FteZLDZnQpGF=2F=2B9vol1i5cVRGnSduiZVES2GiRc04ztYkZTbQUa1v0jrlKNQB=2Flqgt8fRKdDnC=2B8FRBnTTFpofLgwCpAOpL7v4dymi24D=2BsgWK3sWmv4SiSQ2vF6A5tn1=2FzQ=3D=3D

Courting the last option

HIV Aids Watch Landmark public health treatment to come under the apex courts scanner this autumn Nick Robinson Delhi The Indian Supreme Court is scheduled to weigh in on the record of what could become one of ... more...

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Originally Posted on 10/11/2005 9:11:07 PMContent source: http://topix.net/r/0g7o0kZA0RgYUXjwPrv=2FteZLDZnQpGF=2F=2B9vol1i5cVREVWumfwjm9PZRtTivbBeM8bvDhddCiYx1cc9dK91GUOdiQmPSjhi2W2WZHKW0CjAo=3D

Restaurant groups says nothing decided

The Illinois Restaurant Association has vowed to continue the fight for a "smoking license" to provide Chicago restaurants, bars and bowling alleys willing to pay for the privilege a way to get out from under a ... more...

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Originally Posted on 10/11/2005 8:27:58 PMContent source: http://topix.net/r/0g7o0kZA0RgYUXjwPrv=2Ftebtvk6Dx40ReojnLlCfvWsNBNtDu5VfuAC=2BOxk3mOhspWY6bU3KRvg6JbNyEVDU7to84wl5Xn0DyB4b7F=2Bh2bdnPjy1UeeJlowUMYOHFScsH

Medicaid may limit psychiatric prescriptions

National research that shows newer isn't necessarily better when it comes to schizophrenia drugs may bolster South Carolina's efforts to control Medicaid spending. more...

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Originally Posted on 10/11/2005 7:15:57 PMContent source: http://topix.net/r/0g7o0kZA0RgYUXjwPrv=2FteamK6Ce2CDbKvEBRDwFYF8u1RPdUqZbt0mkFrySp9TG=2FOM7yQKBQNcpINg25IvNsYrkBEz5ATTPH6Xm7kzHsMC=2Boa=2Fzsv073yjEdjdi=2BFJo6OUl=2FLqAI7v4wDS5u9yNWig=3D=3D

Are women lying about smoking while pregnant?

Researcher suggests recent decreases in tobacco use during pregnancy could be explained by underreporting Although some studies show fewer women are smoking during pregnancy, a U.S. researcher suggests the ... more...

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Originally Posted on 10/11/2005 6:17:55 PMContent source: http://topix.net/r/0g7o0kZA0RgYUXjwPrv=2FtecyX8bSlrOm21CLhZwVGl5VINLMhFYayHedE4xBRg3CTAjoKaTu571PwM5Ke3w=2FYstgbKesA95duhGJSujERPsQuSMqxKkdmKcAgZ4DGNVhghYg6yulhTWabmgjho7v1dg=3D=3D

Flu Season Vaccinations

Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Calvin Johnson is reminding Pennsylvanians who meet the definition of being at "high-risk" for influenza to get start getting a vaccinated as the flu season approaches. more...

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Originally Posted on 10/11/2005 5:16:54 PMContent source: http://topix.net/r/0g7o0kZA0RgYUXjwPrv=2FtedWT=2BxsqxHlM3EcgeXux7=2B3npgikKPsp5JgH3kAjK9DsWdliHWEZTTDXM23yPg5PWaP0c2oIcjEN2G7x=2Fkgpq2c=3D

UN Seeks To Dampen Flu Alarm

The UN health agency was fielding inquiries from both the media and the general public after Dr. more...

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Originally Posted on 10/11/2005 4:07:53 PMContent source: http://topix.net/r/0g7o0kZA0RgYUXjwPrv=2FteZLDZnQpGF=2F=2B9vol1i5cVRHv=2Bz5vNDD=2BYhYe3=2BR=2FbSCmku=2Fi1gduxkug3DgdbD=2F6rsmEzQEUD8961ivyoOsbV5jzNDnGtTUJ52650TGqMYxw

Health - Topix.net

News on Health continually updated from thousands of sources around the net. more...

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Originally Posted on 10/11/2005 3:11:50 PMContent source: http://www.topix.net/health

Your Health This Month:

Posted Monday, Oct. 3, 2005, at 3:38 AM PT Statins revisited : They help after heart attacks, too. more...

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Originally Posted on 10/11/2005 2:01:48 PMContent source: http://topix.net/r/0g7o0kZA0RgYUXjwPrv=2Fteb3B8talQ1pAvy3GH71cl=2BEWz3NMhlXnmdAsTZj7eGfNeWZw7qNRF=2B1hzGChah9V6g=3D=3D

School nurses dispensing fewer drugs

Bucks County Courier Times Most Bucks County school nurses are dispensing significantly fewer prescription medications, particularly for psychiatric disorders. more...

fitness
Originally Posted on 10/11/2005 12:31:41 PMContent source: http://topix.net/r/0g7o0kZA0RgYUXjwPrv=2FteVr1pIJPt=2B1AXk=2FPQ57VMzfqUxp=2Bhk5ZOTJ8yLaZ=2BDGyPr9xsxZC9=2FKtRhZxRnhid3Cp1x3N7gUj5mGrvcEArETFfOfbraAIFHGG8=2FzGOuHy

Diabetes a common problem among vets

Bucks County Courier Times Frank Yocum survived an enemy booby trap, but like some other Vietnam War veterans, he returned home with a time bomb inside his body. more...

fitness
Originally Posted on 10/11/2005 11:24:40 AMContent source: http://topix.net/r/0g7o0kZA0RgYUXjwPrv=2FteVr1pIJPt=2B1AXk=2FPQ57VMzfqUxp=2Bhk5ZOTJ8yLaZ=2BDGyPr9xsxZC9=2FKtRhZxRnhidw8jxYYBBS9Q3I1NOdKlnfsYYYgEdW3dO4bPqpwRhhw8

Diabetes Walk Held

The 2005 "Hartford Walk to Cure Diabetes" drew thousands to Rentschler Field Sunday morning. more...

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Originally Posted on 10/11/2005 10:13:35 AMContent source: http://topix.net/r/0g7o0kZA0RgYUXjwPrv=2FteZLDZnQpGF=2F=2B9vol1i5cVRGvuI3iiW0fdFA8ZbZg3zp9q9wQYRE7L=2B0AUJeWtxZDzMRG8D2zsYeZb9gbROKhwbDo=2FBKM2xdUB9mdQ7pnXlrpnQhLcuh4HMwIXj4xrn5PxeH55fHm2OpwN=2Bf60a8rnoQ=3D

Thousand or so walk for diabetes fundraiser

Bailee Stovall, 12, was doing her part Saturday morning to "give diabetes the boot." At least, that's what her brown T-shirt said. more...

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Originally Posted on 10/11/2005 9:02:33 AMContent source: http://topix.net/r/0g7o0kZA0RgYUXjwPrv=2FteYcSN39JzWhyOcRIGjOUyIOc7somuWmakDg9BIVQpA4NkbQb=2Bnz2oD0whbJABo5LOFA7PcdJUPy7iAaV2GWOxkbuOml=2FhAhgFuMZLTPYGXkw

What's On Tap

Good morning Prince William County. Beginning in this month, Veterans Park, at 14300 Featherstone Road, Woodbridge, will start a Playschool for 3-year-olds on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9 a.m. to noon for $102 a ... more...

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Originally Posted on 10/11/2005 8:00:32 AMContent source: http://topix.net/r/0g7o0kZA0RgYUXjwPrv=2FteVr1pIJPt=2B1AXk=2FPQ57VMzeoQyYR3UuOHNZIDWiMAvdDlTi=2Bajr1KAtD7GXGj=2FDgDv62=2FaNuf40Nj5M2NmRVwBHXpW=2FJccAxGJ31bKcKSlnJRrmU=2F0eZXmcx2sMgkyUbj85IP=2F1pMRRumINLXojg1Vtfj80xAi5sGLOm9dCTFQ5e

Heel to toe

For The Pantagraph Think of it as a collision course. Coming from one direction: Steve Madden rhinestone wedge ankle-strap shoes with 4-inch rhinestone-studded heels and cracked pink leather uppers. more...

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Originally Posted on 10/11/2005 6:22:31 AMContent source: http://topix.net/r/0g7o0kZA0RgYUXjwPrv=2FteVr1pIJPt=2B1AXk=2FPQ57VMzeOSo2VQedf=2FdkFV83=2Bn83wjqJWXw=2BK5GP7B=2BBtqX548QMLFM7OP561j=2FTs5iCRcXK7MZzjlzK0Lbob0WrOexyx

Bahrain steps up war on diabetes

MANAMA A NATIONAL campaign to combat potentially crippling foot problems caused by diabetes will be launched on November 14, it was revealed yesterday. more...

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Originally Posted on 10/11/2005 6:03:30 AMContent source: http://topix.net/r/0g7o0kZA0RgYUXjwPrv=2FteamK6Ce2CDbKvEBRDwFYF8su=2BE2qfuJNsBIF7dwV9MhQMIeXgekSPtKiBgzW09=2Fk6IkuSBTWT=2BdroG4M8=2FAdaYkR3stfd2=2Bd77Db=2FgTsoY9yAZFAm4NxY3EpzbLhdfDimw=3D=3D

Walkers take steps to fight kids' diabetes

Updated: 09:18 AM EST G ot eyelets? That's just a little diabetes research humor about the body's natural insulin carriers that was put to use yesterday as a T-shirt slogan at the 12th annual ``Walk to Cure ... more...

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Originally Posted on 10/11/2005 5:35:29 AMContent source: http://topix.net/r/0g7o0kZA0RgYUXjwPrv=2FteZLDZnQpGF=2F=2B9vol1i5cVRFVGL7h5oHAVbtIulbJVUPFNIscgJjNLrCBQwHKhyno8t8W1EK2vlX=2BYrVsvKYpDreZoVuUu=2FOpADkoZ0VkvcP4pf7nsrBONARIUZfVxwbzLw=3D=3D

Diabetes - Topix.net

News on Diabetes continually updated from thousands of sources around the net. more...

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Originally Posted on 10/11/2005 4:15:14 AMContent source: http://www.topix.net/health/diabetes

Skinny Sick Day

Skinny Sick DaySorry folks. Taking a sick day from skinniness. A cold grabbed my asthmatic airways and is shaking them down. I'm drinking my fluids and watching old movies. Snoozing and sitting in steamy bathrooms. All the echinacea and Vity C and Zicam and Zinc couldn't quite fight my lifelong bronchitis, former smoking habit, and asthma.Much as a girl wants to be a rock, sometimes a girl can't beat a stampeding herd of rhino viruses. My goal: not letting it go to pneumonia. Oh the Staples creampuff mafia ad just came on again. I love that one.I'm curled up with Frances Kuffel's "Passing for Thin," Broadway Books, 2004. It's a memoir of a funny, smart, beautiful woman's transformation as she lost, I can't remember right now, 170 pounds? Well, half her weight. Her writing -- and she is a writer, with her MFA in creative writing from Cornell, and having other literary works published in some of the most prestigious literary mags in the world -- is beautiful, haunting, careful. Her attitude is not. She's baldly truthful, jarringly honest, and.... I'm not writing this review now, but will when I've finished it. At any rate, it's not like I'm not thinking about you. I'm reading about Frances and thinking about you.And going through boxes and boxes of tissues.JuJuWant to discuss past posts? Visit The Skinny Daily Forum at 3fatchicks.com. more...

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Originally Posted on 10/11/2005 2:53:13 AMContent source: http://skinnydaily.blogspot.com/archives/2004_02_03_skinnydaily_archive.html#107577512903349734
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